Just wondered if any serious photo restoration people out there use elements 5,is it good enough for serious work.Most people talk about cs2..
Thanks Gary

The very first thing I do with a scan of an old photo is split the 3 channels, discarding the blue and green and working with the red. Elements can't do this, but it can replicate it with some effort (see Richard Lynch's Hidden Power book). Aside from that, I can't imagine any other shortcomings for just restoration work.

Photoshop CS3 does have a couple of unique features that will benefit restorers. The clone palette and refine edge are my two favorites. And many of the tutorials (as you've noticed) are done in Photoshop (they can be adapted, but that takes time and time is the #1 factor for restorations).

I generally recommend that anyone looking to make money via Photoshop go with the full version. It will eventually pay for itself, and you won't have any limitations to bump up against in the future. That's just basic business (never pay for anything twice). But if you simply can't afford the full version, Elements 5 should get you well started.

I have to agree with Doug. If you are going to retouch professionally, then get the professional tools. Yeah, it's expensive, but software is a business expense and can be written off as such.

I don't use Elements, so I don't know the program's capabilities, but I do know there are times when being able to go into LAB or CMYK color mode is a wonderful asset. Many essential third party plug-ins are only written for PhotoShop and the day will come when you will want to avail yourself of these great tools.