[SpecialK]

I've exclusively used Elements now for about 6 months (after using PS for 10 years) and can say that it takes a long time to fully explore Elements and that a quick trial will not enable one to fairly evaluate it.

I've been using Elements since v6 (now on 13) after bailing on Pentax PPL 3.51 which did not even have a healing tool.

I agree that it is far from a basic program in Expert mode. I have not come close to mastering anything with layers (only a couple half-hearted tries), but apart from exposure, contrast, black level, etc., it was useful for photomerging parts of 2 images into one, can fix lens distortion, watermark, tag (basics) and many other things that may be just the ticket for many people - for about $70 or less - with many online tutorials and support.