Rating: 
Summary: Perfect for the beginning digital photographer
Review: Unlike many of the other reviewers, my experience with photo editing software is quite limited - I've only used a few simple programs, such as Adobe PhotoDeluxe, and PhotoShop LE. They did what I wanted, but in a cumbersome way. I also have a roommate with who's an amateur photographer with PhotoShop, so I know a little about how the full version of the program works.Photoshop Elements reminds me of most basic programs in its feature list, but it seems to be extremely optimized for the beginning digital photographer. I.E., me! Menus and options all take into account what people like me most want to do with a picture, (redeye, cropping, sizing, lighten/darken, colorbalence) and make it a matter of a couple of clicks to get more or less exactly the picture that I have in mind. I suspect that the people who are complaining about this program are too sophisticated for what's intended to be a beginner's product. So, my recommendation is that if you're a beginner, buy this. You'll think it's wonderful. If you're looking for a program that truly full featured, bite the bullet and buy the full version of Photoshop, like most people who think of photography as either a full-blown hobby or actual profession. I love this program.
Rating:
Summary: More Like Photshop Ultra-Lite!
Review: Until recently, there was Photoshop 5.5 LE. Well, perhaps this program could have an alias of Photoshop 6.0 UL (ultra-lite).
Don't misunderstand, I'm not knocking this program at all, in fact, quite the contrary. I'm writing this review to sing its praises. Adobe has attempted in the past to do consumer-level editing programs, i.e. the Photo Deluxe series. From my experience with these, they've left much to be desired. Not so with Photoshop Elements. For the most part, Adobe got it right this time for the market they're obviously shooting for...everybody who can't afford or doesn't need Photoshop. I've got this program loaded up alongside Photoshop 6 and Ulead PhotoImpact 7. I do photography professionsally and I've used Photoshop for a long time, but everything you may have heard is true. Elements does many of the Photoshop functions without the cost or the learning curve. This is a very easy program to use. The recipes are a great extra and can come in real handy.
The menus and effects all interface and look just like they do in Photoshop. Most all the effects and filters in Photoshop are in Elements, plus a few. And there is still the capability to add plug-ins and use tablets. The panorama function takes some practice, but once figured out, it works well. There are a couple things I'd like to see Adobe do should they release an updated version. One, it would be nice to be able to work with channels. That's a great function in Photoshop if you like to dabble in black and white. But maybe the technology behind adding that makes it cost prohibitive. And two, let's get real with the printing here. This is one function that's exactly as it is in Photoshop and it shouldn't be. It's the usual "Picture Package" function that Adobe uses. Although it has it's place, most average shooters making prints of family functions or weekend getaways don't want multiple copies of the same picture printed in various sizes on the same sheet of paper. There needs to be the choices of all the popular templates so that different pictures can be printed on the same sheet. Fix that, Adobe, and you'll make a massive improvement in a what's already a great program. Then we don't have to jump to another program to do our printing. Other than that, Elements could probably fulfill 70% of my needs for this type of software. It's the other 30% where I need Photoshop. If you want to function like Photoshop and keep your bank account intact at the same time, give Elements a try. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: WARNING: ships configured for Mac
Review: I got this program bundled with a pen tablet and thought "Cool, an upgrade to my PhotoDeluxe". I immediately installed it and used it for about a minute before it crashed. I did a bunch of internet searches (including Adobe's site) to find out if anyone else experienced this...nothing. Fast forward about six months: I decided to open the program once again and narrowed down the problem to the "eyedropper" or the "color picker". After checking the help menu, there is a tiny paragraph tucked away that says something like "If you're using a Windows machine, change the default Adobe "color picker" to the Windows "color picker". Sure enough, the Abobe color picker was causing the program to crash on my WinXP machine! Seems to me, that there should have been a note somewhere on the outside of the CD warning about this, considering Windows machines are used by at least 80% of the world. Other than that, it's a great upgrade to PhotoDeluxe that includes a GIF animation maker, a "liquifier" effect (same thing as Kai's "Goo") and tons of other stuff you'll probably never use.
Rating:
Summary: Try the free preview first!
