Photoshop Questions

[dennis_stogsdill1]

I have been playing with Elements for the past two months and while

it is a decent tool (especially for the cost), I am suspectng I

should get Photoshop so I can work in 16 bit.

 

So here are my questions:

1) Is 6 bit really that much better than 8 bit?

2) What can I do in CS that I can not do in Elements (besides

limited 16 bit editing)?

3) Where is the best place to buy PS CS?

4) I heard that PS 9 is coming out soon, should I wait?

5) What is a good price for PSCS?

 

Thanks in advance for your help!

[beauh44]

Hi Dennis, I'll take a stab:

 

1) 16 bit *can* be much better but it's not a panacea for under-exposed or poorly focused shots. If you just make 4X6 prints, you'll probably never see the difference. If you're making big prints, you probably will - the 16 bit files should have better tonal gradations because there's more information there. You'll get much bigger file sizes too that eat up lots of disk space.

 

2) It's been a while since I used Elements and Version 3 is reportedly much better than V. 2, but you'll get the Curves tool which is very useful. There are other Image Adjustment tools like Channel Mixer which is useful for making B&W shots out of color shots.

 

3) I would contact Adobe to see if you might qualify for an upgrade or if you happen to attend school, a student discount. I've bought all my Photoshop versions directly from Adobe. Note that some products - like film scanners - sometimes include Elements with an upgrade path to CS for a greatly reduced cost.

 

4) I've only read a small blurb on PS 9 and from what I read I can't see any compelling reason to wait, personally. PS can run anywhere from the upper $200 bracket (discounted or upgrades) all the way up to 6 or 700 dollars. Good luck!

[malcolmdwyer]

<ol>

<li>I'll leave this one for someone else...</li>

<li>For the full list, see <a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop">Here</a>.</p>

In my opinion the key things are:</p>

<ul>

<li>Curves adjustments. When adjusting the light and

dark areas of a pictures with Levels... you are limited

to a linear transform. Curves will let you open up the

midtones without clipping the shadows and highlights... and

lots of other adjustments.</li>

<li>Layer masks. In Elements you can do an adjustment layer such

as Levels, and then mask parts of that layer out. In PSCS

you can do a mask like that on any kind of layer.</li>

<li>Channels -- Lots of control over color balance.</li>

</ul>

</li>

<li>See #5</li>

<li>No idea.</li>

<li>

PSCS costs $649 for the full version, $169 for the upgrade from

any previous full version of Photoshop (not Elements). There

are of course people selling illegally for less, but I doubt

you'll actually get the software from them. It's possible

someone would legitimately sell their copy to you, although

with Adobe's product activation, I'd be careful with that.<br>

 

If you got elements bundled for free with a camera or scanner

you can upgrade to PSCS for $300. See here:

<a href="http://store.adobe.com/store/products/master.jhtml?id=catCanon">http://store.adobe.com/store/products/master.jhtml?id=catCanon</a><br>

(Change 'Canon' at the end of that URL to any of the other

companies who bundle elements with their products to the see

the appropriate page).

</li>

</ol>

[dennis_stogsdill1]

There will be occasions where I will want to blow some pictures up, so the 16 bit does sound important. As for the other items like curves, I just do not know enough about them to kow if they are important to me.

 

I did see that $299 upgrade offer..and that may just be enough reason for me to take the CS plunge.

 

I am presuming the CS interface is similar to Elements, so my learning curve will be short?

[paul_sokal___dallas__tx]

I was using element 2, then upgraded to 3 and finally decided if I am going to get serious, I need CS. I agree that the Curves is probably the most important advantage, though there are many. What I did, choking on the $700 price tag (and I guess I was unaware I could upgrade from elements for $300) was to buy a copy of PS6 on e-Bay ($79) and then use it to upgrade to CS ($149 at CompUSA). There was some risk involved for sure, but it worked like a charm, thoguh actually the copy of PS6 refused to install on my computer, but the ser# was good with Adobe and CS accepted the PS6 CD without problems to complete the upgrade. If you're really serious about photgraphy and you must be or you wouldn't be at this website, you need CS.

[maxz]

There are some free packages that give you some of this functionality (curves, channel mixer, etc). Although it might not be as nicely integrated as in CS and maybe not as powerful (I have never used CS), but they are worth checking out. I have found <A HREF="http://member.melbpc.org.au/~pshipley/Download.htm">Extra Elements</A> by Paul Shipley to be very useful. I have used it for Elements 2 and if I get some time over tonight after cutting matte boards I will see how it works with Elements 3.

[carl photography]

I use Elements 2, along with a set of enhanced tools (including monochromatic Curves) on a CD that was included with a book by Richard Lynch, which you can buy at Amazon for $6: "The Hidden Power of Photoshop Elements 2."

 

Elements 3 (which probably costs around $80 at Wal-Mart) will work with 16-bit files, if you really need this feature (we don't, and we sell portraits up to 16"x20"). If original 16-bit digital photos or scans were reasonably well exposed, then 8-bit post-editing and printing are just fine.

 

You can make a Layer Mask in Elements, by grouping a layer with a new layer underneath.

 

My favorite book for quickly learning how to accomplish things using Elements is "The Photoshop Elements Book for Digital Photographers" by Scott Kelby.

 

Both of these books have different versions available for Elements 3.

 

But CS is worth purchasing (as an upgrade from Elements) if it is a business expense, needed to prepare pictures for publication, etc.

 

"Brandon's Dad