Photoshop CS5 versus Elements

I use the full (CS5) version of Photoshop on my desktop and Elements on my laptop. In general I find Elements more than enough for processing digital pictures that usually come out of the camera looking pretty good. In fact Elements has some "consumer" shortcuts (auto "fixing" functions) that are occasionally helpful. And Elements has about the same selection tools as CS5 for adjusting parts of an image. Where I find CS5 far superior to Elements is in adjusting old slides. Specifically CS5 has far superior color adjustment tools, and that is more often an issue with poorly exposed, faded or color shifted color slides and negatives. That said, neither CS5 or Elements are particularly intuitive and easy to use, and it would not surprise me if somebody who has dug more deeply into Elements will tell me that those better color tools are hidden within Elements somewhere. Elements is a real bargain.

But if you happen to be an Apple user, it is worth checking iPhtoto or the new Photos apps that come FREE with Apple computers. Both have post processing functions that are pretty good, especially for the limited adjustments appropriate for most digital images.

JBWX