All of my imaging work is done in Adobe Photoshop, and it can now directly import and fully work on raw (48 bit) images, and has the ability to interpret proprietary formats. This eliminates the need for the software browser that comes with the camera and allows you to open the images directly into Photoshop from the memory card in a reader.

For the highest quality work and the most options, being able to save the raw file 48 bit files is essential because it contains many times the color information of even a 24 bit Tiff and jpeg compression creates undesirable artifacts, especially at low quality compression settings. In addition, when using jpeg, many cameras default to, or only have, the option of sRGB which is a very truncated color space originally designed for Windows and the Web.

As an alternative to 48 bit Raw, which is a huge file, some cameras have the option to save files as uncompressed 24 bit Tiff (still a very large file). I have found that the latest Canon algorithms for jpeg compression are virtually artifactless at the best quality setting. These jpegs have two advanages- a much smaller file size and they are universally readable. However I do not like to work on them and then rejpeg them because this does degrade the image.

The first thing to do in a new digital camera is set to Adobe RGB or generic RGB, if you can take it out of the default sRGB of most cameras. Also, if you are using jpeg, use a high quality setting. Now that memory cards are so affordable there is no reason to skimp on image quality.

The first thing you should do when setting up the preferences in Photoshop is to go under Color Settings, which is separate in the File menu from the other Preferences and set it for Adobe 1998 or generic RGB.

To import my files into Photoshop, I put my camera memory card into a reader so that the card appears on the desk top just like another hard drive and then I can click on the files to open them in Photoshop. (I sometimes write files back to the card, when I am taking the reader to another computer to use with the camera memory card as a flash drive.) Opening directly from the card is especially valuable when working in raw images which Photoshop now fully supports with its excellent Camera Raw that has many adjustment functions. BTW- a solid state memory card can be far faster than any hard drive.

For many years I was a photo-ethnographer of traditional ways of life, and occasionally a war photographer, and always my biggest problem was latitude- the amount of detail you can get in both light and dark areas at the same time. I go back to the original 10 ASA Kodachrome, which had a very narrow latitude. The color in those 50 year old slides is still brilliant, I do wish they had far more detail in the shadow areas (the old motto is "expose for the highlights, let the shadows take care of themselves). However, what is very surprising is that when I scan those slides with a good 48 bit scanner, I can use Photoshop to bring out details in the dark areas that were 'invisible' before (how I do that is another article).

Another surprising thing about latitude and low light photography, is that very good digital video cameras are better at that than any still camera I have tested. I use the new Panasonic GS400 3CCD camera and when the flash is turned off its 4 megapixel still function gets the same marvelous latitude and low light imagining as the video- unfortunately it uses a terrible outdated jpeg algorithm on the still images that creates ghastly artifacts, and there is no control over jpeg quality.

Digital cameras costing the same from major makers will produce very different quality images. My Canon Rebel XT has virtually no noise in situations where the equivalent Nikon has a confetti of colored speckles. This is called 'noise' and there are ways to get rid of it in Photoshop.
http://www.dlynnwaldron.com/DigitalPhotoLesson1.html

For those who do not need all the functions of the full Photoshop, Photoshop Elements is an excellent, powerful program that is very easy to use.

THE ADVANTAGES FOR THE FAMILY
Digital still camera prices are down and resolutions are up, making a digital still camera by far the choice for the family with a computer.

Cost advantages:
1- No film to buy.
2- No processing to pay for.
3- No wasted film and unusable prints.
4- Cost of memory cards has plummeted while capacity is now enormous.

Convenience advantages:
1- Know immediately if the picture is worth saving.
2- No trips to the photofinisher.
3- Hundreds of images on a single memory card.
4- Images are in digital form right out of the camera, no scanning needed.
5- Images can be indexed and archived on CD.

Disadvantages:
1- Battery life is quite short if you use the LCD screen. Use the optical viewfinder whenever possible and have an extra battery or two.
2- Making computer prints uses expensive ink and takes time. Many people, especially when coming back from vacation, now take their memory card to a photofinisher who uses it to make digital prints for about 29¢ each.


FOR THE PROFESSIONAL
In addition to the above, professionals will find:

Digital is equal to film resolution at an affordable price- now around $1000 for an excellent 6 megapixel SLR camera, including lens, like the Canon Rebel XT, that takes standard interchangable lenses

Convenience advantages:
1- No Polaroid test prints for studio work.
2- Real-time previewing.
3- Deleting of unwanted pictures from the camera memory.
4- Reusable media.
5- No bulky rolls of film to carry around.
6- Media is stable without refrigeration and when the images are written to CD they will last indefinitely.
7- A digital image ready for transmission and pre-press.
8- Automatic white balance- no filters needed for Kelvin compensation.

Quality advantages:
1- No loss of image information as happens when scanning film or prints.
2- No processing or handling damage such as scratches and dust.
3- No film grain, but it can be added later digitally if you want. (see note above on noise)
4- Greater latitude than any film has.

The Latitude advantage:

Film has always had a very limited latitude. The slower (and, with that, the finer the grain the film), the narrower the latitude of a film stock.

Digital cameras have a wider latitude and better color fidelity between highlights and shadows, than film.
1- The wider the latitude the more detail you get in highlights and shadows.
2- In flash photography, wide latitude lengthens the distance before complete fall off, and gives less harsh shadows.
3- Digital cameras can get pictures in low and artificial light situations where film would be just black. With Photoshop, that digital image can be enhanced to make clearly visible information that is critical for crime scene and surveillance photography.

Comparative latitudes:
Digital..: -----------------------------------------
ISO 400: -------------------------
ISO 200: --------------------
ISO 100: ---------------
ISO 25 : ----------
The example below is about 1/6th of the unadjusted, unretouched image taken with a very early Olympus 1.3 megapixel digital camera, and is an example of the resolution and image quality that can be obtained today in cameras costing around $100. For what this camera cost when it was bought, today one can get a 5 megapixel pocket Canon Powershot with all the bells and whistles.

Color Fidelity advantage:
Film tends to exaggerate the blue in shadows in full daylight and go orange in low light. Digital cameras set a white balance to compensate for the Kelvin color shifts, and they also have far less shift of color between highlights and shadows. This is a great advantage in portraits, where I have been able to get very natural skin colors with lovely gradients in open shade near sunset, using even one of the very earliest digital cameras. (see example above)- I still like the skin tones on the early Olympus cameras the best of any camera)

Smooth gradient advantage:
Because of the latitude, digital photographs normally have smoother gradients than images taken on film, and especially better than the scans of film. For this reason, digital photography is excellent for portraits.

Quality disadvantages:
1- The lowest priced digital camers do not carry as much information as fine grain film, so you cannot crop as deeply into the image and still have enough resolution for large prints.
2- Jaggies on high contrast diagonals with lower resolution cameras.

JPEG compression and automatic sharpening disadvantages:
1- JPEG compression creates artifacts, so you should always look for a digital camera that gives you the option of taking an uncompressed TIFF or Raw image.
2- HOWEVER, taking an uncompressed image is pointless if the camera or the driver does automatic sharpening, which creates many of the same artifacts as JPEG. I would never get a camera that does not give me the option to turn this off.

Digital Zoom Disadvantage
Avoid digital zoom, which just crops into your image and then interpolates pixels to make up the size. You can do this better yourself in Photoshop.

BOOKS ON DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Do not depend on ANY book (or even printed magazine) for prices and features of digital cameras, as these change before the information reaches print. For current information on prices and features you should go to the Web.