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Store Index - Photoshop / Plug-Ins Store:
by Adobe Platform: Mac OS, Windows 95 / 98 / Me / NT / 2000 Media: CD-ROM ASIN: B00006ANW9 Features: - Create, edit, and fix digital photos - Easily share images on the Web - Capture individual frames from downloaded video files - Apply amazing special effects with Recipes - Create GIF animations and Web buttons Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 sits between the low-end PhotoDeluxe and the professional Photoshop 7.0, and is ideal for anyone with a serious interest in digital imaging. It offers particularly good handholding features for beginners. With Photoshop Elements, Adobe takes the most widely used parts of Photoshop and tweaks the interface to make these features easier to use. The program is designed mainly for retouching digital photographs, but has a number of natural media brushes, too, so you can create your own images from scratch. The key features of Elements revolve around the amount of assistance offered and the friendly interface. While there are many more tools available than in, say, PhotoDeluxe, the comprehensive Help system and the Recipe Palette work together to provide an easy entrance into common tasks. These include retouching images, preparing them as Web graphics, and sending pictures as e-mail attachments. New additions to this version start as soon as you choose to open a graphic file. The file browser now shows thumbnails of all readable files and provides details of their types and sizes. To open the file, simply double-click a thumbnail. The Palette Well is a box, set into the Shortcuts bar, that contains five separate, tabbed palettes, for options such as filters and layers. Click on any tab and the palette detaches to float over the work area; click again and it re-docks in the well. Photoshop Elements now provides an image stitching tool called Photomerge, and a method for grabbing single frames from common video types, such as MPEG, AVI, WMV, and QuickTime. Improved features for creating Web images include the ability to create Web galleries of your photos and automated adjustments, which can be used to make photos suitable for Web transmission and display. Photoshop Elements 2.0 is ideal for the enthusiastic amateur or base-level professional graphic artist who needs to work quickly and easily with photographic images. --Simon Williams System requirements: Windows: Intel Pentium processor Microsoft Windows 98, NT 4.0, 2000, Me, or XP Internet Explorer 5.0, 5.5 or 6.0 (updated with applicable service packs) 128 MB of RAM 150 MB of available hard disk space Color monitor capable of displaying thousands of colors at a resolution of 800 x 600 or higher CD-ROM drive Macintosh: PowerPC processor Mac OS 9.1, 9.2.x, OS X v 10.1.3 through 10.1.5 Internet Explorer 5.0, 5.5 or 6.0 (updated with applicable service packs) 128 MB of RAM (with virtual memory on) 350 MB of available hard disk space Color monitor capable of displaying thousands of colors at a resolution of 800 x 600 or higher CD-ROM drive Customer Reviews: An excellent Digital Photography Tool, August 28, 2002 Reviewer: roje55 from Elloree, S. C. United States This product is not for the beginner. Some experience is required or the patience to learn through studing the manual which comes with the program. It has met my needs by giving me the tools required to fine tune my out of focus photos. By use of the selection tool and layering, my photos are of a much higher quality than I have found with other programs, and I have used many. Don't get discouraged, once mastered the rewards will be worth it! For those who are not ready for Photoshop 7.0 but would like to try a program with the elements of it, this is it. Best photoediting value but not a great advance from 1,.0, August 23, 2002 Reviewer: John Cronin from Beaverton, OR USA I upgraded to Photoshop Elements 2.0 from 1.0 after it's release. Version 2.0 was slower on my computer (PIII 600 with 256 MB memory) than the original and seemed to demand more of the available memory. The quick editing features were particularly slow on my machine, making them more difficult to use than they were on the original. File management was also quite slow. I purchased Version 2.0 envisioning that new filters and effects would be offered, but really nothing substantive in that domain was added to the product. The end result was a product that runs more slowly than version 1 with no dramatic additions to the feature set. For new users who want powerful photoediting software at a very reasonable price, Photoshop Elements is the product of choice. For owners of Version 1.0, an upgrade to Version 2.0 has marginal value. Perfect for the Digital Camera owner, August 21, 2002 Reviewer: A software user from Alameda, CA I'm not a "power user" but since I got my digital camera, I've found it to be able to do everything I want. If I get stuck, I've found that the hints and "How To" recipes contained in Elements will often give me a solution to how I can get the effect I want. Elements comes with a host of one-stop tools that will create automated slide shows, and webpages. Another big bonus is Elements can convert many files automatically to the users desired format. I can even use Elements to capture digital video stills from DV video clips. Worth up grading from elements 1.0, August 18, 2002 Reviewer: edlusign1 from Pittsfield, MA United States I have been using 1.0 for some time and I really like it. It's very easy to use once you get used to it. I've only had 2.0 for a couple of days but I can say that it has been greatly improved with new and improved features. Many of the existing features have been improved and new ones have