Photo Programs (Need advice FAST)

[Sasheena]

Don't you just LOVE it when people post messages about some problem their animal is having and say "need advice FAST" So that part of the topic line is somewhat tongue in cheek... though I do plan on placing an order for two new computers and some software TOMORROW, so it is somewhat time sensitive.

The concise question: Is Adobe Photoshop Elements BETTER than Adobe Photodeluxe or the SAME AS or WORSE? How does Elements compare to photoshop?


The long explanatory version of the question:

I'm getting ready to replace my old system, which I've been using for about 3 and a half years... it was my husband's "new" computer from a year before he met me (in 2000), and when my own computer died I took his computer over... recently had it slightly refurbished, upped the ram and doubled the HD space, but it's old and klunky and hubby and I have a little bit of extra cash, and we're going to bite the bullet and buy new systems.

With all that said, one of the problems I'm going to have is that all my software on this computer is somewhere on CD, but where? I have no idea, all of that was packed in a box in Atlanta, and never resurfaced at our next location, and now we're at the third location... so I'm basically going to have to start from scratch on this computer. Of course I'm going to get MS Word/Office (teacher edition), new operating system, and then I'm going to have to replace my photo editing program. MY computer had photoshop given to me by a friend who had a business with a multiple user license and he installed it on my computer using one of those multiple user licenses... but he never gave me the actual CD with the program on it, and then... well he was a boyfriend, and I left the state, so no chance to get it on disk. So after my computer broke down for good, I was forced to use Adobe Photo-Deluxe on hubby's machine. (I think it came with one of my digital cameras). I'm thinking of getting Adobe photo elements (I think that's what it's called) but was wondering if anyone out there has used all three programs: photo-deluxe, photoshop, and photoshop elements. Can anyone rate the "elements" program as being better than or worse than photo deluxe? I ask because I'm nearly certain I can unearth the CD for Photo Deluxe if necessary. I'm just trying to decide if it's worth the $100 to get the Elements program.

Okay... Thanks in advance for any pointers/opinions on this program.

Oh, and if anyone is interested in and would like to offer opinions on the rest of what I plan to get... here it is:

1. Notebook computer: GQ G320 VIA1GHz NOTEBOOK GQ:
Great Quality Notebook features a Via 1.2GHz Processor, 256MB Memory, 30GB hard
drive, CDRW/DVD-Rom Combo Drive, 14.1"XGA Screen, 10/100 LAN, and Microsoft
Windows XP Home. $499

2. Desktop Computer:
GQ 7000 Intel Pentium 4 3.0GHz with DVD±R/RW Drive
Outpost #: 4413526
The full featured desktop features the Intel Pentium 4 3.0GHz PC with 256MB of
memory, a 80GB hard drive and an 8x DVD±R/RW Drive $399

3. The Emprex 17" TFT is an afford entry level display, with a maxium resolution
of 1280x1024 and a 500:1 contrast ratio. $199

4. Adobe photoshop elements $99

5. Microsoft Office Teacher/Student Edition $149

6. Carrying Case for Notebook $29.99

Total: $1374
shipping: $43.91 (UPS Ground, $93 for 2nd day shipping)
Tax: somewhere around 7%

 

[DThomas]

I don't use photoshop so can't tell you which one is better. For all of my photo editing I use GIMP. http://www.gimp.org/ It's free and works real well. There are a ton of plug-ins for just about anything you want to do. Try it out, I am sure you will like it.

 

[Sasheena]

Thanks, I'll check it out once I have my new computer.

 

[WebSlave]

One of the graphics programs that I have that I find myself using much more then Photoshop is Paint Shop Pro. Some things are just easier to do with that program. And it is not at all expensive.

