Which photoshop elements?

[Geoff F]

Incidentally, I see that Serif Photo Plus have just launched a new version - X5.

At one time I always used their software but since investing in Photoshop CS5 I don't want anything else. However, that one is a really silly price; admittedly, I can't find anything better but it is at least 10 times the price of what most people would need.

But if Serif have a new model now they will probably still be offering the earlier Photo Plus X2 or X3 at substantially reduced rates. They do have the ability to work with layers and masks, etc, and do most of what the average photographer requires. I found them to be very 'user friendly'.

On the downside, some options only work in 8 bit Jpeg mode (not 16 bit Tiff) although I rarely needed any of those special uses. Also, I thought their Raw converter was poor so I used the free Raw Therapee converter instead. But most people don't shoot with the Raw option anyway; although it does offer some advantages.

[hillrover]

Going back to your original question - yes the higher numbers are the more recent editions and will contain more features.
Elements 10 has just been published and is reviewed in the current issue of Amateur Photographer.
The advantage of getting something like Elements is the amount of free tutorials available on the web to help you get to grips with it.

Christine

[KentYeti]

I've tried to use packages that come with the cameras and, in past some freeware, (can't remember which). Plus Paint Shop Pro.

But Photoshop Elements has out performed everything else by some way. Maybe just because it suits me better, I don't know. But I like it a great deal.

A point to bear in mind is that for Nikon at least, you need to make sure the Elements you buy does have the RAW updates for your camera if you want to edit from RAW. I had to get Elements 9 to go with my New Nikon D7000 as my Elements 7 did not recognise that Camera's RAW files, and the updates for PSE7 did not extend to the D7000. I uploaded Elements 9 and registered it, then had to download all the updates to get the RAW updates before being able to edit RAW files from the D7000.

Oh. Re RAW files. The one outstanding advantage I have found and use over shooting just jpegs is the very wide recovery from messed up exposures that RAW editing gives.

Cheers,

Bryan