Hi George – Camera features are there for when you want them, it isn’t a question of seldom using them. When you discover a camera won’t do what you want it to do, then it’s time to upgrade to one that will. Too many people buy cameras with features they will never use, and really could save themselves some expense buying what they need rather than what they want. However, that only applies to people on tight incomes, those who can afford it can indulge in what they want. The point of what you’re saying though is that although cameras can produce really good JPEG’s – like the days of film, shop processed negs and prints usually satisfied the majority of customers, so do camera produced JPEG’s satisfy most people. When your artistic side desires something from your images that they cannot give you however, it’s time to start processing your own raw images. Photography is a funny old thing in that it serves several different purposes. It can record events and places for future reference, portraits of families and pets, capture the excitement of sport etc, etc. but when art becomes a factor then it becomes necessary to get involved in creating your own interpretation of images you capture with a camera. Every camera manufacturer that makes a camera capable of capturing raw images includes free software for processing them, so why not learn to use it to express yourself better in your images, if you are so inclined?

I haven’t come across a camera manufacturer yet who doesn’t supply the necessary software with the camera for processing raw images from that make of camera – assuming it can take raw images. I started with Canon’s own DPP4 (Digital Photo Professional vs 4) – went to Lightroom and now invariably use DPP nearly all of the time. It’s free and the upgrades are free. I became familiar with it and found it did everything I needed most of the time. If I do need features not found in DPP, then I go to a fairly old version of Photoshop, (which I again picked up free from a friend who upgraded to a later version.) The main features Photoshop offers are in editing and you have to discover how far you want to take your editing in order to determine what level of software you require. Anyone on a tight budget can still shoot and process their raw images practically for free. DPP is basically raw processing software – all the programs offering both raw processing and editing are great but generally expensive to buy. Adobe have now introduced a package consisting of both Lightroom and Photoshop for a nominal monthly rental fee if you feel you need a higher level of processing/editing.

Correction: that’s supposed to say “14-hour” flight. (Fat, fast fingers.)