do we really-really need Photoshop Elements?

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Hello all,

I think I have the level in photography begginer-intermediate ... previous
experience with Russian camera Zenit ... :-P I took pictures for a living in
Cuba )) I mean to support my Univ. studies ))

I got my new D70 kit and bought the 70-300mm ED lens and have
been playing with all the new equipment. I have used the following
software to fix my pictures: Nikon Photo Editor along with PictureProject
and Adobe Photoshop Elements and to be honest 4/5 pictures I edited
with both I got the best results using Nikon Editor ... I have been using
in general the features (from both Nikon vs Elements):

- Adjust contrast (Elements & NikonEditor)
- Adjust colors (Elements & NikonEditor)
- Adjust level (Elements & NikonEditor)
- Changing the brightness or exposure (Elements & NikonEditor)
- Smart Fix (Elements)

Most of the time using it Nikon Editor produces much better results,
I have additionally noticed that most of the times the "Smart Fix" option
from Photoshop Elements totally screws the photos . Additionally, the
"Fix Brush" option of Photoshop Elements looks to me as a very well
marketed COPY and PASTE functionality.

Remaining Elements functionality: Artistic Effects and Filters (do we really
need
all of them?)

I will install and test also "Picasa 2" freely available from Google and see
if those
Artistic Effects and Filtering features are available freely ... if so why
would you
bother buying Photoshop Elements?

I have uploaded some of my pictures into amazon under "Most recently added"
for D70 kit:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/c [...] 14#gallery

Most of these fixed using Nikon Editor ... I would realllyyy appreciate
feedback on those
regarding quality etc. I dumped per photo the most important details e.g.
ISO, Quality, Focal
Length etc.

Best Regards,
Giovanni

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

It depends entirely on your needs. Some people need maximum control and
would use Photoshop CS. Others with lesser need would be happy with PSE.
You may use it or anything else that meets your needs. If you are bothered
about the cost, you may try GIPM (www.gimp.org) which is free. I got a
free copy of PSE2, tried it for a while but then switched back to Gimp. It
is all about feeling comfortable with a software that meets your needs.

--

Gautam Majumdar

Please send e-mails to gmajumdar@freeuk.com

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Craig Flory wrote:
> I own & use Adobe Photoshop CS ... but also own Elements(came with
> a scanner). Elements would be far superior to your Nikon software ... if you
> learn how to use it fully. I do NOT recommend using auto-controls. Learn to
> use all the individual tools. I am a full time professional photographer and
> need the full version of Photoshop but do have some fellow pros who use
> Elements on all their professional images. So don't give up on Elements
> before yoj exhaust all avenues to learning how to use it.
>
> Craig Flory
>
>
While autofix can royally screw up some photos, it works to do all the
fixing I need for 90% of the photos I need to edit. That is in PSE3.
If more flexibility is needed, then Quickfix gives more control, and
then there is the full editor, which has most of the functionality of PS
CS, and then there is the Organizer.


--
Ron Hunter rphunter@charter.net

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

On Tue, 17 May 2005 21:44:18 -0500, Ron Hunter <rphunter@charter.net>
wrote:

>Giovanni Azua wrote:
>> Hello all,
>>
>> I think I have the level in photography begginer-intermediate ... previous
>> experience with Russian camera Zenit ... :-P I took pictures for a living in
>> Cuba )) I mean to support my Univ. studies ))
>>
>> I got my new D70 kit and bought the 70-300mm ED lens and have
>> been playing with all the new equipment. I have used the following
>> software to fix my pictures: Nikon Photo Editor along with PictureProject
>> and Adobe Photoshop Elements and to be honest 4/5 pictures I edited
>> with both I got the best results using Nikon Editor ... I have been using
>> in general the features (from both Nikon vs Elements):
>>
>> - Adjust contrast (Elements & NikonEditor)
>> - Adjust colors (Elements & NikonEditor)
>> - Adjust level (Elements & NikonEditor)
>> - Changing the brightness or exposure (Elements & NikonEditor)
>> - Smart Fix (Elements)
>>
>> Most of the time using it Nikon Editor produces much better results,
>> I have additionally noticed that most of the times the "Smart Fix" option
>> from Photoshop Elements totally screws the photos . Additionally, the
>> "Fix Brush" option of Photoshop Elements looks to me as a very well
>> marketed COPY and PASTE functionality.
>>
>> Remaining Elements functionality: Artistic Effects and Filters (do we really
>> need
>> all of them?)
>>
>> I will install and test also "Picasa 2" freely available from Google and see
>> if those
>> Artistic Effects and Filtering features are available freely ... if so why
>> would you
>> bother buying Photoshop Elements?
>>
>> I have uploaded some of my pictures into amazon under "Most recently added"
>> for D70 kit:
>>
>> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/c [...] 14#gallery
>>
>> Most of these fixed using Nikon Editor ... I would realllyyy appreciate
>> feedback on those
>> regarding quality etc. I dumped per photo the most important details e.g.
>> ISO, Quality, Focal
>> Length etc.
>>
>> Best Regards,
>> Giovanni
>>
>>
>>
>If you think Picasa 2 is any competition for PSE3, you need to learn a
>bit more about the programs. They are about like a bicycle compared to
>a Rolls.
>Picasa 2 is a very nice bicycle, but PSE3 it isn't.


PSE3 is probably as much photoshop as most casual users need. Adding
the Hidden Elements package brings it even closer to CS2 by adding
curves, color balance and more.