Review: I have been using another Photoshop version (LE or Limited Edition) for about a year now and am generally very happy with it. While it is not as powerful as many professional graphics programs, it is enough for my limited use and ability. However, I've heard good things about Elements and Amazon's price (including a big rebate) was so great I decided it was time to buy it. I ordered it and while waiting for it to arrive, decided to look into the new features and learn the basics of how it works. I went to the Adobe web site and found a 30-day trial version I could download. I installed the trial version and took a look and was surprised to basically find LE with a better interface. While it has some improvements over LE, there are not many and it was mostly just simplified editing tools. After a day of exploring and testing, I returned to Amazon and cancelled my order (sorry Amazon!) If you don't have either of these programs and you are an amateur or novice graphics person looking for a basic graphic/photo editing program, I would definitely go with Elements -- it has everything LE has plus more. I've tried a number of other programs and Photoshop is my overwhelming favorite. For that reason it gets five stars. But my only note of caution is just for those looking to upgrade from LE. I would suggest you download the trail version first and see if it is really worth the investment. For me it wasn't, but it probably depends on what features are important to you. And actually, even if you have not used LE, you may want to go to Adobe's web site and try it out first anyway. I appreciate when software makers do this so we can take it for a test drive. It suggests to me that Adobe is confident in their product and they believe that after trying it you will like it and want to buy it.
Rating:
Summary: Smoother, Quicker, and More Features!
Review: Using Adobe Photoshop 5.5, I would get aggravated trying to do some very simplistic graphics. Since PS 5.5 didn't have some options I needed to use right away while using the software, I would have to open ImageReady to get the features I desired. Having these two products open on a 600mhz computer with 256 megs of RAM was horrible. I had the worst time with ImageReady as it took up so much of my computer's resources. When upgrading to PS 6.0, I was amazed that all the tools I was in search of were and were normally in the separate program ImageReady, were put together in this one software. I was so happy that they included new tools AND improved previous tools. The program overall runs a lot smoother than the previous version and the interface changes were positive, they allowed for me to further put into use my creativity using less steps. I would definitely recommend this to all graphics and photo editing professionals!
Rating:
Summary: It all depends on what you're looking for
Review: Usage-wise, it deserves 5 stars, but Adobe gets docked a point for marketing this as an entry-level program. It is Photoshop stripped of expensive features, not Photoshop simplified for novice users. This is a program targeted at a mid-level graphics enthusiast. If you've only used programs like PhotoDeluxe in the past, expect a huge change. Comparing the two is a bit like comparing apples to oranges. PhotoDeluxe is designed for quick, easy editing of photos with lots of automation and "smart" tools. Photoshop Elements is designed for creating graphics, and there aren't a whole lot of automated functions. You *will* need to fiddle with settings. A lot of tools and options are hidden in flyout tabs, or in keyboard controls (alt/shift/ctrl are quite necessary to do certain things). Not particularly intuitive, but it doesn't clutter up your screen space and it only takes a few clicks or keystrokes to change tools or settings. It's a good feature if you work on a lot of large images or don't like to interrupt your creative process by dealing with menus and dialog boxes. I'd highly recommend this program for people who are interested in learning how to create good computer/web graphics and don't mind putting some time in. The help files aren't the greatest, but there's a wealth of tutorials on the Internet for those who are more ambitious. You'll also get more use out of the help files if you take the time to note the specific names and terms of the various tools and functions (mouse over the tools to see the titles). There's a nice window whose sole purpose is to explain a bit about the tool you have selected. The transition from Paint Shop Pro was pretty straightforward. Most times I would have both programs open and copy images back and forth to get the best of both worlds. There is no layer masking in Photoshop Elements, which can be annoying. However, the painting and selection tools are a bit better in Photoshop Elements, and the "Save for Web" option will give you better output with less effort. If you're considering this because you can't afford Photoshop, I'd say go for it. You get a lot of bang for your buck, and it'll ease the transition to from lower-end graphics applications. However, don't give up saving for the real thing! In a nutshell - Serious hobbyists or aspiring professionals should look into buying this program. Casual users looking mainly for an easy photo solution should shop around for a while longer. You probably won't use most of the features Photoshop Elements has to offer.
