Elements 10

Ok, at the risk of being jumped on from a great height by all you photoshop editing purists, I have installed the trial version of Elements 10, and after getting used to some of the controls I had a go at editing a RAW file..boy! is it slow (it might be my PC) it seems you wait forever for it to respond to a slider..now get ready to jump on me..when I use Picasa the response is immediate and very easy to navigate around and use and from what I've done so far in Elements the results are, as far as my 56 year old eyes can tell, just as good!
Perhaps I should persevere and use it some more (or for at least the whole trial) to see if I get on any better..OUCH!! I've just felt you all landing on me..

Robin

Download the trial of Lightroom, then report back. I have elements 8 and it has no lag in processing RAW files, But I use Lightroom for editing 100% of the time...elements gets used for other things, like putting together flyers, logos etc etc.

Joe..The reason for trialing Elements and not Lightroom was I cannot afford Lightroom where as £70/80.00, while hard to find, is not out of the question

Robin

robinchun said:

Joe..The reason for trialing Elements and not Lightroom was I cannot afford Lightroom where as £70/80.00, while hard to find, is not out of the question

Robin

Click to expand...

I know I mentioned this previously in the forums but not sure if it was to you Robin, but Adobe offer Student/Teacher discounts. With the discount Lightroom costs around £80; to qualify, a member of your "household" needs to be in education of any level/age as either a student or member of staff (not just a teacher).

or, you could hold out as lightroom is almost always on sale, every now and then, for 50% off. But either way, the trial is FREE. try it out...my personal opinion is, to save the money you would spend on elements, , wait for lightroom to go on sale, and grab it...or, take berkerks advice. Just saying, if editiing photos is something you are going to take seriously, just do it right the first time.

Joe..Thanks for that I'll take your advice..

Robin

Lightroom is excellent, my 11 year old loves it

I agree with Joe 100%, do it right from the start. I do so much of my work in lightroom I wonder how I did things before it came out. I still have some additional software I use but the start of my workflow is always lightroom.

You could use a program called Darktable. It runs in Linux. 100% free operating system + 100% free program for a total of $0

I'm not 'aiming' this comment at anyone in particular because I understand the economic issues. But getting post processing software is as essential as a new lens - if not more so. You'll never realize your full potential if you can't complete your vision in whatever output media (print, screen, sideshow, etc.) you prefer without the proper tool. Kinda like buying a car and never buying gas. Whew. I feel better and am officially off my soapbox. The only thing that would make this perfect is if I have a typo and Jack finds it!

robinchun said:

Ok, at the risk of being jumped on from a great height by all you photoshop editing purists, I have installed the trial version of Elements 10, and after getting used to some of the controls I had a go at editing a RAW file..boy! is it slow (it might be my PC) it seems you wait forever for it to respond to a slider..now get ready to jump on me..when I use Picasa the response is immediate and very easy to navigate around and use and from what I've done so far in Elements the results are, as far as my 56 year old eyes can tell, just as good!
Perhaps I should persevere and use it some more (or for at least the whole trial) to see if I get on any better..OUCH!! I've just felt you all landing on me..

Click to expand...

Nobody's going to give you grief for using Elements. It is a solid program. I've recommended it and installed it many times. It isn't as intimidating as Photoshop. My brother takes as many if not more photos as I do and he lives in Elements - with great results. He hasn't had a speed issue. Did you compare the system requirements? If at all possible, adding RAM is the best solution after ensuring you have enough hard drive space.

Giving Lightroom 3 a trial..

Robin

robinchun said:

Giving Lightroom 3 a trial..

Click to expand...

Lightroom can link to an advanced external editor. I believe it will see Elements is installed and give you that option.

There is a link at the top of the Computer forum for free training from Adobe. Plus don't forget there are quite a few of us that use it here.