compare Jasc paint shop pro vs Adobe Elements 3

[jackie1]

What photo editing softwear is recccommended? I am a novice ..1st digitial camera. I am considering Jasc paint shop pro 8 or 9 vs Adobe elements 3.thanks

[Belmondo]

It's going to be hard to find someone able to give a feature-by-feature comparison of these two programs because most people only use one or the other.

Photoshop Elements would be my choice for no other reason than the full version of Photoshop is the almost universally accepted standard for image editing software, and there is a whole industry built around selling books, add-ons, and plugins to enhance the program.

Even in this forum, the vast majority of discussions regarding post-processing revolve around Photoshop. Elements is basically the same as PSCS, with some of the functionality removed. On the other hand, there are more automated features in Elements than in the full version.

It's not unreasonable to say that if you stay involved in digital photography long enough, you'll eventually want to own one version of Photoshop or another. Very likely, you'll end up with the full version (CS), but Elements is a logical step in that progression.

And, it's a heck of a bargain when compared to the cost of the full version, especially considering how much of the useful functionality is offered at roughly 1/6 the price.

[rfreschner]

I can't compare the two, but can speak highly of Photoshop Elements. As belmondo mentioned, it is a stripped down version of PSCS that really gives you a lot of functionality for the money. With PSE3, you also get the Organizer, which is the old Adobe Album, built-in so you have a way to organize your photos. And, you do have the upgrade path to PSCS if you decide that you need the additional functionality.

[Belmondo]

One thing about PSE3 that shouldn't be lost on anyone is the fact that it now has Adobe Camera Raw built into it so you can process RAW photos without having to use a different program.

[Jack W.]

While I haven't used Elements since version 1, I have used Paint Shop Pro since version 6. The latest version, 9, can open RAW files.
Jack

[JSolie]

Can anyone here confirm whether or not the Camera Raw 2.4 will work with PSE 2.0? This is the version that came with my 20D.

I'm currently using RawShooter Essentials with PSP9, and so far it's been working very well.

-- John

[rfreschner]

Can anyone here confirm whether or not the Camera Raw 2.4 will work with PSE 2.0? This is the version that came with my 20D.

Can't confirm and my guess would be that it doesn't (I believe that was one of the selling points of the upgrade), but if you have it installed already just download the plug-in from Adobe's web site and try it.

[Belmondo]

As I recall, the only versions of Photoshop that supported ACR were PS 7.1, CS, and PSE 3.0

[Goofup]

I've got both PSP9 and PE3. I do some basic-to-medium editing, nothing real fancy. I've used PSP since V7, and PE since V2.

PSP:
+'s: Much better one step photo fix, noise reduction, and more tool options. Masks, curves built in. The slickest cromatic aboration remover I've ever seen. Overall, a really great program.

-'s: steep learning curve (but not near as bad as CS), busy interface because of all the options available. It's gonna take more time to get a handle on this one than the other one, but once you do, you can do anything!

PE:
+'s: the interface is a work of art compared to other programs. Can be very simple to get into, but has plenty of power and depth to keep you going. The Healing, Spot Healing, and Selection brushs are so handy. Overall, most everyone's choice after Photoshop.

-'s: one step photo fix barely works, lousy noise reduction. No masks and curves (you won't need them right away anyway, but they can be added via free downloads).

Bottom Line: I love using PE. I love PSP's results (though with a little work I can get PE3 to end up with the same result). Quite frankly, if I could only have one that would be a really tough choice. On a scale of 1-10, I give PE3 a 9.5 and PSP9 a 9.4.

There's free trials of each, give each a whirl and then make up your own mind.

[pradeep1]

My vote is for Paintshop Pro 9.0. It has 95% of the functionality of Photoshop and can use most of the coveted Photoshop plugins directly. It costs about $100 retail and about $75 on eBay. I find the support is excellent and the software is really great. You can use most of the Photoshop techniques in Paintshop since they use the same layers paradigm that Photoshop uses. A few words may be different, but most things you can do with ease.

[wintoid]

I've finally bought Photoshop CS, but when I was looking at those 2 packages, the most significant information to me was....

PS LE - Does 16-bit files but doesn't do curves. I can't buy a package without curves!
PSP - Does curves but doesn't do 16-bit files. I could almost have bought it.

[rfreschner]

PS LE - Does 16-bit files

Your options are very limited in what you can do with 16-bit files though. I had to download the trial version of PSCS just so I could make some changes to a few 16-bit images I had.