iPhoto5 Rocks!

[John_Reed]

Unfortunately, you have to buy iLife, including those other Apple apps like Garage Band, et. al., for $79, but iPhoto5 alone is worth the price of the package, considering it competes with programs like the $200 Extensis Portfolio, for example. But with iPhoto5, you can edit a lot of picture properties right in place, including sharpness, color temperature, tint, and a really cool adjustment called "exposure," which lets you sort of pretend you went back and took the shot at a faster/slower shutter speed, without clipping the histogram to do it. In fact, it shows you a histogram which lets you know if whatever you're doing is clipping off one end or the other. As usual, iPhoto5 saves the photo's original, so you can edit and crop to your heart's delight, content that your original is safely "archived."

[Miles Davis]

I was really thinking of getting iLife 5, but only for iPhoto 5. How does it compare (with the new improvements) to Photoshop Elements 3? One thing I don't like about iPhoto is that it creates a link to your iimage instead of the actual thing....

[gary_hendricks]

Hi Miles Davis

John_Reed is right. iPhoto is just one part of iLife, which is Apple's new suite of media application tools. I actually saw a webcast of Steve Jobs demonstrating iPhoto - and it indeed is pretty good.

I assume you're using a Mac? If you are, and want a simple basic application for editing images, then Adobe Photoshop Element is a great option.
:)

[Miles Davis]

I downloaded the demonstration (keynote) as well. Other than iTunes and iPhoto though, I really have no use for iLife... I'm trying to find out how useful iPhoto 5 is as compared to other image editing software. So the real question is where would my money be better spent if I could only have one?

(I really wish they would just allow you to purchase them separately!)

[gary_hendricks]

I downloaded the demonstration (keynote) as well. Other than iTunes and iPhoto though, I really have no use for iLife... I'm trying to find out how useful iPhoto 5 is as compared to other image editing software. So the real question is where would my money be better spent if I could only have one?

(I really wish they would just allow you to purchase them separately!)

I'd say iPhoto 5 gives you the same editing features as Adobe Photoshop Elements 3. If you want advanced features, Adobe Photoshop CS is the way to go.

[Miles Davis]

I'm a pretty computer literate guy, but I kind of found PS El 3 a little confusing (downloaded the demo). One thing I really liked was the before and after so that you didn't have to press "undo" over and over again.

[Rhys]

I'm a pretty computer literate guy, but I kind of found PS El 3 a little confusing (downloaded the demo). One thing I really liked was the before and after so that you didn't have to press "undo" over and over again.

I never have much problem with PS Elements. My only gripe is it's so darned slow. I keep thinking of adding more memory to my system. Currently I have 256mb but as it's DDR, I have to open it up to find out which DDR I have. I gather the different types don't mix well (DDR 900, DDR 2100, DDR 3100 etc). Every time I look at the PC, it's in use.... I know I really need 512 for Microsoft Digital Inage Suite 10.

[George Riehm]

I never have much problem with PS Elements. My only gripe is it's so darned slow. I keep thinking of adding more memory to my system. Currently I have 256mb but as it's DDR, I have to open it up to find out which DDR I have. I gather the different types don't mix well (DDR 900, DDR 2100, DDR 3100 etc). Every time I look at the PC, it's in use.... I know I really need 512 for Microsoft Digital Inage Suite 10.

Rhys,

What processor are you running? Definately time to add another 256MB-512MB.

[Rhys]

Rhys,

What processor are you running? Definately time to add another 256MB-512MB.

The server runs an AMD 1700
My PC runs an AMD 2400

[kgosden]

My lowly 2100 is much happier with 1GB dual channel DDR RAM than it was with 512at least with Photoshop.

[George Riehm]

The server runs an AMD 1700
My PC runs an AMD 2400

Should be fine. I'm running a Semperon 2800 with 1GB and it runs PS CS very quickly.