Opening camera raw image files

The Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in lets you open a camera's raw image file directly in Photoshop or ImageReady without using another program to convert the camera raw image into a readable format. As a result, all your work with camera raw image files can be completely done in Photoshop.

To open a camera raw image file for editing in Photoshop and ImageReady:

1. Open a camera raw image file by choosing File > Open or using the File Browser (see Using the File Browser (Photoshop)) in Photoshop. The Camera Raw dialog box automatically opens, displaying a preview of the image.
2. Adjust the settings such as the image attributes (target color space profile, bit depth, pixel size, and resolution), the white balance, exposure and tonal settings, sharpness, smoothness, and color noise reduction.

To restore all your adjustments to the original settings, hold down the Alt (Windows®) or Option (Mac OS) key. The Cancel button will change to a Reset button. While holding the key down, click the Reset button.

3. When you've finished your adjustments, click OK. A copy of the camera raw image file with the Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in settings applied opens in Photoshop. You can then edit the image and save it in a Photoshop-supported format.

The original camera raw image file remains unaltered. The settings applied to the camera raw image are stored either in the Camera Raw database file or as a sidecar XMP file. For more information on storing Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in settings, see About Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in settings.

Note: Although Photoshop and ImageReady can open a camera raw image file, they cannot save an image as a camera raw image file. A Photoshop Raw format is available in Photoshop, but it is not the same format as a camera raw image file. A camera's raw image file contains the unprocessed bits from the camera's CCD or CMOS. This data needs significant processing, such as the processing done by the Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in. The Photoshop Raw format (.raw) is a flexible file format for transferring images between applications and computer platforms.