What should I use for editing?

[ShoeQueen]

I'm shooting in RAW - but should I try to edit in RAW, convert to jpeg and edit or convert to something like TIFF and edit, then convert to jpeg?

I'm using a D90 - any recommendation on basic editing - eg should I sharpen and adjust contrast a bit and if so how much?

Sorry these are really basic questions!

 

[TCR4x4]

The whole point of shooting RAW is to get as much editing control as possible. Converting the RAW to anything else would be pointless, and you'd loose a lot of the control you get with RAW.

You will need to sharpen slightly, and maybe adjust the exposure. Depends entirely on the picture as they will all be different. You may need to adjust the white balance, or it may be fine. Just play with the settings until you get the look you want. If you have under or over exposed, then adjust the exposure accordingly.

I tend to tweak the RAW, white balance/exposure etc, then open in Photoshop, resize and then sharpen. Then save as JPG and leave it alone. The more you edit and save a JPG, the more quality you will loose as with each JPG save, it compresses the image, so eventually you will have lost a fair bit of detail.