Posted by Tony Winton on October 31, 2008 at 6:50 PM
We want to buy Photoshop CS3, Can you tell me where the best location to purcahse this is and what I should expect to pay as well. I prefer to buy new.
Thanks
tw
Posted by John Mumaw on October 31, 2008 at 7:16 PM
$439 w/free shipping for a legitimate boxed version at Discount Mountain.
If you can find a discounted version of PS Elements (v.4 and higher), Adobe has a long running discount for Elements users to upgrade to PS CS4 for only $299 using this link.
Posted by Tony Winton on November 1, 2008 at 6:32 AM
Thanks John! Just to clarify, Photoshop CS3 is not the same as Photoshop Elements. Correct? They are two very different software programs? I'm confused about your statement above about buying PS Elements and upgrading to PS CS4 from that.
Posted by Steve Foss on November 1, 2008 at 7:38 AM
Tony, Elements is a stripped-down version with most of the essentials for photographers. You can upgrade Elements to CS3/4.
You can buy CS3 outright for $439 using the link John mentioned. But for $299 Adobe offers an upgrade to CS4 from any Elements 4 or newer version. So you go online to Evilbay and pay very little money to buy an older version of Elements (4 or newer). If you're lucky, you might have a new enough camera that Elements 4 actually was included in the bundled software CDs with the camera, so you've already got it for free. Then you install it. Then you buy and install the CS4 upgrade.
So you get the very latest version of full-blown Photoshop, and at a cheaper price than buying CS3 outright for $439.
Posted by Tony Winton on November 1, 2008 at 9:51 AM
Thanks John! Just to clarify, Photoshop CS3 is not the same as Photoshop Elements. Correct? They are two very different software programs? I'm confused about your statement above about buying PS Elements and upgrading to PS CS4 from that.
Posted by Tony Winton on November 1, 2008 at 9:54 AM
Oh, ok. Thanks Steve!!!! Sounds good. I will look on evilbay. :-) Sandi says 'hello'!
Posted by Tony Winton on November 1, 2008 at 10:14 AM
I just looked on Ebay for this and I see some that specifies Mac or PC. Some says that they are for Windows, not Vista. Some items do not specify which system it will work on. How do I know for sure if I am purchasing one that will work on a PC using Vista???
Posted by John Mumaw on November 1, 2008 at 10:58 AM
You can purchase this version of Elements v.5 at Discount Mountain for just $32 w/free shipping. All the Adobe link requires is that the CS4 version that you download from them recognize that Elements is present on your computer.
This means that you can simply have the disk in your CD drive without installing the program.
However, if you wish to install this version of Elements, then this v.5.0.2 update patch from Adobe will ensure that Elements v.5 will work with Vista.
Posted by John Mumaw on November 1, 2008 at 12:23 PM
Any particular reason you need the full version of Photoshop over Photoshop Elements?
As Steve noted, Elements has almost everything a photographer needs to optimize his/her images.
Posted by Larry Fischer on November 3, 2008 at 10:46 AM
Interesting thread and confusing for a yet non-user of Photoshop. Too many variations....
Anyway, does "Elements" have the capability of "layering" photos" (overlay--not sure of the correct term)?
This would reduce my "guiding time" for astrophotography. Layering shortens exposure time exposure. How accurate can the photos be placed if there is a slight angle difference? Larry
Posted by Buck Ward on November 3, 2008 at 8:06 PM
Larry-
Using layers in Photoshop is not the same as overlaying one image on another, although you would use layers to do the overlay.
Posted by David Bostedo on November 4, 2008 at 9:05 AM
And yes, Elements can certainly use layers. But I think you're referring to image stacking, which I'm unfamiliar with. But if it only involves layering and blending, Elements can do it. Why not download the free trial version of Elements and see if it fits the bill?
Discussion
11 repliesThanks
tw
If you can find a discounted version of PS Elements (v.4 and higher), Adobe has a long running discount for Elements users to upgrade to PS CS4 for only $299 using this link.
You can buy CS3 outright for $439 using the link John mentioned. But for $299 Adobe offers an upgrade to CS4 from any Elements 4 or newer version. So you go online to Evilbay and pay very little money to buy an older version of Elements (4 or newer). If you're lucky, you might have a new enough camera that Elements 4 actually was included in the bundled software CDs with the camera, so you've already got it for free. Then you install it. Then you buy and install the CS4 upgrade.
So you get the very latest version of full-blown Photoshop, and at a cheaper price than buying CS3 outright for $439.
This means that you can simply have the disk in your CD drive without installing the program.
However, if you wish to install this version of Elements, then this v.5.0.2 update patch from Adobe will ensure that Elements v.5 will work with Vista.
As Steve noted, Elements has almost everything a photographer needs to optimize his/her images.
Anyway, does "Elements" have the capability of "layering" photos" (overlay--not sure of the correct term)?
This would reduce my "guiding time" for astrophotography. Layering shortens exposure time exposure. How accurate can the photos be placed if there is a slight angle difference? Larry
Using layers in Photoshop is not the same as overlaying one image on another, although you would use layers to do the overlay.