Software for the hobbyist wantign more..

shedberg wrote in post #12745562
What kind of extra features do they have in the CS5 ACR?

http://kb2.adobe.com/c​ps/864/cpsid_86457.htm​l

tkerr wrote in post #12745823
http://kb2.adobe.com/c​ps/864/cpsid_86457.htm​l

All those menus on the right hand side show up when I open a TIFF file in my PSE version of ACR.

shedberg wrote in post #12745850
All those menus on the right hand side show up when I open a TIFF file in my PSE version of ACR.

"Photoshop Camera Raw dialog box: Highlighted options are not available (or have less functionality) in Photoshop Elements"

DPP is a great starting point; I'm a huge fan of Lightroom, myself. Unless you're doing a bunch of object removal/placement, convoluted layering, etc, Lightroom covers about everything else you might do for straight photo development.

PSE8 for OSX had (through Bridge) the full ACR. On windows it doesn't. Not sure about PSE9.

On PSE vs. LR: PSE is a pixel editor, LR3 is a raw converter with bells and whistles. They complement each other, but are not interchangeable.

René Damkot wrote in post #12746157
...
On PSE vs. LR: PSE is a pixel editor, LR3 is a raw converter with bells and whistles. They complement each other, but are not interchangeable.

Again, depending on your needs, I would disagree somewhat with the second statement there. If you do not need layers or direct, per pixel editing ability I don't see why you would need both...one or the other ought to be equally effective.

René Damkot wrote in post #12746157
PSE8 for OSX had (through Bridge) the full ACR. On windows it doesn't. Not sure about PSE9.

On PSE vs. LR: PSE is a pixel editor, LR3 is a raw converter with bells and whistles. They complement each other, but are not interchangeable.

Ahhh, that explains it. I have PSE8 on Mac.

Snydremark wrote in post #12746343
If you do not need layers or direct, per pixel editing ability I don't see why you would need both...one or the other ought to be equally effective.

If you don't need pixel editing, LR3 is the better choice, at least on Windows. (better raw converter)
If you need pixel editing, LR isn't an option

My €0.02

René Damkot wrote in post #12746433
...
If you need pixel editing, LR isn't an option

My €0.02

On that, definitely agreed! I just thought maybe I was missing something else.

PS, If you are a student, or know a student, both Lightroom and elements are available at a great discount:

Elements $69
LR $89

Check it out:
Education Store

Well, I downloaded the demo of lightroom this morning. I only got to play with it for 15 minutes before coming to work, but I am impressed with my initial impressions. I have a feeling I will be buying the licensed version when my 30 days expires. Even if I decide I need PS later on, I can still use LR for cataloging etc... it won't go to waste.

golfingguy27 wrote in post #12747362
Well, I downloaded the demo of lightroom this morning. I only got to play with it for 15 minutes before coming to work, but I am impressed with my initial impressions. I have a feeling I will be buying the licensed version when my 30 days expires. Even if I decide I need PS later on, I can still use LR for cataloging etc... it won't go to waste.

Well, good for you! I would still, though, advise you to either get a real handle on Gimp or get Elements. You mentioned getting started in portraiture and wanting to make money at it and you really want to get your horizons broadened when it comes to post processing in these areas! Think of the fact that each paying job you get will need to contribute to getting your tools you need to get the job done!