Photoshop Elements 9

[bakubo]

A few years ago I got Photoshop Elements 6 and have been mostly using it since the ACR with it can open my A700 raw files, whereas my Photoshop CS2 cannot. As I have reported here before I generally like it, but it has many very annoying and frankly hard to believe GUI bugs that even the simplest freeware programs don't have. The bugs exist when run on WinXP, Vista, and Win7 64. I would have updated to PSE 7 or a later version if I thought those bugs were fixed, but I asked about that a couple of years ago somewhere, I think on the Adobe forum, and was told the problems in a later version still existed and someone else reported that the Mac version was also very buggy.

Now that I have the Canon 60D the ACR 5.6 that works with PSE 6 can't open the 60D raw files so last night I decided to download the trial version of the new PSE 9/ACR 6.2 that was released fairly recently. Good news! It seems like all the GUI bugs have been fixed! I used it last night and then some more today and so far I haven't found any problems. I just use the editor and don't use the organizer so I can't comment on that. I see that everything looks about the same as PSE 6, but there are some new tools and functions that I will have to investigate.

Since I use it to prepare files for the web it isn't that important to me that some of the Photoshop stuff isn't in Photoshop Elements. It does work with my Neat Image and PTLens plugins though and that is important to me. If I was routinely making big prints or publishing photos in print then probably full Photoshop would be better. One of these days when we decide to settle in one place again then I will make a bunch of prints to put on the wall and then I will see if Photoshop makes sense.

I ordered PSE 9 from Amazon a few minutes ago. Good price, $66 for DVD, free shipping and no tax. Also, right now there is an additional $20 rebate so price is $46.

[bakubo]

After using both PS CS2 and PSE 6/9 for a few years I have found that the only things that I miss a bit that are in PS CS2 but not in PSE 9 are:

1. The shadows/highlights function in PS CS2 has an advanced mode that allows fine tuning a bit more and I use that sometimes. The one in PSE 9 is the same as the basic mode in PS CS2. Most of the time when using shadows/highlights the default settings of the advanced controls in PS CS2 are all that I use so being stuck with those default settings in PSE 9 is not much of a problem, but occasionally I wish I could tweak them a bit. For me this is minor.

2. The PSE 9 curves function is more basic than the one in PS CS2. Again, most of the time it is sufficient, but occasionally I would like a bit more control. To tell you the truth though, years ago before I had shadows/highlights I often used curves to try to do that, but with shadows/highlights I find that I rarely use curves for that purpose now anyway. For me this is minor.

3. Many functions in PSE 9 work with 16-bit files, but some don't. Since these days I mostly work on photos for the web this isn't a problem for me though. For me this is minor.

4. Color management is more basic in PSE 9 than PS CS2. It is sufficient for my needs, but if you publish your photos in magazines, etc. then you probably want what is in PS. If you make lots of prints at home then you may also need some of the additional color management functionality in PS. For me this is minor.

Maybe later I will post about some of the things that are in PSE 9 but are not in PS CS2 that I like.

[01af]

You can always use the latest Adobe DNG Converter to convert your currrent Sony or Canon raw files to DNG, then use Camera Raw 3.7 in Photoshop CS2 to handle these. I think Camera Raw itself also can convert from any proprietary raw to DNG, so if you have the latest Camera Raw in Photoshop Elements then you don't necessarily need Adobe DNG Converter (but may still be convenient to have for converting large batches of raw files).

[agorabasta]

There's a great difference in how the ACR+(any kind of PS/CS) does the CA corrections vs the Lr way of doing it. The Lr applies geometry corrections at the original sensor 'colourspace' while the bolt-on ACR+whatever shifts the geometry of translated colours. And then you need a heavy dose of edge defringe that kills saturation of the smaller real detail.

[bakubo]

You can always use the latest Adobe DNG Converter to convert your currrent Sony or Canon raw files to DNG, then use Camera Raw 3.7 in Photoshop CS2 to handle these. I think Camera Raw itself also can convert from any proprietary raw to DNG, so if you have the latest Camera Raw in Photoshop Elements then you don't necessarily need Adobe DNG Converter (but may still be convenient to have for converting large batches of raw files).

Yes, I know about the DNG converter and I have used it from time to time when I didn't have a raw converter that would handle my files. I even used it very recently with my 60D raw files for a couple of weeks until I got PSE 9 a few days ago. I don't like using it because it makes my workflow much slower and is more cumbersome.

Another problem for me is that when we came to Hawaii almost 7 months ago I tried to bring the stuff I anticipated we might need (but nothing else). I brought some of my software CDs in case I bought a new computer. My wife's laptop developed a problem soon after getting here so I gave her mine and bought a new one for myself. I then started to load the software programs that I use and discovered that I had somehow forgotten to bring my PS CS2 CD. So, she has PS CS2 on her computer (my old one), but I don't have it, at the moment, on mine.

As I hinted in my earlier post there are also some good things in PSE 6/9 that are not in PS CS2 that I like. When I get around to it I will post about them. The few things that I mentioned earlier that are more limited in PSE 9 are pretty minor and don't get used by me a lot. Now that PSE 9 has it's GUI bugs fixed it is pretty much fine for me and a quick read indicates that there are some new functions that I need to investigate to see if they might be useful for me.

