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Photoshop - Elements or CS3?
- Thread starter uMac
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If you need to get a job, Photoshop CS 3, otherwise Elements is fine for 99.9% of the stuff you'll be doing and it has an easier learning curve.
And with the money you save (if you get Elements), you can get Corel Painter X for natural drawing.
Depends how in depth you want to go. For most photo hobbyists Elements will be fine. CS3 is better for colour management.
The link below provides a good comparison (albeit between CS2 and Elements 5):
http://graphicssoft.about.com/cs/photoshop/f/elementscompare.htm
Neither program is particularly advanced when it comes to drawing.
The link below provides a good comparison (albeit between CS2 and Elements 5):
http://graphicssoft.about.com/cs/photoshop/f/elementscompare.htm
Neither program is particularly advanced when it comes to drawing.
Hum, interesting link - I work in JPEG and RAW format (I would like to move more into RAW) and I have a few images in magazines and I'm looking towards some remuneration for photos as I advance in skill. However not looking to become professional as my day job pays to well and I enjoy it as well.
Elements should do it for you, I work with RAW/NEF plus a few other formats depending on the job in hand, the color management within CS3 is better, I use CS3 for Black & White conversion work (but neutralize the whites in CS2) & HDR plus i prefer CS3's Raw Convertor , i also use CS2 for a lot of editing using layers and stuff plus its loaded with nik.alienskin & andromeda filters, but if i just wanted to edit RAW/JPEG images i'd Just get Elements
As for Moving into RAW, Shoot RAW 100% of the Time, you'll find a big difference, takes getting used too if you have shot in JPEG
I already shoot Raw + Jpeg 100% of the time. In the past I have not been doing as much photoshop as before, but as I get better at taking pictures I am finding I want to 'tweak' the picture more to get that bit of extra 'pop' out of it.
Ideally if your getting better at taking pictures you should be doing less 'tweaking', try working on the saturation, levels & curves during processing to get those colors/contrast popping and CS3 is a great tool for the tweaking of images but it can all be done in Elements. Ideally your aim is 'more' camera time, 'less' processing. If all your doing is processing images your taking then save the extra bucks and get Elements, Personally if I was in the same situation your in & i didn't do the projects i do and only concerntrated on my photography i'd just get Elements
Thanks for the information (especially Mr.Noisy) I think i will go for elements. As it sounds like as much as I would like PS-CS3, I can save some $$$ for an extra lens which will do me much more good then the incremental increase in the two versions .
.Good timing as 6.0 just released:
https://www.macrumors.com/2008/03/24/adobe-shipping-photoshop-elements-6-for-mac/
If you are buying elements new, consider the Bamboo fun tablet. It was a deal ($89 at Amazon) including the Elements 4.0, Corel Painter Essentials 3.0, and Nik Color Efex Pro 2.0. I have no idea if it will be updated to include the newer 6.0., but maybe worth a brief delay. Macgroovy's advice on the trial versions is good. Try before you buy.
http://www.wacom.com/bambootablet/bamboofun_tech_specs.cfm
https://www.macrumors.com/2008/03/24/adobe-shipping-photoshop-elements-6-for-mac/
If you are buying elements new, consider the Bamboo fun tablet. It was a deal ($89 at Amazon) including the Elements 4.0, Corel Painter Essentials 3.0, and Nik Color Efex Pro 2.0. I have no idea if it will be updated to include the newer 6.0., but maybe worth a brief delay. Macgroovy's advice on the trial versions is good. Try before you buy.
http://www.wacom.com/bambootablet/bamboofun_tech_specs.cfm
Also, if you buy the Bamboo fun tablet with the software, you are eligible to upgrade to PS CS3 for only $300. So you can end up getting both a tablet and CS3 for about $400. That's a pretty good discount off the regular price of Photoshop.