I agree with Bob. If you're intent on working with version 8, we do offer a Muvipix Guide to Premiere Elements 8, which would be a much smarter buy than our guide to version 7. You can find it also on Amazon or at the Muvipix Store. We also offer a free 8-part Basic Training tutorial series (Intro to Premiere Elements) to help you get started. (It's for version 9, but everything in the tutorials should also apply to version 8.
http://muvipix.com/products.php?searchp ... =0&btn.y=0 )
But, in all honesty, version 8 is one of my least favorite versions of the program. Adobe patched it as well as they could, but it's still a very bad performer. I think you'll find updating to version 11 a good investment, if stability and performance is a problem for you.
What kind of things about the program frustrated you?
What model of camcorder is your video coming from?
And how fast is your computer's processor and what operating system is it using?
And what do you plan to do with your video once it's edited?
Sometimes having a good experience with the program is merely a matter of matching your needs with the right equipment and software.