[Ratmagiclady]

Hopefully-quick question, (Kind of gathering there's a consensus about this,) but with the soon-to-be-happening newer computer in the house, there'll be probably a little call to upgrade the editing software from PSE 2.0 to something a little more current. (There hasn't been any point so far, with what I've had to work with)

PSE 8 is available so cheap that I doubt price is a factor between the versions, but I gather it's just the best of the lot out there? No problems that would make one want to play it safer with an earlier one?

No better alternatives that might come in around 100 bucks or so? (PSE 8, it looks like I can have for fourty-sixty: I assume that with that and the Pentax software, it's enough to be getting on with. I've yet to get very far along the post-processing learning curve: with a vague monitor and a slow machine, it's been pretty basic, with a lot of guesswork involved about what things are really looking like. The stuff that's analagous to, err, analog, doesn't seem too hard: it's the computereyness. ) I figure, any more than that kind of price, and I may as well save up for what I end up really wanting.

Anyway, long way around saying, PSE 8 sound like a plan for Windows 7? (The new machine will be Windows: must be, for reasons beyond our control.)

[blackcloudbrew]

While I've become a total user of Lightroom over the last year, I still recomment PSE to many who need the basics in photo editing software. If you are using PSE v2 you will be both lost for a time and yet still on familar ground with v8. What I don't care for in the later versions of PSE is the tendency to want to put all photos into catalogs automatically. I haven't spend enough time with my wifes version of v8 to master it but it's one annoyance that I have to say I don't like. I believe you can process raw images with PSE v8 with the same ACR engine that's in the bigger version of PS.

In short, upgrade but plan to spend some time learning it.

[hanamai]

May I suggest Paint Shop Pro X2?

I have tried PSE 8 and I guess it depends on what you want to do as well as your post-processing style. I found it extremely limiting, although it did have some nice features. For what it is, it is a decent program, and I think you'll probably appreciate the upgrade as well it probably being necessary since you're also upgrading your PC.

I want to throw PSP X2 out there, because you can get it for about the same price (I paid $48.99, including shipping, directly from Corel) and it's a very powerful (albeit, slow) editor. It does a lot of what PSE does, just in a different order. If you're used to PSE, there will definitely be a learning curve, but it's very worth it in my opinion. I came from using Photoshop CS3 (but that program died with a dead PC) and when I tried out both PSE 8 and PSP X2, I found the latter a lot more powerful and comparable to Photoshop CS#. I would still love Photoshop CS#, but for the money, PSP is more than worth it.

I don't know your editing style, but since you can try out both programs from Adobe and Corel via their respective websites; I say, try them both out and see what suits you.

[NaClH2O]

I think hanamai's suggestion a good one, even tho I have never used the Corel product, there certainly is more than one way to edit, and what one likes, another may not. For instance I tried out Lightroom but wasn't very happy with it, and went back to PSE.
I went from PSE 3 to PSE 7 on an Windows XP machine and while there was a learning curve, I didn't find it impossibly steep. That said, there is a very big difference between V.2 and V.8 I also agree with bcb, about the PSE's photo organization. The nice thing is, you don't have to use it. I don't and haven't missed it. I can highly recommend Barbara Bundage's "Photoshop Elements: The Missing Manual" an excellent book on the program. Simple enough for beginners but with enough advanced features to at least keep me going.
One final point. If you know anyone with a student ID, think seriously about the full blown photoshop program. The "educational" version is a very real bargain.

NaCl(PSE 8 is a good program, but there have been massive changes since PSE 2)H2O

[clmonk]

I have been using Elements for several years and I wholeheartedly endorse it. Although I have CS3 on my machine too, I use Elements almost exclusively. It does virtually EVERYTHING I need it to do. I have also used the PSP product and it too, is very capable. The thing I like most about Elements is that when you have a question you will get an immediate response because the Photoshop answer is usually the Elements answer. That works the other way too. If you ever decide you need a bit more power and want to make the jump to full-fledged PS you will not have to learn a new command set or workflow. Concerning Element's desire to catalogue everything, that is easily handled in the initial set-up or can be easily modified to do what YOU want it to do in the Preferences dialogs. Barbara Brundage's book is good, but I more often recommend Scott Kelby's (with Matt Kosklowski).

Ka-Ching (that was my $0.02 expiring!)

[jimH]

I've used Paint Shop Pro Photo through about 3 or 4 versions and I find that it does everything that I want done. It does convert PEF & DNG RAW files, however, I like the way Pentax Photo Laboratory works with Pentax RAW conversions better. I'd recommend Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 Ultimate. As Hanamai suggested, you can download the program from the Corel web site for free to try. That's what I did initially.

[Ratmagiclady]

Thanks, everyone. I've used the old PSP, what it could do seemed pretty intuitive to me (Even years ago, it just ran too slowly on machines I had to be practical, though: I'd occasionally run it for one little thing or another, definitely was a resource-hog.)

