"Always try to shoot in RAW".
Sathyan always tells me RAW is the best format to shoot, because you have the much needed freedom to control the exposure and other stuff when you open it in PC.
For those using Nikon imaging systems (like yours truly), this means NEF files. You can always use ViewNX to view these files but more often what I really want is to preview the NEF file before opening it in Photoshop (or any other photo editing software).
Today I found out there is actually a codec from Nikon that allows a thumbnail preview of the raw file in the explorer (I'm using Windows 7). It makes NEF files almost as easy as working with JPEG, which makes the word RAW less daunting now, doesn't it? :)
The codec can be downloaded from here. Happy previewing!
