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DPChallenge Forums >> Hardware and Software >> Photoshop or Elements?
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05/06/2007 11:25:29 PM · #1
I enjoy photography as a hobby, and I'm thinking about getting a new photo editor. Currently I use Microsoft Digital Image which can do most of what I want, but I read a lot about Photoshop and there are many things that are different from Photoshop some things that I don't think that program offers at all. I'm trying to figure out what the difference between Photoshop CS2/CS3 and Photoshop Elements is. Is there much in the full version of Photoshop over Elements that I would want as an ameteur photographer? How about the new release that just came out? Did Elements also release a new version and what's in the new version that makes it different than the old version? If anyone has some advice on this software decision (being that I'm a poor college student and don't want to spend more money unnecessarily) I'd really appreciate it!
05/06/2007 11:31:15 PM · #2
Elements uses the same graphic engine, but the interface is pruned back considerably making it a pain. One example that many photographers complain about is the lack of Curves in PSE. Even PSE 5.0 doesn't have real Curves. It has Curves Presets. Bogus.
05/07/2007 12:11:40 AM · #3
Without a doubt, if you can afford the difference get the CS3 version, better than the CS2 and considerably improved over elements. If you can qualify for the educational version of CS3 get it. Saves a lot of $ that way.
05/07/2007 07:46:48 AM · #4
Yes, if you can afford it, and particularly if you can get the educational version, go for it. And if you are looking at getting into professional photography or professional digital art, Photoshop is the way to go.

However, if none of this applies, I can recommend an alternative in Paint Shop Pro. I've used this for many years now. It's not called PhotoShop, but it does pretty much all of the complex editing that Photoshop does - certainly well beyond PhotoShop Elements and Microsoft Digital Image. For a non-professional, it does much more than most people would use Photoshop for.

The biggest advantage of PSP is that it's MUCH cheaper, at well under $200. I don't know if your bio is still correct, but if you are serious about photography, your money would be better spent on camera equipment, and using Paint Shop Pro for your editing.
05/07/2007 07:54:10 AM · #5
I use Elements 2.0 and have been extremely happy with it. I know that there are a couple of tools in CS that I dont have that would be nice - healing brush, shadow/highlight contrast stuff - but as an amateur and beginner I get great results from Elements. There are plugins for Elements 2-4 i believe that give you channel mixer, curves, selective colors and layer masks (though not with the full capability of CS but good enough). If you dont have the 3-600 bucks to spend on CS then the 15-20 bucks on Elements is well worth the investment.
05/07/2007 07:57:57 AM · #6
I just checked the US$ price of PSP. It's US$80. We pay more for it down under. :)
05/07/2007 09:04:13 AM · #7
I have CS2 at work but I have Elements 2.0 because like many I can't affort the full version. I would agree with timfythetoo that for the price Elements works very well and,yes, there are plug-ins/add-ons that allow you to have more functions like curves, channel mixers, masks. It also did not take me very long to learn "work arounds" for techniques that are limited by Elements.
05/07/2007 09:48:20 AM · #8
I was using the GIMP, then started playing around with Elements 3.0 that came bundled with my Wacom pen tablet. Easier interface then GIMP and had most of the features I was using on a regular basis.

Just upgraded to Elements 5.0 (available for around $30 on ebay), and find that meets almost all of my needs. Its more than adequate for most of what you're going to do, particularly as an amateur like me who is just starting out with post processing. Found a good manual for $20 that tells me how to do pretty much anything I want to do.

For me, the biggest thing missing is the ability to do true HDR and similar techniques, but I'm not nearly advanced enough in my pp skills to justify the added expense. Maybe one day, but for now Elements is just fine for me.
05/07/2007 10:07:16 AM · #9
Which MS product do you have? Digital Image Pro 10 (s/a 2006 suite and Anniversary) anyways... Any of those you can do the same things (and more) as Elements only quicker. So I would not waste the money on Elements or PSP.

If you feel you need to "Appear" more professional by what you use to edit your photos I would supplement Digital Image with "the GIMP".

Are you stuck in Digit Image where there is something that you do not think you can do or is it a be in the "In" crowd type thing as a reason to upgrade?

If you have any questions about DIP shot me a PM; I have a document chucked full of advanced techniques that I have been jotting down over the years. I have used DIP since it was Photodraw 2000 way back a long time ago.

Bottom line it is the end resulting photo that is important not the means of getting there.
05/07/2007 10:43:34 AM · #10
Have you considered GIMP? It's significantly more full featured than Elemtns, though slightly less than Photoshop. Best of all, it's free!

~Terry
05/07/2007 11:03:36 AM · #11
Originally posted by PhantomEWO:

Without a doubt, if you can afford the difference get the CS3 version, better than the CS2 and considerably improved over elements. If you can qualify for the educational version of CS3 get it. Saves a lot of $ that way.


Is there a difference between the full version and the educational version other than the price?
05/07/2007 11:45:33 AM · #12
Originally posted by AzCKelly:

Originally posted by PhantomEWO:

Without a doubt, if you can afford the difference get the CS3 version, better than the CS2 and considerably improved over elements. If you can qualify for the educational version of CS3 get it. Saves a lot of $ that way.


Is there a difference between the full version and the educational version other than the price?

Nope. No difference.
05/07/2007 12:04:00 PM · #13
Another less expensive alternative is to pick up a copy of Photoshop 7. It is probably one of the most stable versions of PS available. It doesn't have a few features CS2 has, but it is still a very strong image editor. CS1 can also probably be had fairly inexpensively. CS2 should start dropping in price now too, now that CS3 is on the map.

So, you have some good alternatives in getting into Photoshop cheaply. And if you know ANY students, including K-12 students, you can work out getting the educational version.

Paintshop Pro is also one hell of a program. I would recommend it over Photoshop Elements.
05/07/2007 12:12:29 PM · #14
I used elements 2.0 for years and recently upgraded to elements 5.0, which is worth the upgrade. I figure if I ever learn all of elements, then I will upgrade to full photoshop.
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