Which PhotoShop to choose?

[kymball]

From reading many posts about using PS, I am convinced that I need to make the investment. My question is, which version do I get? Where can I get it, and what kind of $$ am I going to look at spending? I am new to this and would love for my pics to come out of the camera looking fabulous, but I need to get real here 'cause it ain't gonna happen! Thanks so much!

Kim

[barryburgard]

Unless you are a pro and have alot of time and money to invest, I would suggest the Elements 3 program. It has most of the really needed features of the PS CS at a fraction of the price (about $99 or less). I used Elements 2 and then got Elements 3 when it came out hand have been very happy with the results.
Good luck,

Barry

[tim]

Will Elements 3 support the v3 RAW plugin?

[rfreschner]

Will Elements 3 support the v3 RAW plugin?

I read in another post on this forum that it is supported in PSE3, like CS2, but have not confirmed it anywhere else.

[tim]

Here's a feature matrix (http://graphicssoft.about.com/cs/photoshop/f/elementscompare.htm) that google found for me. Not having or actions would be a huge disadvantage, so i'll go with CS2 myself I think.

[jimsolt]

Will Elements 3 support the v3 RAW plugin?
I think the deal is Elements 3 will (so far) support all the plugins for CS --
BUT CS offers more features and possiblities throughout than Elements.
It looks to me like Adobe is keeping the two programs equal with compatibility, but consistently offers greater capabilities with CS.
Jim

[ejwebb]

If you are new to this I would recommend PSE 3. Most of the features missing can be added with free (or inexpensive) third party plugins or there are easy workarounds. Examples include curves, layer masks, color profiles to name a few of the most important differences between PSE 3 and CS. True, actions are missing - but they are a more advanced feature that you can surely do without until you get to the point you think you can't live without them. They do not add new functions to the program but merely automate steps that you can do manually.

Of course, now that Photoshop CS2 is out there may be more feature differences between the programs.

Check these PSE 3 sites before you shell out over $500 for features you may never need.

http://member.melbpc.org.au/~pshipley/Download.htm
http://www.sybex.com/sybexbooks.nsf/booklist/5028
http://www.earthboundlight.com/phototips/photoshop-elements-curves.html
http://www.earthboundlight.com/phototips/elements-color-management.html

You might be happier with PSE 3 and a new lens or flash - just a thought!!

[PhotosGuy]

I agree that Elements would be a good choice starting out. You would get a lot of help with it here, which would be a big advantage to having it.

OTOH, you could try GIMP.org for a free & excellent software pgm. It has layers, lots of excellent .doc, tutorials, & forum help, too. It has plugins to let it open Canon-RAW files directly, much like Photoshop (although not quite as slick).
There's also a gimp-fork called "Gimp-video" for video-editing, which is used quite a bit in hollywood.
There's some things you'll miss from photoshop, but none of the "important" ones. Layer effects, filter-previews on most (if not all) filters, a good filebrowser are some of them. These may have been added since I used it last.
NOTE: The latest version only works with Linux, but the pre version that works with Windoze is also available to download. I last used a pre-pre-pre version & it was great! I teach PS, so thats the main reason that I use it.
Getting and Installing the GIMP for Windows:
http://www.gimp.org/windows/

RawShooter
http://www.outbackphoto.com/artofraw/raw_18/essay.html
At this point, I'd use RawShooter (also free at this time) to process RAW, but the DCraw-site, has a list of RAW plugins for Gimp.
http://www.cybercom.net/~dcoffin/dcraw/
Also see:
http://ptj.rozeta.com.pl/Soft/RawPhoto

[kymball]

Thank you everyone! I'm considering PSE3, as at the moment I'm no top notch photographer and I don't have hundreds of dollars to spend. Thanks for all your responses!


Kim

[thomasrhee]

Here's something to throw a loop into the equation.

http://store.adobe.com/store/products/master.jhtml?id=catCanon

You can get Photoshop CS for $299 thru a special Canon/Adobe offer. I do agree with the sentiment that Elements v3.0 is very capable and a lot of people may not need the full power of Photoshop CS. However, at this price, it's hard to pass up.

[lost]

He would need a version of Elements to take advantage of that offer.

