Originally posted by crazy4oldcars The default "photo-getter" program doesn't recognize RAW files, since they technically aren't image files. (They're data files.)
This is an important point.
Originally posted by triton150 to enable me to carry out any post editing
I am not intending to be pedantic, but all raw files need editing. They need to be opened in a raw converter which usually provides some "input" sharpening. Then you either apply a pre-set profile or just move the sliders yourself to get the colour/brightness/contrast etc that you want. Then you need to save the image as a picture file, most commonly a JPEG. You also need to apply some "output" sharpening to the image.
The image you see on your cameras screen after you have taken a raw picture is not strictly speaking, the raw image. It is a JPEG that the camera has produced from the raw file sometimes refered to as the JPEG preview. Many picture viewing programs will now also appear to let you view a raw file, but all they are displaying is the preview JPEG. Only a raw converter will actually show you the raw "image", and you will find that without any inputs from the converter, raw files are generally dull un-sharp images. They need processing.