How to transfer, view, and save raw images from my camera to my comp?

I really need help here as I don't understand the whole digital/ high-tech.camera thing. But to make the story short, my friend and I took a lot of pictures (roughly 400) for a creative project. We made sure to take the pictures in raw format for photo shopping/editing purposes. Problem is, we can't find a fast and simple way to transfer and copy the images onto a computer or USB.

My friend suggested that I use this program called winrar that will convert the images to jpeg. But what was the point in taking the images in raw if the point was to lose the quality (by changing it to jpeg)? Not only that, I need the photos in Raw format to properly edit them. So I really don't know what to do. Took them to CVS/saveon to transfer them onto a disk, that didn't work. My friend tried using adobe but that would take about 10 hours to convert them.

Point is, I really need help. Something fast, something simple. Oh, and we took the pics. On a Nikon d40. Don't know if that helps as I'm not a photographer. So please explain your answers carefully (leaving lots of detail and bring clear).

You need a raw converter. Adobe camera raw does this, and so can the software that came with your camera. If you want, you could always convert them to tiff files and then open them in photoshop. Tiff is a lossless format. However, you should have just shot jpeg. If you can't even figure out how to get the raw files to load into Photoshop, I highly doubt you understand how to take advantage of the RAW format once in Photoshop.

1. Get a card reader
2.connect it to the computer
3. Get someone with computer skills to help you copy the files over from the memory card to the computer.
4. Download nikon's view nx to help you identify the good images you want to work on (http://support.nikonusa.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/61#Anchor-1)
5. Edit as needed and only then convert to jpg.http://rawtherapee.com/downloads is free and can be used if you lack the skills to use photoshop or lightroom

The way I transfer all of my photos from my camera to the computer is to plug my memory card directly into the built in card reader. If your computer doesn't have a slot for the card, you can buy a USB card reader. Another option is to use the USB cable that came packaged with the computer to transfer the pics directly from the camera to the computer.

In all of the above cases, all you need to do is select the images you want to transfer, drag them to a folder on your computer's hard drive, and drop them there. Then the RAW files will be located on your hard drive and ready to edit whenever you want to work on them. Convert them when you're done editing.

You don't need any program to copy the files from your card to a file anywhere on your computer, this function is built in to the Operating System. But you do need software to make the Raw files visible as images.

The software that came on the CD with the camera will be the easiest as it will be able to de-mosaic the Raw files (make them into pictures). There will be an import images function usually under the File Menu.

Take out the memory card from the camera and put it into a card reader and copy…

put USB cable into camera and transfer…

that's about it…

To answer your original question, just use the software that came with your camera. (duh). If your camera did not come with software (or if you threw it away), then just get a cheap USB card reader.

As far as converting RAW to jpeg, that is a whole different question. Again, use the software that came with your camera. Otherwise, you will need to use a third party software (like adobe or MS live picture or something like that)

As far as editing your pictures in RAW, that again is like another different question

(so let's see, we have 3 questions so far that are jumbled together in your post)…

To edit RAW files, you may be able to do it using the software that came with the camera, but a third party program like adobe or aperture would be a better option.