Photoshop...Adobe Photoshop Elements 8...Opinions

13 years ago

Today's "Amazon Deal of the Day" is Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 for Mac or PC.

Details:

Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 for Mac or PC

Save an additional $20 after mail-in rebate (click for more details).

Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 combines power and simplicity so you can easily go beyond the basics to tell great stories with your photos. Make your photos look extraordinary with editing options that let you recompose photos to any size while keeping key... read more

List Price:*******$99.99

Yesterday's Price:***$82.00

Today's Discount:**- $27.01

Gold Box Price:******$54.99 (45% off)

Many of you have & use Photoshop, so I was wondering what your experience with it is and whether you recommend this particular version. I'd like to use it for general decorating and backsplash pics (I'm getting ready to finally put in a backsplash but I'd like to see how several options look in my kitchen.) Maybe even for scrapbooking.

TIA!

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Comments (17)

User
13 years ago
That's a great price but be aware that for the typical user, it's a very challenging program to learn.

I've always been pretty good at figuring out programs, it's comes to me very easily, but I too found myself challenged by it. I think it's because when Photoshop was first written, it's primary audience was professional photographers & graphic artists. They are required to learn it as part of their ciriculum in school and until Elements, it just wasn't meant to be used by the average at home user.

Although Elements is said to be an easier program than the professional version and it was written more for an amateur, it's programming logic is still based heavily on the professional Photoshop version.

I have both Photoshop and Corel Paint Shop Pro, and although they are both similar, I find Corel to be a bit more user friendly.

The one thing I love about either of these programs is they are very versitle and do things no other program I've found can't do. For example, I can enlarge the resolution of a photo or create .jpg photos from pdf's.

After getting really frustrated I ended up investing in some tutorial books and that has helped a lot. So I guess the question you need to ask is, are you ready for a challenge? If you can go into it realizing there is a learning curve and a couple of tutorial books may be required, it could be just what you are looking for.
Buehl
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks Lukkiirish. So, do you think this version has enough features, etc. to be able to Photoshop photos like I see here and on the Kitchens Forum?

