I am going to buy a camera ,but never used RAW.So I need to have an education.Any ideas please....I have a heck of a computer so I am practicing photoshop and lightroom.BUT I am a newbie out to have fun not trying to make bucks.....

Start with Lightroom, it is easier and faster to learn. JMO

Once you are satisfied with what you can do with Raw editing in LR, then you might consider adding Photoshop to your skills. While Bridge was the original mode for Raw conversion in Photoshop, most folks today use the RAW engine in LR ( it is the same engine in both LR and Bridge, but maybe easier to start out with in LR )

Be patient; learning to use LR or Photoshop is not something you learn to do in an afternoon. Most of us have been continuing to learn new skills for years with PS and LR. Each new version means we have to go back to school and learn new ways of skinning a cat again. Photoshop offers a plethora of techniques to edit photos from very simple, to quite complex, and no one learns them all in a week or two, and no one knows all the things that can be done with LR or PS. Not even the gurus.

There are dozens of books about LR4, and CS 5 or 6. Scott Kelby has written volumes about each, and they are easy to read and follow. Kelby Training offers on line videos for learning. For Lightroom, Seth Resnick has a great book, and offers videos and workshops about LR4 as well.

A brief look about the WEB with Google will find you all sorts of ways to learn LR and Photoshop these days.

Lynda.com has some courses on Camera Raw.

Originally Posted by Peano Lynda.com has some courses on Camera Raw.

Thanks for both of you taking time out to give me a direction to follow....

Originally Posted by pathfinder Start with Lightroom, it is easier and faster to learn. JMO .

And Adobe's Elements is easy, fast to learn, and less expensive. It offers most
of the features of the full Photoshop version.

You could just start off using the camera software to convert the raw files .

Scott Kelby has a number of books that are geared to beginner Lightroom-- probably in your local library system. Not a lot of depth, but plenty of step 1, step 2, etc.

Lightroom 4 is my first version, and Kelby's Lightroom 4 book was a worthwhile read for me.