Lightroom 2 or CS4 ?

Been working with DPP and PS Elements, was thinking of pulling the trigger on Lightroom 2 and today I get an email with an offer of CS4 for $299.00! Offer is good for a month, now I am not sure which way to go, steep learing curve for CS4....? Any suggestions? Thanks

CS4 for $300? Either (a) that's too good a deal to be true or (b) that's the standard academic pricing that you may or may not qualify for.

CS4 for 299 is either an amazing deal (not academic version though, academic it's usually $350, so only a good deal) or scam, and I'm leaning towards the scam side as well.

Both programs have completely different uses though, one is a RAW editor and file management system, the other is a image editor that can also do raw conversions.

A) Download both trials: they're free. B) You have the internet, thus have access to an exhaustive amount of comparisons already out there.

I would never give up Lightroom! I would definitely start there, you can do 80% of what you would ever want to do there.

ralff wrote in post #8470178
Been working with DPP and PS Elements, was thinking of pulling the trigger on Lightroom 2

Why LR2?
What is PSE not doing for you that you'd like PSCS4 for?

Answer those two questions, and you know what to do.

Brian Puccio wrote in post #8471795
CS4 for $300? Either (a) that's too good a deal to be true or (b) that's the standard academic pricing that you may or may not qualify for.

The email is from the PhotoShop web site, upgraded from PE6 to PE 7 a month ago, this is a special offer from them. Have to order by clicking on the email offer, looks legit to me. Full version according to the email.

nphsbuckeye wrote in post #8471844
A) Download both trials: they're free. B) You have the internet, thus have access to an exhaustive amount of comparisons already out there.

Offer is only good until Sept. 15, one month, can I learn all I need to know about both programs in 30 days?

ralff wrote in post #8472899
can I learn all I need to know about both programs in 30 days?

No way, but you can get a general feel of both...

ralff wrote in post #8472891
Have to order by clicking on the email offer, looks legit to me. Full version according to the email.

Its a scam warning bells should now be going off.

First, ask your self how Adobe for your email.
If you registered any existing Adobe software then check it is with the same email adress.

Then I would contact Adobe and check if they have infact produced an email only special offer, and confirm the price.

It maybe they are doing a speical upgrade deal for Elements users.
Or, it maybe a well put together scam email.

I'd guess it's legit if Adobe says so...

(link found by Google)

Ah, that's just Photoshop, not the entire Creative Suite for $300, that's different and looks to be legit.

Download demos of both and try them out. They serve different purposes, but you'll quickly find out which fits you better.

As its been mentioned earlier.. .try both and decide from there. I tried LR2 and found it was able to do 95% of everything I wanted out of a program and for those remaining 5% I either use Elements or I let that idea pass on by since its usually not worth trying to spend that much time to create an image for personal usage only.

If it was for paying gigs and I needed to do some advanced retouching or even some advanced effects to the image I'd use CS4 but for the workhorse stuff like RAW conversions, stacking for HDR export to PhotoMatix, and orgainzing the files I'm yet to find anything that beats LR2.4.

My school gave me the ENTIRE CS4 collection for $130. Photoshop, Bridge, Flash, Dreamweaver, etc, etc.

Yep, that's all I wanted to say.

In the age of internet scams, it always pays to be prudent. And if there is any doubt, calling or otherwise contacting Adobe would be advisable.

But.....
This is a normal offer from Adobe for Elements users. I think when I first registered PSE3, I got a similar emails from Adobe every so often.