PHOTOSHOP

[Naylor77]

HI everyone, I am new to photography & have just bought my first dslr(Canon EOS 400D), I have noticed Photoshop & all the little tweaks & things you can do to your photographs. What I want to know Is which photoshop will be the best for a starter like me. Thanks..

I shall look forward to your replies..

Cheers...........Sean..........

[bob_r]

Sean,

IMHO, Adobe Photoshop CS2 is the top of the line product, but there is a learning curve involved. Adobe also has Photoshop CS3 in beta now and you can download a free copy. Photoshop has a ton of options and it is difficult to use without any instructions. It is not cheap either.

Now after saying all that, if you have the time to learn it and the money available to buy it, you won't be disappointed with it. I'm still using the CS version and may skip CS2 and go directly to CS3 when I upgrade. CS2 has some slick features that improved on CS, but I've been able to muddle along with what I have.

There are other competing products out there, but Adobe sets the bar pretty high for their competitors. Of course, if you only want to do very basic things with your photos, this product would be overkill.

Bob R

[BPK]

the other alternative is photoshop elements 5.0 the cost is $99 and does most of what CS can do. so if you are not a pro and do not need all of what cs offers. take a look at elements.

[Naylor77]

Thanks bob_r & BPK. I am looking to buy the Elements 4 or 5. Thanks for the advice, Can you do just about anything to your photographs with the Elements 4/5.....Cheers.

Sean...

[BPK]

they just added curves to elements 5. you do get the use acr in elements 3/4/5, so going raw is no problem. elements 5 is the closest to cs2 so far.

[donquixote]

Naylor;
I got a copy of PS Elements 5.0, and it works great, though there is a lot to learn. Be forwarned, however: If you use a Pentax, it will only support a K100D or later, and that is with a download of a update plug-in. I would check before buying if u have a DL or earlier.

A complete list of cameras supported is on adobe.com -- see downloads.

[Walczak Photo]

Hey Naylor,
I have to second Bob's comments...I've used -many- photo editing packages over the years and Photoshop, barring the money issue, is simply second to none. There is most certainly a learning curve...this program isn't for the computer illiterate to be sure, but like any powerful tool, it's very well worth learning and learning right. With that said, it really depends on just how much you really want to do with your images. If your just looking to do simple crops, levels and saturation adjustments, etc., then pretty much any image editor would work fine for you. If for example I'm only resizing images for something like thumbnails for a spread sheet, then frequently I've just used my Olympus Camedia software which I have on my laptop (it came with my Olympus C-4000)...portable, simple and it does the job. On the other hand I'm also a graphic artist as well as a photographer (I'm a musician too), and I do get into much more detailed work from time to time...aka my background swaps or "extractions" as other have called it. I wouldn't dream of doing this type of work on anything other then Photoshop.

Like purchasing a new camera, decide what you actually "need" first and then go from there. Most digital cameras come with some kind of basic image editor these days and for many people, that's all they really need. Then's there's power mongers such as myself who would simply stop and implode if that's -all- they had to work with! LOL!!! I'm currantly working in Photoshop CS2 and I have to honestly say it has some wonderfully powerful tools...I can't really recommend it enough if your serious about working on your images.

Okies....dat's it for now!
Bright Blessings,
Jim

[pratman64]

I realize this is an older post, but I am in the same boat as Naylor is (or at least, was): a novice who wants to do some basic editing plus some advanced work, once learned. And I certainly don't have the budget for CS3.

I am looking at Elements and Lightroom.

If anyone has had experience with either or both of these, please share your knowledge.
I am sure Naylor and I will both appreciate it.

Prat

[hw771230]

Prat,

I'm a cs2 user. I am thinking of going over to mac right now and have looked into the new elements 6. It has everything I use in cs2 and more. It also accepts plug-in filters. For the price it can't be beat. then again I have only looked at the specs. I think elements and lightroom is a powerful combo, and a bit cheaper than cs3.

Caleb

[pratman64]

Thanks, Caleb.

[Bonish Photo]

One thing you might want to look into is a multi-day workshop. I know in my home town area of MIchigan there is a school called New Horizon's that offers one day workshops for fairly cheap.

A good friend of mine in the graphics business tells me that all of their employees take one of the classes everytime one of the new operating systems comes out. They say that in one day, they learn what a year of tinkering around would normally teach them.

The classes are fairly cheap at only a few hundred dollars. For anyone who is seriously looking into this field, they are the best bang for the buck once you have the program

Pat
www.everymilesamemory.com