Adobe camera raw

I have a question regarding adobe camera raw as I am new t post processing I have been fumbling around with ACDsee products to learn how to use and have been looking at other products as well all seem fairly complicated to lean.
I have come across adobe camera raw and I seems pretty basic to learn and a fair mot of tutorial vids available.
Wondering if it requires photo shop be installed use and what people think about it.
I started out with a d3200 and have out grown t and have moved up to a d7100 so would like o et the most out of my pictures.

Adobe Camera Raw is the name of the raw processing module that is included with Photoshop, with Lightroom, and with Elements (a more basic version in Elements). So yes, one of those three is required. Lightroom price makes it be attractive, but it is the same module in all three (Elements doesn't use it all).

Raw makes it all be very easy, and really good, but it is a new philosophy, needing a bit of adaptation.

I put a "first look introduction" video at Why shoot Raw?

Welcome to the forum.

Yes editing can be complicated to start with, but once you learn the basics, and with video's (like in post above) and on youtube, you will get the hang of it.

Yes you could use Camera Raw as a stand alone raw editor. You would then have to save your images to jpeg which is an option with Camera Raw.

But, considering that Lightroom uses the same raw converter and adds the filing and sorting abilities, I think Lightroom is a much better way of working with images.