Photoshop purchase pointers

rave2420

Hi

I'm was thinking of purchasing Photoshop and was just wondering what package / version etc. (Dell laptop running MS XP prof.) I should get? Any pointers on best price / place of purchase also appreciated.

Is it the best package although I believe it can take a while to get to grips with it - have been reading pleny of posts here re tips / tutorials etc.

tks

5uspect

Well you may be able to pick up an older copy quite cheaply.
With CS and CS2 photoshop got quite bloated and suffered performance wise.
CS3 seems to go a long way to fix that.

What exactly are you planning on doing with it? If its just touch up and minor corrections to photos you may get away with PS elements or some of its free alternatives. Tho I'd imagine like most you want to learn the whole package!

Adobe have free 30 day trials of most of their programs for download from their website. Get the CS3 Standard trial and give it a shot.

There are also student versions available so you may get a discount if you are a student or know someone who you can but it thru.

jennyrusks

Hi there,
If you're just working with photographs you could also consider Lightroom which is a new part of the Photoshop "family". It's aimed specifically at photographers.

As Suspect said, try out the trials and see how you get on.

all the best

Jennifer

rave2420

Thanks to you both.

whats the basic difference between lightroom and full PS? DO you know if there is an upgrade / expansion path?

I will do some research on the web, just want to be sure I'm looking for the right thing. Basically I want to enhance my photos beyond red eye removal and sepia toning, and possibly find avemues to sell them.

tks

sineadw

Basically, lightroom applies changes through the entire image whereas PS allows you to work on areas of the photo. Lightroom also acts as a database for your images. Lightroom (as far as I can see) is much more limited than PS, but at the same time it is specifically built for photographers.

If you're not skilled with PS or don't intend doing much more than touch-ups and small corrections here and there then I'd suggest you go for one of the free pakages, like picasa or Gimp. Both excellent!

Calina

I'm also going to put a spoke in for ACDSee which I have just started testing and think is really very, very nice altogether.

ericl

My apoligies, i honestly never knew that torrents were illegal.

rymus, thanks for the abuse.

Fajitas!

I'd be editing that post fairly fast if I were you, and I wanted to post on boards.ie again

Torrents and illegallities aren't allowed here!

(On the other hand, you can download 30 day free trial versions of all Adobe's software from their website, completly legally)

rymus

eric, next time you post anything along those lines, you're banned.