Elements or CS3

[Maurice Allen]

I am needing some advise is PS Elements going to be enough or do I need to spring for Photoshop CS3?

[Jeroentje]

I have for my self PS CS2 and i like it very much and there is almost no difference between that two so..
perhaps you have there what

[Robert Amoruso]

If you want to exercise the fullest control over your images, PSCS is needed so you have access to layers, masks and the curves adjustment to name a few.

Now what I am reading about LR 2.0 sounds interesting but is it a PSCS replacement, I cannot comment.

[Christof Ruch]

Hi Maurice,

I had the same question about half a year ago - and the availability of this forum persuaded me to get CS. The problem is that Elements - which I have used a lot over the last years and still use for photo archiving / sorting- can do a lot, but it is crippled in certain areas that prevents you from following e.g. the helpful step-by-step instructions you can find in a place like here. Many functions are there only in simplified form, and some are there (even worse) under a different name with different controls that will prevent you from even noticing its the same. Many, like Robert mentioned, are missing altogether.

I bought a CS, and have learned much more about photo editing than in all the years using Elements. So if you are seriously looking into this, I'd recommend to skip Elements. Easily said, as I was eligible for a student license...

Hope that helps,
Christof

[Sid Overbey]

Maurice, I think it really depends on how much you want to manipulate your photos. If you plan to do lots of masking to alter different layers then CS3 is probably a better answer. However, I find that using Lightroom 2 has caused me to use PS a lot less, and when I do, I feel that Elements 6.0 is adequate.

Try the LR 2 demo and see if you like what it alone can do.

Sid

[Ian McHenry]

Although I think it is mostly a matter of affordability here is a suggestion.
I have Photoshop Elements 5 but have recently bought a book " Teach Yourself Visually Adobe Photoshop Elements 6" which is the most user friendly Elements book I've seen.
Presumably there will be another in the series on CS3.
Maybe you could get both on loan from your local library and compare the various functions.
Cheers: Ian Mc

[Markus Jais]

I agree with the Sid about LR2. Since I started using it, I use PS CS3 a lot less. But I still don't want to miss it because sometimes I need the power of CS3.
But for 90% off all my tasks, LR2 is enough. I think this is an awesome piece of software.

Markus

[Maurice Allen]

Thanks for everyone's help I am going to download the trial of LR 2.0 and see how that works for now. Thanks again, Maurice

[Alfred Forns]

Maurice You would do well with LR but still will need an editing program.

The new version of LR does allow for local changes and is closer to being an all around program.

[Desmond Chan]

If you want to exercise the fullest control over your images, PSCS is needed so you have access to layers, masks and the curves adjustment to name a few.

Now what I am reading about LR 2.0 sounds interesting but is it a PSCS replacement, I cannot comment.

Actually, many have already found out/developed work-around ways to use layers, masks in Elements. I used to use Elements 5 and now using CS3 (bought from Adobe with a 50% discount). Elements may not have curves but have its own way to do what curves in CS does (using sliders as in ACR). For anyone who uses Elements or want to see what Elements can do for you, take a look at this website:

http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/

As for LR 2, I don't think it can and will replace CS3. I don't think they are the same animal.

[Doug Brown]

I vote for Lightroom + CS3. Both are indispensable IMO. Elements is just OK.

[Noel Carboni]

There is nothing more powerful than Photoshop full version for image manipulation. It also presents possibly the steepest learning curve of all such applications. By most accounts I'd qualify as an image processing expert - having worked with Photoshop every day since the "wee versions" - and I am still learning how to combine things and get even better results.

One significant improvement in CS3 over CS2 that I love is that the Photomerge (stitching) function is absolutely top notch in CS3!

-Noel