iPhoto09 and/or Aperture or Photoshop Elements?

[ipaqowner]

Bought my 17" Macbook Pro 2.16ghz with 2gb RAM in 2006 therefore have iPhoto06, iMovie06 etc as part of the iLife06 it shipped with...I upgraded the OS from Tiger to Leopard a few months ago.
I used iPhoto06 to import and view my photos from a Panasonic digital camera but I've since upgraded to a Panasonic DMC-TZ7 digital camera and I'm keen to getting into photo and possibly video editing as the TZ7 produces HD Videos in AVCHD format.
As iMovieHD doesn't handle the AVCHD files I use VLC Player to view them.
I also may take the plunge in a few weeks and buy a Panasonic DMC-G1 DSLR as I want to get a wee bit more serious and creative with my photos and I want the ability to edit the RAW files it produces.
Now my queries...

Should I upgrade to iLife09 as it would give me new features in iPhoto and the ability to play the AVCHD files in iMovie?...or just keep my iPhoto/iMovie06 and get standalone progs for photo/HD Video.

I would like Photoshop for my mac but can't afford it.
Should I go with Aperture or Photoshop Elements which are considerably cheaper than Photoshop?
Is there a "lite" version of Photoshop or is that what Lightroom is?
Can the latest iPhoto09 as part of iLife09 handle RAW files?
Will either of these do HD Video editing on the AVCHD files? or are they limited to photo editing and I'd need something else for video editing?

Excuse my ignorance, I'm a beginner at photo editing and don't have a lot of cash to spare so any advice would be appreciated.

 

[jampat]

Photoshop elements is Photoshop lite. It is a different beast from Aperture and Lightroom. The latter two programs are primarily management tools to allow you to keep track of your photos that include editing tools. PS has many more editing functions, but can be harder for a beginner to use. Aperture and PS do not deal at all with video, I'm not sure about LR. I would be very very surprised if LR has any video editing abilities at all.

If you are thinking about getting PS Elements and are considering getting a tablet (it really makes a huge difference when editing photos) look at the Wacom Bamboo Fun. It costs about $100 and comes with PSE (typically one generation older than current though).