As most of you know, I am basically inept when it comes to Photoshop! I've never had the time to study it on my own, or the chance to take a class. Our local community college is now offering online courses, and I'm ready to learn more. I have Elements 2.0 which is fine for basic adjustments and levels, but does not have curves (not that I would know what to do with it if it did). It has some layers capabilities, but again I really don't know how to use it. I would like to purchase CS2, but not sure if I can afford it or if I really need it. I have a few questions, and I need your help to guide me in the right direction...
1. What is the difference between CS2/CS3 and PS7/PS8?
2. What is the difference between Elements 5, which I can easily afford, and the ones mentioned in question 1?
3. I have found a "download only" version of CS2 for $169.00. It says it is the software only, no support, upgrades, manuals or CDs. Is that a viable option? I can't afford the $600-$700 price tag of the full version.
4. Do you think elements 5 would provide all the features I might need? Or would it be best to go with CS2?
I have received a few comments on my photos from time to time saying something along the lines of..."great shot but it could use some more post processing" or "it needs something else to make it pop" which I agree with completely...I just need to know how to do it, and what PS version I need to have for the best results in my photos.
Thanks in advance...I know you are the ones that can help me out!
Hi Alice. I am sure your questions are not unique to you. The answers are not easy to put in a post. However, I would not buy the version of CS2 you mentioned unless it was directly from Adobe's website. If the site you would download from offers no support I would be concerned the CS2 version was, in fact a trial version. You would have to have a completely valid 24 digit serial number and be able to activate the software to use it beyond 30 days. Buying on line from an unknown source may expose you to paying and not being able to use beyond the trial period.
RE the other questions, any version of Elements beyond E3 will allow you to do limited adjustments in 16 bit files. This will give you smoother colors and color transitions along with many more colors available. This is assuming you are shooting in RAW and not the 8 bit compressed JPEG. E3 and above have pretty good sup[port for layers which, once learned can be a huge bonus in doing selective adjustments to only certain areas of images. Layers also allow you to save an image with layers intact for future modification without redoing the entire post processing again.
All versions post E3 and PS8 have a "healing brush" which is outstanding for dust removal and a bit of blemish removal. It is handy and fast.
CS3 adds many benefits from CS2. The RAW converter - Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) - in CS3 is more advanced and comes with several features that make processing RAW files more accurate and easier. I believe Adobe will not provide updates to the CS2 ACR that support newer cameras - the Canon 1DMKIII in particular. These updates will be available in CS3. I am not sure about updates in ACR in Elements.
The selection tool in CS3 is more advanced and more accurate and there are many new filters. In short if you were to pay the price for CS2 you might as well get CS3.
All that said, I believe that new comers to PS processing would do well to get Elements 3, 4, or 5. They will give you all the basics to get you started and allow 16 bit processing for many actions. When you outgrow Elements you can upgrade to CS3 and get a $100 discount off the full price. Since the Elements version cost about $100 you will be getting your money back when you upgrade.
I now there is more you are asking for, but this should get the thread going with more input from others.
Thanks Ed! The site that offers the "download version" is www.esoftwarevalue.com. It says it's a full version, not a trial. Still, I'm leery...it's the only site I found with such an offer.
Alice - I have Elements 4 and have found very little I couldn't do with it. (I edit only JPG, no RAW.) The two main things it is missing in my opinion are curves, and channel mixer (which I'd like to do black and white conversions). I did find a free curves add on that I use pretty constantly - it doesn't allow you to do curves as an adjustment layer though, which would allow you to change it after it's applied. Right now, I apply it and have to undo or start over if I want to change it. All things considered, though, I can't think of any really good reasons I would want CS3.
Alice,
Keep in mind, if you take that PhotoShop course at the Community College you will be eligible for academic discounts.
