Jeff's Digital Imaging
Information
Home
Software
Basics
Differences between Elements and CS
Differences
CS info
Making the
transition from Elements to CS
Photoshop Elements
and CS Tutorials
Tutorials
RAW
RAW
file management
Photoshop Extras
Plugins,
Filters, Actions, Templates, Brushes, Fonts, Papers, and more!
Getting Correct
Color (Color Management)
Color
Management
Printing Tips and
Help
Printing
Slide show software
(Elements version 6 has a very
good slide show creation package built in featuring the ability to add
music, narration, titles, timing to music tracks, and makes panning and
zooming within a slide very easy, and the whole process integrates into
the Adobe Premier Elements 4.0 video editor)
News
Elements 6 is out (our bookstore is selling it for about 79.95).
Adobe has released the 30 day trial of version 6 at:
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelwin/tryout.html
Screenshots of
what's
new in Elements 6 from About.com
Elements 6 summary
I like the new Guided Edit (Quick Fix) dialog boxes.
The panorama merging is improved.
There is a new selection tool which is slightly better than using the
magic wand.
The Photomerge group shot commands are apparently new and handy.
Cloning is new and improved with the new clone mask option.
The b/w conversion dialog box has been improved with RGB sliders now.
Better help for creating projects, books, etc.
ACR - Adobe Camera RAW - is better with new vibrance and clarity
sliders. Don't know yet if you can send incoming jpg's thru ACR
or not (this is an option on CS3).
New Brighness/Contrast dialog box (Adobe has made changes to this area
in recent months to allow this tool and adjustment layer to actually be
useful and pretty much non-destructive).
New file formats
Adobe
DNG
Microsoft
HD
Photo format
In 2006, Microsoft began
promoting its own image standard, formerly called Windows Media Photo
but renamed HD Photo in November. The company makes no bones about its
ambitions: "Our ultimate goal is that it does become the de facto
standard people are using for digital photos," said Josh Weisberg,
Microsoft's director of digital imaging evangelism.
"HD" doesn't actually stand for
"high definition," but it's supposed
to connote the better image quality that comes with HD TV. Rico Malvar,
a Microsoft Research director who helped develop the format, said that
compared with JPEG, HD Photo preserves more subtle details, offers
richer colors and takes up half the storage space at the same image
quality.
Luminous
Landscape DVD Index
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/video_journal/llvj-index
My older notes about Elements 5
I have worked with a few of the new features including the new
color
curves correction dialog box; convert to b/w dialog box which includes
a very good b/w filtering process so if you shot in standard color mode
you can now enhance per channel colors in your edited b/w image based
on the amount of red/green/blue you captured - and a fairly good
simulated infrared converter; new frames, textures, automated papers
and backgrounds; much speedier redraws when you are switching in and
out of the editor from some other program (this is plaguing vers. 4);
an improved smart sharpener and unsharp mask is now located in the
image enhancements area where it should be instead of with filters;
much faster filter palette; better album page layouts; better slides
shows; 16 bit file support option if you open a raw image (this makes
working with Levels more accurate and adds another notch to the value
of shooting raw and editing with Elements 5 instead of CS2; 8 stop
(4under and 4 over) exposure latitude in the raw opener; and if you use
the Place files command, placed files do not open as Smart Objects in
Elements as they do in CS2 - this is handy for those of us who don't
give two hoots about Smart Objects...
All in all Elements 5 is starting to act really nice for 79.95...you
can add Curves, Channel Mixer, Masks, etc. to Elements by using work
arounds and tricks so the need to migrate to CS2 or CS3 in the Spring
is becoming less of an issue....except color management in CS2 and CS3
is still way beyond Elements - if you really want to see how your
print is going to look before printing then CS2/3 is the only way to
go....
I still give the Elements Organizer a minus 20 for practicality.....had
a close friend organize everything the other day only to discover her
burner will not talk to the Organizer, only to Windows so the burner
had no idea how to burn Organizer's Albums....
Adobe Lightroom
New sorting and image management product
from Adobe....looks very user friendly. Beta versions so
far. To be on the market in late 2006 their press
release says.
