Paint Shop 9 or Adobe Photoshop CS

[Rprincess]

I just bought my first digitial camera (panasonic FZ20) and now am considering on buying photo editing software. Just wondered what your opinion might be or your experience regarding these two. THanks

[judge9847]

I just bought my first digitial camera (panasonic FZ20) and now am considering on buying photo editing software. Just wondered what your opinion might be or your experience regarding these two. THanks
I'm a great PSP fan but if cost isn't an issue then Photoshop is the choice of most professionals.

A word of caution though: if you're not used to using packages such as those two then be prepared for a very steep learning curve with either. They are not easy to get to grips with but I feel you'd find PSP the better one to learn.

However, if all you're thinking about using your software for is digital image post processing, then there are many cheaper alternatives, some of them free.

I say that because both PSP and Photoshop are "complete" packages in that they are capable of a great deal more than just photograph manipulation. With Photoshop, you would certainly be spending a lot of money on functionality that you most probably would never use. That might be true also of PSP but I'd suggest to a lesser degree.

[Don Walsh]

Since you only mentioned two specific programs may I add another program you might want to take a look at. It is Adobe's " Photoshop Elements". I am a fan of Photoshop CS and have never regretted buying the somewhat pricey software as an amateur digital photographer.

As Bob pointed there is a very steep learning curve to Photoshop, but where that curve starts to take you in the world of "The Digital Darkroom" is awesome. You can very quickly become accustomed to the basics that most are looking for i.e: cropping, resizing, red eye removal, etc, etc. in Photoshop and depending on your level of interest it can then take you to levels of photo retouching and manipulation that go to the Expert Level of Digital Processing. Its all up to you as its all there whether you use it or not!

Photoshop Elements is a watered down version of Photoshop CS for want of a better description both in price and capabilities and I think a trial version can be downloaded of it and also Photoshop CS from their website. I think it has a lot of the same characteristics and commands as Photoshop. Paint Shop 9 probably has a downloadable trial version too. Try before you buy, its the most inexpensive way.

I am of the opinion that if you are pursuing digital photography as a hobby then you won't go wrong with Photoshop if you can afford it. If your interest is mainly to take and print good snapshot type photos you would be wasting your money.

[ReF]

Want my opinion? Too Bad! I'm gonna give it too ya anyways! I think you should definately stick to photoshop. Why? because there are alot more plugins, info, tutorials/how to's for Photoshop, not to mention other experienced users that can provide invaluable answers to difficult or obscure questions. for example, I can give you these links:

www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/contrast-enhancement.shtml
www.dpreview.com/learn/?/Image_Techniques/
dpfwiw.com/processing.htm

the first site is a fast-start photoshop tutorial, it'll help with the hard learning curve.
the second is a page with many links to how to's, the barrel correction link offers a plugin for photoshop
the third contains post processing tips for photoshop
if you do a google search with the words "replace bad sky" or "replace dull sky" you will find links to pages that show you how to replace a dull sky with a nice one, with specific instructions in photoshop.

you can dramatically reduce atmospheric scatter or haze by trying this in photoshop: go to filters, choose sharpen, choose unsharp mask and enter in the following values:
amount: 25
radius: set to max #
threshold: set to 1

repeat as neccessary. that formula is a starting point, adjust to your own taste. I lost the link to the site where I found this info and I didn't remember the info exactly, so this is the best that I came up with after a bit of experimenting. if anyone who reads this feels they have a better set up, please post it so we can try it out. This will cause some noise, so you might want to try the free samples of Neatimage or Noiseware at their websites. I think Noise Ninja offers a trial too.

see how much info there is on photoshop? I know you can do pretty much the same things on other programs, it's just finding info on how to do it.

I agree that Photoshop elements is a very inexpensive and still powerful alternative. I've found Version 3 in stores for $79, probably cheaper online. You won't have the interpolation tool, but the following FREE download is supposed to include a very good interpolation program. And no, it's not just trial! I haven't tried it out yet though:

irfanview.com


dpfwiw.com and luminous-landscape.com are very useful sites that contain a bottomless well of info that covers many other aspects of photography and not just post processing. Wow, I've spent too much time on this reply! Hope someone finds this useful!

[judge9847]

Want my opinion? Too Bad! I'm gonna give it too ya anyways! I think you should definately stick to photoshop. Why? because there are alot more plugins, info, tutorials/how to's for Photoshop, not to mention other experienced users that can provide invaluable answers to difficult or obscure questions.
There's truth in the above - but for the record, any drawing/photo editing software package worth its salt can handle plugins. They use the Adobe standard format. Properly installed they can be handled by PSP, PE and lots of others.

