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06/30/2005 05:06:36 AM · #1 |
hi what is the difference between the two?
Which should I get? any feedback is appreciated |
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06/30/2005 05:35:32 AM · #2 |
Photoshop Elements is a scaled down version of Photoshop -- fewer features. The best way to see the difference and decide which will work best for you is to download the trial versions from Adobe's website and play with both of them for a while.
Also, while your looking at options, you might want to download the trial version of Corel's Paint Shop Pro and The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) to get a feel for the programs that get the most attention.
David
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06/30/2005 09:02:44 AM · #3 |
Originally posted by shadow:
hi what is the difference between the two?
Which should I get? any feedback is appreciated |
If you are just starting out, my suggestion is that you buy Photoshop Elements. You get about 80% of the features of Photoshop CS for less than 20% of the price. And, if in the future you decide to buy CS, all of your learning on Elements is transferable to CS.
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06/30/2005 09:12:01 AM · #4 |
I use both elements at work and CS at home, and I find that for 85% of my work they are interchangable in the functions I use including several shortcuts. My version of elements(2.) doesn't support NEF (RAW files) which can be a problem, but its my understanding that 3.0 supports RAW files.
I have been using Photoshop since verson 3.0 so I'm sticking with Adobe because I want to concentrate on photography instaed of dealing with with a steep learning curve of new software. But if I were starting from scratch I would probably go with the Gimp for most graphic editing, and use independant software for other specific tasks. Example using neat image to clean up the image.
Message edited by author 2005-06-30 09:13:03. |
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06/30/2005 09:37:16 AM · #5 |
I used Elements 2 for a long time; it's a great program and has most of the features most people use in PS. Elements 3 upped the bar and added 16 bit processing and the RAW input filter. However, I found that when you were in 16 bit mode, there were quite a few things you couldn't do anymore, until you converted to 8 bit mode. That turns out to be true of PS CS as well, but not to the same degree. 16 bit mode is very limited in Elements 3. Maximum PC's review said something like (back when Elements 2 was current) that Elements was 90% of PS 7 at 10% of the price.
Elements 3 added shadow/highlight control, which is a great feature. However, Elements 3 changed from the standard Windows GUI to a GUI of Adobe's design--meaning it does not use standard windows and controls. I found that really annoying, and especially it's tendency to "fly away" from you if you are making a selection and you approach the margin of the canvas/window border. So I did the tryout of PS CS and liked it a lot.
PS CS has some features that help on DPC that Elements is missing. "Fade Effect" is one. This essentially lets you decrease the effect of a filter, equivalent to putting it on a separate layer and decreasing the transparency, but for some reason the latter is illegal in Basic editing, while the former is not. PS CS also allows layer masks on any kind of layer, whereas Elements only allows it on adjustment layers. But most people won't need/notice this difference. PS CS also has a history brush, which I find useful.
Elements 2 & 3 also had a selection brush, which you have to do in more roundabout ways in PS CS. So I miss that.
And PS CS has some annoying things: it runs two processes in the background all the time, part of the obtrusive copy protection scheme. If something goes wrong with one of those processes, and it has, you get a "reinstall PS" message and PS crashes too, though usually it's sufficient to restart.
Whereas the Rebel XT support was added to Elements 3 for free, Adobe chose to use that to force CS users to upgrade to CS2. I had just bought CS 3 or 4 months before CS2 came out, so I haven't upgraded. So I am now penalized for upgrading my camera by Adobe CS, and I can't use RAW with it. Makes me consider going back to using Elements! But I will probably fork out the additional $150 eventually like a mindless drone. They have added a number of improvements to CS2, so it's probably worth upgrading for those.
OK, after all that verbiage, here's what I suggest:
I suggest you download the Elements 3 trial, use it for 30 days. Then download the PS CS2 trial, and use it for 30 days. Now decide what you find more useful!
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06/30/2005 10:58:26 AM · #6 |
I got Elements 2 as a gift a couple of years ago. It also came with my 20D last month.
I heard that you could upgrade from Elements to CS for a reasonable amount (like $200 or somesuch).
I looked on Adobe's site - but did not see how to do this.
Does anyone know if this is the case?
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06/30/2005 11:46:04 AM · #7 |
Originally posted by autumncat:
I got Elements 2 as a gift a couple of years ago. It also came with my 20D last month.
