Photoshop Elements 3.0 or Photoshop CS?

[jpa]

Hello, all.

I've just registeered on this forum, but have been lurking in the shadows, so to speak, for about a month or two now. It's a great site, and I'm constantly learning something useful.

My conundrum is whether to purchase PS Elements 3.0, or go with the complete works ( PS CS ). I have a Canon G3, and am planning on purchasing a Canon Digital SLR ( Probably the 20D ) by late spring of 2005. I had been using the PS Elements that I got with my G3. However, I recently was fortunate enough to be able to get an iMac G5, and the PSE software won't run in OS Panther. I know that I could load OS 9 on the Mac, but I really don't want to just for an out-of-date PSE.

I really only plan on using the the photo-manipulating/enhancement abilities of PS, and am thus wary of spending the extra dough. I would rather use the money saved on an Adobe plug-in, like Nik Color Efex. I'm struggling with the fact that I can get PS CS for $300, through a deal for Canon owners with PSE ( at least I think that that's the deal ).

So, is it worth the extra bucks to go with PS CS, or should I stick with PSE 3.0, and use the saved $ for more software?

Thanks,

JP

[ejwebb]

There is a good comparison on this page:

http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/

To me the most important missing functions were:

1. Curves
2. Masks
3. Actions
4. Limited color management
5. Limited RAW tools
6. Limited 16 bit

Curves and masks can be added later with a third party add-on (Richard Lynch is updating his Hidden Power tools for PSE 3 which will be <$30 including the book), although they still don't work exactly like the real CS tools. Masks can also be replicated in PSE using layers with a little extra work (as I understand it, since I still don't know exactly how to do it). The rest can't be added to PSE 3 so you just have to ask yourself how important they are to you.

After struggling with the decision for a while, I just went ahead and bought Elements 3. I get great web photos and prints shooting JPEGS and editing with PSE 2 - so PSE 3 with RAW capability should be plenty to keep me challenged for a while. It is easily worth the $45 after-rebate cost on Amazon for the RAW converter alone!! Although, I think the $25 Amazon rebate expires TODAY!

Your decision to make - I just couldn't justify the $250 price difference based on my photography needs - many others do.

[jpa]

Thanks for the link. When comparing the two side by side, PSE 3.0 holds up fairly well. And the ability to handle RAW files ( at least in part ) makes the decision that much more difficult.

I do have to admit that I'm leaning more towards PSE. Thanks for your input.

JP

[dhbailey]

BEfore deciding, find out which RAW files PSE will handle, as opposed to which ones PSCS will handle.

The new format for the 20D RAW files (with the .cr2 extension) isn't handled by PaintShopPro, even though it boasts the ability to work with Canon RAW files. If you want to work with RAW files, make sure you will be able to work with the ones you will be creating.