UKH

A very simple and straightfoward question for those of you 'in the know'.

What would be the deciding factors in choosing between PhotoShop Elements and Paint Shop Pro (latest editions). I have previously used both.

I had PhotoShop Elements 6 , but have 'lost it' !

In reply to Pyreneenemec:
Cost.

In reply to David Barlow:

Really?
Latest versions on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adobe-Photoshop-Elements-11-Mac/dp/B0090DQ93U/ref=s...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corel-PaintShop-Pro-X5-Ultimate/dp/B008TI5Y4C/ref=s...

Less than a quid in it.

In reply to Pyreneenemec:

Go with GIMP, completely free and more features. Different interface but once you adjust you can do anything you would do with either of the others and then more.

In reply to Pyreneenemec:

Which do you find easiest to use? Go with that one.

ALC

In reply to Route Adjuster:

That's a good one! I needed a laugh today

In reply to Pyreneenemec:

I have used both, and liked them. I reckon elements has a better raw converter, but I always preferred the psp editing tools. I think newer versions of elements are less "cut down" than 4, which is the one I had.

For free options, GIMP has a reasonable feature set but is weak when it comes to handling high precision images (i.e. more than 8 bit/channel) & the UI is a bad joke.

paint.net is fairly nice to use & is quite quick. Not 100% sure about colour depth, but I think it is another fairly weak one. Raw import isn't in the version I run, but there are plugins for that.

In reply to davidbeynon: From Photoshop CS5 what I miss in Elements 10 are:

16 bit editing on the clone/dodge/type tools isn't there. It has a full set of tools though.
No curves (I use a plugin)
No advanced Highlight/Shadow (I use a plugin)
Brushes aren't as flexible.

Other than that I don't really see much lost functionality. UI isn't as configurable maybe. I hated GIMP, and not tried PSP for years. I did like PSP but life is too short to give it another try.

In reply to JDal:

I've just downloaded the trial version of PSP - I'll give it a week or so.

I hated GIMP, too !

In reply to JDal:

16 bit (or higher) editing is one of those things that should have been standard for years, but somehow isn't. It doesn't make sense to me that even relatively new software can be released without it.

In reply to davidbeynon:

Elements great raw conversion. Some great automation like stitching panos/ Less actual features like curves


PSP. Proper editing tools. harder to learn, less automation,

In reply to davidbeynon:
Just to add to this thread, for the record, a big downside of Elements is that it's a 32 bit app. It can only access 4gb, so if you want to process giant panoramas etc you can't throw more memory at it! I almost upgraded from 8gb to 12gb before I realised it'd be a waste of money.

In reply to JDal:

They haven't fixed that? Thought they would by now.

I should have known, but I haven't used it for a few years.