Help getting started in RAW

For me the difference is HUGE, cuz I learned on DPP and PS seems VERY confusing to me...could be just cuz of a comfort level?

I was in the same place as you about 2 years ago. I wanted to do better and I heard about RAW processing, but didn't get it. The members here walked me through it and I've been shooting RAW since. I do shoot RAW + JPEG for most events because the organizations usually want a small JPEG CD when I'm done.

I shoot RAW, use PSE5.0, after doing adjusting the contrast, white balance, exposure in RAW, I convert to JPEG and finish. I usually set the image size to whatever I am printing right after my RAW conversion and then process in JPEG from there. I usually use a little unsharp mask on the image if it needs it and then do my last editing. Takes about 2-3 minutes an image if I am in a hurry.

I still use PS7 for web sizing & final sharpening. Keep in mind that most Canon RAW is 12-bit, & all the corrected conversions come from that, so I don't feel I need 16-bit at all, unless I plan to make a HUGE print. 12-bit works just fine for my normal 12X18" prints.