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Question: I have a question regarding Photoshop CS3!. Please see my detailed question!.!?
I want to know if I am doing this right!. I am looking to buying Photoshop CS3 for my new computer (PC)!. I've been looking on eBay and am finding that 90% of Photoshop auctions are for learning the software, is it really that complicated to run!? I want to get PS CS3 retail version 10, is that the latest version!? Whats with the PS Elements packages!? Would that be like service pack 1 is to Vista!? Just a bunch of add on features but not the actual PS editing software!? If I get Elements v6 and CS3, is that a recommended or compatible package!? Thanks for any help anyone can give me !.!.!.!. I'm kinda starting out in this PS business! :)Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
The other answers are very good, but I would like to suggest that you get Photoshop Elements 7, which just came out for the PC!. You are just starting out and I don't think you are ready for full Photoshop (which will cost you between $600 and $900+ depending on whether you get the Standard or Extended version!.) Elements is less than $100, and is aimed at the consumer and everyday user!. (And it CAN do a lot more than just photo editing!.) Photoshop itself is aimed at the professional photographer, graphic designer, web designer and digital artist!. It is indeed a complex and very rich program, and although the basics of it are not that hard to learn, you will probably do better with Elements!.

As other people have pointed out, Elements is NOT an addon to Photoshop!. There are such things, such as Plug Ins, brushes, textures, actions, filters!. Some are third party software that you can buy, some are things you can create yourself within the program, and often there are really nice freebies that other users have created and made available!. Some of these will only run in full Photoshop, but many will work just fine in Elements!.

Again, I think you would do best with Elements!. However, if you are a student and are planning on taking courses in Photoshop or that require Photoshop, you should investigate getting the student license for the program, which will save you a lot of money and still get you essentially the full version!.

Note that Photoshop is rich enough and complex enough that masters of the program will tell you no-one can learn everything about it!. And also that there is usually more than one way to do something in Photoshop!.

Good luck with whatever decision you make!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Hi there,

Safest way is to buy it from an authorized reseller, if that is available from where you are from!. This way, they could answer all your questions and they may even be able to provide a trainer to briefly tell you about Photoshop!.

The next thing is to purchase it online from Adobe itself!. Which is safe option as well, they have an extensive user forum where people can ask questions about the software you would automatically become a member once purchasing from Adobe!.

The reason why you are finding many 'How-to' books in eBay is because Photoshop has a standard price, and like Apple products would not go higher or lower depending where you purchase them!. also, Products would usually be registered under the owners name, so reselling usually does not go so well!.

Elements is mainly for Photo Editing!. This was created mainly for this purpose, so if this is the reason you want to start using Photoshop than Elements wouldn't be a bad choice!. It is cheaper but does not have all the functions that Photoshop provides!.

As the previous guy has mentioned before, CS4 is on the way, and could be worth waiting for, it would be released late this year to early next year, no fixed date yet as far as I know!. There would be new features but really, new features would only be handy if you were a hardcore Photoshop user!. For example, some of the new features are just small and minor tweaks or Flash support which may or may not come in handy for you!.

Waiting for CS4 is really your call, but where i'm working now, we are still using CS2 and we still create kick-*** designs!.!.

Photoshop is not a hard software to learn, but the thing is, it is a really broad software, and you can constantly learn so much things from it!. This is another reasons why there are so many 'how-to' books and endless tutorials online!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Your best best, if your concerned about the version, is to go directly to a store and purchase the software off the shelf!. If your interested in saving money you and are a student (in colege or otherwise) you can go to the Adobe educational store and get a full version of CS3 for $299!.

http://www!.adobe!.com/cfusion/store/html/!.!.!.

BUT, CS4 is due out around the end of the month which is offering both a 32-Bit and 64-Bit for PC's and only a 32-Bit for the OS X Mac's due to API problems

If you purchase the CS3 first you should be able to upgrade for around $200 to CS4 but I suspect that CS4 will be offered to students teachers ect on the educational store for near ther same price!.

You have more abilities in CS3 than in elements!. I recommend CS3 or CS4Www@QuestionHome@Com

Elements is a scaled down version of Photoshop CS!. It has the functions that most recreationals photographers use and can do many things Photoshop CS can do!. It uses most of the plug ins and actions that are used in CS!.

Photoshop is the premier photo editing software on the market but if you do not take some lessons on it you will probably not ever learn to use many of the advanced features!. I don't know where you live but here there are some very good photoshop courses offered at the public library and county adult education programs!.

You do not need both photoshop and elements you need one or the other!. Go to adobe!.com and look at what each does before deciding which is for you!. I love CS particularly for what you can do with layers and curves with it!. But if you don't need what it does and all you want to do is crop, resize, do some color correction or substitution, maybe some work with layers than you can be happy with elements at a much lower price

Right now photoshop express is in beta and you can play with it for free at the adobe site!. That may be another good option for you depending on your needsWww@QuestionHome@Com