What are the benefits to saving your digital pictures in a RAW format vs. other

Question:

What are the benefits to saving your digital pictures in a RAW format vs. other formats?

I have a Nikon D50 that I love but am looking to see what I can do besides the obvious. I know very little about RAW format and I use CS2 for all of my post production work. Anyone want to share their 2 cents?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Well I have a Canon XTi. I can save in RAW or JPEG. If I save in RAW I can manipulate the pictures alot more. I once shot a picture in black and white and changed it to color. I can set the white balance in the computer (its better to do that in the camera before you shoot but its nice to have a backup plan). JPEGs are not lossless, they will degrade if you save the file too much (1st copy looks great, 2nd copy looks great..... 23rd copy might start to look not so crisp, usually not an issue unless you do alot of editting) RAW files stay the same even if you have a copy of a copy of a copy... a thousand times.

There is some draw backs.
RAW files are usually twice the size of JPEGs.
You have to spend some time converting the pics you want from RAW to JPEG.
It can be somewhat confusing having two sets of the same pics in different formats as to which one you are trying to print.
When shooting in raw, since the file size is larger it slows your camera down (usually not that you would notice unless you are shooting a burst of pics).