I'm not afraid of a challenge...I'm actually in the IT business...used to be a programmer (or "Developer" as they call themselves these days!)...and now do requirements, testing, SQA, etc. I like playing with software and I customize everything to the hilt (which is why I dislike Office 2007 so much...most of the ability to customize was eliminated for Word, etc.) So, I think that given time I can eventually figure it out.
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There is a file you can download here if you want to examine it/check it out. It looks like a txt file, just rename the extension to psd after you download it. It should work with Adobe Photoshop Elements, any version of Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Creative Suite, and some others. Not sure about Gimp or Paint Shop Pro. It will not work with Microsoft Paint or a vector program like Corel. No warranties, gurantees, etc. I don't plan to be glued to my computer for technical support, but I will help when/if time permits. I plan to be in the garden. I just picked up some Beauregard sweet potato plants from the big box store. It is hard for me to believe anything can grow out there in this heat, but I've got nothing to lose.
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First of all, you do not need to learn how to work with Camera Raw format. That format offers you abilities to do work on an image that a JPG doesn't, but if you mostly want to publish photos on the Web, then working with good quality JPGs is going to be quite sufficient. And yes, digital cameras all produce some degree of "noise" in images. It works pretty much the same way as film does: the higher the light sensitivity (ASA) the more visible the grain or "noise" becomes. So if you are setting your camera with a very high light sensitivity, 1600 ASA for example, the noise ("graininess") in the photos will go way up. Setting the sensitivity as low as you can is always advisable as long as it doesn't compromise your getting a sharp, clear image. Getting a good image depends on three basic factors: 1) shutter speed - the duration of the opening of the shutter must be as short as possible, within reason, to eliminate any motion of the subject or shaking of the camera operator's hands. Generally you want to use a shutter speed of at least 1/125 of a second or less. 2) depth of field - this controls how sharp the photo is by determining how much of the subject from closest-to-camera to furthest-from-camera is within the range of focus of the lens. Depth of field is determined by how small a lens opening (aperture) you set. It is usually a balancing act between shutter speed and aperture to get lots of depth of field and still use a fast enough shutter speed to eliminate any motion. Most inexpensive digital cameras don't allow you much (or any) control over these settings and simply make a decision for you. This isn't always ideal, but you may not get a full range of features from a camera in your affordability range. If possible, look for a camera that does allow you some manual control. 3) image quality settings - set the ISO/ASA ("film speed" or light sensitivity) as low as lighting conditions will allow. I personally enjoy shooting under overcast conditions which I feel best displays the full range of color of flowers and eliminates hard shadows and highlights. On a cloudy day you can often get a much more painterly look than a bright day. This means you may have to set the camera's light sensitivity to a higher setting, like 400 ASA/ISO or even higher, in order to get both a fast shutter speed and reasonable depth of field. (Keep in mind that depth of field is optional for some kinds of photos: sometimes you don't want everything to be sharply in focus from front to back, and so you may want to shoot with the lens wide open = very little depth of field) Under cloudy conditions I will often set the camera sensitivity to 400 or even 800 if necessary. If you are very lucky and the air is very still, you can use a tripod and leave the ASA/ISO setting way down at 100 (or however low your camera allows) and when you do that, you are reducing the "noise" in the image to minimum. I work exclusively with a Nikon D80 and I find that at its lowest ASA/ISO (which is 100) I can get a very large image that shows next to no noise. Even when I turn up the sensitivity to 800, I can still get a very good image with very little image noise. Its only when I turn sensitivity up to 1600 or more that image noise becomes very noticeable. A few other points: Jeri mentioned image editing software. Your needs are probably going to be very basic at the start and so perhaps Photoshop Elements might be all you need. I'm not sure what other tools might be available in the cheap-to-free range. I gather that Google's Picasa offers the basic photo editing tools. See link below. If you are up to grappling with a fairly steep learning curve, there is a free Photoshop type editing suite called The Gimp and it is almost as powerful as the full Photoshop suite, minus a few of the tools and filters. There are plenty of tutorials online to help you learn how to use it. Also, as Cass mentioned, if you are working on an OS X iMac (as I do) then you can do many image manipulations using the built in iPhoto tools. I can't tell you much about iPhoto though, since I use Photoshop CS4 as my tool of choice. If you can get your head around the idea of buying a used camera, you will undoubtedly get a lot more camera for your money. You might be lucky enough to get a DSLR for what you have to spend. I sold my Nikon D70 two years ago for less than half what I paid for it and the person who bought it got a really good deal. It was an excellent camera and I'm sure it still has years of service in it. So, you may want to consider buying second hand. People often sell their current camera to upgrade to a newer, more capable one (as I did) and there is absolutely nothing wrong with the camera they are selling, they just want to move up a level. Finally, if you already have an understanding of the basics of film camera photography, then you already know most of what is important in digital photography. All of the same basic principles apply to both, its just a matter of learning how to use the specific camera controls to get what you need from a digital. No need to be intimidated by digital imaging, especially if you have a friend who cam teach you along the way. Regards, Paul B. Here is a link that might be useful: Picasa
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well, I work w/ graphic designers, and it's very true--their tools have changed quite a bit. Classwork will really, really help. You know what also might help? Being able to sit at the elbow of someone doing a similar task w/ the software you're learning to use. Take the class first, but while you're taking it, start scouting out a publication, or advertising agency, or something--tap into those friends!--that uses the same publication you will. Contact a designer there, not necessarily the top cheese in the dept., and call. Explain yourself, and ask if you can come spend a little time watching them work. I've learned so much by seeing them do something quick, and then saying, "how'd you do that?" They then explain the tool to me, and bingo, I've got it. Seeing it happen in real life is such a big plus in terms of learning. Bcs I don't even know enough to realize the "tool" is in the program. I'd just figure out what the long way was, and do that. Then, once you're going, see if you can get them to come watch you design something. They may find efficiencies you could use. Also, one other thought: Efficiency is going to be really important. Maybe more so than creativity. So, try to spend some energy creating templates you can then simply tweak or use outright, without further fussing around. Another thing I've found: the PRINCIPLES are the same. We ship files electronically to our separator. We still send the "mechanical" (except now it's an electronic document, the QuarkXPress file)--it is the real, live, perfect thing that they will actually use. And, bcs an electronic file *can* be change and is therefore more vulnerable, the "mechanical" is now two parts--the one they use (the file) and the one they check it against. That second part used to be a printout. Now, it's a PDF. But the PRINCIPLE is the same as when it was paper. It just has another name. And often digital pictures are sent to the separator instead of actual artwork for them to photograph themselves (and sometimes actual film is sent by the advertiser, here), the principle is the same. Time consuming steps shaved off, that's all. So, as you learn the system for transmitting to the printer, or a program like Quark, with all the tools inside it (dragging, dropping, drawing, step-and-repeat, etc., try to compare with previous systems and methods--because the parallel is there. The same things are being accomplished. Also focus on the GOAL of each of these steps and not their names; it will help you understand them. And, you'll be able to mark them up even if you can't remember the term. (Remember the old days? You could write "KO type" on the tissue overlaying the mechanical; or you could have written "type should be white"--and the people reading it would know what you meant even if you didn't use the "KO" jargon) More random thoughts. Is it that you're intimidated by learning something new? Or is it that, because you are older and a better planner (and not idealistic and unrealistic, which we are when we're younger), that you have a clearer grasp of how complex this could be, and how inefficient you will be at first? That doesn't mean you should quit--just that you should STOP deciding this is an age-induced character defect, and start thinking of it as a "signal system" that's telling you something. It's telling you where the difficulties will lie which hopefully will help you tackle them. What software will you be using for your page design? I'm curious. (oh, and...if your printer can handle more than one software, you guys should use the one that your friends use, so you can use them as coaches)
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User
13 years ago
:c) Definately, Elements is the standard and what pretty much everyone uses. Keep a mental note though that if it gets too frustrating there is always the Corel program.
Given your back ground though, you certainly have an advantage. My DH is in the IT industry too and is currently in school for programming.

