Adobe Photoshop Elements/vs. ??

[Holly]

I had my weekly photography class last night where we were given Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 - educational version no less :? (was included in the class fee). Now, I shoot film (am saving for 20D) so forgive my ignorance, but what does the professional photoshop program offer that this doesn't? If I primarily shoot RAW when I get the 20D, will I be able to process in the program I have? Basically, was it worth it or do I need to start saving for the pro program? (who said digital was cheap???)

[labguy]

you won't be able to process raw in elements, but your camera might come with with software that will let you do it - don't know about canon, i have an olympus and it has software with it.

elements is a powerful slimmed down version of photoshop, without all the bells and whistles. it will probably do all that you need for now unless you are planning to get into super heavy duty editing.

if you are talked into getting full blown photoshop, you might be able to get student discount which is generally 50% off.

right know you are a student learning photography, getting into digital and learning that. what you don't need is something else to learn to distract from the other two more important subjects.

[Holly]

Thank you, Bill. You're right about needing one less thing to worry about. Full time job + 2 small kids + photography business (picking up - whooo-hooo!) + class = a lot on my plate. So I am going to cross that off my wishlist for now, anyway. Thank you for the reply!!

[wrogers]

Another option is elements 3 which will work with raw (but with limits compared to the big brother CS) I received a $20 rebate from Adobe after sending serial numbers from old elements 2. Free trial download from Adobe to see if you like it. I just use the editor and do not mess with the organizer. Hope this might help.

[srwatters]

The biggest drawbacks to using Elements are lack of tools in 16 bit mode and no support for actions. The healing, clone, and red eye tools don't work in 16 bit mode, so if you shoot raw and bring in 12 bit data, you must throw away color resolution down to 8 bit mode to use them. Actions allow you to automate processes like making frames or adding your logo and copyright to an image. Elements does not support actions. I'm sure there are more, but after using elements on the PC for three months, I bought full CS for my Mac. I won't go back!

[Jim]

Another way of finding a copy of Photoshop that is very affordable is looking in your local Goodwill. I was in the local Austin Goodwill computer store and they had an unopened copy of photoshop 7 for 20 bucks, and an unopened copy of PS Elements 2 for 5 bucks! Needless to say I purchased both of them. When I asked the clerk if they had any more, he just said "We get that kinda stuff all the time and it sells fast."
So, you might want to check the Goodwill computer store if there's one in your area.


Edited: forgot to include version of elements.

[pfritzd]

Originally Posted by Jim

Another way of finding a copy of Photoshop that is very affordable is looking in your local Goodwill. I was in the local Austin Goodwill computer store ......

Jim,

I am going to have ti hit the goodwill store this weekend. Looking for a cheap way to get PSCS

[wburychka]

I read lots of comments but no answers to your question. Canon DSLRs come with a program called File Viewer Utility. It will do conversion, including batch conversions, from Canon RAW to 8 or 16-bit TIF. Newer Canon DSLRs, like the 20D, also ship with Canon's Digital Photo Pro software, a somewhat more elegant RAW convertor. Both of these offer some adjustment capability prior to conversion. DPP also has the most halo-free sharpening I think I have seen. If you have an earlier Canon DSLR, you can still download DPP from the Canon website.

Another RAW convesion option is available from pixmantec.com. RawShooter Essentials is a temporarily free program from, I'm told, a bunch of former Phase One employees. This program is quite good and offers lots of pre-conversion adjustment. As far as I know, the free version does not time out. Hopefully, the Pixmantec rebels will not follow in the footsteps of their alma mater and price the final product out of the reach of us regular people. In any case, the current free Beta version (they don't actually call it a Beta, but why else would it be free?) is quite nice. Here is the URL:
http://www.pixmantec.com/index2.html

[pfritzd]

Bill,

Thanx ... i'll go check out the software by pixmantec and see what i come up with :)

[ndsimm]

Originally Posted by wburychka

Another RAW convesion option is available from pixmantec.com. RawShooter Essentials is a temporarily free program from, I'm told, a bunch of former Phase One employees. This program is quite good and offers lots of pre-conversion adjustment. As far as I know, the free version does not time out. Hopefully, the Pixmantec rebels will not follow in the footsteps of their alma mater and price the final product out of the reach of us regular people. In any case, the current free Beta version (they don't actually call it a Beta, but why else would it be free?) is quite nice. Here is the URL:
http://www.pixmantec.com/index2.html

The pixmantec program is Free and not a beta. I have been using it for a month now and it is very smooth and effecieint. If you have an AMD processor, you need to get the latest version 1.1. True, they are coming out with a version that has more features and there will be a cost to it but most people can use the feature of the free version with no problems