been added. The new picture package is one of the features I really like. One of the things I didn't like about 1.0 was the inability to print more that one picturre on a sheet. Well that has been fixed. I have tried 6.0 nice but elements it meets my needs and at a much lower price. Best entry level photo editor, August 17, 2002 Reviewer: MJP from Delmar, MD United States Photoshop Elements is THE only photo editing software for beginners and intermediates. The learning curve starts out slow but within a short time, you will realize the great potential that this software offers. Missing only a few professional tools of Photoshop 7.0, Elements enables the casual user to enhance and customize photos. I would also recommend purchasing a "how to" book with elements to speed up the learning curve Even better than version 1.0, August 17, 2002 Reviewer: A software user from WA, United States Upgrading from the original Photoshop Elements paid off. This version is easier to use, without it being "dumbed down" too much. The help menu is easy to access and the booklet is much more understandable for the beginning photo editor. You can make ordinary photos much more professional with very little time invested. I use this program to repair valuable family photos at home, and to touch up digital pics for Microsoft Publisher brochures at work. Give it a look! Very Helpful. Seven Tools I Use All of the Time!, August 8, 2002 Reviewer: MartyHansen from Los Angeles, CA USA Photoshop Elements is a truly outstanding photo editing program. Here are seven of the tools that I use all of the time: 1. Auto Levels -- With one click, colors pop and become more vibrant. Skin tones are optimized. The color cast from indoor or fluorescent lighting is eliminated. To do this manually would be much more time consuming (and definitely hit-or-miss). 2. Auto Contrast -- Also with one click, the light/dark contrast (and tonal range) of a photo is optimized giving the image much more richness. 3. Sharpen -- This takes a few clicks, but this command will make digital photos somewhat sharper. (This also happens automatically when one uses "Auto Contrast.") Sharpening digital photos, especially at longer focal lengths (or when using lower megapixel cameras), is always welcome. 4. Fill Flash -- This command is absolutely amazing. When used, it will brighten all surfaces (in shadow) facings towards the camera (even in the background). If faces are too dark, this will lighten them. If details are lost in the shadows, this will restore them. Brighter areas are unaffected. This command almost eliminates the need for outdoor fill flash or reflectors, and results in much more natural (and more softly lit) portraits. If you take a lot of people pictures, (or if you like to shoot with natural light), this tool is indispensable. 5. Sunset Light -- This digital filter will give a photo taken during bright sunlight the warm glow of an evening image. The sky and all reflected surfaces will look warmer (and more romantic). This is a great way to add drama to scenics (turning cliches into works of art) -- especially if hanging around 'til dusk isn't an option. 6. Perspective Adjustment -- Using a wide angle lens and looking upwards will make buildings appear (on film) as though they are leaning backwards. This tool remedies this. I've found that I won't enlarge photos with leaning buildings -- but I will once they are upright again. Fixing a photo on the computer is also much more convenient than carrying a special shift perspective lens or lugging around a heavy view camera. 7. Color Cast Correction -- This is a really cool tool. For photos where the color is seriously off due to indoor incandescent or fluorescent lighting (beyond what can be remedied by the Auto Levels feature above), this tool fixes it with just one click. Simply put the cursor on an area you know to be black or gray -- and Photoshop Elements will adjust all of the colors (in the entire photo) accordingly. It works fantastically. If you're not satisfied, just keep clicking around other portions of the black or gray area until you get the overall color balance that you're seeking. For my own use, I've found that I won't print a photo -- until I run it through Photoshop Elements first! I'll usually apply tips #1-3 to every photo. (This takes but mere seconds.) I'll use the Fill Flash feature when faces are too dark (or when the contrast between light and dark is too high.) Lastly, I'll use tools #5-7 only when the situation requires it. Photoshop Elements also has a convenient "step backwards" function which will delete the effects of the last command (in case you like the previous image better). (I learned to use most of the above tools, incidentally, by reading Photoshop Elements Solutions by Mikkel Aaland -- which makes the software as easy to use as the folks at Adobe intended. I highly recommend it.) Other photo editing programs provide a lot of special effects or photo album-type backgrounds. I just want my photos to be better! Adobe Photoshop Elements is perfect for my needs. The perfect compromise between consumer and prosumer tools, August 6, 2002 Reviewer: Paul Thurrott from Dedham, MA USA Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 is a wonderful, low-cost alternative to Adobe's high-end Photoshop 7 that retains most of its bigger brother's best features, but adds tons of ease-of-use niceties. Yeah, it's still harder to use than PhotoDeluxe or Microsoft Picture It!, but a little time investment will pay off big time. I wish it came with PS 7's healing tool--that's the only reason it didn't get five stars--but otherwise, this is a rare treasure. Highly recommended. |
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