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Hi Trying to open a Raw file in Photoshop Elements 5 but can't open it, when I try to open it, it says 'Cannot open because it is the wrong type of file.' Am I going wrong somewhere or do I need Photoshop CS2 or Rawshooter Pro to open Raw files? Sorry for asking a stupid question lol, new to using Raw files and shooting in Raw lol. Any advice, much appreciated, thanks.
I don't have/use Elements 5 but I'd have thought there must be a way for it to open RAW files without having to convert the files to TIFFs beforehand. What camera are you using?
It could be that you need to download the latest version of Adobe Camera Raw, or at least the latest one that Elements 5 will be able to use. After a while it seems Adobe stop supporting certain software as new camera models are released, but it's definitely worth trying the latest Camera Raw plug-in.
Try looking here. Looks like Camera Raw 4.3.1 was the last update for Elements 5. Not sure if it will support your camera or not but worth a try!
Quote: I've got Elements 5 too. You're not going wrong anywhere - I think you have to download the converter for your camera. I convert mine to TIFFs using the camera's RAW converter & then open in Elements. Hope this helps.
Hi Thanks for the advice, much appreciated, I've downloaded the Raw Software that came with the camera. Sounds easy I'll give it a go lol.
Quote: I don't have/use Elements 5 but I'd have thought there must be a way for it to open RAW files without having to convert the files to TIFFs beforehand. What camera are you using?
It could be that you need to download the latest version of Adobe Camera Raw, or at least the latest one that Elements 5 will be able to use. After a while it seems Adobe stop supporting certain software as new camera models are released, but it's definitely worth trying the latest Camera Raw plug-in.
Try looking here. Looks like Camera Raw 4.3.1 was the last update for Elements 5. Not sure if it will support your camera or not but worth a try!
Hi Thanks for the advice, much appreciated, I have a Canon 400D camera.
I'd definitely try updating the Camera Raw plug-in then. I have the 400D too. The latest plug-in will support files from the 40D so it should definitely work for the 400D as it came out much earlier.
I say 'definitely' but I don't have the software, but it should open the files.
Good luck!
Quote: I'd definitely try updating the Camera Raw plug-in then. I have the 400D too. The latest plug-in will support files from the 40D so it should definitely work for the 400D as it came out much earlier.
I say 'definitely' but I don't have the software, but it should open the files.
Good luck!
Hi Thanks, getting somewhere yipeee lol, using Digital Photo Professional (the software that came with the camera), it opens the Raw files and just worked out how to convert the Raw file to a TIFF yay lol.
Hi Converted the Raw file to a TIFF,opened it in Photoshop Elements and it worked yipeee lol. When I try to make a duplicate layer of the picture it says 'Cannot be performed on a file with 16 bit color depth. Do you want the file to 8 bits/channel?' What does that mean? Sorry for being stupid lol, its my first time using Raw in Photoshop.
I'm afraid I've never used Elements so I don't know what it can and can't do in 16-bit, but I'm sure you'll not really see the benefits of 16-bit compared to 8-bit processing.
As for using Digital Photo Professional to convert the RAW file into a TIFF, I thought you wanted to open RAW files directly with Elements? Converting to TIFF is an extra stage in the process and you're not getting the real benefits of using RAW, such as the ability to change the white balance and exposure settings etc.
How did you get on installing a newer version of the Camera Raw plug-in? It's a bit fiddly but you download the file from the Adobe link I gave earlier then place it in the folder where the plug-ins are saved (it should tell you the path to follow on the download site, something like C:// Program Files/Adobe/Elements/Plugins or something similar to that). Next time you start up Elements and try to open a RAW file it will use the new version of the plug-in and should open it as a RAW file. You then have the ability to make changes to white balance and exposure etc before outputting it to a TIFF and playing with layers.
There's people on here far far more experienced at this kind of thing than me but they don't seem to be contributing today! :-(
I had the same problem when i purchased my 400d two years ago. The Elements 5 that I got didn't have the later version of the RAW convertor, I had to download it from the Adobe site and install it in the plugin section of Elements. Remember to remove the old version of the Camera RAW plug in or it won't work. Don't delete the old version,( I keep mine in my "Odds and Ends folder")
As for 8 and 16 bit. You will find that some of the filters will not work with 16 bit files, you will know because when you look at the drop down menu the items that you cannot use will be shaded.
Hope it helps.
Squirrel
Quote: Converting to TIFF is an extra stage in the process and you're not getting the real benefits of using RAW, such as the ability to change the white balance and exposure settings etc.
I think you misunderstand the power of DPP and how the RAW plug in works with Elements/Photoshop.
The Plug in converts the RAW file into a for the photo editor can use, so does DPP. But you will find that DPP has more controls than the rather basic RAW interface Elements provides. So it is in this RAW translation process that you do white balance and with DPP you can do curves as well as exposure correction and selection of noise filtration etc.
It is not that important that a TIFF is produced by DPP, just think of it as its way of handing across the baton in the processing task. Also DPP can do batch processing.
Next Elements has limited capabilities for 16 bit processing. In short JPEG's are 8 bit of detail per colour channel, and RAW files are 10 to 14 bits of info (depending on the camera). When doing adjustments to colour or lighting (like using curves or shadows/highlights recovery) the extra detail is handy. But for web sites and most printers 8bit colour is all they can handle.
So for big editing task use the 16 bit detail, then for working in layers or using filters switch to 8 bit for Elements.
My workflow is to adjust white balance, exposure, noise reduction and curves in the RAW editor first.
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