Photoshop Elements. Which one ?
Discussion
So I am getting started in Photography and have Paintshop pro 9 for years but it was always much bigger and more complicated than I could use really. I can do the basics but not much more. There are hardly any tutorials for it and the one there are are ridiculous and quick and expect you to know what a "raster" is ( I am having a guess that it has nothing to do with Bob Marley ?)
Seems that Photoshop is the predominate software, all the tutorials online and youtube seem to be on photoshop not paintshop.
SO I thought I would see how much it would cost. The new PS 10 has just come out and it seems to be £60 roughly.
New versions of PS 9 seem to be £50ish and secondhand ones £40. Then had a look and saw that PS 7-8 are much cheaper.
Now just starting out I am trying to keep the costs down, so a couple of questions.
1. is there a big difference between PS 7 and 9 ? Are the older ones massively outdated
2. Are the controls ( layout, options, button etc ) the same across ie if I learn on a PS 7 when I get a upgrade later will I be able to "slip in to" PS 10 ?
3. Can PS 7 upwards handle RAW files ? if not which one would ?
4. HDR !!!!!! can elements do that if so which models do/don't ?
Cheers
Ben
Seems that Photoshop is the predominate software, all the tutorials online and youtube seem to be on photoshop not paintshop.
SO I thought I would see how much it would cost. The new PS 10 has just come out and it seems to be £60 roughly.
New versions of PS 9 seem to be £50ish and secondhand ones £40. Then had a look and saw that PS 7-8 are much cheaper.
Now just starting out I am trying to keep the costs down, so a couple of questions.
1. is there a big difference between PS 7 and 9 ? Are the older ones massively outdated
2. Are the controls ( layout, options, button etc ) the same across ie if I learn on a PS 7 when I get a upgrade later will I be able to "slip in to" PS 10 ?
3. Can PS 7 upwards handle RAW files ? if not which one would ?
4. HDR !!!!!! can elements do that if so which models do/don't ?
Cheers
Ben
Shrewd spending will be partly dependent upon what you want to do.
For RAW handling and image fettling, a good choice will be to check out Capture/Aperture/Lightroom.
For tooling around swapping skies and airbrushing your ex-friends or designing the cover for your magazine you'll be going Photoshop Lite or Full Fat.
For HDR (if you must......but then I do too) you'll really want to check out Photomatix, or the Nik equivalent.
In any event, download all the trial versions, even where they give you cut down options or watermark stuff. Until you've experienced them don't part with the dosh!
For RAW handling and image fettling, a good choice will be to check out Capture/Aperture/Lightroom.
For tooling around swapping skies and airbrushing your ex-friends or designing the cover for your magazine you'll be going Photoshop Lite or Full Fat.
For HDR (if you must......but then I do too) you'll really want to check out Photomatix, or the Nik equivalent.
In any event, download all the trial versions, even where they give you cut down options or watermark stuff. Until you've experienced them don't part with the dosh!
I have the Canon software for the RAW stuff mainly, simple to use and I know how to do it. It was to see if the program would handle seeing the raw image or not.
It was for learning merging a few pics ( like you say different exposures of same image, taking out blemishes, small photoshop jobs etc) and making friends look a idiot.
I thought elements was a photoshop lite, but I will do some research.
It was mainly about the age of the programs, ie 7-8-9 are they similar to 10, or would I have to "retrain" later.
It was for learning merging a few pics ( like you say different exposures of same image, taking out blemishes, small photoshop jobs etc) and making friends look a idiot.
I thought elements was a photoshop lite, but I will do some research.
It was mainly about the age of the programs, ie 7-8-9 are they similar to 10, or would I have to "retrain" later.
I can't remember if it was Elements 9 or 10 that brought it Content aware fill (this is a feature trickled down from full fat Photoshop) and I see this as reason enough to upgrade from Elements 8.
One thing you should consider when looking at older version of Elements, is which version of Camera raw they support, as Adobe don't add much backwards compatibility, so even though raw files are supported, raw files from your camera may not be, especially if it is a newer model.
FWIW I'd suggest that Lightroom is a better bet anyway, unless you want to do a lot of pixel pushing.
One thing you should consider when looking at older version of Elements, is which version of Camera raw they support, as Adobe don't add much backwards compatibility, so even though raw files are supported, raw files from your camera may not be, especially if it is a newer model.
FWIW I'd suggest that Lightroom is a better bet anyway, unless you want to do a lot of pixel pushing.
Ok, I get confused with all the names SO there is photoshop lite ( online basic editor I think ) Photoshop elements ( which has most of the full fat CS that I will ever need or know how to use ) and then there is Photoshop lightroom ( not got a bloody clue about that on).
I will use it to manipulate images rather than tweek the levels. Lightroom good for this ?
I will use it to manipulate images rather than tweek the levels. Lightroom good for this ?
No.
Lightroom: sorts (library), allows ratings, RAW converts, prepares for web, slideshows and printing, and does videos and does much more. In Develop, it does all the levels, WB, colour, camera correction, sharpening et cetera, and non-destructively, but does not let you play with layers.
Don't think this is something you cannot already do by other means. Therefore PS Elements is probably your gap-filler. All versions have some sort of similarity between the tools, allows working with layers et cetera. The later the version, the more sophisticated, the better support for RAW (if you need), the "better" algorithms it uses for automated stuff and probably the closer convergence with what the other Adobe products do.
For merging (including simple HDR), cloning, dodging, burning, colour tweakings, painting in and painting out, cropping, straightening, unconverging verticals, and a million other things you want as a photographer Elements will see you good. It's, as you already point out, got tutorials all over the web. And, probably, most tutorials on "Full" Photoshop will be easily translatable to Elements since a huge amount of the latter's functionality is also in the former.
Lightroom: sorts (library), allows ratings, RAW converts, prepares for web, slideshows and printing, and does videos and does much more. In Develop, it does all the levels, WB, colour, camera correction, sharpening et cetera, and non-destructively, but does not let you play with layers.
Don't think this is something you cannot already do by other means. Therefore PS Elements is probably your gap-filler. All versions have some sort of similarity between the tools, allows working with layers et cetera. The later the version, the more sophisticated, the better support for RAW (if you need), the "better" algorithms it uses for automated stuff and probably the closer convergence with what the other Adobe products do.
For merging (including simple HDR), cloning, dodging, burning, colour tweakings, painting in and painting out, cropping, straightening, unconverging verticals, and a million other things you want as a photographer Elements will see you good. It's, as you already point out, got tutorials all over the web. And, probably, most tutorials on "Full" Photoshop will be easily translatable to Elements since a huge amount of the latter's functionality is also in the former.
Edited by K12beano on Monday 14th May 13:52
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