I'm in the middle of a CC PS course right now here in Washington State. It is perfect for me. PS is so complicated that I, personally, really need to study in a course. And I find that the discounts allow me to buy at greatly reduced rates. Curves and Layers are vital. Elements, I think, is a bit of a teaser.
TIm Stenning, Forks, Wash.
I have been using PS7 for last 3-4 years. I recently ordered CS3 and had lot of trouble due to different IDs I used to order PS7 and CS3.
One of the biggest advantage CS2 (and above) offers is working in 16bit mode. Other than that I did not miss anything in PS7.
Alice, I have Elements 4 and Elements 5. Both very affordable but I prefer Elements 5 since I recently bought Scott Kelbys book " The Photoshop Elements 5 Book for Digital Photographers". This is a very understandable step by step "how to" book with examples of common and advanced tasks and some work arounds to accomplish tasks in E5 that mimick the way CS2/3 work. In the two weeks I have had the book I am doing things I did not understand before. I have learned more in the last two weeks than I did in the last year. I suggest you go to book store and take a look at this title before you decide to by any software. It will answer a lot of your questions and it is a fun read. You can take it section by section and learn how to solve immediate problems without reading the whole book. It is like Scott is standing over your shoulder telling you exactly what to do. I am now finding Post Processing to be more enjoyable and less frustrating. E5 has very limited support for 16 bit beyond tonal adjustments. Read page 71 for a good explantion of bit depth. Good luck with your decision.
John
If you take the class at ICC, you can get a student's version (no difference at all) at a substantial discount, $269, I believe? Its a very good deal. Then you can begin working with RAW (in a much-improved version of ACR, in my opinion) layers, and all of advantages that digital imaging offers.
I also prefer to have the installation CD rather than the download - but that's just me personally.
I would suggest going for the latest version you can afford, even if it's not CS3 (CS2 is still a big step up from Elements and you can probably get it for decent prices now). The older PS7 is very limited in raw conversion and camera support, and to a large extent so is CS. CS2 still supports most raw formats, but chances are future models will only be supported on CS3.
The two things missing from Elements that will be deal breakers for me are color management and lack of a Curves tool (though there are 3rd-party add-ins for the latter). Since I like to have complete control over my images and prepare them for print myself, color management is essential to me. Other things in the full version, like working in Lab color are power-features you may want to use in the future and it's nice to have them available.
Elements will give you a lot to get you started but if you think you'll end up preparing and making your own prints at some point then you'll probably want to move up to the full version in the future anyway.
Buying Photoshop for the first time is a big hit. After that upgrades are generally under $200 when new versions come out.
I thing the listing you found for CS2 sounds little fishy. You can probably find shrink-wrapped boxes with unregistered software on eBay for a reasonable price now that CS3 is out. These are probably safer bets. Also, as someone mentioned - if you know someone who is a student or works for a university, they can get the educational discount.
I guess the main point is - if you think you'll need the full version of Photoshop at some point then it might make sense to jump right to it rather than spend a little here and a little there which will ultimately add up to more.
Either way, once you pick the version that's right for you, you may also want to budget for a good book to go with it. All of them are very powerful and require some learning to get the most out of and a good book will help you get up and running quickly.
1. CS2 and CS3 have big improvements - shadows/highlights, noise reduction and smart sharpen are the most important for me.
2. As far as I know elements don't have some of the advanced controls of CS ;-)
3. It looks very fishy ;-)
4. I'd go for CS3...it is expensive but, if you use it well, you can make huge improvements...imho it is an essential tool. Some examples of what you can do here: Introduction to Adobe Photoshop
Alice, if you're on a tight budget you might consider Corel's Paintshop Pro 10 or 11. It has curves, layers, masks, adjustment layers, a large variety of tools such as the clone tool, distortion correction, etc, etc. It is also compatible with many of the PS plug-ins. It's usually available right near $100 US. I have elements 5.0 and never use it. PSP is much more powerful and easier to use in my opinion.
