Photoshop vs. Photoshop Elements

[J. Kennedy]

Hi! My mother-in-law wants to buy Photoshop... but I think it's overkill. What she wants is the filters... I've never used Elements... does it have filters? And if so, where can I get a list of the standard ones that come with Elements? Thanks so much!

Julie

[Richard Coencas]

Virtually all of the filters that come with Photoshop also come with Elements.

[JoAnn Amerson]

The only thing I can't do, and needed to, was to output a CMYK build. I did an ad for a needlework designer/friend. The magazine wanted CMYK. Fortunately I have Acrobat and was able to create it.

So what *are* the differences? It seems to do everything I need to do - and then some.

[Susan S.]

For the original poster - as Richard says Elements comes with a virtually identical set of filters to the full version. The only major one not there is the Extract filter I think - I played wth it in the demo and wasn't greatly impressed.

Most of the things that the full version does it is possible to do in Elements either with work-arounds or add-ons - some free, some with Richard Lynch's Hidden Power of Photoshop Elements book. It is even possible to do a work around for CMYK, but it's awfully clunky, and I wouldn't want to do it on a regular basis.

I'm currently working my way through Katrin Eismann's Photoshop book on retouching, and there isn't much that I can't find a way to do with my heavily augmented version of Elements. A random selection of the things I notice:

-The ability to create layer styles and use the advanced blending options. Elements can use pre-existing layer styles that the full version has but can't create its own.
-write actions (macros) that allow often repeated steps to be carried out with the click of a mouse. There are add-on action players but you need the full version to write them

-PS is much more versatile in the way that it handles channels, and selections (alpha channels). There are ways of doing separate adjustments of RGB channels in Elements with add-ons - but it can take a bit of mind bending to work out how to apply these to Elements, as what the described PS channel operation is doing is not always obvious.

-Elements doesn't have the pen tool that allows the creation of vector paths. This is one that I can't find a work around for. You just have to create a selection some other way.

I'd still like to have the full version of PS - but since I discovered just how much you can do with Elements it's moved quite a long way down my wish list. For the average amatuer user Elements is more than nough, and it can provide most things for the less amateur user as well

susan S.

[Chuck Snyder]

> Virtually all of the filters that come with Photoshop also come with
Elements<

Rich, one valuable filter not found in Elements is Extract. Other than
that, it's a pretty close match.

Chuck

[Chuck Snyder]

Susan, didn't see your post or I wouldn't have been redundant.

Do you like Eismann's book? It's one of my favorites...

Chuck

[Pete D]

Chuck,

How is it over there? Did Claudette make it that far? Hope it was just a
little plant watering if she did.

Pete

[Susan S.]

Chuck - I'm really finding the book excellent - I've only had it since yesterday. It cost me an arm and a leg - I started reading it in the Border's cafe yesterdy, and decided that I couldn't leave without it! (Borders have extracted quite a lot of money from me on that way since they opened here last year - they knew what they were about, putting a cafe in the middle of the bookshop and letting people read their wares over cups of coffee!)

susan S

[Chuck Snyder]

Susan, if you have time, go to her website and leave a message; she responds
personally. Very nice touch!

[Chuck Snyder]

Susan, I just went to her website and see that she has a second edition!
(Original was aimed at PS6). Will have to see whether it's different enough
to justify adding to my already overflowing library...

Did you get the second edition?

Chuck

[Susan S.]

Chuck - No - I knew the new edition was out there, but I figured it would have more PS7 specific stuff that Elements can't do as written, like using the healing brush tool so I didn't bother waiting or ordering from Amazon. I'll check out the website, tho'

Susan S.

[Chuck Snyder]

Susan, Amazon shows it as publishing at the end of July; website says it'll
be all new, so I'll probably order....book junkie that I am...!

[Ray]

Chapters does the same thing around here. It's a pretty good way to get to
know the book a little before you buy it.

And yes, they've extracted a lot of money from me as well. So did
Amazon.ca, with their "no shipping cost" :)

Ray

[RobertHJones]

> Do you like Eismann's book? It's one of my favorites...

Chuck,

It's one of mine and I'm eagerly awaiting the 2nd edition which is due the
end of this month.

Bob

[Ron Crain]

JoAnn,
Are you saying that you can open a multi-layer PSD file in Acrobat and save
it out as CMYK? Amazing! Thanks

[JoAnn Amerson]

Ron -

I', not sure about off of that. (Remember, I'm a newbie.) I had a file created with Elements and it was multi=layered. I printed it to the Distiller. I opened the resulting .pdf file in Acrobat and once again ran it thru the Distiller but this time I could change the properties under Advanced. The color profile allows me to set it for "Photoshop 5.0 Default CMYK". I know it worked because the first file I sent was too short but the ad rep did tell me her printer (person, not machine) had no problems with the file.

If you can find another way of doing this - maybe cutting out a step - let me know. Seems odd having to run it thru Distiller twice, but it works.