I heard that you could upgrade from Elements to CS for a reasonable amount (like $200 or somesuch).
I looked on Adobe's site - but did not see how to do this.
Does anyone know if this is the case? |
It looks like they've upped the price. Here's the link I found.
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06/30/2005 12:25:50 PM · #8 |
I used Elements for about a year and was perfectly happy with it. It's less intimidating that CS as a starter program and with the aid of a couple of books could get into it as my first image editing program.
A few months ago I moved on to CS. Having used Elements (v2 mind you), I could get into using CS immediately as many of the functions are identical. I could then explore the new stuff at leisure. Now I would never go back to Elements as the difference in what you can do with CS and the amount of control it gives you is very substantial indeed. On a recent trip I didn't have CS with me and had to fall back on Elements and I certainly noticed the difference.
Good luck and enjoy whatever you decide to get.
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06/30/2005 12:28:25 PM · #9 |
| You can upgradse older versions of photoshop to CS or to CS2, but you cannot upgrade elements to photoshop. |
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06/30/2005 12:29:25 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by Baxter:
but you cannot upgrade elements to photoshop. |
Yes you can. Check out the link I posted.
Does anyone still have the link for Canon people? Is that promotion still going on? I can't find the special link for the reduced upgrade from elements price ($299).
Message edited by author 2005-06-30 12:33:10.
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06/30/2005 05:24:48 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by cpanaioti:
Originally posted by Baxter:
but you cannot upgrade elements to photoshop. |
Yes you can. Check out the link I posted.
Does anyone still have the link for Canon people? Is that promotion still going on? I can't find the special link for the reduced upgrade from elements price ($299). |
Thanks for the link. Ick - $600 is a bit more thank I wanted to invest right now. And CS2 has gotten pretty bad reviews. Maybe I will hang in until the next version. Thanks, though.
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06/30/2005 05:31:59 PM · #12 |
The issues with CS2 are mostly related to it being power hungry ram-wise, I can't say that I've used anything else....ever, BUT regardless of reviews or of issues, it's the only image editor used, I've never, ever worked with a studio that used something else.
The problem regarding the stability is related to an issue with the "info" pane and once this tool is deactivated Cs2 is absolutly stable and operates at the same speed as CS did. |
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06/30/2005 05:51:19 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by Gil P:
The issues with CS2 are mostly related to it being power hungry ram-wise, I can't say that I've used anything else....ever, BUT regardless of reviews or of issues, it's the only image editor used, I've never, ever worked with a studio that used something else.
The problem regarding the stability is related to an issue with the "info" pane and once this tool is deactivated Cs2 is absolutly stable and operates at the same speed as CS did. |
The "info" pane - is that the Bridge piece that I saw referenced in reviews (that is what all complained about)?
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06/30/2005 06:28:34 PM · #14 |
Just one warning. Only try downloading trial programs if you've got a decent internet connection. I tried downoading Paint Shop Pro 9 a few times with a slow dial-up connection, taking up to 7 hours! and at the end it told me the program was corrupted and to try again. I was lucky and found a magazine with free trials of both PSP9 and Elements 3, otherwise I would have had to buy without trying them first. My trial of Elements 3 is about to run out and I am planning to buy it even though I have Elements 1. I don't think my computer is powerful enough to run a full version of Photoshop, so that wasn't even a consideration for me.
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07/01/2005 08:35:25 AM · #15 |
Originally posted by autumncat:
Originally posted by Gil P:
The issues with CS2 are mostly related to it being power hungry ram-wise, I can't say that I've used anything else....ever, BUT regardless of reviews or of issues, it's the only image editor used, I've never, ever worked with a studio that used something else.
The problem regarding the stability is related to an issue with the "info" pane and once this tool is deactivated Cs2 is absolutly stable and operates at the same speed as CS did. |
The "info" pane - is that the Bridge piece that I saw referenced in reviews (that is what all complained about)? |
Well the "bridge" is only a problem when there is not enough ram/speed. the "real" problem is the info pane with his activated at the same time as the navigator... as the info pane refreshes it causes serious lags.... I have not experienced this myself and I am told that it is in fact a problem found with the "free floating" versions of CS2... again I can't confirm that. |
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