RAW

I tried shooting RAW with my Canon EOS50D and I was initially disappointed that the RAW images looked 'soft' compared with the .jpg images from the camera. Now I realise, after reading more,  that sharpening is applied in-camera to the .jpg files, so the un-processed RAW image often looks 'soft' compared with the .jpg out of the camera. Using the Canon software (Digital Photo Professional) that came with the camera allows much more precise sharpening of the RAW file than is done in-camera, and if applied with care, can produce superb images.  Now I shoot in RAW all the time, with the camera set to simultaneously produce a small .jpg for easy indexing of thumbnails. If your camera is capable of saving RAW and .jpg simultaneously, this is a very useful way of working.

Even though  RAW processing using Canon DPP software is somewhat limited, I am an 'old school' photographer who tries to get it right first time so I don't need anything fancier.The other nice feature of Canon's DPP is that it allows 'tweaking' of lens aberrations for those Canon lenses which are on the list of supported lenses.

Anyone else with experiences of using Canon DPP ? 

I wouldn't say processing with DPP is limited, it's a very powerful program.. I prefer using it to Photoshop to convert my RAW files. . On the other hand, if you want to do some selective editing to a image, then yes, you need to do this in something else. ;)

to Lurkalot, Perhaps I was not careful enough with my words....what I meant to say is that DPP doesn't have all the 'bells and whistles' of Photoshop, but for me this is an advantage (I am not into playing with layers etc).

DPP suits my purposes fine, and it's good to know there is someone else who likes it. Certainly, it is capable of quite subtle tweaks in the conversion process. 

I think it was me wording my reply badly actually, sorry. 

Like you said, it doesn't have the bells and whistles, but as a processor it's hard to beat, especially as it's a free bundled program.  Most camera manufacturers make you pay for this stuff.  ;)

I have just started shooting in RAW. I have no idea what I'm doing, and didn't know that I need to fiddle with the RAW pictures to bring out the best in the picture. 

 I do shoot both RAW & JPEG now, and look forward to learning how to get the most out of RAW.  

to Sue, it's always good to experiment with RAW, but unless you have a specific idea of what you need from it (eg better control of sharpening or exposure compensation after you've taken the picture), you may find it is just a way of filling your memory card very quickly.

Other posts on this thread have given plenty of advice on handling RAW, so I won't say much more, except to be aware that RAW file sizes are very big, which can be a problem if you are taking lots of travel pics. It's surprising how quickly your archive storage will get filled up if you shoot with RAW.

As with any photo technique, the best way to learn is to experiment and decide what way of working suits you best, and see if RAW shooting gives you an advantage.

PS. Using RAW is time-consuming, requiring later evaluation of every image. Personally, if I was taking loads of holiday pics, I would stick with using .jpg out of the camera, at the finest .jpg setting the camera is capable of.