Photoshop Elements 2.0 vs 5.0

What are the advantages of Photoshop Elements 2.0 vs 5.0? I have the ancient 2.0...is there enough of a difference to upgrade (Im on a budget, but I do alot of post processing). I do see that it has RAW conversion, but is that worth spending $89 on?

Thanks in advance

For the RAW converter alone it is worth the price. Maybe you can find v3 that is when the RAW converter was added for a little cheaper. I use PSE 3 and still fills my needs.

C.S.I
I recently upgraded from E4 to E5. I did it mostly for the Color Curves. About 80% of the time, the Curves made a difference in the picture. Since I have not used the Raw Converter yet, I can't say it's any better or different than what you have. It has another Sharpening feature that is suppose to be better than Unsharp Mask. If you are using 2, I would say it's worth the upgrade.

I still use 3.0... but from what I heard the jump from 2.0 to 3.0 was huge...
for example, do you have healing brush, and spot healing brush? Great help in retouching.

Can't comment TOO much about limitations of 2.0, since my first Photoshop product was 3.0.

Also, there are plug-ins and actions that will only work in 3.0 and above (I'm thinking the Earthbound light plugins that allow curves, etc.)

Also, I think upgrades to the organizer too.

If doing quite a bit of PP, I'd say $89 is a bargin... compared to the CS2 alternative. I'm not one who likes to make every upgrade either, but I'm seriously thinking about upgrade from 3.0 to 5.0.

5.0 has some nice B&W conversion tools built in. And a simplified Curves adjustments. (Which alot of people have been calling "dumbed-down", [me included]. But after looking at Lightroom, and seeing that they are using sliders to control the curves, I'm wondering if Elements control of curves isn't similar to what they're doing in Lightroom. I haven't played with it at all in 5.0...)

Does anyone out here have comments on the similarities/differenc​es between Lightroom and Elements 5.0 control of Curves?)

I got 3.0 along with my Wacom Tablet for about $75 total.

davidcrebelxt wrote in post #2550653
I still use 3.0... but from what I heard the jump from 2.0 to 3.0 was huge...
for example, do you have healing brush, and spot healing brush? Great help in retouching.

Can't comment TOO much about limitations of 2.0, since my first Photoshop product was 3.0.

Also, there are plug-ins and actions that will only work in 3.0 and above (I'm thinking the Earthbound light plugins that allow curves, etc.)

Also, I think upgrades to the organizer too.

If doing quite a bit of PP, I'd say $89 is a bargin... compared to the CS2 alternative. I'm not one who likes to make every upgrade either, but I'm seriously thinking about upgrade from 3.0 to 5.0.

5.0 has some nice B&W conversion tools built in. And a simplified Curves adjustments. (Which alot of people have been calling "dumbed-down", [me included]. But after looking at Lightroom, and seeing that they are using sliders to control the curves, I'm wondering if Elements control of curves isn't similar to what they're doing in Lightroom. I haven't played with it at all in 5.0...)

Does anyone out here have comments on the similarities/differenc​es between Lightroom and Elements 5.0 control of Curves?)

I got 3.0 along with my Wacom Tablet for about $75 total.

Wow...thanks for the input (all you guys)....but Dave, I was just gonna buy the Intuos Wacom tablet that includes Ele 4.0 at Best Buy yesterday but they didnt have it in stock lol.

and once you get Elements you can visit this site for many tutorials and alot of friendly help; http://www.photoshopel​ementsuser.com

2 is likw a toy compared to 5...I have had both...2 is great to begin with as it gives you the idea of what happens in PS, but 5 is set uo more like PS7 and works very well, though limited in the tools department,,,but user friendly....great step up when heading to the full PS editions...I would definatly go to PSE 5 if for nothing less than easing the learning curve........

C.S.I. wrote in post #2550750
Wow...thanks for the input (all you guys)....but Dave, I was just gonna buy the Intuos Wacom tablet that includes Ele 4.0 at Best Buy yesterday but they didnt have it in stock lol.

Yeah, I know... I went the cheaper Graphire route when I bought my tablet (had never use one before, so wanted to make sure it was worth it!)

People always tend to knock the "complimentary" software that comes with devices, but I've gotten alot of use out of Elements 3.0 and DPP which comes with Canon.

from 2.0 to 5.0 is a major upgrade. I upgraded from 4.0 to 5 and although it was a minor upgrade there are a couple of great features, One of which is a very easy way to correct camera distortion. there is also a horizon level tool (also in 4.0) If you go to Costco, you can get 5.0 for less than 89.00 and there is usually a rebate. If you can afford it,get it, you will not be sorrry. BTW although it has a RAW processor I do not use it.

Mike R wrote in post #2558265
BTW although it has a RAW processor I do not use it.

Yeah, I wish Adobe hadn't crippled ACR for use with Elements. Hopefully they don't overprice Lightroom, that way some of will be able to afford a top-notch raw processor.

davidcrebelxt wrote in post #2558296
Yeah, I wish Adobe hadn't crippled ACR for use with Elements. Hopefully they don't overprice Lightroom, that way some of will be able to afford a top-notch raw processor.

If you have RSP and had purchased it shortly before Adobe bought it out, you will be able to download Lightroom 1.0 at no charge when it is released in Feb/March. Amazon is already taking pre-orders on it for about $300.00

Mike R wrote in post #2558319
If you have RSP and had purchased it shortly before Adobe bought it out, you will be able to download Lightroom 1.0 at no charge when it is released in Feb/March. Amazon is already taking pre-orders on it for about $300.00

Unfortunately... no. I was seriously looking into it right about the time Adobe bought them out. I've heard the price fluctuate wildly... unfortunate if price point is $300... no way I'd pay that for a 1.0 product that they admittedly (by way of their podcasts) still want to add alot more cool features to. Was hoping more around $150 range (I know, I'm wildly optimistic... but I can be hopeful, right?)

Mike R wrote in post #2558319
Amazon is already taking pre-orders on it for about $300.00

I saw it on Amazon a couple of weeks ago for around $199, but now they've taken it off completely AFAIK.

rfreschner wrote in post #2570716
I saw it on Amazon a couple of weeks ago for around $199, but now they've taken it off completely AFAIK.

I sent Amazon an email asking why. I will post their response when (if) I get one.

Mike R wrote in post #2570848
I sent Amazon an email asking why. I will post their response when (if) I get one.

According to the Adobe guys on the LR forums, Amazon jumped the gun and really didn't know what they're talking about. There's a post over there that links to many other sites that also jumped the gun and listed it for sale.