Photoshop Software

[ronriley30]

What is the best entry level Photoshop package to get. I have an intel based imac. I would like to edit the titles on your graphics and maybe learn to do some other things for web site design. Co$t is a big factor that has kept me from doing this in the past. So if the entry level will work that is what I am leaning towards. Any suggestions welcome.

We use media shout 3.5 for projection on a windows laptop.

[downeyflo]

Elements. It has most of what photoshop has (certainly everything that you use) for a fraction of the price. You can usually find it for $70 or less.

[imported_Frank]

Ron, Paint.net is an excellent, low-profile, full-featured, FREE program that's really handy for doing tasks like that. There is a free plug-in that'll let it load and save Photoshop's .psd files. I use it a LOT.

Like Bill said, Elements is very impressive, and I've heard really terrific things about version 6 (I have 4).

[[Admin] osborn4]

Another vote for PhotoShop Elements. I just upgraded from version 4 to version 6 and it was well worth it.

Many of the resources and helps you will find online (including the tutorials here) are for Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. Even the ones geared toward the full photoshop can generally be modifed to work with Elements.

That's what made me decide to go with Elements, even though I have friends that use CorelDraw and Paintshop Pro and turn out some really good stuff.

If you have a CostCo in your area, I've heard that they have it on sale for $50 currently.

I you are thinking of getting into video as well, you can get PhotoShop Elements 6 packaged with Premier Elements 4 as a bundle deal.

Another option is to look for TheGimp or Gimpshop. TheGimp is an open source project and GimpShop is a port of TheGimp that has more of the same interface as Photoshop.

[musiccat]

osborn4 ...

what's in PSE6 that's different?

'cat

[[Admin] osborn4]

Two main things from upgrading from 4.

1) you can add a stroke to text w/o simplifying it. This means you can add the stroke and then go back and resize and/or edit the text. This came in with v5.

2) There is a new selection tool that is like a combination of the magic wand and selection brush. As you "paint" your selection with it, the program guesses what else you want, based on color. If it selects too much, you hit the cntl button and paint the part you don't want selected and it starts narrowing down the color spectrum that it's choosing for you automatically.

Sorry I can't explain the new selection tool better. It works real well for those of us that don't have Jason's mad polygon selection tool skills.

[ronriley30]

Originally Posted by Frank

Ron, Paint.net is an excellent, low-profile, full-featured, FREE program that's really handy for doing tasks like that. There is a free plug-in that'll let it load and save Photoshop's .psd files. I use it a LOT.

Like Bill said, Elements is very impressive, and I've heard really terrific things about version 6 (I have 4).

Thanks for all the feedback. I bought elements for my mac at home and am using paint.net on the worship laptop if I get in a pinch.

[[Admin] osborn4]

That's great. After rereading this thread, I wasn't sure if Adobe had a Mac version of PSE. I was sure Microsoft didn't have a Mac version of Paint.net. :lol: