PSE4 vs CS2

[cpittmx]

Does anyone here use both PSE4 and CS2? If so what do you think the main differences are? How much harder is CS2 to use? Once you "get it" how much more efficient is CS2. I have the opportunity to pick up CS2, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Illustrator, Acrobat, and some other adobe products through my school for a very low cost. The price is low enough that it is a non-issue. I'm just wondering if it would be a real advantage for me if it is so much more difficult to use that I should stick with elements. One advantage is that the art teacher is using CS2 so I could bring in photos when I wanted help from him. He is extremely good and does some incredible things with CS2.

[Hamlet 77]

Doesn't matter, my aged uncle, who knows about these things, says you'd be a fool to pay full whack for CS 2 when you get so much in PSE 4 for a fraction of the cost.

Sorry I had to post about my uncle who all my life has been an 'expert' on everything and whilst on the phone to my mum yesterday asked her what I used for Digital Photography, which I told her (she wouldn't know PSE from a USB) and he graciously gave his approval for my choice of software, bit rich really he hasn't been taking photos for 20 years, BUT he 'approves' so it can only be PSE 4 for all your digital photographs....

[cpittmx]

again..cost is not an issue. I can get this from my school district with them covering most of the cost and me being left with only $100 to pay for all of the above listed and their was some other stuff in their also, I just dont remember the titles.

[Mary]

I did not upgrade to PSE 4 after the 30 day trial although I have been a PSE and Album user since version 1.

I did purchase Photoshop CS2 and yes there is a lot to learn but nothing that requires you to learn everything by 2 o'clock Thursday.;) What I like about it is the speed that I find to be better that PSE 3 and the Bridge that stays out of your way until you ask for it. I purchased Deke McLelland's One on One for CS2 and I am working my way through that.

The main reason that I decided to go for CS2 was to have more control on everything. In my opinion I think PSE is moving to presets and automatic things which are great but I mainly restore and repair old photos for myself and other people so I need the nitty gritty.

All that being said I don't think I would be nearly as comfortable with CS2 if I hadn't had this fantastic PET experience here. I have learned so much and it has been fun!:)

[Carbone]

If you have the change to go PS CS2, go for it! You'll miss the creations, but the tools and their increased level of control you'll get makes it for the loss. We're a couple of full Photoshop users around here so you'll still be able to get help, when you need it.

Ray

[Wendy]

Certainly my view is at that price go for it ... its wonderful value.

As Ray said there are a few of here that use CS2 so any help you need you just have to ask :)

Wendy

[Jan Ruthig]

I would JUMP at the chance to get CS2 at that reduced rate!!!!! :eek: :eek:
Go for it even if you don't use it right away! You won't be sorry!

[Pauline]

Me too! And if you don't like it all, feel free to ship it to me! :D

[Jan Ruthig]

Pauline,
I was thinking the same thing!! :eek:

[Pauline]

Hey well Jan, I said it first so you'll have to get in line behind me! :D

[Jan Ruthig]

:rolleyes: It figures!!

[cpittmx]

great. you guys have confirmed what I was thinking. I'm thinking I might get it but keep playing with elements for awhile before I switch over. It seems like a lot of the knowledge gained in elements could be carried over to CS2? And it is great to know that there are some CS2 users on this forum also, because I really enjoy this forum.

[Carbone]

99.97112 % of it :)

Seriously, absolutely nothing is lost, except for the Organizer. The Editor is 100% valuable knowledge.

Ray

[cpittmx]

awesome, I just ran up to the office and added my name to the list. Although I need to quit spending money on new computers or software if im gonna get the money for my 20D or 30D.

[Pauline]

Curt, I think having knowledge of elements will really help ease you into pscs. I would have been very intimidated to start out with such a big program, but now I can watch tutorials on cs and know what they are talking about. The tools are all very similar but what you will find is that you have more options to control those tools. Instead of clicking on layers styles separately it opens a whole control box where you can add everything all at once. You can even change the colours of shadows, glows etc.

I'm jealous but can't afford the bigger program so I will just have to stick with elements.

[cpittmx]

any recomendations on resources for learning CS? Any forums for CS out there that approaches the friendliness of this forum? Or video courses on CS that are as affordable as the online courses here?

[Pauline]

Curt for $20/month US you can subscribe to www.lynda.com (http://www.lynda.com)
There are some great tutorials on there and you can watch everything they have available, and cancel your subscription whenever you want. I just finished watching one set on CS2 and it was great.

