Elements7 vs. CS4

[Bobby]

As I ease into retirement (taking Social Security on 11/1 and having to drastically cut back my PC business and writeoffs) I am starting to think a little stingier about purchases.

I have Photoshop that I got as an upgrade many years ago (CS2 now) but still paid quite a bit for ($400?). I need to go to CS4 so I can run it on my new PC under Vista. I have purchased all the Premiere El version recently (2,3,4) but never got the package with Photoshop El.

But, as most users of Photoshop, I hardly even scratch the surface of features offered, especially since my imaging hobby has shifted sharply from stills to video. I use it mostly just to bring in RAW images, do standard cleanup, and use the facilities of PS to get a good print when necessary.

Assuming I am going to spend an exorbitant $100 to buy PE7 just to get the fixes for PE4, would it be wiser to pay the $145 and just go with the Elements package, and let my CSx license die. I am sure Photoshop El 7 will do me just fine, but I hate to be in a position where I might in the future need Photoshop and have to (horrors) buy it again at full price. The upgrade price on CS4 ($199) is not going to make my choice any easier.

As you can probably tell, I am leaning on letting the CSx license die. Any good advice out there?

[Steve Grisetti]

I wouldn't recommend upgrading "Just to get the fixes", Bob. Version 7 is, in my experience, a more stable build than version 4 -- but it's not going to work perfectly on every machine in every situation.

If you're going to upgrade, do it for the features. And, unless there's something compelling about the new feature set, I'd keep what I have.

[Bobby]

But the question is to buy PSE 7 and PrEl 7 both at $145 - or keep PE4 and spend $199 for PS CS4. Is the latter what you're recommending?

[Chuck Engels]

Bob, Do you have any version of Photoshop Elements now?
There are some things about Photoshop Elements that are very nice and you don't get them with the Pro version.
You might be happiest with the new version 7 of Premiere and Photoshop Elements.

[Bob]

Actually, Bob, you can run Photoshop CS2 on Vista. No need to upgrade to CS4 unless you want to.

Adobe doesn't officially support running CS2 on Vista but it works. I installed it on my Vista system and it runs well. I've since upgraded to CS3 but I left CS2 installed because I sometimes want to use ImageReady and that was eliminated in CS3.

You need to run the installer as an administrator (right click on the installer and select "run as administrator" and do the same thing for the photoshop exe the first time you run it in order for the registration option you select to take effect and be remembered. Otherwise, it will keep asking you to register every time you launch Photoshop. You only have to run as administrator the first time. Afterwards, you can run it as a normal program. I believe there was a patch update for CS2, be sure to install that.

I've also heard that the Adobe Gamma launcher won't run from startup. I don't use Adobe Gamma and removed it so I can't say whether that's the case or not. Just wanted to give you a heads up just in case.

The Adobe upgrade policy is to now allow upgrades from any of the previous 3 versions. Since you have CS2, that means you can wait and upgrade to CS5 later if you decide you want it. So, your CS2 license still has some life to it.

edit: one more thing, be sure you have your serial number handy, if you skip it and install as trial, you can't go back later and enter the serial number and remove the trial status like you can in xp. You must enter the serial number at install time.

[VernonRobinson]

Bob,
This is to also confirm, been running CS2 under Windows Vista for over 1 year now. No issues to report. I know it does not make your decision easier, but it does give you options I am not sure that you knew you had.

Regards,
-Vernon

[Bobby]

I went though the CS2 installation on Vista in another thread "Vista Strangeness" viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3631

It seemed to install correctly, as you all noted. But I had some real problems with my standard logon and had to eventually create a new logon and remove CS2 to recover. Can't specifically blame CS2, but all fell apart right about then. Not sure I want to go through that again!

But the real issue is not the Vista PC - that is only one factor to get me to make a decision - to continue with CSx and pay Adobe $199 every 18 -24 months or so plus $100 for PrEl every year, or switch to the Elements package and pay $145 every year for both. Assuming I want to keep up with PrEl releases, it would seem like the second strategy is best.

I guess what I am really asking is: "Will I be comfortable with PS E instead of PS?"

[Bob]

I can certainly relate to where you are coming from regarding the licensing costs. As a retired person with a reduced income, I've got to make those same types of decisions. It isn't easy sometimes.

PS E has a much reduced set of capabilities compared to PS. Whether or not you will be satisfied with PS E is going to depend a lot on your specific workflow and which specific tools and capabilities you use. Even if you just look at the camera raw capabilities, PS E does not have all the tabs and functionality that PS does. And, the new PS CS4 camera raw converter is even more advanced and useful. Take a look at the "camera raw adjustment brush", and "graduated filter tool" videos at http://www.photoshopuser.com/cs4/ for example. And remember, since CS3, you can open your jpegs and other images in camera raw as if they were raw files and make adjustments there.

The best way to determine whether PS E is going to be satisfactory to you is to download the trial and use it. It shouldn't take too long to make the determination. Be sure to consider those occasional but essential fixes you do as well as the day to day tasks.

If you decide to go with PS E, keep your CS2 install disk and serial number. You'll be able to upgrade up to CS5 when it comes out and there may very well be some compelling features that you will want.

For me, PS E isn't an option. It doesn't have features that I depend on and use all the time. Since I have CS3, I was considering skipping an upgrade to save some money. But, after reading the features and seeing the videos, I've decided that CS4 is compelling enough for me to justify the cost and I will be upgrading to it.

[Bobby]

Thanks Bob.

But don't be too sure about skipping upgrades. I needed to upgrade Diskeeper since the version I had (9) didn't run under Vista. They offer an upgrade price back to V10, but not 9 so I am out of luck on an upgrade price. The V9 worked just fine on XP so I had no reason to upgrade. I am not sure what Adobe's history on upgrades is.

You may want PS CS4. I have a buddy in NY who was a beta tester and he can't stop raving about it.

[Bob]

Yeah, every company has it's own upgrade policy and sometimes it's a patchwork as one company acquires another. You definitely need to do your homework before skipping versions of anything. For Photoshop, the upgrade policy was pretty lenient and you could upgrade pretty much from any previous version (earlier then 5.5 you had to contact Adobe, but you could still upgrade) -- until CS3 was released. Now, you can only upgrade from the previous three releases.

[Barb O]

Bob Seidel,

You might find this article at Peachpit Press interesting - it is about hardware required and recommended for run CS4. Since you are currently doing Premiere Elements work and I see that you have Vista, you might already be OK - but it seems worth a quick read.

http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1247538

Barb O

[Bobby]

Thanks Barb. The new system I put in place for video editing has plenty of muscle!

[munickster]

Hi Bob,

I certainly understand your concerns, having retired less than a year ago. I initially bought Photoshop Elements before I retired because it provided everything I needed at that time. However, It took less than a year to find out that, as my skills and interest in Photoshop grew, Elements was lacking in a few areas that were of value to me. After spending too much time searching for workarounds for various tools, I downloaded the PS CS3 trial. I upgraded within a few days and have never regretted it.

So, if you enjoy working with Photoshop for its own sake, I would suggest biting the bullet and upgrading to CS4. Look at the additional features and additional expense as an investment in keeping those retired brain cells active - that's worth a lot more than $199.

Dick

[Bobby]

Thanks Dick - appreciate your input!