Paint Shop Pro 8.0 Upgrade

[Mgoppert]

I just received a free Paint Shop Pro 8.0 upgrade to version 8.1. The letter states that some of us have experienced results that did not meet our expectations, hence the upgrade. I wonder how many of you use Paint Shop Pro over Photoshop ?? Since I am a newby and the learning curve on both products is rather steep, I would not want to waste my time on the wrong software.

Also since receiving my 10D about 4 weeks ago and reading this forum daily, I have learned more in a short time than I would ever have reading books. I want to thank all of you for your interest in us, "newbies". If I can ever take pictures half as good as some I have seen on this forum the price of this new hobby will be well worth it.

Again thanks to all of you.

[Belmondo]

I don't know anything about Paint Shop Pro. I'm sure it's a very capable piece of software if it's survived through 7 major revisions and goodness knows how may minor ones. No doubt there are many outspoken advocates out there who will tell us it's the best thing since sliced bread. They could very possibly be right.

The only problem is, Photoshop has become the de facto standard for image editing in the graphics world. Now, with their increased support for digital photography, I suspect it's only going to be even more dominant.

You only have to scan through a few of these threads before you start to get the strong impression that the vast majority of people are using Photoshop of one permutation or another. It's not coincidence.

Adobe was very smart many years ago when they brought out Photoshop LE (Limited Edition). A lot of people got it for free, and were later able to upgrade to the full version. Then, they brought out PS Elements, and a whole new batch of converts were brought into the fold.

No, it isn't the only image editing program out there, but in the real world, it's the only one that can legitimately claim to be an industry-wide standard.

I do wish it was cheaper for the newbies, though.

[clos]

I have both software applications and have tried to learn both. I am an amatuer but have friends in various diferent industries that require use of such software.

None use Paint Shop Pro (PSP) and all use PhotoShop (PS). It seems to be the industry standard.

I tried using paint Shop Pro first because I had already had it on my hard drive but was not very succesful. I went to my local bookstore to get some books but to my dismay I only found one Paint Shop Pro book amongst rows of PhotoShop books, manuals and tutorials. This was my first hint that I had bought the wrong software.

After a couple of months of wrestling with PSP I got a copy of elements and later the full version of PS. I never looked back it is now truly my digital darkroom.

I have never encountered a piece of software that not only meets my needs but teaches me something new everytime I use it. I can honestly say that I don't think I will ever have the time to come close to the limits of what this software can truly do.

I first thought the high price tag was steep but the developers deserve every penny. An awesome software package.

Buy it and have fun!

-Clos

[Belmondo]

It sure is an improvement over MacPaint 1.0. Trust me, I was there.

[CyberDyneSystems]

Way back with when Photoshop was at 3.something I purchased PSP Pro and "found" a copy of Photoshop.. I ad them both installed and swtched back and forth randomly between the two will I toyed with them.

At the time I was not at all doing camera work, just playing with CG.

Even back then.. the finesse I could get woith adobe's "smudge" brush was much better than PSP Pro.

I soon forgot PSP even though I had paid for it...

It has not graced any of my PCs installs in many many years.

Agsin it is a capable app,. and a bargain for sure

..but you stiplulate that you do not want to have to learn twice.

Work in Elements untill you can go for photoshop. You willnot have learn another graphics app if you know Photoshop. And all you learn in Elemnts is applicable.

[openspace]

I have been a devout Paint Shop Pro user for years. It is still my program of choice for all my graphic and web design work, and it does offer a great set of digital photography tools. In fact more than a few reviewers have written that PSP offers 95% of Photoshop's functionality for 20% of the price. And they may be right.

However, that missing 5% is huge. For example, PSP offers NO support for embedded color profiles or color spaces, nor does it allow you to embed a color profile. In fact, trying to open a TIFF embedded with AdobeRGB will crash the program. It only handles sRGB. For me, that was a huge issue.

And while PSP does allow for the installation of some Photoshop plugins, few of the professional plugins that I have come to rely on work with it.

By the way, I also got the 8.1 upgrade. In fact I got 2 of them! Way to go, quality control!

[iwatkins]

I use both.

Photoshop for my digital camera work and PSP for quick graphics work for both home and at work.

There are some things you can do in PSP in seconds that takes much longer in PS. There again, there are some things in PS that you'll never see in PSP.

If I wasn't dealing with images from the 10D, i.e. if I was dealing with images from my old Sony CyberShot, I honestly believe I could live with just PSP.

But now I have the 10D and PS CS, I don't ever want to go back :)

Cheers

Ian

[DonCoon]

I can't address the PSP 8 vs. PhotoShop..... but I can comment on PSP 8 vs. PS Elements since I have both on my computer.

PSP 8 has more features but man is it slow! For example if you want a real time preview of sharpening, levels, or anything similar, it's so slow that a popup windows appears to show you the progress. Everything in Elements is immediate. I find myself rarely using PSP8 because of this.

Another glaring ommision (unless I missed it) is the inability to make an immediate duplicate copy which I find essential if I'm doing more than routine editing.

A third factor to consider is that there are hundreds (thousands?) of plugins available for Elements and far fewer for PSP8.

Must admit I had Elements first so maybe I haven't found the work arounds for PSP8 yet.

My 2 cents :)

[ctgoldwing]

mgoppert wrote:
I just received a free Paint Shop Pro 8.0 upgrade to version 8.1. The letter states that some of us have experienced results that did not meet our expectations, hence the upgrade. I wonder how many of you use Paint Shop Pro over Photoshop ??

Well, MG let me say that I am no professional graphics designer. I started learning web design in 1999 & was introduced to PSP then. My web teacher at the time really promoted the product as a great value. It was.

Through several revisions they finally got to 8.0. As far as I am concerned they finally took the value right out of the product. This week I ordered Photoshop CS. The new 8.1 revision of PSP came in yesterday. I have installed it but as soon as Photoshop shows up the only thing I will be doing with PSP is converting their files to PS format.

[Mark Kemp]

Photoshop is like the Borg - 'we are Adobe, you will be assimilated, resistance is futile'.

There is a sort of self perpetuating thing where everyone talks about photoshop and its supposed to be 'pro' and therefore best, so the pros all use it ... etc. etc.

The major problem is that its about 3/4 of the cost of the average PC needed to run it, so an awful lot of people 'acquire' a copy by means other than paying for it (especially amateurs). Of course a high cost reinforces the 'pro' image.

I wonder how many would be so keen if they had to pay for it!

In practical terms there are a few things that one can do and the other can't, and if you need one of those then the decision is made for you.

Otherwise you can do pretty much anything that the average amateur photographer will ever need with either program.

Personally I use PSP8 because I don't want to pay for photoshop or 'acquire' a copy.

I am familiar with it now and it I don't even have much problem translating instructions for a photoshop technique if I want to.

Its up to you -

1) Take a big hit in the wallet and buy Photoshop.

2) take a hit in the conscience and 'acquire' Photoshop.

3) take a hit in the street cred and buy PSP