The Photoshop options do have that advantage of more expertise to draw on out there, (and here, I suppose.) We should be able to take advantage of the student discount, (People in graduate programs qualify?) at that, now that it's mentioned. Still would be a pretty major outlay for me, though, I'm kind of on shoestrings.

I suppose I'll just have a peek at the trial versions and see if one makes a stronger impression. Probably leaning toward the PSE just cause there's more help out there, but who knows. Can't say I have a 'style' yet: I'll probably just be happy to shoot some RAW.

I'll surely do a lot of monochrome, ...I like the high ISO, probably won't get too fancy, but who knows. Maybe some selective color: always wished I could do that back in film days. Can do that out of the back of my camera, but rarely seem to. Might like to throw some of my poetry in frame on occasion, so being good with text wouldn't hurt. But, we'll see.

Thanks, everyone.

[jimH]

I think that you can buy PSP X2 Ultimate pretty cheap right now, if you like what you see on the free download. They provide a suprising number of tutorials on line also. Hasn't stopped being a resource Hog, though with a new machine with lots of RAM it may not be such an issue.

[Ratmagiclady]

Right, Jim. This won't be a super-machine, we're getting, but I'm upgrading from a trusty ol' guy who can barely keep up with the stuff that came with my Lumix bridge camera, (Some now-old Arcsoft stuff which is actually I think kind of a nice product for the not-too-serious, it's a bit limited, but it runs well and is not hoggy at all. ) Ought to be pretty nice, and I expect sufficient for now,

Later, I expect I'll put together something bigger for a machine: given a decent monitor, I should be able to piece together quite a fast desktop with relative ease.

[jimH]

Right, Jim. This won't be a super-machine, we're getting, but I'm upgrading from a trusty ol' guy who can barely keep up with the stuff that came with my Lumix bridge camera, (Some now-old Arcsoft stuff which is actually I think kind of a nice product for the not-too-serious, it's a bit limited, but it runs well and is not hoggy at all. ) Ought to be pretty nice, and I expect sufficient for now,

Later, I expect I'll put together something bigger for a machine: given a decent monitor, I should be able to piece together quite a fast desktop with relative ease.

Right RML, I see where you're coming from. If your looking for cheap and capable, how about GIMP?

[Ratmagiclady]

Right RML, I see where you're coming from. If your looking for cheap and capable, how about GIMP?

Hrm, I dunno, I actually haven't heard mention of that in a while, and I'm not actually familiar with it except hearing about it in passing on the Net. It's always sounded as though it might not be the most user-friendly for those who aren't computer experts. (I figure I have a bit of a leg up with plenty of analog darkroom experience, but it seems learning much more computer stuff is something the ol' brain finds difficult sometimes. )

In fact, I suppose it might be an intelligent question to ask which behaves the most like an analog darkroom. I know some of the old PSE controls are going for that a bit.

[mysticcowboy]

I had to use the GIMP to process photos for a job and could never get to like it, even with hundreds of hours using it. One of the big problems with it is that it was designed by and for geeks that just happened to do graphics. Corel is certainly a decent product and is a good value. It, like Adobe products was designed for graphic artists and photographers. While both have different workflows they make sense, because they were meant to work for artistic thought styles.

the GIMP, is about as powerful as Elements, and you can't beat the free price. It's even worth a download to try it out. I just can't recommend it.

One advantage to Adobe products, even though they are more expensive is that there is tons of after market instruction: books, videos, websites and so on. For me that makes Elements the better choice because I always find answers and tips.

michael mckee
My Port Townsend – A City in Photographs – 365

[George Lama]

If you're planning on ever using Lightroom, it would be very advisable to stick to PSE. They work great together and you can transfer from lightroom to PSE and back without the whole import/export grief. They really do talk nicely to each other.

I've tried GIMP and it's a very powerful program - but just like PhotoShop, it just has way too many features that I would rarely use in my workflow. I do most of my editing in Lightroom and export to PSE when I want to do some destructive editing, then right back to LightRoom.

[Ratmagiclady]

If you're planning on ever using Lightroom, it would be very advisable to stick to PSE. They work great together and you can transfer from lightroom to PSE and back without the whole import/export grief. They really do talk nicely to each other.

I think this may end up being just the track I take: toward PSE and Lightroom: via just PSE. At least I think that's the best guess I can make from here, with what I know. I like what I saw in a review of the Lightroom interface, so I think that's where I'll want to end up.

(More thanks to all concerned. )

[brofkand]

Photoshop Elements has become far too dumbed down to be a serious photo editor anymore, in my opinion.

The ACR interface is, I believe, CS3's (version 4) edition, not the latest ACR 5 in PS CS4. So it may not support PEF files from the K-7 or K-x (no problem with DNG, obviously).

I think Bridge CS4 with Photoshop CS4 is the gold standard, even with the choices of Aperture, Lightroom, and the like. Camera Raw is for me what Lightroom is (in terms of editing), and Lightroom's cataloging features are taken care of by Bridge. Plus I have Photoshop when I need it.