elements or photoshop

[AstroPic]

Bit of background - I have used an old version of full photoshop a while back (V 5.0?)

Got a second hand S2Pro, which came bundled with HS-V2 and Elements V2.

I am an amateur photographer, although some of my pics do get printed in magazines.

I have been astonished by what Photoshop Elements 2 can do! It seems better than the old version of photoshop I had.

I work mainly on a G4 powerbook, 1GB 1GHz.

Now: I want to be able to do a lot more work in 16 bit rather than 8 bit RGB. I understand that Elements V3.0 allows this?

But will I regret not finding the (sizebly more) money to go for CS2? I find it difficult to find what the differences actually are between them.

Also rather than buying elements 3, can I upgrade elements 2 to it? Can elements 3 be upgraded to CS2?

Thanks

Dave

[sandman]

No upgrade from elements to the full version , not sure if you upgrade from 2 to 3 , would 'nt have thought so , there was none from 1 to 2 .
Elements 3 is a good program but as found if you're serious about editing you'll save up for CS1 or 2 . so many options that elements has'nt got .
But as a starter elements is a fine program.

Brian

[Linda G]

Do you have photoshop 5 or did you just use it? you can upgrade from 5 to PSCS2, save lots of money.

As for the differences, I really don't know, I do think it's limited in layers and adjustments but couldn't really say.

[sandman]

The really major differences are..

Shadow/highlight filter ..a huge leap on using just levels

Healing brush ...so much more exact than the clone brush

CS2 spot healing ...no alt press ,just click and go ...great.

Mid tone contrast ..wonderful for giving the image that bit of OOMFF.

Curves .. again .much better than levels and fully R.G.B

Extract filter ..for easier and more exact cut outs

So many options with paths , and text , warping etc.

Better layer controls , all the filters at your fingertips and fully customable ..e.i drop shadows you can adjust .

You'll need a P.S expert to tell you everything , i'm not . i just use a few functions , but the few i do use make the upgrade from elements more than worth it .

Brian

P.s i sure i read that if you upgrade or try to upgrade from ver 5/6 you need to contact Adobe first .

[Keith Cocker]

If you have a Photoshop 6 you can upgrade directly to CS (certainly to CS1 - I did it - and I'm sure to CS2 now) without any problems. I bought the CS upgrade - about £120.00 from Amazon. I'm now waiting for CS2 upgrade to arrive.

I agree with Brian - CS offers much more than Elements. You can download a free "tryout" of CS2 from the Adobe site. It has no restrictions at all but won't function after 30 days.

Best wishes

[AstroPic]

Thanks for the info. The features you mention definately sound very useful and time saving.

Unfortunately I used up my 30 day trial of CS ages ago before I knew what I was doing, and I only used photoshop 5, it wasn't mine.

I guess I have to work out how soon I can afford CS, and whether its worth getting elements 3 in the mean time or not..

[Swampy]

Unfortunately I used up my 30 day trial of CS ages ago before I knew what I was doing, and I only used photoshop 5, it wasn't mine.


You can still download the CS2 trial and use that one for 30 days. There's a lot of new stuff in CS2 over even CS1.

[AstroPic]

Good point Swampy - I just checked and my expired trial was CS not CS2! I will just have to time it for when I have loads of time to play and lots of captures to process :righton:

[Bilbo]

Go to ebay.co.uk and buy a genuine copy of Photoshop 5 or 6 then do the upgrade.

Bob

[easternherp]

One word of warning about buying old versions of software to upgrade. Adobe keeps a record of registered serial numbers and if the person selling the original doesn't de-register or transfers the registration to you, you may not be able to buy an upgrade direct from Adobe.

If you have the slightlest inkling that you might want to do more then CS 1 or 2 is definately the way to go if you can save the cash. If you just want to convert the raw files then the latest HS V2 is certainly a good program.