I do take issue with the bit about information and tutorials though. My general experience is quite the opposite: there are many more tutorials for PSP than for any other package. Thousands upon thousands of them in fact and that is most certainly not true about Elements or Photoshop CS or any of its previous incarnations. JASC who write PSP (until it was sold out recently to Corel) run some very informative message boards which can be accessed by any reasonable news reader, including Outlook Express. You'll find thousands of items there with tens of thousands of links. A great resource - I'm not aware that Adobe do the same sort of thing.

But it's still true: if you've got the cash, the time and the patience, Photoshop is best.

Wow, I've spent too much time on this reply! Hope someone finds this useful!
Well, if you're going to give an opinion - and of course, they are all valued! - I think you should be prepared to spend the time on it!! People will find them useful and so it's right to take time out when you do reply :)

[Rprincess]

Replies such as all of yours are invaluable no matter what your opinion is. I will tell you that as I am new to the digitial field, I did take a college course on Digitial Photography ( a very quick course consisting of 5 8hour days.). I fell in love with digitial photography but just wasn't sure what camera I wanted to buy until now. Anyway, during the course we did use Photoshop and it was unbelieveable what you can do with a picture. And that's not too say that you would not get those results with other packages, its just what we used. At the college I know I can get either the CS or the elements version for half of the cost. I had read on some of the boards that some people like the PaintShop so I wanted to find out more about it before I went and bought one of these. So again thanks so much for all your comments, it really does help. Rhonda

[erichlund]

I'm a PSP user because I cannot justify the cost of Photoshop for the marginal added ability. I'm not a pro photographer, so it doesn't pay me. For the difference in cost choosing to upgrade my PSP, I was able to buy Nikon Capture and have enough left over to get either SB800 or the Nikkor 60mm micro (macro to the rest of the world :) )

The real kicker: Taking raw photos and adjusting in Nikon Capture, I find I hardly need another editor. :eek: YMMV

Honestly, I'm just not convinced that Photoshop is worth it, even if you have the cash. Perhaps if your supply of money is unlimited, but I'd think that another lens, either a macro or a big telephoto would be of more value.

Of course, since you have an FZ20, you have all the lens you can get, so maybe a good flash or a very high quality tripod. Remember, quality photographs start with taking a good picture, so there's value in putting your money up front, in the equipment that takes the picture.

OTOH, it's your money. If you find greater value in the post processing tool, perhaps Photoshop is what you need. After all, you do have familiarity with the product.

Cheers,
Eric

[kgosden]

If you need camera RAW support you can still use Elements 3.0 as that is one of the new features.

[judge9847]

If you need camera RAW support you can still use Elements 3.0 as that is one of the new features.
To keep the balance, so does Paint Shop Pro version 9 but not in V8 or earlier. Same with Elements: it's new to V3 but does not appear in V2 or earlier.

[tas1]

I've used both and have to say that Photoshop is way ahead. Use Photoshop CS at a local gallery that you can rent time at, and not sure how this differs from elements.

The amount of functionality is astounding, as are the effects you can build up to create digital images.

[UberVamp44]

Photoshop CS is alot mroe powerfull than Paint SHop pro but paint shop pro is alot more shortcuts unlike photoshop whith doesnt have the photo editing shortcuts. Adobe photoshop elements 3.0 would be the way to go if you are a beginner and or not going to go all out on photos it has some great features that the photoshop cs has and then it has alot more photo editing tools that are ment for the photos

[jaynads]

I just bought my first digitial camera (panasonic FZ20) and now am considering on buying photo editing software. Just wondered what your opinion might be or your experience regarding these two. THanks
I just bought the same camera - I think it's a great choice. As for the "Photoshop vs. others", I think the answer is entirely up to you. Here is my opinion: Photoshop CS is an amazing program. It's not designed for the casual user. Expect to shell out $30-$50 on a book or two to learn how to use it. Once you figure it out, it's no longer daunting, but expect to devote a few hours a day for a week or two to get comfortable with it. Photoshop Elements is about 70% of what CS is, and at several hundred less, a noble alternative. I'm not too familiar with the other options - I am an exclusive CS user. The pros use it because of its functionality, whereas most other programs are designed for the more casual photographer. However, if all you ever think you'll do is fix the occasional red-eye, stick with what came with the camera.
Whichever you choose, read up on it a little - it's the best way to familiarize yourself with the uses of a program!