Broke down and got a used Nikon D3100.  I've been pushing my cheap point and shoots to their limits (exposure, IR conversions, zoom, etc) so it was time to get something that could do more.
Looking as some other lenses now (mainly a 55-300), along with some neutral density filters (trying to figure in the filter size of the lenses I'm looking at getting and finding step-up/down adapters to be able to use them on all the lenses.  Remote shutter release too.
Found out my old Paint-shop pro 6 software from 2001 doesn't work with the RAW files, and I can't update it.
Nikon's free Capture NX-D says it won't work my OS (vista) when I tried to install it, so I'm about to try gimp.





*Gimp runs on the computer, but doesn't see the NEF file in the folder when I try to open it.  Guess I'm stuck with shooting in jpeg for now.

** Older version of Capture NX-D installs and works.



 

Look into Lightroom for starters. And I also recommend the Nik add-on software.

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I might eventually have to try that.  I don't like doing monthly fees, but I suppose it would be better than spending a lot of money only to get something that doesn't install on my computer or recognize the files.



I'm going to try an older version of the nikon capture nx-d that's available for download on their site.

I could be misunderstanding you, but the programs I mentioned above are not a month-by-month subscription. They are a one time purchase and I think they are well worth it. They really help me unlock my creativity.

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I like Lightroom a lot more but give this a look for a free RAW editor: http://rawtherapee.com/blog/features

Supports Vista as well.

Oops.  I thought lightroom was month to month.  I guess I was thinking of something else.





Anyway, the older version of the Nikon software installed and I was able to open the picture.  Looks like lot's of white balance and exposure stuff to mess with, so I'll see what I can do with this for now, and if there's a trail version available for lightroom, I'll give it a try once I get used to the other program.



I need to get some more pictures today anyway.  Just took the first one this morning in RAW for testing purposes.

Thanks.  I'll look into that one too once I get the hang of what I'm doing.



 

Corel bought Jasc years ago.  If you like your PSP 6, take a look at Corel's PSP 17. It is still a great alternative to Photoshop and uses most of the same plug-ins. I am still on PSP 16, and I have PSP 9 installed just because it was the last version before Corel took it over.

Nikon's Capture NX-d gets some pretty poor reviews. For really basic editing or NEF conversions, Nikon's View NX-i is not bad for free.

Adobe's $10/month bundle of Lightroom + Photoshop is hard to beat. I have it along with other software. LR is where I do most of my work now.

Check out the free, open-source Lightzone, a Lightroom clone.