I am pretty much self taught in Photoshop. Still this subject has a rather steep leaning curve. I have been learning photoshop for over a period of several years now. I have supplemented my knowledge of the subject with free online courses, ebooks and printed books by Thomson Course Technology. Still I keep adding bits of new knowledge to what I already know.
There are a few resources online for free courses in Photoshop. Both HP and Sony offer free classes. Some other company has created these courses that are then offered through either HP or Sony.
The links for these courses include the following:
3. I have found a "download only" version of CS2 for $169.00. It says it is the software only, no support, upgrades, manuals or CDs. Is that a viable option? I can't afford the $600-$700 price tag of the full version.
Alice, these are pirated versions of Adobe software. That is why there is no support for these "versions". I would report this site to Adobe! IMHO, Paintshop Pro is a good alternative to Photoshop. I just haven't kept up with whether or not Paintshop Pro can handle RAW files.
Thanks everyone for your help! I think I can get the educational version of CS3 since my son is in college! I'll have to check further on that. I called Adobe and they told me the site I referred to is NOT authorized by Adobe, so it must be pirated. They said many times people who purchase those versions end up with a software code that is useless, and there is nothing Adobe can do to help.
I just got CS3 and I cannot comment too much since this is the first time I have had a CS version. But one thing is for sure, they have a fantastic photomerge function. When you select pictures you want to have photomerged, and even though you may have not shot your panorame very well, it will automatically put the pictures together and adjust for perspective. It is a huge leap form what I could do with CS2 trial versions.
Alice, I have just recently purchased photoshop CS2. I too kept receiving comments which I could not accomplish with my then present software. I purchased mine from Amazon.com for $599. I saw many sites offering it for $69,169,and so on, but I was leary of such a difference in price and wanted a program that would last. and be supported. They also have CS3 for 50 bucks more, but I feel that I can upgrade when and If I need to. At the present my computer speed will not handle CS3.I too would be interested in online classes. You mentioned a collage offering these classes, could you please post the name of it?If your compurter can hander it, I would go for CS3 and bite the bullet. Another thing, I now use PaintShop Pro (Corel) XI which is good, but I have great difficulty converting some of the directions given on the forums , in Corel language.. I probably could do it but for me it takes just too much time,
Discussion
21 replies1. What is the difference between CS2/CS3 and PS7/PS8?
2. What is the difference between Elements 5, which I can easily afford, and the ones mentioned in question 1?
3. I have found a "download only" version of CS2 for $169.00. It says it is the software only, no support, upgrades, manuals or CDs. Is that a viable option? I can't afford the $600-$700 price tag of the full version.
4. Do you think elements 5 would provide all the features I might need? Or would it be best to go with CS2?
I have received a few comments on my photos from time to time saying something along the lines of..."great shot but it could use some more post processing" or "it needs something else to make it pop" which I agree with completely...I just need to know how to do it, and what PS version I need to have for the best results in my photos.
Thanks in advance...I know you are the ones that can help me out!
RE the other questions, any version of Elements beyond E3 will allow you to do limited adjustments in 16 bit files. This will give you smoother colors and color transitions along with many more colors available. This is assuming you are shooting in RAW and not the 8 bit compressed JPEG. E3 and above have pretty good sup[port for layers which, once learned can be a huge bonus in doing selective adjustments to only certain areas of images. Layers also allow you to save an image with layers intact for future modification without redoing the entire post processing again.
All versions post E3 and PS8 have a "healing brush" which is outstanding for dust removal and a bit of blemish removal. It is handy and fast.
CS3 adds many benefits from CS2. The RAW converter - Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) - in CS3 is more advanced and comes with several features that make processing RAW files more accurate and easier. I believe Adobe will not provide updates to the CS2 ACR that support newer cameras - the Canon 1DMKIII in particular. These updates will be available in CS3. I am not sure about updates in ACR in Elements.
The selection tool in CS3 is more advanced and more accurate and there are many new filters. In short if you were to pay the price for CS2 you might as well get CS3.