[Ken S]

Interesting discussion. While I haven't compared CS2 to PSE4 yet, I compared CS2 to PSE3 and decided to stick with PSE3. That's despite the fact that my good friend works at Adobe and I can get any of their products through him at a major discount. :)

I also second the comment that the editor functions carry over. But then you get into certain features of CS2 that, as a PSE user, you've never seen before and realize that you're in a different league.

In my case, PSE did everything I needed to as a hobbyist including handling RAW images. It also gave me the cool creations so I decided to stick with it until I felt that I needed more processing control.

Ken

[cpittmx]

See, I'm having some of the same thoughts as you Ken. It just seems like to good of a deal to pass up though.

Pauline, thanks for the website recommendation..it looks very interesting.

[Pauline]

You can't beat the price Curt, and I've already learned at lot the last two weeks.

[Mary]

I currently have 4 podcasts that I subscribe to and have learned a lot from them. The first one is Matt's daily podcast another is One Minute Tips, Graffis Photoshop Video Tutorials, and the Russell Brown Show. Just go to iTunes and subscribe through the video podcast selections. A lot of the material works for both PSE and CS2.

I can highly recommend the Deke McLelland One On One book - it is based on lessons with a DVD video intro to each chapter and a short quiz at the end of each chapter. All the files that he works on are also on the DVD.:)

[Wendy]

Hi Curt ...

Wow you will love it :)

As far as forums go well there isn't anything out there that is like this one so my suggestion is that you stick around here. All the tutorials can be done in CS2 and thats a grerat start to learning .... then you can start to experiment with the feature that have more flexibility:)

... anytime you gt stuck then there are enough of us here using CS2 to help you out ..

Wendy

[Ken S]

See, I'm having some of the same thoughts as you Ken. It just seems like to good of a deal to pass up though.

Are you able to purchase CS2 at a discount only for a fixed period of time? If no, one strategy is to use PSE4 now and when you do grow out of it get whatever version Photoshop is out then -- that's my plan.

Ken

[cpittmx]

unfortunately they have some "technology grant" money they can spend right now so this is kind of a one time deal...who knows if they would ever decide to offer this again....its a whole adobe package and they are paying all except $100. With just CS2, Premiere Pro, and affter effects you have to be looking at over $1000...so I told them to count me in. Just couldnt pass up the deal, even though I may never get beyond the features offered in Elements.

[Wendy]

Curt ...

I will give you the same advice I gave to the others who bought it ... put Elements away and use only CS2. :eek: ... it really is the best way to learn.

A lot of things do work the same way (with added flexibility) but the menus are different and things are not in the same places. Using CS2 only gives you the chace to get to grips with that ... and in the long run makes learning much easier :)

Wendy

[cpittmx]

Wendy, Im sure that is good advice. It makes sense that you stick with one thing. Are you mainly using CS2 these days?

[Carbone]

I know I do. I use Photoshop Elements only for support reasons (when volunteering time here, for example). Else, it's 100% PS CS2.

Ray

[albertabrit]

I have both PSE3 and CS2, and agree that it is better to learn on one system only.
When I first obtained CS2 I was considering joing NAPP however a few members on this site recommened that the elements site was better, for learning etc. so i bought books, cd's and dvd's on CS2.
The only problem I find in watching the videos on this site, is that they are for Elements 3 and 4. Dont get me wrong they are good, however when you are just starting out they can sometimes be confusing as the layout, filters etc are diffrent in cs2 than in elements, example one of the latest videos shows the skin tone filter, thats not listed in Elements 3 or CS2.
I am sure that once I know the in's and out's like Wendy and Carbone then I can relate.
So I am taking a month course (2 hours per week) here in Calgary (SAIT) next month to learn CS2.
Based on what I have seen I really enjoy using CS2. After viwing what you can do with RAW in Bridge etc, And after my course I am thinking of getting a SLR camera (Canon Rebal) and using RAW and getting into it more.

In reference to the cost diffrence for CS2. the main reason I got CS2 was my Daughter who lives with me is taking a 4 year course at College which requires using In Design, so we obtained Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium from the College at a fraction of the retail price (I think it was $250 cdn)
And of couse Photoshop CS2 comes with Creative suite (along with other software)

So if you have full time or part time students (which i was at the time) check out the college or University book store
Cheers
Ron