Apple Aperture Photo
software. Anyone excited about this? The web
site is typically super-Apple-clunky-trendy (chokes right up promptly
on a speedy pc), but the software looks interesting.
http://www.apple.com/aperture/
Links
Megapixel.net has just about the best
group of links
you'll ever need all in place
Slide show software
Roadrunner (Bob Ellis is the expert)
http://beta.photoshow.com/maker
XAT Slide show - freeware (Karl Joyce is the expert)
http://www.xat.com/xatshow/index.html
Roxio Easy Media Creator
http://www.roxio.com/
Elements 3/4/5 has a built in slide show maker that uses Acrobat - very
handy
Adobe
Photoshop Elements 5.0
Arcsoft DVD slide show
http://www.arcsoft.com/
Microsoft Moviemaker
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/moviemaker2.mspx
Microsoft Photo Story
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/photostory/default.mspx
ACDSee
ACDSystems
ACDSee 9.0
PowerPoint
http://www.microsoft.com/powerpoint/
Adobe Acrobat
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/
Picassa
Picasa -
free from Google
IrfanView
IrfanView - free
Image
Management Programs
- let you see thumbnail versions of your image
files
- let you compare 2 or more images side by side
- help you drag and drop copies, or originals, of
your images
into the
right
folder on your hard drive or storage disks
- set up multiple images on a page for album
printing
- e-mail your photos
- build photo web pages
- create searchable databases
- help you find lost images
- build automated slide shows
- let you see your images full screen
- include limited, but very handy, image editing
capabilities
Steves' web site has the whole list -
click
here
ACDSystems
ACDSee 9.0 Photo Manager
ACDSee
Pro 2
Free image managers
Faststone - free
Picasa -
free from Google
IrfanView - free
CAM2PC Camera
to pc download software
- freeware
http://www.nabocorp.com/cam2pc/
Another free photo
editor/organizer - Triscape FXFoto
http://www.fxfoto.com/fxfoto_G110303.htm
Simplstar
http://www.simplestar.com/site_html/index.php
Gimp is an option also
http://www.gimp.org/
(comments from CNET's blog: The grandaddy of free design software
is
the
GIMP (short for GNU Image Manipulation Program), which provides
much of the functionality of Photoshop, with a very large and dedicated
community that produces tons of valuable tutorials. However, the GIMP
isn't the most user-friendly application. Newbies would be advised to
try
GIMPshop,
which puts a Photoshop-like interface on top of the GIMP's core
functionality)
Free screen capture software
Screen
Hunter
Web Shots
Lost cost image managers
Cerious
ThumbsPlus
Canto
Cumulus
Corel/Jasc
Paint Shop Photo Album 6
Extensis
Portfolio 7
Photodex
CompuPic 6.2
BreezeBrowser
Image Editing Software
- allow you to crop, correct, resize, and change
formats of
your pics
- allow you to apply creative filters and special
effects
- allow for precise re-touching of portraits or
any other pic
- include "painting" tools to add creative
elements to an
existing image
- help you clone in or out certain portions of
pics
- allow you to work in protected layers
- allow you to do some limited image management
- many allow you to install "plug-ins" and "actions" top automate
special effects or other tasks
Steves' web site has the whole list -
click
here
Adobe
Photoshop Elements 6
Adobe
Photoshop Elements 6 and Photoshop CS3 trial downloads
also:
ACDSystems
Photo Editor
Adobe
PhotoShop CS3
Ulead
PhotoImpact 11
Roxio
Photo Suite 7
Jasc Paint Shop Pro X
also:
LView
Pro
Ulead
Photo Explorer 8.0
PhotoParade
PhotoViewer
Firehand
Ember
Preclick
Photo Organizer 1.2
Photoshop Elements 3 and 4 and 5
and 6 Training
Information - updated
2-8-2008
Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelwin/main.html
Photoshop Elements 3/4/5 user's manuals - ask me for the online
location to the .pdf's (adamsja@flcc.edu)
What's the difference between Photoshop
Elements 3/4/5/6 and Photoshop CS2/3?
