definitely. it took adobe entirely too long to figure this out, but photoshop elements is pretty awesome ... and unlike so many other "lite" versions this will read and write photoshop format image/workflow files.Originally Posted by W3MIV
definitely. it took adobe entirely too long to figure this out, but photoshop elements is pretty awesome ... and unlike so many other "lite" versions this will read and write photoshop format image/workflow files.
"... and another thing about you democrats ... you all believe in science!" -- denny crane
How close is PS Elements 9 to its big brother in terms of image manipulation? Does it have those curves you can adjust? Does it have selective color? Will it do .CR2 files?
If it's a war on drugs, then free the POW's.
I don't know what you mean by "selective color." Elements offers a good array of tools, but it is not PhotoShop and it lacks the sophistication that PS offers. I have a friend who shoots with a Pentax digital SLR and she loves Elements and does a lot of good work using it. You might also investigate The Gimp, which is open-source and available for Linux as well as Win.
I don't believe that Elements will manipulate raw files, but I am not sure. If you have a Canon camera, you should have the raw-file manipulation (DPP?) software that came with it.
Usually you will need to use the software that came with the camera to convert the manufactures propriety raw format. It is different for each brand. Use the software to convert to .tif and then you can work it in PS and save it as whatever you want.
PhotoShop will handle just about any raw file out there, including the new open-source DNG raw files.. A much less expensive alternative for handling raw files is ACDSee Pro, which costs about a hundred bucks.
"...but it is not PhotoShop and it lacks the sophistication that PS offers. " That's what I remember from when I was using it. And, yes, the software that came with my G10 will convert .CR2 files to .TIF's. But what pain, it's an extra step, but at least you had the menu option of "Process in PhotoShop." IIRC, when I was investigating this there was a plug-in for PS for .CR2 files; bet that's NOT in Elements. Come to think of it, back when its price was "reasonable", I loved Paint Shop Pro. It had good image fix-up stuff and had great browsers for photos.
Had gimp for the "other" OS and I believe it's the one that DID have curves for manipulation. But it had a very strange UI that I'm not sure is worth the trouble of learning, at least for casual stuff.
If it's a war on drugs, then free the POW's.
I guess the plug-ins are standard now?
But with a bad pun in the product name.....
But seriously, I just checked out the lasts PSP & it's price has come down and claims RAW capability. Gonna have to download the free trial (Ah, but gone are the days of "You are on day 279 of your 30 day free trial"I think).
If it's a war on drugs, then free the POW's.
Unless you plan to use your photos for publication, there is little to be gained for most people to take the added step of manipulating raw files. The advantages, however, far outweigh the inconvenience. A raw file can be manipulated to adjust every single creative aspect, and most of the photographic aspects. When shooting raw, all you need to worry about is your ISO setting and the basic exposure. Since there is no manipulation whatever taking place in the camera, nothing is lost in the image that was recorded by the sensor. When you shoot a JPEG file, the camera's processor makes the decisions about how to compress your image to make it fit an arbitrary size. Even though a TIFF is not compressed with a lossy algorithm, the camera is choosing what to keep and what to discard. With raw files, those decisions are left to you.
Read that line again. Color balance may be changed and reset anywhere along the spectrum of visible light. No worry about white point. No worry about fluorescent lighting or somebody's too-dim, too-red living room. The entire exposure range can be expanded or compressed as you wish. Best of all, once you have manipulated the frame and saved it as a TIFF or a JPEG file, the original raw file remains unchanged. It is a well you can go back to again and again, making subtler changes or more radical changes as you wish, all without touching the original. It is like having a film negative in the sleeve that you can put in your enlarger again and again and again.
The only drawback to raw is the size of the files. They are large, and they take a lot longer to move from the sensor through the digic to the storage medium. That limits the number of quick shots you can make.
Last edited by W3MIV; 02-15-2011 at 03:31 PM.
Thanks, Albi. You nailed it about RAW files, and why I love them. Most of the time, the camera processing is OK -- but there are times when it's glaringly off. At those times I'm glad to have the RAW file to use.
And cheesh! The RAW files are BIG...but with an 8 GB card I can pretty much shoot all day in "Save RAW and JPG mode" and not come close to filling it. But you're right...it's time consuming to move them.
If it's a war on drugs, then free the POW's.
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