All that said, I believe that new comers to PS processing would do well to get Elements 3, 4, or 5. They will give you all the basics to get you started and allow 16 bit processing for many actions. When you outgrow Elements you can upgrade to CS3 and get a $100 discount off the full price. Since the Elements version cost about $100 you will be getting your money back when you upgrade.
I now there is more you are asking for, but this should get the thread going with more input from others.
have fun.
Ed
Keep in mind, if you take that PhotoShop course at the Community College you will be eligible for academic discounts.
I'm in the middle of a CC PS course right now here in Washington State. It is perfect for me. PS is so complicated that I, personally, really need to study in a course. And I find that the discounts allow me to buy at greatly reduced rates. Curves and Layers are vital. Elements, I think, is a bit of a teaser.
TIm Stenning, Forks, Wash.
One of the biggest advantage CS2 (and above) offers is working in 16bit mode. Other than that I did not miss anything in PS7.
John
If you can afford it, I would go with CS3.
If you take the class at ICC, you can get a student's version (no difference at all) at a substantial discount, $269, I believe? Its a very good deal. Then you can begin working with RAW (in a much-improved version of ACR, in my opinion) layers, and all of advantages that digital imaging offers.
I also prefer to have the installation CD rather than the download - but that's just me personally.
I would suggest going for the latest version you can afford, even if it's not CS3 (CS2 is still a big step up from Elements and you can probably get it for decent prices now). The older PS7 is very limited in raw conversion and camera support, and to a large extent so is CS. CS2 still supports most raw formats, but chances are future models will only be supported on CS3.
The two things missing from Elements that will be deal breakers for me are color management and lack of a Curves tool (though there are 3rd-party add-ins for the latter). Since I like to have complete control over my images and prepare them for print myself, color management is essential to me. Other things in the full version, like working in Lab color are power-features you may want to use in the future and it's nice to have them available.
Elements will give you a lot to get you started but if you think you'll end up preparing and making your own prints at some point then you'll probably want to move up to the full version in the future anyway.
Buying Photoshop for the first time is a big hit. After that upgrades are generally under $200 when new versions come out.
I thing the listing you found for CS2 sounds little fishy. You can probably find shrink-wrapped boxes with unregistered software on eBay for a reasonable price now that CS3 is out. These are probably safer bets. Also, as someone mentioned - if you know someone who is a student or works for a university, they can get the educational discount.
I guess the main point is - if you think you'll need the full version of Photoshop at some point then it might make sense to jump right to it rather than spend a little here and a little there which will ultimately add up to more.
Either way, once you pick the version that's right for you, you may also want to budget for a good book to go with it. All of them are very powerful and require some learning to get the most out of and a good book will help you get up and running quickly.
Guy
1. CS2 and CS3 have big improvements - shadows/highlights, noise reduction and smart sharpen are the most important for me.
2. As far as I know elements don't have some of the advanced controls of CS ;-)
3. It looks very fishy ;-)
4. I'd go for CS3...it is expensive but, if you use it well, you can make huge improvements...imho it is an essential tool. Some examples of what you can do here: Introduction to Adobe Photoshop
Guy
There are a few resources online for free courses in Photoshop. Both HP and Sony offer free classes. Some other company has created these courses that are then offered through either HP or Sony.
The links for these courses include the following:
http://h30240.www3.hp.com/index.jsp
http://my101.learningcenter.sony.us/index.jsp
Alice, these are pirated versions of Adobe software. That is why there is no support for these "versions". I would report this site to Adobe!
I just got CS3 and I cannot comment too much since this is the first time I have had a CS version. But one thing is for sure, they have a fantastic photomerge function. When you select pictures you want to have photomerged, and even though you may have not shot your panorame very well, it will automatically put the pictures together and adjust for perspective. It is a huge leap form what I could do with CS2 trial versions.
Regards,
Christoph