photoshop cs verses photoshop elements

[dkelley]

I have Photoshop CS and I would like to upgrade. I would like to have more actions and yoy need a newer version. I like it but it is has a hugh learning curve. I'm thinking about getting Photoshop Elements instead. I'm not a photographer. I like making the photos with frames, take out backgrounds, enhance color and remove redeye, remove backgrounds etc. I don't print my photos much any more I create slide shows instead and create intranet webpages at work. I'm asking for your thoughts on the 2 programs.

Thank you

Diane

[texan]

I have never had PS elements, but I believe it's a "lower level" performance of PS CS.......

The latest version of CS is PS CS4 I believe.

I have CS 4, and I believe that any CS version of PS will "outperform" PS elements.

[heckydog]

If you use actions a lot, then PSE is probably not for you.

I say probably because I have PSE 5 and in that version you're not able to create actions and the ability to run actions is very limited. I don't know if that has changed for the latest version, 7 I think. I haven't used Elements for quite some time.

I currently have PS CS3 and I'm able to create my own actions as well as install and run actions made by other people such PanosFX and The Dom.

Joe

[DickK]

All the things you mention can be done with PSE.

Here's my thought. The real key is the payback for the learning curve. If you use the editor every day or at least a few times per week the pay back will be there. If you use it a few times per month, the pay back won't be there. The "experts" say PSE of today is as powerful as PhotoShop of only a few years ago. If you need and will use the extra power of PS, get it, but all that power can get in the way, too.

Dick

[BarbaraC]

One thing is that, if you already have CS, then the cost to upgrade to the current version is a whole lot less than it would be if you were buying for the first time.

I'm now on CS3, but I could swear its abilities with Actions aren't all that different from the first CS. My memory could, of course, be quite faulty on this point.

Barbara

[rcsteimer]

I'm a photoshop elements user (version 7). For the non-professional user, it is a great choice. You can buy a full version of the product for about $100US, updates are as little as $49US with rebates.

With every release, elements becomes more powerfull, but the learning curve is much shorter than the full blown photopshop.

As stated earlier, there are third party vendors that provide add-on's for Elements. A great example is PanosFX (http://www.panosfx.com) They have modified actions to work in elements.

There are also forums just for elements, a good one is http://www.elementsvillage.com

Bob S