The Adobe Camera Raw plug-in enables editing raw image format in a Photoshop Elements Camera Raw dialog but only allows for importing raw (and .dng) images into Premiere Elements. The requirements for the processes involve
- Camera Raw version must support the camera that created the raw image format
- Photoshop Elements/Premiere Elements version must support the version of Camera Raw installed
The latest available Camera Raw Update version for Photoshop Elements 12/Premiere Elements 12 is 8.3. The last* available Camera Raw Update version for Photoshop Elements 11/Premiere Elements 11 is 7.4. So, if the user's camera is not supported until a Camera Raw version later than 7.4, the user has two choices
- Go to a later version of Photoshop Elements/Premiere Elements that supports a version of Camera Raw that supports the camera involved
- Use the DNG Converter to convert the raw image into .dng (in one example, a Nikon D7100 nef converted to .dng with an Adobe DNG Converter could be edited in Photoshop Elements 7 Camera Raw 5.5 version.)
The Camera Raw Update supported by a Photoshop Elements/Premiere Elements version is obtained via the opened project's Help Menu/Update. The manual installation of a Camera Raw Update download from Adobe is no longer available and/or rare to come by.
ISSUE
Under the circumstances, can Photoshop Elements 11/Premiere Elements 11 be pushed to work with a version of Camera Raw later than 7.4, like 8.1, 8.2 or 8.3? And, where to find a Camera Raw 8.1, 8.2, or 8.3 Update download, and, if found, how to install it?
SOLUTION
Download for Camera Raw 8.1 was found and installed manually for use in Photoshop Elements 11/Premiere Elements 11.
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1266134
The installation of the Camera Raw 8.1 Plug-in in Photoshop Elements 11/Premiere Elements 11 extended the list of camera's whose raw images could be edited successful with Photoshop Elements 11 or could be imported into Premiere Elements for inclusion into a video project.
The same could be done for Camera Raw 8.2, but not for Camera Raw 8.3.
The how to for the manual install of the downloaded Camera Raw 8.1 Plug-in is described below.
IMPORTANT. The downloaded Camera Raw Plug-In 8.1 or 8.2 will be placed in the File Formats Folder in the path Local Disk C\Program (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\Plug-Ins\Elements 11\File Formats\ Therefore, once the Camera Raw Plug-In is placed in that Common location, it applies to both Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements installed on that computer.
HOW TO
STEP 1: Find a Camera Raw 8.1 Plug-In To Download And Install For Use In Photoshop Elements 11 And Premiere Elements 11 (Which Now Have Camera Raw 7.4)
In this case, a source for the Camera Raw 8.1 download was found in post 9 of the Adobe Photoshop Elements Forum thread
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1266134
The download puts a setup.zip file on the computer hard drive.
STEP 2: Go From Setup.Zip Folder to Camera Raw.8bi File Ready For Placement Onto Computer Hard Drive
Right click the setup.zip file, select Extract All from the drop down menu to get the setup Folder which includes
- META-INF Folder
- payloads Folder
- AdobePatchInstaller.exe
AdobeCameraRaw7.0All-290513174249
Double click the AdobeCameraRaw7.0All-290513174249 Folder to open it, and look for its
Assets_1.zip Folder.
Right click the Assets_1.zip Folder and select Extract All to get a file named 1003.
Right click the 1003 file, select Rename from the drop down list, and change the name of the file from 1003 to Camera Raw.8bi.
STEP 3: Place The Camera Raw.8bi File In Its Hard Drive Location
Remove the Camera Raw.8bi file (representing Camera Raw 7.4) from the following File Formats Folder and replace it with the Camera Raw.8bi file (representing Camera Raw 8.1).
Local Disk C\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\Plug-Ins\Elements 11\File Formats
STEP 4: Miscellaenous
If Photoshop Elements 11 is involved, then go to its Full Editor/Help Menu/About Plug-Ins and verify that Camera Raw is listed and listed as Camera Raw 8.1, not 7.4.
If Photoshop Elements 11 is involved, open a raw image in Camera Raw dialog and verify that the Camera Raw dialog opens displaying the raw image and that Camera Raw dialog is named Camera Raw 8.1, not 7.4.
Verify that you can import raw and dng images into Premiere Elements 11 with Premiere Elements 11's Add Media/Files and Folders.
Sources of Camera Raw 8.1 included
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1266134 (already stated as used in this study)
and
http://swupdl.adobe.com/updates/oobe/aam20/win/PhotoshopCameraRaw7-7.0/8.1.79/setup.zip
Sources of Camera Raw 8.2 included
http://swupdl.adobe.com/updates/oobe/aam20/win/PhotoshopCameraRaw7-7.0/8.2.67/setup.zip
If Camera Raw 8.2, not Camera Raw 8.1, was being substituted for Photoshop Elements 11/Premiere Elements 11 Camera Raw 7.4, then, in STEP 2, the Folder involved would be named
AdobeCameraRaw7.0All-110913154242
instead of
AdobeCameraRaw7.0All-290513174249.
No way was found to replace the Photoshop Elements 11/Premiere Elements 11 Camera Raw 7.4 with 8.3. Although Camera Raw 8.3 could be made to appear in Photoshop Elements 11 Full Editor Help Menu/About Plug-Ins, attempts to edit the raw image format with this 8.3 subtitute resulted in "incompatibity issue" related to the version of Photoshop Elements.
Also, when the Camera Raw version was taken to a more recent version by the manual means cited in this blog post, it was found that the user could revert back to the earlier version of Camera Raw by these manual means without issue.
COMMENTARY
Scope of this blog post is narrowed to Photoshop Elements 11/Premiere Elements 11 as a model for the concept of using later versions of Camera Raw in earlier version of Photoshop Elements/Premiere Elements with a stated Camera Raw version cut off. The scope did not include other Elements versions besides 11 and 12 in consideration and is not attempting to define the relative merits of one version of Camera Raw over another, except that which relates to advantage of having more cameras support available.
Again, work is from the Photoshop Elements /Premiere Elements Windows perpective, Windows 7 Professional SP1 64 bit.
______________________________________________________________________________
* According to the following Adobe document
http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/global/camera-raw-compatible-applications.html
Photoshop Elements 11/Premiere Elements 11
Shipped with Camera Raw Plug-In Version = 7.1
and
Compatible with Camera Raw Plug-In Through Version = 8.0 (we find through version 8.2 instead of 8.0)
Photoshop Elements 12/Premiere Elements 12
Shipped with Camera Raw Plug-In Version = 8.1
and
Compatible with Camera Raw Plug-In Through Version = 8.3
+July 3, 2014 Update
"Photoshop Camera Raw" 8.5 Update is now available as latest update for Photoshop Elements 12 and Premiere Elements via the program's Help Menu/Update. For more information, please visit the Adobe documents
Camera Raw Plug-In I Supported Cameras
http://helpx.adobe.com/creative-suite/kb/camera-raw-plug-supported-cameras.html
Adobe DNG Converter 8.5
