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CNET editors' rating:
3.5 stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating - Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 17 reviews
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Product summary
The good: Runs on the full Photoshop's powerful imaging engine; includes all of the essential retouching, selection, and output tools for digital photographers; now supports OS X.
The bad: Help system is annoying for experienced users and isn't integrated or thorough enough for newbies; lacks Photoshop's most useful tool, the Healing Brush.
The bottom line: Photoshop Elements delivers the core image-editing tools needed by most nonprofessional photographers. But it's still too complex for most hobbyists. For a more kitchen-sink feature set, try Jasc Paint Shop Pro or Ulead PhotoImpact.
Specifications: License qty: 1 user; License type: Complete package; Min Operating system: Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, Microsoft Windows 2000, Apple MacOS 9.2, Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Apple MacOS 9.1, Apple MacOS X 10.1.3 or later, Microsoft Windows 98; ; See full specs
CNET editors' review
- Reviewed on: 07/16/2002
- Updated on:03/03/2003
Of course, if you're already familiar with Photoshop 7.0 or Elements 1.0, you'll feel at home in version 2.0. The standard Adobe interface lets you dock all of your palettes at the top of the screen for easy access and displays relevant tool settings below the menu bar. Elements contains all of the essential image-editing tools, including free-form selection tools and special-effects filters, as well as a few advanced features, such as adjustment layers and gradient maps. We're pleased to see that Elements now includes some basic color management, letting you choose to ignore any color settings in the file or automatically optimize them for Web or print. This is a handy feature for high-quality output and one that version 1.0 didn't have.
Not much new
Elements' full lineup of new features isn't terribly compelling, however. Its batch-processing options (standard among similar editors) allow you to convert, rename, and resize an entire directory's files--for example, all of the cryptically named files imported from your digital camera. The new Selection Brush lets you select soft-edged areas of your image that you want to delete, cut, or crop, but it requires extremely precise mouse work for real accuracy.
Experienced designers will love Elements' overhauled paint engine, straight from Photoshop 7.0, but we don't think potential Elements customers will need such a sophisticated engine. Additional modest enhancements include the ability to display EXIF metadata, such as camera model and shot settings, in the File Browser, and updated layouts for Web pages and printing Picture Packages. There's also a Quick Fix dialog that aggregates a variety of existing enhancement tools. Unfortunately, Elements still doesn't include Photoshop's most useful tool for photographers, the Healing Brush, which magically fixes lines and wrinkles.
Help needs help
Of all of Photoshop Elements' offerings, the help system has undergone the most extensive changes--all in an effort to make help information easier to find. For instance, Adobe puts a search box right on the Help window menu bar so that you can call up a list of search-result links.
But the face-lift looks a bit botched. When you click a Help link from the Hints palette or open Help > Photoshop Elements Help, for instance, the program launches a full-sized Internet Explorer window, which covers your work and disrupts your work flow. Worse, when you make a common mistake while working--say, you accidentally attempt to paint a mask layer--Elements doesn't warn you that you've made an error, let alone tell you what type of mistake you made. Adobe does, thankfully, address some of these issues in its improved Recipes window, which, in addition to guiding you through the steps of common operations, now offers to perform some of the steps for you.
No frills
Under the hood, Photoshop Elements remains a low-rent version of Photoshop. It delivers the essential set of image retouching, selection, and output tools that most nonprofessionals need. If you love Photoshop and already know how to use it but want a program that's cheaper and a little less complex, Elements is the way to go. Otherwise, Paint Shop Pro and PhotoImpact offer a broader selection of features for the same price.
User reviews
- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 17 reviews
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