Q: Is my camera supported by Adobe Camera Raw (ACR)?
A: Here is the list of cameras officially supported by the current version of Adobe Camera Raw and Digital Negative (DNG) converter. The page also provides links to the current version of ACR and DNG converter for both Mac and Windows.
Q: what version of Camera Raw should I install?
A: Photoshop CS6: see first question.
Photoshop CS5: Camera Raw 6.7 Win | Mac
Photoshop CS 4: Camera Raw 5.7 Win | Mac
Photoshop CS 3: Camera Raw 4.6 Win| Mac
Photoshop CS 2: Camera Raw 3.7 Win | Mac
Photoshop CS: Camera Raw 2.4 Win | Mac
For Photoshop Elements, Windows:
Photoshop Elements 10: (See first question)
Photoshop Elements 9: Camera Raw 6.5
Photoshop Elements 8: Camera Raw 6.2
Photoshop Elements 7 and 6: Camera Raw 5.6
Photoshop Elements 5: Camera Raw 4.6
Photoshop Elements 4: Camera Raw 3.7
Photoshop Elements 3: Camera Raw 3.6
For Photoshop Elements, Macintosh:
Photoshop Elements 10: (See first question)
Photoshop Elements 9: Camera Raw 6.5
Photoshop Elements 8: Camera Raw 6.2
Photoshop Elements 6: Camera Raw 5.6
Photoshop Elements 4.0.1: Camera Raw 4.6 ( 4.1 under Mac OS 10.3)
Photoshop Elements 3: Camera Raw 3.6
Q: What version of Camera Raw started to support my camera?
A: This page: http://www.adobe.com/go/kb407111 lists when support for the raw files of your camera was added in Camera Raw. If the version listed is higher than the one supported by your version of Camera Raw, you first need to convert the files to DNG using the latest version of the DNG converter in order to open them in Camera Raw.
Q: I do not have the latest version of Photoshop, how can I open the Raw files from my new camera?
A: Only the current version of Photoshop will receive ACR updates that add support for the latest cameras. However, you can download the latest version of the DNG converter, and use it to transform your raw files to the universal DNG format. Camera Raw 2.4 in Photoshop CS and all newer versions of Camera Raw compatible with your version of Photoshop will be able to open the DNG files. Photoshop 7 and ACR 1.0 do not support DNG, therefore you will need to upgrade to the latest version of Photoshop.
Q: When will the new update of Adobe Camera Raw be released?
A: Adobe cannot comment on unannounced products, however, it is expected that ACR and DNG converter will be simultaneously updated 3 or 4 times per year (i.e. every 3 or 4 months).
Q: What does "Unofficial Support" for a camera mean?
A: Unofficial support means that Adobe's Quality Engineering department has not tested the support to the degree that they want, and thus cannot guarantee the results. So we don't include the camera in our official lists, and don't provide any technical support. Unofficial support means "use at your own risk".
Q: How do I know that Adobe Camera Raw is installed correctly?
A: For Photoshop CS customers, the most efficient way to ensure that you have the latest Camera Raw update installed correctly is to choose the Updates option from the help menu. For Photoshop Elements customers the best way to verify that the Camera Raw plug-in is installed correctly is to make sure it appears (only once) in the "About Plug-in" menu (see: Photoshop menu on a Mac or Help menu on a PC). The correct version is displayed when you pick its name and see its about box. If "Camera Raw" is not in this list, you have not installed it correctly.
Q: Why is the profile listed in the Calibration tab showing a version of Adobe Camera Raw that's older than I am using ?
A: What you are seeing is normal, and is due to the fact that the built-in profile for your particular camera model hasn't changed between that version of Adobe Camera Raw and the version you're using now. If you see the profile listed as "beta" then your camera has only unofficial support.
Q: Why is there more than one profile listed in the Calibration tab of Adobe Camera Raw?
A: The built-in profile for your particular camera model has changed since it was first supported. The profile shown by default identifies the latest version of Adobe Camera Raw in which the profile was updated. Other profiles in the drop-down list identify those included with earlier versions of Adobe Camera Raw, and are available in case you want to maintain compatibility with earlier versions.
Q: My camera is listed, but Photoshop cannot read its raw files.
A: Download and install the most recent update to Adobe Camera Raw.
Q: Where can I download the latest version of Adobe Camera Raw?