updated 2-8-2008 (feel free
to report additions, corrections to: adamsja@flcc.edu)
Here's what Adobe says is the difference:
http://www.adobe.com/digitalimag/ps_pse_comparison.html?tab:depth=1
What's the difference between Photoshop
Elements 4/5/6 and Photoshop CS2/3
updated 2-8-2008 (feel free
to report additions, corrections to: adamsja@flcc.edu)
Here's what Adobe says is the difference:
http://www.adobe.com/digitalimag/ps_pse_comparison.html?tab:depth=1
Elements 6 is out (our bookstore is selling it for about 79.95)
and
they released the 30 day trial version at:
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelwin/tryout.html
Version 5 notes: I have worked with a few of the new features
including the new color
curves correction dialog box; convert to b/w dialog box which includes
a very good b/w filtering process so if you shot in standard color mode
you can now enhance per channel colors in your edited b/w image based
on the amount of red/green/blue you captured - and a fairly good
simulated infrared converter; new frames, textures, automated papers
and backgrounds; much speedier redraws when you are switching in and
out of the editor from some other program (this is plaguing vers. 4);
an improved smart sharpener and unsharp mask is now located in the
image enhancements area where it should be instead of with filters;
much faster filter palette; better album page layouts; better slides
shows; 16 bit file support option if you open a raw image (this makes
working with Levels more accurate and adds another notch to the value
of shooting raw and editing with Elements 5 instead of CS2; 8 stop (4
under and 4 over) exposure latitude in the raw opener; and if you use
the Place files command, placed files do not open as Smart Objects in
Elements as they do in CS2 - this is handy for those of us who don't
give two hoots about Smart Objects...
All in all Elements 5 and 6 are starting to act really nice for
79.95...you
can add Curves, Channel Mixer, Masks, etc. to Elements by using work
arounds and tricks so the need to migrate to CS2 or CS3
is becoming less of an issue....except color management, masking,
soft-proffing, actions, and advanced techniques in CS2 and CS3
are still way beyond Elements - if you really want to see how
your
print is going to look before printing then CS2/3 is the only way to
go....
I still give the Elements Organizer a minus 20 for practicality.....had
a close friend organize everything the other day only to discover her
burner will not talk to the Organizer, only to Windows so the burner
had no idea how to burn Organizer's Albums....
And here is how new features have been introduced over the past 3-4
versions of Elements.
Elements
2, 3
|
Elements
4
|
Elements
5
|
Selection brush
The Selection Brush tool makes selections two ways.
You can paint over the area you want to select in Selection
mode, or
you can paint over areas you don’t want to select
using a semi-opaque
overlay in Mask mode. You can first
make a rough selection with a
marquee
tool or other selection tool, and then fine-tune your selection
with the Selection Brush
tool, adding to or subtracting from the selection by switching
between Selection mode and Mask mode.
Cookie cutter
Quick Fix includes
red eye tool
Red eye removal tool
Spot healing brush
Healing brush
Background eraser
Magic eraser
Color replacement tool
Smart Fix
Shadow Highlight
Rulers = Control + R
Photo Bin
Palette Bin
Adj. layers now includes Photo Filter
|
Magic selection brush
Convert color profile
Magic Extractor
Adjust color for skin tone
Defringe
Rulers = Shift + Control + R
Layers palette - painting
on layer column removed
|
Full edit vs. Quick
Fix moved to
left side
Straighten Tool
Backgrounds, Textures,
Themes added in Artwork
& Effects palettes
Adjust color curves tool
Convert to black and white dialog box
Enhance menu now features unsharp mask and adjust sharpness dialog boxes
Filter menu now includes Correct Camera Distortion
|
| Feature |
Elements 5.0 and 6.0
|
Photoshop
CS2/3
|
Why would I buy one version
instead of the other, besides cost?
|
What's new in version 6 - see
below
What was new in Elements
5?
|
What's new version CS2?
7
page Adobe .pdf file on CS2
Movies on
CS2 features
CS2
workflow .pdf
|
Easy to learn
|
yes
|
for most users it is hard to learn and not the right program
to start
with - learn Elements first |
User Guide included?
|
yes 471 pp pdf and 207 pp
printed user guide
Links:
Elements
3 69 page User Guide
Elements
4 471 page User Guide
Elements
5 User Guide
|
yes
|
| Lots of practical help and tips |
yes, also has a Search for help box very useful |
basic "hit your F1 key" |
| Sizing, cropping, orientation, saving tools, Save for Web |
yes |
yes |
| Navigation tools |
yes |
yes |
| Selection tools |
most |
all |
| Layers |
most features |
also has layer masks |
| History |
most |
also has Snapshot feature
and history brush |
| Painting/Cloning tools |
|
also has Healing and Patch tools |
| Tonal controls |
most |
also has Curves for precise changes |
| Blurring/Sharpening tools |
yes |
yes |
| Textures |
yes |
yes |
| Levels |
yes (no Curves) |
yes (also has Curves) |
| Color correction and color spaces |
most |
also has CMYK, channel mixer, duotones, tritones, quadtones,
and a
few others |
| Actions |
some built in but hard to install your own unless you're an
expert user |
yes |
| Accepts 3rd party plug-ins in the filters column |
yes |
yes |
| Liquify |
yes, it's buried in the distort filters menu
and also
has the Smudge tool |
yes, right there in the filters menu (also has Smudge) |
| Extract |
kind of, there is a magic eraser tool, background eraser
tool,
and new magic selection brush tool in vers. 4
|
yes |
| Print preview and print packages |
yes |
yes |
| Slide show .pdf maker |
yes |
kind of....
