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05/19/2007 09:05:14 PM · #1 |
As much as I'd like to shell out money I don't have for Photosop CSx, I can't. For the price, I'm considering either Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop Elements. I like that Paint Shop Pro is fully functional, and I like that Photoshop Elements is -- well, Photoshop. I'm really into honing my black and white post-processing skills, and I'm not sure which package is better. Here are some observations and some questions:
1. Elements does not offer a channel mixer layer, which seems a vital option for good black and white. Is there some way to compensate?
2. I hear that PSP dodge and burn is not very good. And that Elements' is superior. Thoughts?
3. I'm not into RAW conversion yet, but I'll get there. Does one handle it as well as the other (or at all)?
Any other thoughts about the pros and cons of each package are certainly welcome. Thanks in advance. |
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05/19/2007 09:09:48 PM · #2 |
Originally posted by bvy:
2. I hear that PSP dodge and burn is not very good. And that Elements' is superior. Thoughts?
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To be honest I don't like dodge/burn tools much in any package including Photoshop. Painting with white or black on a Soft Light or Overlay layer provide much better results. So, I'd cross that one off on your list.
Anyway, IMO PSP is a better choice than PS Elements. The less crippled functionality would win me over.
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05/19/2007 09:10:18 PM · #3 |
there are many other ways to do b&W besides channel mixer.I never use it. Hell I am pretty sure that  e301 doesn't do anything except desaturate. Personally i prefer photoshop but thats just me. can you get trials of both and see which one you like better? |
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05/19/2007 09:31:40 PM · #4 |
This was done without a channel mixer:
As was said, there are more ways to do black and white than using the channel mixer. Elements will still do most of what you would probably use in the full version of Photoshop to edit your pictures. There is also a free editing program called the Gimp that some people like (I have never tried it but do have Elements 3.0). They added Curves and a couple of other features I presently don't have so I am thinking about the upgrade version.
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05/19/2007 09:32:47 PM · #5 |
You can accomplish B&W conversion several ways in PSE. In fact PSE 5.0 has some new "Convert to Black & White" tools. I've had pretty good success with adjustment layers (levels & gradient) using PSE.
If I had the budget I'd get PSP but for now PSE provides me with a great deal of functionality. |
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05/19/2007 09:44:26 PM · #6 |
I didn't answer your last question...
I can't speak to which is better (PSP vs PSE) but I can tell you that PSE does have a raw converter that works well. I've used PSE4.0 and PSE5.0 and have had success with both.
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05/20/2007 08:19:05 AM · #7 |
PSPXI and PE5 are both great programs and (like all software) each has their own advantages/disadvanges. You can't go wrong with either one. Personally, I tend to use PSP more cause it's easier to work with and has a few more features. For instance, it's noise reduction and jpeg artifact remover really work compared to PE5. But's it's personal preference.
PSP does have a channel mixer, PE5 doesn't. PE5 does have the "convert to BW" option, but it's kinda cheesy and you just select more/less thumbnails.
If you're serious about BW there's 2 much better options:
1- More expensive but still way less than CS3: Get Lightroom and either PE5 or PSP. Channel mixer only gives you 3 channels to adjust with- LR gives you 7! It's totally amazing what you can do with your conversions. Plus you then have both programs- what one won't do the other will!
2- The cheap way: Get either PSP or PE5. Then get the free(!) Virtual Photographer plugin. It has many pre-configured BW conversions for you, and each one of those can be fine-tuned to your hearts content. Oh, there's another plugin, B/W Conversion that's also pretty good, and it's free too. Wouldn't hurt to get that one too.
Either way will get you the perfect BW just the way you want it, with much more control and options than the ole channel mixer routine. |
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05/20/2007 08:39:14 AM · #8 |
I use PSP, but only when I really want to get serious with editing. For BW conversion, and some simple levels stuff, I use Picasa, which is a totally free non-destructive editor from Google. Picasa even has a "Filtered BW" conversion which is very useful. Essentially it gives you the functionality of a BW channel mixer, so you can select the tones for the BW image.
As I said, I only use PSP for complex editing, such as dodge/burn. The basic PSP dodge burn is not that great, but I finally found a way to do it well using airbrushed layers. Create 2 new raster layers, one in dodge mode and one in burn mode. Select the airbrush tool and an appropriate brush size. Set the hardness very low (I mostly use zero) and low opacity and airbrush flow rate. Also set the layer to around 50% opacity, and select white for the background brush and mid-grey for the foreground brush. Then you can burn with the left mouse button, and un-burn with the right mouse button. For a stronger effect, you can change the layer opacity, brush opacity or brush colour, depending on how it's going. It takes some practice to really get used to it. The main thing is to use lots of light strokes to get the burn.
Dodging is pretty much the same process, except you use black for the background colour.
In the end, the dodge/burn works really well like this. There's not many images in my folio that have been dodged and burnt, but here's one done with this process...
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05/20/2007 09:15:21 AM · #9 |
I use PS Essentials 5.0, and will probably goto CS3 in the near future, however, all of the the photo's in my 30 Day B&W side challenge were converted using different methods in Essentials 5.0.
As far as the more/less thumbnails, if you change the "Adjustment Intensity" down to minimum then click multiple times on either More/Less of a color it does work the same as a channel mixer, and if you hold your cursor above the thumbnail it does show you the levels that you go to once clicked.
I find the raw conversion works fine, but cannot compare it to any other program. |
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