PSE vs PS CS

Cloudy Wizzard · 11-02-2007, 02:48 AM

I'm curently learning the basics of Photoshop Elements 6 and I'm wondering what the advantage of Photoshop CS would be over Elements.

When you go to Adobe they claim Elements is for the Hobby photographer and CS3 is for the Professional or Serious Hobby photographer and then you should also get Lightroom.

if you look at the price then Elements is around $100 while CS3 and Lightroom are around $1000 (CS3 is around $800 already).

so what added features justify paying the extra $700 for CS3 ???
first I thought the ability to use plug-ins but the Bibble Pro and noise-ninja plugins also work with PSE6 (Bibble lite should come with a PSE plugin so I guess it's not the same as the CS2 plugin that comes with Bibble pro but it seems to work here anyways).

also I guess Lightroom is a RAW processing tool (like Bibble) so it's not needed unless you don't have a tool like Bibble and you shoot in RAW. ?

roscot · 11-02-2007, 05:28 AM

If you go with PS CS3, you do not need Lightroom. Of course Adobe would LIKE you to buy both

.

PS has several advantages over Elements. But also has a much steeper learning curve.

Off the top of my head, a few advantages are:

Many of the filters and adjustment layers that only work in 8 bit mode in PSE, are 16 bit in PS.
There are many more adjustment and effects filters in PS
Actions - PS allows you to automate repetitious functions.
Full function RAW converter. Some of the advanced functions in ACR are turned off in PSE.

PSE is a great place to learn though. And there is an upgrade discount to PS when you are ready (Basically you pay difference in price between PS and PSE.

Lightroom is another option if all you want are the basic photo editing functions. It works pretty well, and all your corrections are nondestructive.
I did not care for it when I beta tested it, but that is just me. Lots of people really like it.

Cloudy Wizzard · 11-02-2007, 06:40 AM

Thanks for the reply.

I do need to find the "upgrade" price from PSE to PS though since on their site I only saw the FULL version and an Update version but that required you to own a previous copy of PS not PSE.

I was under the impression that Lightroom was an addition to PS but I guess it's not (it's a diffrent product for diffrent use ?).

I'm not planning on "upgrading" to PS CS3 at the moment though (maybe in the future when I'm more experienced with PSE).

*Ari* · 11-02-2007, 07:46 AM

I have used CS3 on my mac for a while, and to be honest, I have found the basic functions I need (and I am by NO means an expert on this) in GIMP (freeware). I have all but given up using my mac for photo editing. Not that it's not up to the job, it's just easier to use my pc laptop on the fly.
I did just take an online seminar from Apple on the new features of Aperture. If you have a dual core Intel Mac lying around, I would definitely check that out

Seems impressive and takes a logical approach to digital workflow.

Cloudy Wizzard · 11-02-2007, 10:29 AM

Originally Posted by Ari

I have used CS3 on my mac for a while, and to be honest, I have found the basic functions I need (and I am by NO means an expert on this) in GIMP (freeware).

Actually the Gimp is software under the GPL license which is not exactly the same as freeware but it's still free

Originally Posted by Ari

I have all but given up using my mac for photo editing. Not that it's not up to the job, it's just easier to use my pc laptop on the fly.
I did just take an online seminar from Apple on the new features of Aperture. If you have a dual core Intel Mac lying around, I would definitely check that out Seems impressive and takes a logical approach to digital workflow.

Well I don't have a Mac around here and buying one to be able to use Aperture would be more expensive then buying Photoshop Extended

Anyways, I might check the Gimp (I already have it on my Linux system but since the tutorials I'm taking are for PSE I'm using that now to learn the basics. Also opinions about the Gimp vary for person to person since some people think it's the best and other claim it can't match Photoshop).

Photo Tramp · 11-03-2007, 04:00 AM

Alan (Rescot) hits the differences head on. If you have CS3 there is no need for light room. elements has what a photography hobbyist needs to start out and has a very easy learning curve. In CS3 and it depends on if you buy just CS3 or the entire suite (difference between $800 and $1800) the suite contains bridge, acrobat 8 Pro, device central, dreamweaver, Flash Pro, and flash video encoder, Illustrator, Live cycle designer,and Photoshop CS3. More than just Hobbyist needs. But if you learn CS3 you find out there is no need for anything more. Although I still have Paintshop Pro 10, 11, and 12 on the hard drive and many times use Paint shop pro 12 for slight changes and quick red eye reduction.