Elements vs. CS3

Hi,
I've only ever used photoshop Elements for editing, but they emailed me a promo thing for CS3 for $299. Should I do it?
Is it that much better? Does anyone have experience with both?
I'm not feeling limited by Elements, but perhaps I just don't know what I'm missing.
Do all serious photographers need the real thing?
Any advice will be aprreciated.
Thanks

I have had both.

Go ahead into CS3, take your time and learn. There are too many differences to list, but basically you'll gain more control over your final results.

As for whether 'serious' photographers 'all' need it, you'll have to wait for a serious photographer to arrive in the thread.

hortonsl62 wrote in post #3836244
I have had both.

Go ahead into CS3, take your time and learn. There are too many differences to list, but basically you'll gain more control over your final results.

As for whether 'serious' photographers 'all' need it, you'll have to wait for a serious photographer to arrive in the thread.

Thank you.
I don't know that I consider myself a "serious" photographer either, hehe, but aspire to be someday, and perhaps CS3 will help me down that path.

Popped back as my aging mind recalls things -- If I were where you are, I would investigate these packages, which can more simply improve results and won't cost you the CS3 learning curve.

Bibble
http://www.bibblelabs.​com/

Capture One
http://www.phaseone.co​m …ware/ProductOve​rview.aspx

If you do go CS3, the Scott Kelby book is a great place to start.

thanks, Sam, for those links.
I've never heard of either one of them - I'll explore them both before deciding.

You're welcome.

Welcome to POTN.

CS3 is great software. I have not found the need to upgrade to it yet, but probably will one on day. I did get great value from moving to Lightroom though. Wonderful being able to libarary and edit RAWs in one interface. Wonderful program.

No... serious photographers DON'T need CS3.

It's not the software you use that makes you a photographer, just as its not the camera you use that does either. Put either into the hand of someone not "serious" about photography, and they'll turn out sludge. On the other hand, put either into the hands of someone who is skilled, and taken the time to learn them, the results can be astounding.

My personal feeling is that I'm not being limited by PS Elements, so I don't see the reason to upgrade to CS3... even though the tools may be nice to have! I say look into the features to determine if it is worth it to you at the present time. $299 is much cheaper than sticker price, so I can see how it would be tempting too.

(I have LR (bought early at discount) which fills the area where Elements was lacking for me... RAW conversion.)

hmmmm... very interesting.
I had never thought about Lightroom, in fact I know nothing about it - something else to explore now. I don't usually shoot in RAW, but I was planning to start - I didn't realize that it could be easier than what I do in Elements.
I very much agree about it being in the right hands. I remember when I got my first DSLR - I thought it would be a snap (so to speak) to take great pictures with it - wrong!
It seems with every new little thing I learn, I discover at least 2 more that I need to learn! Here I am again - I thought I had 2 choices, now I have at least 3 others!!

I brought up LR as a disclaimer, that I don't use ONLY elements... LR was only $170 when I bought it.

If CS3 and LR were the same price, I'd lean towards CS3 myself... you won't get the slick interface of LR, but the basic develop tools are the same, as they are both based of Adobe Camera Raw... but with CS3 you get the added benefit of masking, layers, selective sharpening, etc.