What Adobe photoshop do you recommend?

[james9487]

After all this time painting minis, I think it\'s finially time I buy Adobe photoshop. Now with all the new Christmas cash, I can afford it, so what is the difference between the editions? I went to Best Buy and the one they had was $150 or so but on ebay they don\'t seem to be too much.

Photoshop 4.0 on ebay

Adobe Photoshop CS2 - $500?????

Above are two ebay links with different versions. What is so awesome about CS2 for it to be so expensive? Any knowledgeable input would be fabulous. Thanks,

-James

 

[No Such Agency]

1. Find a guy
2. Get him to burn a copy of PS for you
3. ???
4. Profit!

I assume that\'s what everyone else here does... except the professional artists that is!

Seriously, if you will use it mostly for optimizing your mini pics, just download GIMP for free. Anyway that \"Photoshop Elements\" on eBay is NOT \"real\" Photoshop - it\'s a stripped down version for basic photo editing. Not really a deal at $50 IMO.

 

[Itchy]

i use GIMP... everyone makes fun of me for not stealing PS

 

[cookster]

I\'m downloading GIMP at the moment. Before i used something called PhotoImpression. It came free with my camerea. Its not half bad.

 

[Tony Manero]

i use an uhm... improper-not-so-legally-licensed photoshop CS2 lol

 

[Ritual]

I don\'t know exactly what PS Elements can do, but I think it can do most things that a normal user would want to do (don\'t quote me on this, though... :innocent: ). The \'full\' PS versions have a lot of functions you\'ll only need if you work professionally, thus the high price.

 

[War Griffon]

Have to agree with Ritual on this one

Not sure what Elements can do if it is similar to SE & LE editions of other packages then it may be OK for shopping your mini\'s.

I have been using PS7 for about two years and to be honest even though I use it at worrk for doctoring pictures I still don\'t use more than around 10% of it.

 

[abstract incendiarie]

I got photoshop 7 off kazaa incredibly naughtily. It suits my needs to edit my photos and turn images into stencils and no doubt many other things too complex for my limited skills.

AI

 

[mud duck]

my two coppers
If you are just using this program to fix photos, Id stick to a lower number Photoshop. Ive used versons 4-cs (10) and am of a mind that 5.5 is the best. mind you that is the version that I last learned in a class room setting. If im not mistaken version 7 Adobe went and changed around alot of stuff from the older versions and that screwed me up. If im not mistaken CS is a mashing of PhotoShop and Illistator bringing in vector functions into a pixel program and really isn\'t something that you\'ll need for fixing up photos. As for Elements I have no experince, so no idea what to tell you. Although you may be able to go to Adobes web site and download a free trial version to play with for 15 days or so. That and some of the classroom/learner books have a demo disk in the back, so id look around at a Half-priced books and see what you can find.

 

[Jericho]

There is some stuff in CS that deals with vector layers and whatnot, but they\'re not something you need to worry about much. It does make certain tools really strange to use though, like the line tools and other geometric ones.

Anyway I have a legit copy of the original CS, which is Photoshop 8 for people not totally down with the name changing lingo. I bought the entire Creative Suite for $250CDN via student liscensing. That included Acrobat Pro, Illustrator, Go Live, In Design, and Image Ready as well. Pretty awesome. Acrobat Pro is like $90 or something on its own, and Photoshop is a couple hundred as you already know.

I used to use Photoshop 5 on my old PC and the only thing that\'s really missing from the older versions is:

1) Good compression capabilities with previews... the Save For Web feature is worth it\'s weight in gold. Lets you see the image before you save, with 2 or 4 or more previews of different filesizes. It\'s awesome and totally customizable.

2) Shadow/Hilight filter that makes adjusting the midtones of your image a ton easier. If you\'ve ever had a model where you did a smooth blend and it looks like you skipped a couple dozen mixes, this can bring the shades lost in the image back more easily than adjusting levels and whatnot manually.

 

[finn17]

Whatever your conscience lets you get away with..

I bought a legit copy of photoshop Elements from eBay for a few quid. It will do a thousand more things than you will ever want it to.

True, you can steal CS2 for next to nothing, but why not contribute a few bob to the artistic and IT talent that made it all possible?

Believe me, there is no one on this site who needs CS2 in order to post on this site.

 

[No Such Agency]

Originally posted by finn17
Believe me, there is no one on this site who needs CS2 in order to post on this site.

True, but minis are \"difficult subjects\" to photograph and some manipulation/correction of the final image is always necessary to do the mini justice. A full copy of PS is overkill, I agree, but there are some sophisticated features that have come in handy in making that tricky mini look its best.

I do seriously endorse GIMP, the latest release fixed several annoying bugs that kept me using my pirated copy of PS well past my desire to quit it...

 

[finn17]

I think we are saying the same thing..

PhotoShop Elements will do everything that is necessary???

I can\'t possibly imagine what else CS2 could offer that wouldn\'t fall into the category of\'questionable practice\'

 

[Dragon Forge Design]

I have a copy of PS 6..does what I need. Ive played with eloements and it will suit your needs to.

 

[SJB]

Photoshop Elements 3.0 (legit) here. Does more than I could ever want for pics of minis.

Photoshop CS and so on is tailored for high-end professional work on magazines and other intensive processes. I can see no need to use CS. Elements is perfect for minis (white balance, levels, background removal, save for web etc...)

Steve B