A long time ago, maybe around 2000, when I bought a scanner (or maybe it was a printer) a CD with PSE 2 (I think it was that version) was included. I installed it, but didn't like it. Way too basic and made for total newbies. These days though PSE has most of the stuff photographers want and need. It is like a different program. More and more PS has been shifted to PSE so it is a pretty darn good, useful program now.

[bossel]

I legally own an old PSE 5 but since the updates are typically 85% of the full price, I didn't upgrade till now. It has done me good service with ACR and the A700, but I swore not to buy another Adobe product. This is due to high prices is Europe. In France, PS is 1035 Euro, like $1400 etc - there have been too many threads about this.

During the last year I have been testing RAW converters: Bibble, LR and DXO. I retested LR with version 3 in June and liked it, but it's $400 (300 Euro) here. Last week I found a special offer totalling 156 Euro incl. shipping and ordered (this will be my Xmas gift ) . This will finally allow me to use NEX with RAW, since PSE5 doesn't accept the newer ACR updates, and the high ISO improvements give a second life to the A700.

Might upgrade my PSE if I find a similarly good deal but its not a priority.

[Dusty]

Thomas, Can you get student discounts in Europe? LR is $89 and PS CS5 is $199 here for students. I know several people who buy all their home software thru their kids. I plan on doing that myself! After all, I have 3 in school now, and will have 2 more in the coming years. Adobe limits you to one title per student per year, but w/ 3 in school, I can buy both LR and PS CS5, and still have a slot left over for Flash or whatever.

Dusty

[bakubo]

Might upgrade my PSE if I find a similarly good deal but its not a priority.

I think that PSE has probably made major strides since version 5. Personally, I buy what I can use and don't like to just throw money away for stuff that I don't need or even use. Much of what is in PS I don't use and PSE has almost everything I want that is in PS. Of course, everyone has to make their own evaluation of what they need or want. Yes, $46 is a darn good deal for the new PSE version that just came out a month or two ago. It should also be good for ACR updates for the next few years or so if PSE 6 is a guide. PSE 6 came out several years ago and was able to use all ACR updates until maybe a year ago.

[01af]

By the way, Photoshop Elements 9.0.1 is out (for Windows only). Check here: http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/ ... ftpID=4913

[bossel]

If ever I come across a good deal, or if ever I suddenly need new features, I'll get it.

Btw, what are the major revolutions that would make PSE9 worthwhile?

[bakubo]

By the way, Photoshop Elements 9.0.1 is out (for Windows only). Check here: http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/ ... ftpID=4913

Yes, that is the one I have.

[bakubo]

If ever I come across a good deal, or if ever I suddenly need new features, I'll get it.

Btw, what are the major revolutions that would make PSE9 worthwhile?

Do you mean compared to PSE 5? I never used PSE 5, so I can't say. I think one time I saw that the Adobe website had a comparison chart for various versions and maybe it includes 5. The best way is to just download the trial version and try it out. That is what I did.

By the way, although PS is really good, it includes lots of stuff that isn't photography related and I never use. PSE doesn't have as much of that kind of stuff in it.

[bakubo]

There are some things in PSE 9 that I like that are not in PS CS2 and here are some of them. I am not trying to make a complete list because that is boring and I bet the Adobe website has info that is more complete. I will just mention some things that I discovered and are interesting to me. I am not mentioning things that both programs have.

1. The straighten tool in PSE 9/6 is much better than what is in PS CS2. In PSE I can quickly level a crooked horizon or other horizontal line, but with PS CS2 you must turn on the grid and then through trial and error rotate the image left or right by some guessed degree. Then when it is still not right go back and do it again. And again. And again. With PSE it is done in about 2 seconds. I have to say here though that even PSE is a bit lame compared to Paint Shop Pro X (PSP X). PSE only works with horizontal lines, but not vertical lines. PSP X works with both.

2. PSE 9/6 has a B&W conversion tool that is pretty good. It is similar to the channel mixer with monochrome checked, but the PSE tool has several built-in presets and you can add new ones. Plus, in addition to the red, green, and blue sliders it also has a contrast slider. Most of the time I can just quickly try several of the included presets and get something that looks good.

3. PSE 9 has several things (maybe in 6 also) such as a panorama tool, an HDR tool, and a few others. I used the panorama tool a few days ago just to try it out and it did a good job. Also, although you can let it do everything automatically it also has several controls you can use to try other things and also it looks like you can also turn off the auto stuff and have even more control.

4. There are several color correction tools that I don't recall being in PS CS2. For example, adjust color for skin tone, remove color cast, etc.

5. Smart brush tool and Detail smart brush tool look like they may be very useful sometimes.

6. The Spot healing brush has content aware fill functionality.

As I use PSE 9 and if I discover other things then I will try to remember to update this thread.

[bossel]

Thanks!

[bakubo]

In the PSE 9 Help menu there is an Update item so I ran it this evening. It said that the ACR 6.3 update was available so it was downloaded and installed. A few days ago 6.2 was all that was available when I ran Update. I suppose 6.3 is not an RC anymore.