I need help with opening RAW files

I am new to photography - so please be patient with my dumb question.
I just started to take pictures with RAW setting with my Canon 20D. ( And I am using Mac OS X.)

But when I want to open the file with my photoshop I can't open them.
The pictures I took with RAW have the file names end with .CR2.

If someone could give me some information about this, I would really appreciate it.
Thank you very much.

You need the Adobe Camera Raw plugin. For CS you need v2.4, CS2 you need v3.3. Go to Adobe's site to download it.

You also should have received Canon's own raw converter Digital Photo Pro (DPP) when you got your camera. This does a pretty decent job on conversion but I'm not fussy on the interface. There is also Raw Shooter Essentials which is a free program that can be downloaded from www.pixmantec.com. There are other options out there like phase one, which is my personal favorite that you could download on a trial basis.

Thank you very much for your reply.
I will try Row Shooter free trial.
And eventually I will upgrade my CS (I couldn't still open the file with v 2.4 plug-in) to CS2.

Thank you again very much.

Let's go back to Photoshop.

There is a workaround. Download the Adobe Digital Negative converter program, DNG.
Using that program, convert your CR2 files to DNG files.

I think you will find that PSCS with Camera RAW 2.4 will properly open the DNG files.

I tried this about a month ago in response to several people having the same problem.

ACR 2.4 definitely supports .cr2 from a 20D - no need for DNG, unless you want to do the additional step. The Camera Raw.8bi file was probably not replaced per the instructions.

Yep, something went wrong with the install ACR 2.4 has 20D support (I've used it for most of a year). Try installing again--no need to screw around with DNG.

I just realized that you say you are using the v 2.4 plug-in with CS2. With CS2, the proper ACR Plug-in is v 3.3. Try again!

You has it right the first time Bob. That isn't what the OP was saying:

I read fast and understand slow

Thank you again very much for all your informations.
I am a bit confused, ... but, so, am I supposed to be able to open RAW files with my current CS with ACR 2.4 if I install it correctly??

Yes. Without a doubt, .cr2 files made with a 20D can be opened in CS using ACR 2.4. Make sure you move the old Camera Raw.8bi file to a new folder - I have a folder called OldCameraRaw - and put the the new file where the instructions say to. For Windowsa, it's C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS\Plug-Ins\File Formats if you used the default installation directory.

Try raw shooter essential & its for free

I think the OP is on a Mac.

If the OP is, Rawshooter won't be an option, and makes it more essential to get ACR to work in CS. The path for Mac is: Applications/Adobe Photoshop CS/Plug-Ins/File Formats.