Dave Haze wrote:
If I get PS CS3 can't I just download my raw files from the camera and do everything I need to do within PS CS3 and then print them?
Yes, you are correct that you can do all that in CS3, but also in PS Elements, since both include Adobe Camera Raw and both have printing modules.
So the short answer to your original question: I concur with Gene, Jacopo, and Sniper. From what you've told us of your needs and budget, you don't need a new raw converter and could stick with DPP or use Adobe Camera Raw that's free with Adobe Photoshop Elements or Photoshop Creative Suite, if you choose to buy either of those.
The problem is your questions cover so much ground that you'll always have a nagging uncertainty if you simply take this advice blindly. Providing the required background needs a complete web page article to answer fully. (I don't recall seeing such a thing, so you may have inspired me to start putting one together to throw up on my own site.)
For now, read as much of the following as you have patience for...
A fundamental question is whether you need anything more than DPP. I don't know whether you started with digital photography, but most of us have at least some idea what a slide is. For several decades, until digital came along, many photographers shot colour slide film (AKA transparencies) and projected the slides or sold them commercially, with no intervening editing process whatsoever. Exposure and framing were either spot-on or the slide was tossed in the trash - there was no middle ground. If the romance and/or macho mindset of this approach appeals to you, then DPP (or most any raw converter) would be all you'd ever need for post-processing. Using a raw converter would be roughly equivalent to doing your own lab work - developing the film, getting the colour balance right, etc.
However, even those who shot slide film as a business necessity, must have almost literally shed tears at having to toss a certain few slides that would have been once-in-a-lifetime masterpieces ... except for that contrail in the sky or that alien's kiss of green lens flare or that inappropriate blur of subject motion.
This brings us to the fundamental distinction between global edits and local edits. In general, raw converters in providing only or mainly global editing. This means you can change the contrast, white balance, etc., but all such changes affect the image as a whole. If you want to make a change to a particular portion of the image - to get rid of a contrail or discarded Coke can - this is called a local edit, and for this you need to go beyond raw converters to use an editing app. Local editing is also used in art photography to maximize the visual appeal of an image - for example, to reduce the saturation of just the aspen yellows in a fall scene. In spirit this goes back to the dodging and burning of darkroom tradition.
If you feel you will want to do at least occasional local editing, then you'll need an editor app. The ones I know of are Adobe Photoshop CS (currently CS3), Adobe Photoshop Elements, Corel Paintshop Pro, Gimp, and Picture Window Pro. In terms of editing Photoshop CS may well be more than you'll ever need; but it also includes a photo printing module that I'm not sure can be equaled in any other product, since it has extensive support for something called colour management and soft proofing. Apparently, the stand-alone printing app, QImage, has both of these capabilities but I believe only runs on Windows computers. Nevertheless, this level of printing support may actually be counterproductive at first, due to some inherent complexities that await you down the road like a well hidden minefield.
So this is why Photoshop Elements is a good suggestion if you decide you want to do local edits: Anything you learn about using it will apply directly to Photoshop CS should you later upgrade (you'll have to research the options on adobe.com); plus it contains all the editing tools you'll need for some time to come. Another option would be to buy Photoshop CS version 1 on eBay or the like if the price is right. (I personally prefer CS1 to CS3 regardless of price).
If you don't see yourself getting into local edits, you could simply stick with DPP and add QImage for printing or even use something free like Picasa to get your pictures on paper.
Some more background: there are software apps that specialize in one function but try to do that one function better than multi-function tools like raw converters and local editors do. Some of the most common specializations are noise reduction, sharpening, re-sampling (AKA interpolating for enlarging and reducing image size), as you mention, printing, and file management. These are accessory items like a luggage rack or air conditioner are for a car. Most raw converters and local editors already include basic noise reduction, sharpening and re-sampling modules. So the specialized tools aren't essential for beginners; and as you get up to speed you'll develop a better sense of what products are out there and whether you need their services.
Finally, there are hybrid apps, like Adobe Lightroom and Apple Aperture. These combine raw conversion with file management, printing, and some other goodies, like slide show production. I use and like Lightroom, but what it doesn't provide is local editing. A good part of its $300US price tag goes to its extensive file management module, which is something you say you don't need, given your low volume of image file production.