|
| File Browser |
gone in current Elements versions
|
gone, but Bridge is there
|
| Color management controls |
very basic |
very sophisticated |
| "Quick-Fix" vs. Standard Edit mode and one-touch color image
and correction tools
that walk
thru all the steps |
yes |
no Quick Fix
|
| Palettes |
yes |
yes |
| Red eye automated tool |
yes and it now works correctly in vers. 4,
|
?
|
| Gadgets like cloning, gradients, pattern stamps, sponges,
erasers,
magic erasers, background erasers, text, burn, dodge, shapes, blur
tool,
sharpen tool |
yes |
yes |
| Auto crop and straighten |
yes |
yes |
| Stroke |
yes |
yes |
| Histograms |
yes |
yes |
| Sepia, colorize, hand-painting options, airbrushing, Pantone
colors |
yes (except for Pantone swatches) |
yes |
| Paths, clipping groups, clipping paths |
no |
yes |
| Soft proofing |
no |
yes |
| Notes tools, audio notes |
no |
yes |
| Automated effects in a palette for easy reference |
yes |
no |
Automated filters in a palette for easy reference
|
yes |
no (Filters are manual) |
| Layer blending modes, layer styles |
yes |
yes |
| Layer opacity |
yes |
yes |
| Measure tool |
no |
yes |
Snapshots
|
no
|
yes
|
History brush
|
no
|
yes
|
Channels
|
none visible in this program,
but selections can be saved and they will appear in PS 7/CS channels
palette, new El 6 b/w dialog box allows color channel sliders to adjust
b/w balance
|
yes
|
Scripts
|
no
|
yes
|
History log can be saved
|
no
|
yes
|
Smart sharpen
|
no
|
yes
|
Color management tools
|
basic
|
thorough
|
| 3rd party plug-in to add channel
mixer, curves, layer masking, selective color |
yes
Click
here for the plug-in
|
already built in
|
Dual screen support
|
?
|
yes
|
Wacom tablet support
|
yes
|
yes
|
Adobe Bridge built in
|
no
|
yes
|
Adobe Photo Organizer
|
yes
|
no, thank goodness
|
Adobe Download Manager
|
yes, but you can turn it off in
the preference section
|
?
|
RAW file decoder built in
|
yes
|
yes
|
Keyboard shortcut manager
|
no
|
really nice feature
|
Merge to HDR
|
no
|
yes
|
Apply command (for merging
additional images of same resolution)
|
no
|
yes, allows for applying new
copy with new blend mode without adding a second layer
|
Ability to open jpg's in ACR -
Adobe Camera RAW
|
no
|
yes
|
Smart filter layers for
adjustment after you close and re-open the image
|
no
|
yes, cool
|
Clone source palette
|
no
|
yes
|
Vanishing point adjustment
|
no
|
yes
|
Refine selected edge commands
|
no
|
yes
|
Auto-align and auto-blend layer
command
|
no
|
yes
|
ACR 4.2
|
yes
|
yes, and adds several enhanced
tabs for complete control
|
ACR preset options, including
Jack Davis' WOW presets free
|
no
|
yes, cool
|
B/W infrared effect
|
yes
|
yes
|
What is
new in Photoshop
Elements
Version 6?
Here's the comparison chart for Elements 5 and 6
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelwin/upgrade/?promoid=BGRWA
Here's a special edition of Photoshop TV featuring Elements 6
http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/
Version comparison
| Fix common photo flaws with just one click |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Count on flexible layout options to create scrapbook pages,
CD/DVD labels, and more |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Easily organize your photos and video clips with visual
tagging options |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Access all of your photos and video clips from one convenient
place |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Easily create perfect group shots with new Photomerge™
technology |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Count on step-by-step assistance for improving photos and
making creations |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Create professional-looking photo books with greater ease and
flexibility |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Make image selections in just seconds so you can easily
adjust specific areas of a photo |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Create seamless panoramas with refined blending technology |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| View and organize your photos faster than ever before |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Quickly find the photos you need with new Smart Albums and a
dedicated bin for project-related photos |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Make finer adjustments with the enhanced Brightness/Contrast
control, Clone tool, and black-and-white conversion tool |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| Get everything in Photoshop Elements 6 and Adobe
Premiere® Elements 4, plus additional functionality — all for a
great value |
No |
No |
Yes |
| Add video-style effects and transitions to photo slide shows
and then share them on disc or the web |
No |
No |
Yes |
| Create dramatic video freeze-frame effects and turn
individual frames into disc covers and labels |
No |
No |
Yes |
| Easily share your slide shows and movies with direct upload
to YouTube™ and mobile devices |
No |
No |
Yes |
Learn
more about product features ›
What was new in Photoshop
Elements
Version 5?
