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DPChallenge Forums >> Hardware and Software >> PS CS2 vs. PS Elements 2
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 03/26/2006 06:39:42 PM · #1
I've been using PS Elements for the past five years and have now decided it's worth $200 to upgrade to CS2. I've been selling a lot of photos in the last couple years and it's about time I use the professional program.

It's at my school's bookstore for $200. Is that a good price? Will it make a big difference in the flexibility I have with my photos? What kind of stuff can it do that PSE2 cannot? Will it better suit me in making photos saleable?

I (think I)have mastered nearly every aspect of PSE2 (though I fear that in saying so, people would bring to my attention features and aspects that I'd never tried before!)

See some of my recent work on myspace if you want.

Thanks!
 03/26/2006 06:58:52 PM · #2
Originally posted by Plexxoid:
It's at my school's bookstore for $200. Is that a good price? Will it make a big difference in the flexibility I have with my photos? What kind of stuff can it do that PSE2 cannot? Will it better suit me in making photos saleable?

The price is very good and well worth the investment, but be prepared for a steep learning curve. A lot has happened in image post processing in 5 years.

You will be able to do a lot more with your images but it will not make you a better photographer, no software program can do that.
 03/26/2006 08:29:07 PM · #3
Probably the major additional features you'll get with PS are the Curves adjustment (like Levels but way better) and the ability to maintain non-destructive Adjustment Layers. $200 is a great price.
 03/26/2006 08:48:27 PM · #4
I have PS Elements 2.0 and have just recently discovered downloads that add both curves and layer masks to my Elements program. I think they are only available for 2.0 and 3.0 - not 4.0 yet. THese were both features that I had seen people talking about and using extensively. But until getting the free downloads I could only imagine. Now having them both - I love them!
 03/26/2006 08:50:53 PM · #5
Wow - Where can I get my hands on these downloads? They sound great.
Thanks in advance.
 03/26/2006 08:55:24 PM · #6
Those may only be "free" because they are pirated. These are probably add-ons which came with a book (I think called "Unlocking PS Elements") ...
 03/26/2006 09:00:29 PM · #7


Now I do believe that these may not have all of the exact features that the PScs has. I think there are some things missing - but for what I am doing they work great. I don't have PScs and have never really used it outside of a day or two with thtrial version so I don't even know what I am missing. Ignorance is bliss don't ya know. Hope the links work.

Curves for Elements

One Click Layer Mask
 03/26/2006 09:03:35 PM · #8
Hopefully I didn't steal anything in these downloads. I try not to partcipate in that type of thing. If anyone knows for sure please let me know. If they are I will remove the links.
 03/26/2006 10:11:01 PM · #9
If you upgrade you can start shooting in RAW.
 03/26/2006 10:12:28 PM · #10
I made the same upgrade a few months back. There's alot to learn but for the price it's well worth it. Go for it.
 03/26/2006 10:19:12 PM · #11
Make sure your computer has tons of RAM.
 03/26/2006 10:28:34 PM · #12
Originally posted by faidoi:
Make sure your computer has tons of RAM.

And maybe get a bigger hard drive and a backup system.

Many folks get an extra drive or create a partition just for PS to use as its primary "scratch disk" for temporary file storage. Always try to have the scratch disk be different from your startup drive, as making PS compete with the operating system for disk access is one of the major causes of slow performance.
 03/26/2006 11:43:36 PM · #13
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Originally posted by faidoi:
Make sure your computer has tons of RAM.

And maybe get a bigger hard drive and a backup system.

Many folks get an extra drive or create a partition just for PS to use as its primary "scratch disk" for temporary file storage. Always try to have the scratch disk be different from your startup drive, as making PS compete with the operating system for disk access is one of the major causes of slow performance.


wow, I wish I had known this before, this is very interesting.

I have 1024 megs of RAM, and have been shooting in RAW since the beginning of 2005, and started using RawShooter Essentials instead of DPP back in June. Not satisfied with it's lack of color correction or it's nasty texture left on processed photos, so I'm really looking forward to RAW processing in detail and quality that I've never been able to touch before (PSE2 only takes 8-bit Tiff's at highest).

Awesome! Thanks guys, I really appreciate your help. What other features do you use routinely in your Photoshop workflow that I will be able to take better advantage of is CS2?
 03/26/2006 11:55:53 PM · #14
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Those may only be "free" because they are pirated. These are probably add-ons which came with a book (I think called "Unlocking PS Elements") ...


That's not correct, General. There are "actions" available for Elements (recorded in PS) that I see no reason to call "pirated". They are available free for download several places, as mentioned in this thread and another that I inadvertently started duplicating some of this information.
 03/27/2006 12:35:20 AM · #15
Originally posted by nards656:
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Those may only be "free" because they are pirated. These are probably add-ons which came with a book (I think called "Unlocking PS Elements") ...


That's not correct, General. There are "actions" available for Elements (recorded in PS) that I see no reason to call "pirated". They are available free for download several places, as mentioned in this thread and another that I inadvertently started duplicating some of this information.

I don't know of an "action" you can program in PS to create the Curves interface or function in PSE. I know there were some plugins written to accompany the book which did add that functionality, and have never (until now) heard of any others.

I deliberately said "may" and "probably" in my original post because I haven't actually seen any of this in action myself, but my suspicion level is rather high nonetheless.
 03/27/2006 08:39:34 AM · #16
Originally posted by GeneralE:


I deliberately said "may" and "probably" in my original post because I haven't actually seen any of this in action myself, but my suspicion level is rather high nonetheless.


I understand your suspicion, but I'm pretty sure this is not "piracy", so please be careful with that word. The government may someday be allowed to invade our "privacy" through google and thus connect us with something that we didn't do at all :)

Check out //www.cavesofice.org/~grant/Challenge/Tools/Create.html. It tells how to do this; nothing there appears to be illegal to me. Neither does installing a new action based on //www.cavesofice.org/~grant/Challenge/Tools/HowtTo.html.

I think this is a clear "hack", no more illegal than the Canon 300D hack which enables 3200ISO. This is by no means piracy. The software is still Photoshop Elements, it identifies itself as such, I have a legal license for it, on and on and on - I have just also added an action which accesses the curves tool that is already programmed somewhere in the software, but didn't have an interface.

By the way, I'm pretty stubborn about software piracy, myself. That doesn't mean I'm a saint about it in all cases; sometimes the circumstances are beyond my control; but I try to be very careful. That also does not mean that I totally agree with current software law; the idea of "non-transferable licenses" which forbid me to sell something that I purchased fair and square is totally abhorrent to me, especially when it is attached to something as dominant in the market as Photoshop. If I buy a car, dang it, I can sell it. What real right - and I mean moral right, not legal right - does Adobe have to deny me the same privilege with software? Anyway, that's a hijack, but I am very conscious of it and make very diligent effort to be "right".

Anyway, I just want to clarify because you seem to be challenging the idea that these things can be done with a Photoshop action file - that is EXACTLY what they are.

Hope that helps :)
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