A: Adobe Camera Raw for: Macintosh and Windows
Q: I am trying to replace my existing ACR plug-in with a more recent version, but cannot find ACR in my Photoshop/Plug-in/File Formats folder. Where is it located now?
A: As explained in the "Readme", which can be found on the ACR download page, the correct location is:
Photoshop CS2
Mac: /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Plug-ins/CS2/File Formats/
Win: \Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Plug-ins\CS2\File Formats\
Photoshop CS3
Mac: /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Plug-ins/CS3/File Formats/
Win: \Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Plug-ins\CS3\File Formats\
Note that "Common Files" is localized in non-english versions of Windows.
Q: Why do I only see a small generic icon in Adobe Bridge instead of a thumbnail when I browse the folder containing my RAW files?
A: Bridge occasionally has difficulty with RAW files, but this is usually because the user has installed ACR into the wrong location or browsed the folder prior to installing the ACR plug-in that provides support for their particular camera model. The fix for this issue is usually to make absolutely sure that ACR is installed correctly, then purge the Bridge cache. If you're in the habit of using the Distributed cache (Bridge 1.x) it would be prudent to manually delete the cache files from the folder containing your RAW files.
Q: Whenever I open an image in Adobe Camera Raw a small explanation mark within a yellow triangle appears in the upper right hand corner of the image.
A: This symbol indicates that a high quality preview is being generated by Adobe Camera Raw. It should disappear after a couple of seconds.
Q: How do I turn off Auto Adjustments in Adobe Camera Raw 3.x?
A: Open Adobe Camera Raw. On the Mac press Cmd+U or on the PC Ctrl+U. This keystroke combination toggles Auto Adjustments On and Off. Alternatively, disable the Auto Adjustments setting from the fly-out menu adjacent to the Setting drop-down menu. If you want the default to be Off for Auto Adjustments simply choose "Save New Camera Raw Default" from the fly-out menu adjacent to the "Settings" drop-down menu then choose Done.
Q: What about Adobe Camera Raw 3.7 and newer versions?
A: Camera Raw 3.7 no longer supports per slider auto adjustments. One Auto control at the top of the panel now sets the Exposure, Shadows, Brightness, and Contrast sliders to their auto values. The Default control at the top of the panel sets these same four sliders to their default values. The keyboard shortcut for the Auto control is CMD/CTRL-U.
The keyboard shortcut for the Default control is CMD/CTRL-R.
Double clicking on a slider to set that single slider to its default value.
Shift double clicking on a slider to set that single slider to its auto value.
Q: Why do I get the the following message: "Unable to create an .xmp sidecar file. The image settings will instead be stored in the Adobe Camera Raw database."
A: This message means that Adobe Camera Raw is unable to write to the XMP sidecar file. Either the media is read-only (e.g. a CD), or you don't have write access to the folder containing the image, or the existing XMP sidecar file is locked.
Q: I cannot see all the tools and buttons of Adobe Camera Raw.
A: Set your monitor resolution to the minimum required for Photoshop CS and higher, i.e. 1024x768.
Q: Where can I obtain a listing of Adobe Camera Raw keyboard shortcuts and modifiers?
A: On the Photoshop online help file.
Q: When I open my Nikon NEF files, all I see is the simple version of the raw dialog.
A: You are running Nikon's plug-in, not Adobe's. Delete from Photoshop's plug-in folder and all subfolders all copies of the "Nikon NEF plugin". Nikon automatically installs this plug-in in up to two places inside Photoshop's plug-in folder, and both must be deleted. Otherwise it overrides the Adobe plug-in. An alternative to the deletion is adding ~ in front of the Nikon plug-ins names.
Q: I installed the update. I can now open my raw files, but I still cannot see thumbnails in the file browser.
A: Purge the file browser cache for the problem folder. Tools > Cache > Purge cache for this folder.
Q: Is it better to resize my images in Camera Raw, or in Photoshop?
A: The resampling code is fairly similar to (but not exactly the same as) the "Bicubic Sharper" resampling in Photoshop CS and CS2. It does not make very much difference which stage you do the resampling in. The exception is non-square pixel cameras (Nikon D1x and Fuji S2 Pro), for which it is best to upsample one size step in Camera Raw if you need a larger image.
Q: What are raw images, and how do they differ from JPEG ones?
A: Read this whitepaper (1MB PDF) written by Bruce Fraser for a concise answer.