What was new in Photoshop
Elements
Version 4?
What was new in Photoshop
Elements
Version 3?
Brush
away flaws
Easily
adjust shadows and highlights
View
before and after
Get
high quality with camera raw and 16-bit support
Enjoy
flexible print options
Instantly
improve photos
See
the full color range
Click
away red eye
Add
decorative edges
Divide
scanned photos
Improved Quick Fix tools
- Your history palette now tracks the Quick
Fix adjustments you made
- SmartFix with cool before and after side
by side views
- Levels
- Color
- Sharpen
The palette well is gone and palettes are neatly available on
the right
side of your desktop
Will support 16 bit digital images
Will open RAW files from almost all current cameras
New Spot Healing brush
Color Settings preferences now explain what each choice will do as far
as sRGB and RGB are concerned - finally!
Bicubic Sharper and Bicubic Smoother are now available as resize options
There is a new Shadow/Highlight filter under Enhance > Adjust
Lighting > Shadow/Highlights...
New Photo Filter adjustment layer is available and also as a standard
filter
Levels dialog box now has a Reset button
Filters are stackable in the new Filter Gallery
Effects, Filters, and Layer Styles have all been combined in drop down
menus in one new palette
Cookie Cutter punch out tool in the Toolbox is handy
One click Red Eye Fix is handier than version 2 - it allows you to drag
out a selection that automatically drops the red color out when you
release the selection
Live histogram palette shows your adjustments to a live histogram
before you actually execute the change
New Noise Reduction filter is apparently a great way to cut noise in
higher ISO pics
New version 3 extra features include the Photo
Browser,
Photo
Compare, Stacks, and other projects options...it is still pretty
much the same editor except for the options outlined below - which are
all good to have and make version 2 a little outdated...
The desktop has been cleaned up to force palettes into a pane on the
right if you choose, and also a new photo bin on the bottom that
helps you see all the images you have open as a reminder. This
should be in the next version of Photoshop hopefully - it's long
overdue.
Immediate options to go to either Quick Fix or Standard Edit mode
Photo Recovery software
Here are some photo recovery software places I've identified online.
http://www.photosrecovery.com/
http://www.mediarecover.com/
http://www.datarescue.com/photorescue/
http://www.winutils.net/
and lots more if you do a search for: Photo recovery software
I just checked the Sandisk web site and it still appears that with
higher quality levels of memory cards, Sandisk includes the Rescue Pro
recovery software for free:
http://www.sandisk.com/Products/Catalog(1024)-SanDisk_Extreme_III_CompactFlash.aspx
Free
software places
Convert to B/W
Pro demo
software
http://www.theimagingfactory.com/download/001CBWP/cbwp.htm
Free digital image
upscaling
interpolation
software from
www.imagener.com
Download.com:
The most popular site for shareware and freeware, as well as software
updates
Tucows:
The first ever free download site, now offering over 30,000 titles
Jumbo:
Internet.com's free software site
Kodak Easyshare
vers. 4 software is free
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/digital/easyShare/software/softwareDownload.jhtml
http://shareware.cnet.com/
jpg2000
converter
http://download.com.com/3000-2192-10153390.html?tag=lst-0-12
collagemaker
http://download.com.com/3000-2192-10159028.html?tag=lst-0-20
http://downloads-zdnet.com.com/2001-2016-0.html?tag=dir
http://www.completelyfreesoftware.com/grp_w95.html
http://www.freewarefiles.com/
http://www.freewarehome.com/
http://www.freewarearena.com/
Irfanview32 is for image inventorying and
lots more
More
cool software
Cool software for fixing facial expressions
http://www.reallusion.com/facefilter/
ACDSee
Mpower
SoundPix Plus
2.0
SmugMug
Camtasia
Impatica for PowerPoint
Nik filters and
sharpening software
3D Album
SendPhoto
