WHICH PHOTOSHOP

[Anonymous]

I AM IN THE PROCESS OF DOING A 1/2 YEAR COURSE IN PHOTOSHOP TO TOUCH UP MY ARCHICAD RENDERINGS & POSSIBLY DO MORE HIGH END PRESENTATION WORK.

MY QUESTION IS - WHICH PHOTOSHOP SHOULD I USE AT THE END OF THE DAY? THERE ARE A HALF DOZEN OR SO TO CHOOSE FROM WITH VARYING DEGREES OF CAPABILITY.

I LIKE TO KNOCK UP A HIGH DEGREE OF PRESENTATION WORK, BUT THE INFO ON THE BACK OF THE BOXES DOES NOT GIVE ANYWHERE NEAR THE INDICATION OF WHAT EACH PARTICULAR VERSION CAN DO. AND WE ALL KNOW THAT ONLY AFTER A COUPLE OF YEARS OF WORKING WITH ANY S/W DO YOU BEGIN TO FULLY UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT PACKAGE CAN AND CANNOT DO.

THE PRICES RANGE FROM ABOUT $200 - $1,800

I DON'T MIND PAYING IF IT IS WORTH IT (IE ARCHICAD!), HOWEVER I DON'T WANT TO PURCHASE TOO HIGH END A VERSION IF HALF OF IT WILL NEVER BE USED.

DWIGHT, ANY CLUES? PS - I BOUGHT YOUR BOOK ON RENDERING IN AC!

[Anonymous]

now that I'm deaf... 😉 what OS are you using? if Mac, prolly wait until Adobe comes up with the Universal Binary version, so it will work right on any new hardware you purchase. Not sure - perhaps they have an automatic update program in effect for this if you buy now (worth looking into).

We're happy with the version that comes in the Creative Suite.

Wes

[Anonymous]

I may be wrong, but I think there are just 2 versions - the standard version (currently CS2) or the basic version (Elements.)

After using standard Photoshop for years, I'm having to use Elements in my current office, and now and then I find it quite restricting - particularly in creating and saving work paths. However we only have Elements version 1 (it's up to version 4 now), so the newer versions may be improved.

The best thing to do would be download a free 30 day trial of each version from adobe and give it a whirl...

[TomWaltz]

I use Elements for most things. My understanding is that the biggest limitations is in its pre-press color separation capabilities.

For my purposes, the $100 price tag was much more acceptable (especially after dropping $2500 on Cinema 4D's full suite and $4500 on a new G5 & monitor)

[Rakela Raul]

im gonna love the conclusion for this question !!
i have bought photoimpact, photopaint shop pro, ph sh elements, photoshop cs, miguel's free softwares and more.
for some reasons i keep coming back to photoshop 7..i dont remember the why's

[stefan]

Start with Photoshop Elements and upgrade to the full software if needed for the work you do. Elements is quite good (I have version 2) but full Photoshop is obviously more complete (I have version 7 at work).

[Anonymous]

Elements (previously Photoshop LE) is good for a lot of stuff and is all some people ever need, but of course full Photoshop has the powertools pros rely on and they become quickly essential once you know them.

If you are on a Mac, it's also worth checking out Graphic Converter. It's not really a Photoshop replacement, but it can do a lot of the things most people use Photoshop for. It can also open and save just about every image file format ever created (including Atari Portfolio Bitmap) and it can do bulk conversions very easily. There's a slide show feature which I like and lots more. It's one of the best pieces of share ware ever created.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone out there use Paint Shop Pro X rather than Photoshop? At only $100 it seems like a bargain (against $649 for Photoshop). Is there anything that PSP doesn't do that you need for image retouching and compositing? Can anyone provide a comparison of the two?

Thanks

[stefan]

In 3D World, they described in the review of Paintshop Pro that it was a valid Photoshop replacement, except for the handling of alpha-channels. But the latest version was improved on that aspect.

So it seems to be a valid choice. But remember that at 100$ you have the same price as Photoshop Elements, which is something you should look at. I believe there are trials available for all these programs.

[Anonymous]

I gather that Photoshop Elements is a very basic version, that wouldn't necessarily have enough tools to do the jobs required for architectural illustrations. Great for Granny putting her photo album of the grandkiddies together though.