BTW, if you do a search, there are several free tutuorials available on line as well. :c)
writersblock (9b/10a)
13 years ago
It's a highly capable program, but as lukkiirish has said, it has a learning curve. If you don't mind that you're going to need some kind of tutorial (book, youtube, elementsvillage.com, whatever) to get going, go for it.

One advantage to Elements is that what you learn there transfers well to Photoshop if you eventually decide to go for the big gun. And there are thousands more learning resources for PSE than for Paintshop.
bird_lover6
13 years ago
I agree that it has a steep learning curve - one that I never took the time to master. :(

Thankfully, my husband is a computer programmer and learns things like that extremely quickly, so I do the shooting and he does the processing. He tends to over process, so I have to restrain him. :)

If anyone is interested in simple photo processing - not really for decorating, however - I suggest LIghtroom or iPhoto. Buying a mac was the best thing I ever did since I tend not to process my photos very much. So easy. :)

Jo
User
13 years ago
Yes, there are more learning options for PSE than Paintshop but what I've noticed though is that the two programs have very similar logic in their approach to tasks. So if you can use Photoshop proficiently, you'll also be able to use to Paintshop well, I just found Paintshop to be a little more user friendly and easier to figure out. For me, PSE and PSP is much like comparing Word and Word Perfect, once I learned one the other was a snap to use.
writersblock (9b/10a)
13 years ago
Yes, that's true, although I think they have different strengths and weaknesses. And PSP is more windows-like in its design and commands, although I'd hardly call PSE mac-like these days. :)
jejvtr
13 years ago
Buehl

http://productquest.net/photoshop-elements-8.html
Buehl
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks everyone!

Now a question...is it compatible with Windows 7?
writersblock (9b/10a)
13 years ago
see:

Here is a link that might be useful: Windows 7 and PSE
Ideefixe
13 years ago
It's not that hard. I had an older version, and I managed to figure out how to mash up photos, change colors, and so on. For under $60--what could go wrong?
vampiressrn
13 years ago
I find Adobe products in general are very difficult to use...not intuitive at all. I'm a nurse...16 years in ICU using all sorts of monitors and equipment, so I don't consider myself a total dummy. I have been involved in Telephone Nursing for the past 16 years and have learned many programs to manage patient care and also to manage employees and projects. Everything I have learned has been in the office setting by osmosis or taught myself. I'm not an expert by any means, but I can catch on to programs and even write technical curriculum as needed...but Adobe...YIKES...it makes me crazy.

I just had to learn a new program out of the Adobe Premier Pro CS3 over the last 2 days within a couple of hours. I built myself a guide with screenshots, but need to practice some more. Maybe after I get better with this video adaption program I will be able to use more elements in Photoshop...but I am a total hack in that program.

I wish I had someone at home to show me how to use all these programs...I would be sooooo happy. But I can CROP damitall!!! LOL
Buehl
Original Author
13 years ago
OK...I went ahead and ordered it. It also had an additional $20 off, so the net cost will be $34.99...not too bad!

jejvtr...I checked out that link, but w/the extra $20 off plus free 2-day shipping at Amazon, I decided to go w/Amazon. (I couldn't find a $20 off coupon/rebate on your linked site, so I didn't know if there was one available.)

As to Windows 7, I just wondered b/c my work computer has Windows 7. Our home computer has XP Professional and that's where I'll be using it mostly...so I went ahead and ordered it.

Again, thank you everyone for your help!
kathy_ny
13 years ago
Hi Buehl - you can download a 30 day free trial direct from the Adobe site - that way you can check it out before you open the box - just in case you decide it isn't for you. Elements is definitely more user friendly than Photoshop. I downloaded a free trial of both Elements and Lightroom so I could test the features and user friendliness of each before purchase.
Also on the Adobe site you will find some tutorials which may help.

Here is a link that might be useful: Elements help from Adobe
vampiressrn
13 years ago
That is a good buy...I may upgrade to that version too, even though I am technically challenged...thanks for sharing the information. You should not have any compatibility issues with Windows 7...the requirements are as follows:

System requirements
Adobe Photoshop Elements 8

* 1.6GHz or faster processor
* MicrosoftÂ® WindowsÂ® XP with Service Pack 2 or 3, Windows VistaÂ®, or Windows 7
* 1GB of RAM
* 2GB of available hard-disk space
* Color monitor with 16-bit color video card
* 1024x576 monitor resolution at 96dpi or less
* Microsoft DirectX 9 compatible display driver
* DVD-ROM drive
* Web features require Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 through 8 or Mozilla Firefox 1.5 through 3.x
User
13 years ago
We have several computers, 2 with windows 7 and it works fine on it.
debo_2006
13 years ago
You can always find tutorials on the web that showed you how to do things with the program. I have PS C3 and it is challening but learnable if you're willing to put in the time. It's fun to play with and basically, that's how you learn.

It will work fine with W7.

Photoshop...Adobe Photoshop Elements 8...Opinions

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