Do you like Elements? What version should I buy?

[strawberry]

Do you like Elements? Is the format grey with white print like this forum?
I would appreciate your answers. I am trying to decide which element version to buy.
I have read about too many issues with E7 and E8.
strawberry
kbhouse5@comcast.net

[Dave Humphries]

Do you like Elements? Is the format grey with white print like this forum?
I would appreciate your answers. I am trying to decide which element version to buy.
I have read about too many issues with E7 and E8.
strawberry

Hi Strawberry,

I believe v6 was the first version the went grey background with white text, and it has stay that way since. I wouldn't recommend earlier versions, as there were other major improvements with v6 over v5 and earlier.

I have v6 and that has its fair share of issues. Some are out-and-out bugs, some are design weaknesses, some may be OS dependent. Some of the bugs have published workarounds; great if you know they exist!

I now don't use the Organiser bit on v6 (because of a bug), but the editor bit (with ACR) is so powerful for the price, and there's so much support for it, that it is worth sticking with.

We have other members with v7 and v8, so let's see what they come up with.

I moved your post to a new thread for a better chance of answers, hope you don't mind.

Welcome to the CiC forums from ...

[RonH]

Do you like Elements? Is the format grey with white print like this forum?
I would appreciate your answers. I am trying to decide which element version to buy.
I have read about too many issues with E7 and E8.
strawberry
kbhouse5@comcast.net

Hello from Norway.
I am a recent user of DSLR (NIkon) and was using the Nikon picture software associated with it. However a few months back, having read a lot about various softwares, I decided to buy Elements. Version 7 was in use at that time here in Norway but 8 was due out ... I waited for the latest version, bought it and have not looked back. Heck of a lot to learn though but I can understand how Adobe became the industry standard.

The online user manuals are OK but I found it necessary to purchase other hard copy books about using Elements 8. Some good ones are available and relatively easy to follow. For me its the kind of software where one will always 'learn' new techniques so keeps the grey matter working ... others in CinC may disagree that my 'grey matter' is well oiled

So my view is buy the latest 8. I have had few problems with it myself and most of these I believe have been 'self inflicted!' A good source of information on others' problems are the Adobe forums which you have probably studied. As Dave said above, the Elements Editor is very powerful ... I also use the Organiser and it seems to do all that I require presently.

As a last point, it seems that pretty much all the camera mags 'use' Photoshop/Elements so you will be among 000's of users.

[benm]

I have PSE 6 and it works well. It has a very steep learning curve but I suspect all these types of programs do - there is so much they can do and it is not always intuitive. PSE 6 comes with a 464 page manual (you have to download it - it's not in the box) but even so, it is not very useful until you already know the program well. I have found books by Philip Andrews to be very helpful.

The Organizer works well, so far I have more than 11,000 images (all JPEG's) in it, all tagged so I can find stuff. There have been many complaints about bugs in the Organizer, specifically with RAW files. There is an Adobe Photoshop Elements forum but the site is Very Slow. From their forum I am led to believe that PSE 7 and 8 have NOT addressed most of the issues that people complained about in PSE 6, just added more features. For example, many people complained about the gray/black format being hard to read though it looks fine on my laptop. The color scheme is not adjustable.

I think you can download the latest version for trial use before buying. Expect to spend lots of time to get familiar with it.

[Jim B.]

I use Elements 8.Here's a site that has some videos on Elements 8 and 7 http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/learningcenter/. I haven't had any issues yet.I've been working with Elements for the past year.Scott Kelby has a couple books on Elements.They don't go real deep into the program,but they give some good basics.

[arith]

I got elements 7 with Topaz Detail and Topaz DeNoise. The DeNoise program is easier to use than many and doesn't require a noise profile. I think ACR is brilliant and I only got PSE7 because the application I was using 'Helicon Filter' failed to raise shadows in a large panorama.

However I don't like the cloning dodging or burning tools as these are not smart enough for me, and they are 8 bit So I now open in ACR and do all the necessary 16 bit stuff before going into http://www.heliconsoft.com/heliconfilter.html Helicon to straighten, crop, dodge or burn all in 16 bit and then save as 16 bit before returning to PSE7 or if I'm posting an image here GIMP to scale.

I think Helicon is free now but I paid for my version. cheers

[PopsPhotos]

I have PS7, PSE6 and PSE7. I can't tell much difference between PSE6 and PSE7, except for the lack of a good exif display in PSE7. Also PSE7 opens with that annoying splash when you open PSE7, asking if you want to open PSE7. I got my programs through ebay, buying from shops and distributors, not individuals selling their previously registered copies. I've been allowed by Adobe to register each copy. My "expensive" copy of PSE7 cost me $25 USD in the door.

I do some work in PICASA, some work in Image Expert and go to PS only if I need to do precise cropping or major PP on a photograph, to turn it into a picture. I use Image Expert for displaying and first look at my images.

Incidentally, I do not work in raw, so that aspect is not important to me.

Pops