 

[Sasheena]

It's been AGES since I've used a Corel paint program. Perhaps that is what I will get. I remember when I was growing up, I used some corel dinosaur program in my "computer graphics" class.... I remember we used Apple IIgs... one of the most advanced computers of the time... they were all special limited edition signed by Wozniak with a big ol Woz on the front of each computer. (I went to the college which was down the street from where Apple grew up, in fact I grew up down the street from where Apple grew up, they always donated to my high school before any other school)

Since I have the adobe photodeluxe on CD, and it's a program I already know very well, I think that I will get the corel as that is something new. Thanks for the advice guys.

Now to finalize my order and sweat the spending of $1500 of hard earned money for two new computers. Difficult to hit that "spend" button. Even more difficult to retire this "old friend" computer.... wipe it clean, and turn it into my stepdaughter's school computer since her computer "bit the dust"

 

[Sasheena]

Well, I finally have it all figured out, I have the entire order ready to ... well... ORDER.... I've made plans... now I only had to make a phone call and place the order.


Only I was taking a quick peek at the bank account and started to wonder.... why was it so much smaller than expected? Why did hubby spend $50 for lunch? Twice in one day? And Dominos? We both HATE dominos.....

Recently here in AZ some idiotic company who was supposed to purge information rather than store it (credit card info) ... well they kept it, and someone put a little creeper program in that sucked off information and compromised a zillion (well okay, perhaps only a couple hundred thousand) people's accounts. Hubby said to me "should we be concerned?" and I said no.... only now we have $250 in bogus charges on our account, and more showing up each time I hit refresh on the online banking record.

EEEK!

So I call up the bank, hoping that there is a live human in there to handle my sudden problem and yes, there is, *sigh* the bogus charges won't be paid by us (except peripherally in that everyone has to pay in one way or another for this sort of fraud) .... but that means my debit cards are frozen, no way to make an online purchase for the next two weeks. Now I gotta find some other way to pay .... e-check anyone? Grrrr

Darn credit card theives!

 

[Sasheena]

I haven't yet had the chance to check out "GIMP" but I did end up getting Corel Photo Pro, and I've only just looked it over, but I'm VERY pleased. It'll take me a while to get used to it, but I think that it will be a very good program to use.

I got my spiffy new computer. Hubby and I went to the store, did some shopping.... found that the in-store prices were going to save us between $150 to $200 and then promptly spent all the savings, and a similar amount again. Ah well. I got a "better" computer than the one I had planned on getting, and boy is it SPIFFY. It's got all kinds of numbers whose meanings I don't know. The salesman said it had some kind of "64" thing that would make it ready for the next generation of computers.... and this was only about $80 more than my original choice, so I figured, why not. It's got 160 gigs of hard drive space, it has 512 of RAM, a DVD RW drive, and ... it's SPIFFY. We got hubby's notebook computer. It was on sale. There were nicer ones, but since his planned use is really quite simple, we stuck with our guns on that one. It's still a much more powerful computer than the one we are upgrading from.

I haven't had much time to work with stuff, but I got the internet up and running, two out of four of my new software bundles installed, and I figured out how to use the built in flash card reader. It's going to be SO much fun!

I think that in the long run the credit card theives did us a service, we got better overall "stuff" because we took the time to go shopping in person.

 

[DragonCharm]

We do a lot of advanced editing and therefore only use Photoshop. Just got the new version, CS2, and it's a huge step up from even CS that was released shortly before.

Here's an example pic, we took the color out of the background to make the bike really "pop":

 

[Sasheena]

Nice picture! The photoshop version I had before was new in 1999, so it was a few versions ago I think. My Avatar was "painted" in photoshop and I have other things I made most notably fantasy creatures (fairies ... beautiful women with wings; satyrs; centaurs; manticoras; etc). But the limited use I've already gotten out of paint shop pro tells me that once I learn the interface (the hardest part!) I'll be pleased with the program. I just got new supplementary job as a copy-editor for a publishing company, so with that, hatching eggs, and working as a summer school teacher, I just don't have too much time to sit and explore every new function of my computer.

But I WILL