Do I need Photoshop?

alligator

I'm still waiting for my G5 to arrive. I currently use Paint Ship Pro on my PC. I use this to touch up images, resize images, crop them, adjust colors, and even create some interesting digital images, using layers, etc.



I hear so much about Photoshop, that I wonder if I should get it. It seems so expensive, but I know I'd probably use most of the features at some point or another.



Is it worth it? Are there any less expensive alternatives?

hmurchison

Personally I think you might be better off with Photoshop Elements. It's definitely equal to PSP and it uses Photoshops format.

buonrotto

There are a bunch of less expensive alternatives. iPhoto from Apple (free) can do very basic touch-ups and enhancement, cropping and cataloging. You might want to either look into Graphic Converter, which is a cheap ($30), very flexible and quirky (IMO) image editor. Don't forget about Photoshop Elements, which is most of Photoshop except some pro features (CMYK color, channels, etc.) for $99. You can often find it for less, and it comes with some peripherals. There's a ton of other image editors for the Mac, some expensive, some cheap. Try a search at either www.versiontracker.com or www.macupdate.com and see their listings.



(I would recommend downloading PixelNhance from Caffeine Software at www.caffeinesoft.com but they went under, so it's an orphaned product. While they still have it available for download, you would have to download their other software with it.)

curiousuburb

Elements won't support CMYK images, only RGB.

if you need to colour correct for print, get the full PS.



you can download fully-functioning 30 day trials of either from Adobe.



test drives are your friend.

placebo

For $99, Elements is a steal. You won't regret it.

leonis

Another way.....



if you are lucky you may find some very old versions of Photoshop (make sure they are UNregisterd) for cheap cheap cheap cheap.....



Then register it and then buy the latest version upgrade.



By doing that you save tons of $$$



I did this to my After Effects and Photoshop. Bought the old version for $180 CDN (AE PB) and $100 CDN (PS).....then bought the upgrades. I saved like over $2000 (CDN of course)!

mello

Has anyone with a G5 made a time comparison between adobe's old photoshop filters to the new G5 enhanced filters?

ast3r3x

Quote:

Originally posted by segovius

If you're not too bothered about print I'd look at Fireworks. It's cheaper and for the web its compression engine is WAY better than Photoshop's for jpegs and stuff. It's a bit slow though imo.



Bet you won't use most of Photoshop's features though I mean, does anyone ?

No. But definitely there are people who use most of them. There are things you can do that you wouldn't ever have thought and ways to use things you didn't think they could be used. I don't get it but I read or least page through a lot of Photoshop User. It's full of tons of amazing tips, also anything that Scott Kelby works with you know at least has the potential to be good!

res

You will probably want Photoshop; nothing else really compares to it. Download the free demo at: http://www.adobe.com/products/tryado...tml#product=39 and try it out. It is a full version of the program and will work for 30 days.

cubedude

Quote:

Originally posted by Placebo

For $99, Elements is a steal. You won't regret it.

Also, if you don't need OSX support(you probably do), you might buy the Graphire2. It comes with Photoshop Elements 1.0. 1.0 doesn't support OSX natively, and, AFAIK, there is no upgrade path. I personnaly am waiting for the Graphire2 to come with PSE 2.0, so I can use PSE without Classic.



edit: Oh yeah, the Graphire2 is $99.

buonrotto

There was a $30 or $40 rebate for those who upgraded from PS Elements 1 to 2 some time ago. Might want to check Amazon, Adobe or some place like that to see if it's still viable (probably not).

cubedude

Yeah, Amazon has it for $52.