Photoshop

[midgeman]

Hi guys,

Looking to make the next best purchase. For those who have bought it where did you get it from? Thinking of CS5 (PC version, full retail box)
Cheapest I'v found on the net is Evasoft, are they any good, Kosher etc? Any other places to look? Prices really seem to vary..

Thanks,
Doug.

[RobDickinson]

CS6 cant be far off? Do you need the all singing big version or would elements do for you?

[midgeman]

I was thinking actually that there must be a new version soon, CS5 been around a while? Guessing there will be an upgrade for CS5 though?

I'm not sure really, never used Photoshop, is there much difference? I wouldn't want to outgrow elements and end up wishing I had the all singing version.

[Gemm]

Are you a full-time student, teacher or work at school, or do you have someone in the family in full-time education? If yes, you can get it much, much cheaper.

http://www.software4students.co.uk/

[monkey gland]

Gemm said:

Are you a full-time student, teacher or work at school, or do you have someone in the family in full-time education? If yes, you can get it much, much cheaper.

http://www.software4students.co.uk/

Pretty sure that works even if you aren't in education. Out of curiosity I went all the way through to the payment screen and it didn't ask me for a student id no. or any proof that I was eligible for those oh so generous discounts.

I can only assume that Microsoft, Adobe et al know that so much is pirated that they're grateful even if people are paying 10% of the RRP.

A good option for those with enough of a conscience not to pirate but at the same time happy to cheat the system a little.

[markmullen]

As I understand it when you buy student software you don't get a licence key at checkout and have to supply proof of eligibility before you then get the licence key to register it.

[midgeman]

Yea I don't want to pirate it, would rather it was mine and feel happy with it, a friend has a pirated copy of CS4, copied that for me and ended up with a pirate CD that had a trojan on it anyway.. joy.

There must be some catch as Mark said? The usual too good to be true story?

[Turn7]

Personally, I would say unless you are doing pro style design work, then Elements would be fine. CS is a very comprehensive suite of software and you may end up paying for only a tiny bit that you actaully use.

[Gemm]

markmullen said:

As I understand it when you buy student software you don't get a licence key at checkout and have to supply proof of eligibility before you then get the licence key to register it.

That's correct with Adobe software. When you buy Microsoft products through them, you need to register the school (that qualifies) you or your children attend before making a purchase.

[midgeman]

What do most people here use then, Elements or CS? And what can't be done on Elements that can be done on CS?

I'm not pro but wouldn't mind trying to get to a semi pro level

[calibrax]

Personally I use Paintshop Pro X4, I find it just as functional as Photoshop but considerably cheaper.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/PaintShop-Pro-X4-Ultimate-...

[racing green]

Just been given Elements as a christmas prezzie with the same intention of improving my work. After five days I find that although it is good I don't want all my photos to look 'photoshopped' and that it shouldn't be used as a prop for making my images look good. Personally I wouldn't bother with CS unless I had delusions about being a pro! What about Lightroom though, does that still exist?

[MartinP]

Elements, CS and Lightroom can all be downloaded in full as free 30 day trials from the Adobe site, so you can have a play before you buy. As mentioned above, for student versions you do have to submit a student or teacher id to Adobe before they'll sent you the licence key.

If you're just starting out, I'd suggest going for Elements rather than CS. Until you get to be an 'advanced' Elements user you're really not going to need the extra bells and whistles of full fat CS.

Also unless you know you really want Photoshop, Lightroom is worth considereing. It's very different from Photoshop and is much better for processing large numbers of RAW files. I do 95% of my editing in Lightroom and only go into CS for any selective or layer work, final sharpening and soft proofing.

[midgeman]

Why is there such a difference in price though?

[K12beano]

midgeman said:

Why is there such a difference in price though?

Market forces. (I assume you mean "Photoshop lite for photographers" v "Photoshop full-fat lard for everyone from photographers to graphic designers"?)

[midgeman]

Yea, Elements I can go down the road today and buy for £80 whereas Lightroom, looks good and is somewhere up to £200 from Adobe. But then there's CS5 which is a couple of weeks wages worth..

Currently downloading the trial version of CS5 so will see what that can do in a couple of hours when its finished.

[ian in lancs]

Softwareforstudents is fine. I bought CS5 from them and Adobe gave me the code after receiving proof of student-ness. Which, for me was attending a 12 week Photoshop course at local college night school that cost me £80.

I also got LR3 from Adobe and on the back of that blagged office, mask pro and portraiture from the manufacturers. All at silly student prices. Happy days!

[ian in lancs]

MartinP said:

If you're just starting out, I'd suggest going for Elements rather than CS. Until you get to be an 'advanced' Elements user you're really not going to need the extra bells and whistles of full fat CS.

Also unless you know you really want Photoshop, Lightroom is worth considereing. It's very different from Photoshop and is much better for processing large numbers of RAW files. I do 95% of my editing in Lightroom and only go into CS for any selective or layer work, final sharpening and soft proofing.

I agree!

[coxyuk]

If I were starting out I'd investigate Lightroom rather than Elements/CS.

[craikeybaby]

I'll echo the comments above, the full version of Photoshop (CS5) is overkill of most photographers, Elements is more than powerful enough and will be easier to pick up.