Rating:
Summary: Better, Faster, More Intuitive than PSP5
Review: I bought Paint Shop Pro 5 two years or so ago, to work with scanned images. I found that a totally frustrating experience - I could never bring the scanned images up to par with my own quality expectations. Then last August I bought a digital camera with 2.1 megapixels - and started having some real fun. It came with MGI Photosuite - and Adobe Photoshop LE Business Edition (not the full version of LE). Between these 3 programs I was having a heck of a time viewing, fixing, and printing my photos. I was beginning to think that I had gotten into another time-wasting situation, and was looking for a way to do what I wanted to do with my photos, faster. I read the ZDNet review of Elements, that lodged in my brain. Then, on a whim, I bought Elements at Best Buy. (Yaaah, so I paid full price!). I got it home, installed it... opened one of my infamous scans - clicked "sharpen" - and Viola! It met my quality expectations that easily! (Yes, I had done the same thing with PSP5, but it looked like hell...) I deleted MGI photosuite and the Ps LE Business Edition, but I'm keeping PSP for now. It loads much faster (can't say if that's true of Version 7..), and I can resize and compress photos to email folks much quicker, since I'm more used to that program. BUT... Elements is definitely the winner here. Perhaps because I have some image editing experience, I find the manual perfectly understandable, and there is new (to me) info in there that is clearing up some stuff for posting to the web (like the whole pixel/resolution/size situation. I'd say that Elements is ideal for editing photos and preparing stuff for the web - I'm looking forward to figuring out if it's more versatile than PSP for making graphics. The target audience for Elements is the new digital photographer, so if that's you, grab it! Oh, fwiw I'm using Elements on 2 different machines - a Pentium II 400 desktop with 96 megs of ram, Win Me, and a Sony Vaio laptop, Pentium III 500 with 64 megs. It tends to choke and produce "artifacts" on the screen with the laptop - must buy more RAM - but is fast and fine on the desktop (not to mention that stuff is easier to see on the monitor). I can't imagine using it on a slower machine, or one with less ram. Just my opinion. I'm already looking forward to Ver 2!
Rating:
Summary: been there, done that, buy this
Review: I am an avid amateur photographer, with the emphasis on amateur. I am on my second digital camera (Canon G1, first was Kodak DC480), and I've been printing my own digital photos for almost 2 years. During that time I've tried many packages, from Photoshop LE, to QImage, to Printshop, to PhotoDeluxe, and I've never been satisified. What I wanted was a solution that gave me reasonable control over the process while still making it simple. I was beginning to feel that I wanted too much until Adobe released Elements. In my opinion Elements is the Holy Grail for the average amateur digital photographer who wants to print AND edit photos. Now if you have no interest in EDITing your photos, then spend your money elsewhere (Qimage is a good start). Or if you are a professional or a web graphics jockey then go with the latest version of Photoshop. Otherwise, buy this. Elements makes the process as simple as you want it to be. With many one-click functions, you can trim to size, adjust levels (color spectrum), Sharpen, and print. The hardest part is Sharpen, but after a few trial experiments you'll find settings that work for you most of the time (or buy a 3rd party add=in, like the Nik Sharpen Pro solution that I purchased). Save yourself some aggrevation. Adobe got it right with the 1.0 version of Elements. Buy it.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Spectacular - Just OK!!
Review: Well, I bought this one, despite owning similar software (UL's Photoimpact, JASC's Paintshop Pro, MS Picture It Photo, etc.)It is an improvement over Photoshop LE (which I also have) and certainly better than Adobe's Photo Deluxe Family Edition, but it is not particularly easy to use. For instance, the new red-eye tool is horrible to use - not intuitive at all, and has nowhere near the options as Jasc's Painshop Pro. Yes, it is an improvement over the 'LE' version, which lacked a lot, but for home graphic-ites at the beginner or intermediate level, you will probably be better off with Microsoft's Picture It Platinum (which does some hand-holding) and Painshop Pro (JASC) which is outstanding. Using these various programs has made me value the ease and intuitiveness of Painshop Pro and Picture It much more than in the beginning. Not so with this new one from Adobe. If you're going to be a full fledged graphic artist, you probably need the real/full version of Photoshop (ver. 6.0). But if you're like most of the rest of us, I think you'll be happier with some others.
Rating:
Summary: Serious photo editing software at a bargain price
Review: Photoshop Elements is a subset of the professional level Adobe Photoshop, the standard in photographic image editing. It may come at a light price, but it is no lightweight. It contains over 80% of the functionality for about 16% of the price. Elements retains Photoshop's ability to accept "plug-ins"--filters, effects, and drivers offered by 3rd party developers, including such sophisticated products as Genuine Fractals. It adds numerous "recipes"--step-by-step instructions on how to use such tools as image touch-up. Unlike many "subset" programs, it imposes no limit on the size of files or images. Though aimed at the serious amateur, it could serve the professional photographer as well. The only limitation is the instruction manual, which does a fine job of explaining how the various menu items work, but provides almost no guidance on how to perform practical tasks. Fortunately, a raft of third-party books is being published, of which Gregory Georges' "50 Fast Digital Photo Techniques" is my early favorite. Buy the software and Georges' book and, for about $..., you'll put serious photo editing tools at your disposal.
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