Adobe Camera RAW is a Photoshop plugin that allows photographers to work directly with RAW images. Most high-end digital cameras can take pictures in RAW, a format that essentially works as the digital version of an analog negative. Experienced photographers can use RAW pictures to get a number of different effects.

Adobe Camera RAW is just as powerful as anything you'd expect from the makers of Photoshop. You get a number of presets that allow you to instantly scan between different white balance and exposure options for ready-made effects. If you know what you're doing, you can ignore all of those presets and spend your time altering the contrast, fill light, vibrance, saturation and blacks. A graphical display in the upper-right portion of the screen gives you all of the information you need to make accurate adjustments.

The interface is clear and straightforward. You also won't have any trouble installing Adobe Camera Raw. It comes in a small archive registering at less than a megabyte. By uncompressing the archive to your Photoshop File Formats folder and restarting Photoshop, you'll gain access to the new features. The latest version of Adobe Camera RAW supports an incredible number of cameras and is a worthwhile install for serious photographers.

Since this is a Photoshop plugin, you'll need Photoshop CS4 installed in order to use it. The large number of options and technical minutiae can also make Adobe Camera RAW somewhat overbearing for casual photographers. Still, those are minor problems for professional photographers and editors, and Adobe Camera RAW is an overall welcome addition to the Photoshop toolkit.