tried RAW -- it's rubbish !

In general I agree! However it could produce some amazing golden glow sunset type shots if you were lucky!

Shot with Orwo for many years, always enjoyed using it.

All "faults" aside, I bet her Mum, Gran, Aunt's etc loved the picture

I've found Faststone will read the RAW files from my full spectrum converted Panasonic GF2 but it's only extracting the embedded JPEG to work with not using the full data of the RAW file (Image resolution is way down).
Perhaps it's doing the same here - which would negate any advantages from RAW.

Makes sense. It doesn't sound like there's any RAW conversion going on at all - just file browsing really. To the OP, if he's used to using the camera custom menus to optimise photos from the camera then I'd suggest Pentax Digital Camera Utility as a good first starting point to RAW working.

Its not laid out the same as other RAW software (for example with many key adjustment controls together on a single page) ... instead PDCU has multiple panels that more resemble the camera LCD menus with a specific type of edit on each (eg Highlight / Shadow / white balance / colour fine tune.

So if you're used to using the camera 'panels' for JPEG output control the software is quite similiar in many ways, and also offers up a few extra high quality features not on the cameras. Also you can output to 16bit TIFF, and so retain full quality for further through an editing chain.

I wasn't keen on either of the versions of Pentax's camera utility that I've tried, Raw Therapee works well IMHO and it's free (I need to upgrade the version I have on this PC to support the GF2, but I think K10 support has been i it for years - I first got it for K100 RAW).

They can achieve similar things, but are worlds apart in their interface and intention I suspect. I specifically suggested PDCU for the OP to consider, as something that anyone who has used the camera custom controls will find familiar and logical. I doubt very much that RawTharapee falls into the same category.

There are loads of members who are either not comfortable with computers or are very skilled with a camera, for whom RAW, is just not necessary.
I've got a feeling Peter is not really reading the stuff about Faststone (Peter?) and is one of those who just don't need RAW 95 percent of the time.

But like it or not, RAW is your negative; the software your darkroom, and if you like fiddling, or eking out every last detail, then it has to be RAW and a proper convertor, not Faststone, much as I love it for JPEGs.

Hi Folks -- YES -- I am back READING all the posts !! Well, today I got my 'Snapfish' prints back and on the one I showed of the 2 year old Party Girl the highlights ARE burnt out but the parents know nothing about Photography let alone 'RAW' or 'JPegs'-- in the box with my 2007 bought K10D was a disc with software on it but I never installed it as reading in the K10D instruction book it seemed difficult to understand and on my last 'TIME' computer ( now DUMPED) I had only 256 MB RAM and on this one a 'Gateway' it's better 502 MB RAM but I didn't want to strain the memory. -I will take a few more 'RAW' thingys and see how it goes but at the moment I can't see any difference in detail or tones . Yes, there are MANY members of my Club who don't know about Computers -- we did have 90 + members --- now it's down to about 40 as all the others LEFT saying they could not compete with DIGITAL and didn't own a Computer --- one of my Oldest Friends I am trying to get him to join THIS SITE has only just sent an e-mail with help from me and he doesn't know how to 'upload' a file from his K20D and doesn't have any 'PhotoShop' or stuff like that so I was trying to get him the FREE FastStone Image Viewer but it would not upload as his Sons have made a password as an 'Administrator' and it will not let HIM download things without the Password !!

Try pressing the 'A' key when in the viewer.

Try pressing the 'A' key when in the viewer.[/quote]Thanks! This gives a full size image, I've not noticed any difference in dynamic range, but the GF2 is limited there compared to the Pentax DSLRs.

If you shoot in RAW+ you can compare both files but from my own pics a blown highlight is a blown highlight and can't be recovered successfully, even when shot in RAW

or when shot on film!

Your computer just is not of a sufficient specification to handle digital photography Peter. You're on a hiding to nothing unless you get a machine that is up to the task. The one you have, is not.

Peter is right, Photoshop is very resource hungry, even older versions. 512MB RAM will struggle a lot.
Have you thought about replacing your computer with something more modern? I know it is a cost that you may or may not have, but then again, having a new computer or laptop, and having a more recent version of Photoshop will provide you a lot better performance, and usability. Plus having a more recent operating system you will have the peace of mind that the security will be bang up to date when you are on the internet.
I think that having a Gateway computer with only 512mb RAM that you are running something older than Windows XP (itself no longer being supported by Microsoft after April). You may find that having a new laptop with say Windows 7 will be many times cheaper than what you paid for the computer you currently have.
And don't forget, Adobe do provide the option to download a copy a Photoshop CS2 for personal use only for free.

As for RAW files with the K10D, people have already answered that question, but I have found, that newer bodies like the K-5 are much more pliable when it comes to highlights and shadows than the K10D. But Worry not, the RAW out of the K10D are far better than the files out of the K20D, as I have found.

Hope this helps, but I know the savings will take a battering.