I'm new here and not sure of question protocol so would appreciate input about posting a lengthy description of RAW conversion problems I'm having with Canon Zoom Browser ver.4.1.0.46 and PS Elements ver.1 ( I also have PS7 w/o Camera RAW plugin). Is this the right place to post a lengthy synopsis of the problem? What's the accepted limit on post length?

Camera is a Canon D10 and my first limited venture into exploring digital processing. I know the software is ancient but it's all I can afford for now. Just learning the concepts and not looking for professional results just yet. I can get conversions to work but have to jump through a lot of hoops and apparent glitches in the Canon software & Elements. Something just ain't right!

I've read most of the pertinent articles available on the LL site and the helpful Instant Photoshop tutorial. But the Zoom Browser issues are extending my simple workflow experiments into the wee hours every night. And unfortunately I'm hooked on the potential of RAW and can't go back to point-and-shoot.

Any guidance would be quite welcomed. Thanks. ~Skip Taggart, Lakeland, FL

Without knowing the problem we can't really offer much advice, I'm guessing it's a RAW issue of some sort.
Have you tried Canons DPP (digital photo pro) it's a free download from Canons site, and a fair bit better at RAW conversions than the zoom browser (which I found a pain to use) Why not tell us the problem, theres some real expert help here, I'll be supprised if sombody here doesn't have an answer. Wayne

Thanks, Wayne. I just didn't want to barge in here with an interminable essay on my ignorance. Evidently, the DPP software you suggested doesn't support my 10D. I'll try a brief explanation of the Zoom Browser EX problem:

I apparently can edit RAW WB, exposure, contrast, etc., with the Canon Zoom Browser File Viewer Utility (click "View & modify - Process raw image"). Whether I adjust the image or not, clicking on "Convert & save to file" darkens the TIFF drastically and skews the color to an unuseable level even though the preview images are great. Try to open the TIFF's in Elements and I get an "unsupported color depth" warning (camera setting is AdobeRGB). PS7 WILL open them w/o a warning and they're tagged AdobeRGB. BUT... if I just double click the original RAW file image in Zoom Browser, it automatically converts to .TIFF and opens a DIFFERENT Zoom utility browser where I can adjust color, brightness & contrast on the TIFF file only. No RAW edit options. Saved TIFF images from there are clean & useable.

I guess the question is; what am I doing wrong while trying to edit (WB, exposure comp., etc.) and save the RAW file? There doesn't appear to be any change to the RAW image but the converted TIFF is unuseable using that part of the utility. Thanks. ~Skip

UPDATE: I discovered the Zoom Browser File Utility RAW image processing settings under Preferences had "Linear" and "False Color" boxes checked. I de-selected them and it eliminated the extremely dark .TIFF images. The default setting only checks "False Color" and I have no idea how "Linear" got checked or what either of them do. AND... with both boxes checked it only messed up a certain few RAW conversions. Not all of them. And I couldn't find any differences in the Exif data that might be responsible for that happening. The auto-export to Elements after conversion still has the color recognition problem, so I've changed the destination for converted .TIFF's directly to PS7. Now all I have to do is figure out how to properly utilize all of Photoshop's buzzers and bells!

Thanks for giving me a place to think (write) out loud about this. ~Skip

I don't have elements, but I'm guessing they are saving as 16bit? which maybe elements doesn't support? I'll try running a few experiements with zoom browser later (I'm busy all day) and let you know if I get anywhere. Wayne

Skip, I needed to check this first, but--the current DPP DOES support the Canon 10D. I went back to my archived files and found 10D files, opened and converted with DPP without a problem. Have you tried it---or just read the supported file list? Download it and try it--SO much better than Zoombrowser--there really is no comparison. I don't use DPP (currently using Lightroom) but many use it as their preferred RAW conversion app.

When you set up your preferences in DPP--you can have it open in PS7--which would be my preferred graphics app as opposed to Elements 1.
Diane

Diane/Wayne: I don't recall the site but I'd read somewhere else that DPP didn't support my old D10 so I didn't pursue it. But acting on your advice, I went to the Canon site and downloaded the DPP program (24 MB on a dial-up connection!). It works like pure wizardry! About the only fault I can find is the adjustment palette can cover a large amount of the image area but I can live with that.

And the problem I was having with the TIFF's turning so dark as to be unuseable; it was the Linear box being checked in Zoom Browser. There's also a Linear selection option in DPP that I selected just for giggles & grins and it did the same thing. I have no idea what it's for but it shall remain unselected.

Thanks so much for your helpful suggestions. ~Skip

Glad you got it sorted, I haven't had the time to play about with zoom browser (we are moving) Wayne