Which Photoshop to buy

[BowTechAssassin]

Any interest in helping me find the right photoshop? Please ?

[BrandonH]

It really depends what you plan to do with it. If you are somewhat experienced I would suggest CS4, however since you are asking this question I assume you are new to the Photoshop arena. Elements 7.0 would be a good program and more than likely would do just about anything you would need. If you are taking tons of pics and want software that is great at organizing your pics as well as making probably 95% of any adjustments that you will ever need I would suggest getting Lightroom. I have all of the above and personally prefer Lightroom.

If you can let us know a little more about what your needs are, I'm sure there are some of us that could give you a more precise recommendation.

-Brandon

[Atfulldraw]

search through here for threads -- Kevin posted a good link for discount software -- you can buy an earlier version and then upgrade it for much less than the retail price of the software.

I'm just reporting what I've read....I don't actually own any version of photoshop....yet

[BowTechAssassin]

Thanks guys. I'll be wanting to organize my photos, maybe play with some special effects, really just basic to intermediate type stuff. I want something that I can grow into, I don't want to have to be constantly upgrading, but I don't need anything too extreme.

I've always had a desire to take pictures, capture that special time in history. Whether for family/memories or just pure pleasure. Since becoming a member of this forum, my interest has been peaked once again. I'm not as devoted as most of you, but I still would like to learn. I had a 35mm Canon AE1 way back when, and took lots of great photos.

My hobby's are many, my dedication is spread pretty thin. Fishing, Bow Hunting, and Photography, pretty much in that order, although the first two get most of my hard earned cash.

[BowTechAssassin]

Any advice on choosing between these two. Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 Ultimate or Adobe Photoshop Elements 7. The Paintshop comes with a 2gig usb flash drive, the Adobe comes with 2gig of online memory/storage. Other than, that they seem very similar.

[Bill M]

I have heard many good things about a free program called Gimp. You might look into it. Wish I had thought about trying it out.

[Hillary]

I still vote for Lightroom, especially Lightroom 2... it is pretty nice and it is all I use.

[Hawg]

I have heard many good things about a free program called Gimp. You might look into it. Wish I had thought about trying it out.

x2

Gimpshop is what I use. It may not be as slick as PS, but it will save you $600. And, check out the GIMP Registry for some scripts, these are similar to "action" in PS.

[Shane]

Will GIMP work with RAW files yet? Last time I tried it it didn't. It's a cool program, and free is nice!

[Bill M]

Shane I don't know the answer to that. I would think Gimp and a program like Silky Pix or Bibble for RAW would be cheaper than PS if the Gimp is as good as I've heard.

[scotty]

Lightroom 2.

I haven't opened photoshop in months, maybe even a year.

[Shane]

The more I use Lightroom, the more I like it. I'm weaning off of Photoshop too. It's still useful for layers and a couple other things that Lightroom doesn't have, but I don't need/use those functions real often. GIMP would actually get me by for that stuff actually.