[kraterz]

If raw is your concern, then use raw shooter essentials, it does an excellent job, and exports tiff/jpeg. From the experimentation I've done, RSE does a far better job than adobe camera raw.

Stick with PSE, it's pretty good.

[Titus213]

0If raw is your concern, then use raw shooter essentials, it does an excellent job, and exports tiff/jpeg. From the experimentation I've done, RSE does a far better job than adobe camera raw.

Stick with PSE, it's pretty good.

Is there a version of Raw Shooter that will work on AMD processors? Like an old Athlon 800?

[weemannie]

If you're only going to edit photographs, try Picture Window. Its intuitive, specifically designed for digital photography and cheap at 89$. There's a demo download at www.dl-c.com.
I'm trying it at the moment and finding it easier than PS CS

[musthavemuzk]

rawshooter works on all processors. well i think the minimum is 800 and 512 megs of ram. would have to hit the site to be sure.

as was said that deal is hard to resist. upgrade from elements to CS. as long as you have purchased a canon DSLR recently you should be covered in having the required elements to do the upgrade.

i think the real question is what are you wanting to do with this editing program?
simple stuff, batch stuff, actions to simplyfy redoing the same action on multiple pics, for personal use or for professional use....

this stuff might help you make the call.

remember CS2 is coming out. if you are going to drop the big money may as well wait til that is on the shelves.

i use PSE2 and got PSE3 but have not installed it yet.

Monty

[Jesper]

Is there a version of Raw Shooter that will work on AMD processors? Like an old Athlon 800?The bug that RawShooter essentials didn't work on AMD processors has been solved since version 1.1.

[rfreschner]

i use PSE2 and got PSE3 but have not installed it yet.

What are you waiting for??!! :D Great new tools to use, much better overall.

[Goofup]

I have Elements 3.0 and love it, but the canon off sounds very tempting. The link above says it's for, and shows a picture of CS, but would you get CS2 at that price instead???

Inquiring minds want to know...

[rfreschner]

but would you get CS2 at that price instead???

I'm waiting to find that out myself...... the site makes no mention of it. The offer doesn't expire until November so I'm going to sit tight until CS2 has been out a while and see what they do.

[Titus213]

FYI - Costco has Elements 3.0 for $79.99. The box says it has a Raw converter.

[Avalonthas]

CS2 is a good program from what i hear. Im waiting for my son to get the liscenes from school for the upgrade as he gets them for like 25% of the cost of a regular price upgrade because he has a deal through the toronto board of education. Awesome for me :P The only reason i had a son was to get cheap upgrades to Photoshop lol

[Titus213]

The bug that RawShooter essentials didn't work on AMD processors has been solved since version 1.1.

Still there (sort of) in 1.1.2. When I try to execute the program it says I need SSE enabled and that earlier AMD processors and MBs don't support it. I had no clue what SSE was so I did some searching and found:

SSE Technology Short for Streaming SMID Extentions, SSE is Intel's name for 70 new instructions that are found in every Pentium III processor. SSE technology takes over where the FPU leaves and can greatly enhance applications as long they are written to use SSE.

Bottom line - I don't have it, and I can afford camera equipment or photo equipment. Guess which takes precedent? :lol: And I don't really want to switch back to Intel.

I'll try it on our AMD 64bit laptop.

[musthavemuzk]

What are you waiting for??!! :D Great new tools to use, much better overall.

well i am trying to get the camera down. as i would prefer to not use a program for post work. i know this is not going to be the case 100% of the time. but i am in no rush right now.

Monty

[kymball]

I went ahead and got PSE 3 at Costco for $80 and I love it! For what I do it will work wonderfully. Thanks to everyone who responded to my question!

Kim :)

[GerryDavid]

You can get the academic version of PS CS for half the cost if your a student or work in a school. Its the same as the normal version, just half the cost. if your not in school, you could possibly sign up for a photoshop class and get ps that way. You will probably end up paying the same as the retail version due to the college fee, but this way you will learn how to use it. :0)

Theres a new version or something of gimp called gimp shop, they redid the menu system to make it the same as photoshop. This way if you were to switch later you will already be familiar with it. I think it still uses the annoying 3 window thing though.