Move from PS Elements to CS2/CS3?

tutumon

I'm new here.

Like to hear from people who moved from PS Elements to CS2 or CS3. What made you upgrade and has it been worth it?

What features do you use in PS2/3 that are not available in PSE?

Thanks!
Chris.

jfriend

tutumon wrote:

I'm new here.

Like to hear from people who moved from PS Elements to CS2 or CS3. What made you upgrade and has it been worth it?

What features do you use in PS2/3 that are not available in PSE?

Thanks!
Chris.

I used PSE2/3 for three years, then upgraded to CS2 around 2 years ago. The things I regularly use in CS2/3 that are important to me and are not in Elements are:

• Efficient RAW workflow
• Escape from the Elements Organizer
• Real Curves
• LAB color mode
• Masks (you can simulate masks in Elements with grouped adjustment layers, but it's easier to just have it built in in CS2)
• Actions
• Image Processor for mass producing JPEGs of a particular size and compression level

For me, it was 100% worth it to upgrade, but I was a pretty advanced Elements user and felt like I had really learned layers and masking pretty well. For other users, I recommend that people master what's in Elements before upgrading because many things are easier in Elements than they are in CS2/3. So, if you think you've really learned Elements and you see things in CS2/3 that you're pretty sure you'd use, then it might be the right time for an upgrade. If, on the other hand, you've only scratched the surface in Elements, then your time might be better spent learning what you already have.

Mrs F

tutumon wrote:

What made you upgrade and has it been worth it?

What features do you use in PS2/3 that are not available in PSE?

I used elements 4.0 for about 9 months before converting to CS2 about 9 months ago. I wanted real curves and LAB. I was also getting tired of reading in-depth tutes about how to do something great in CS2 and then realizing how limiting Elements can be. I had Elements for about 3 months before I started thinking, "dang, I wish I had CS2". Don't get me wrong, Elements is extremely powerful, but I wanted more power and more control that only Element's big brother could provide.

It has been a huge learning curve with me. I've only scratched the surface of CS2, but I'm so glad I've made the move.

I really wish CS2 had the selection brush from Elements, but I've heard that's a new feature in CS3.

As a side note, I still use the organizer from Elements. I haven't made the big move to Bridge yet 'cause I'm "stuck in my ways" (I also still like the Bee Gees and ABBA)

Duffy Pratt

I read the first couple of Chapters of Maruglis' LAB Color book, decided that is what I wanted to do, and moved out of Elements to full PS. Now, I use LAB, false profiles, masks, CMYK for the K channel and curving, and other techniques that you either can't do with Elements, or would at least be much more complicated.

Duffy

greenpea

tutumon wrote:

Like to hear from people who moved from PS Elements to CS2 or CS3. What made you upgrade and has it been worth it?

What features do you use in PS2/3 that are not available in PSE?

Welcome Chris!

I had been using PSE 3 and then 5 on a pc for several years, but I just got a mac so I needed to either get PSE 4 from my mac or CS3. Since I work at a university I get a big discount on CS3, so I bit the bullet and got CS3.

I still have a ton to learn before I can even begin to scratch the surface with all that CS3 can do but here are a couple of pros and cons from an amature who just made the switch.

Pros:
CS3 is a lot more powerful when it comes to working with raw files.
CS3 allows you to batch process raw images (huge time saver).
CS3 has powerful tools for doing HDR.

Cons:
I might be the only one, but do miss the PSE 5 organizer. The bridge just doesn't work the same for viewing large number of images (I have 50K+ pics that I like to be able to easily get at, so I figure I need to get either Lightroom or iView Media Pro).

In short, if I had to pay full price for CS3, I wouldn't have purchased it. I'm not a pro and I prefer taking pictures to editting pictures, so and the cost wouldn't be worth it. But at the academic pricing CS3 is well worth the cost.