PSE2 or 3?

[RobertP]

I have always been a staunch in-camera negative shooter working with large format 8x10 and 8x20 cameras. I contact print in Platinum so this requires a large negative in the work flow. Recently I saw some platinum prints made with enlarged digital negatives and I was totally impressed with the quality. So I have decided to tackle the learning curve of photoshop before investing in a quality scanner and printer. My mac came with photoshop elements 2 and I just received the hidden power book for PSE2. But I may have jumped the gun. My question is would it be better for me to upgrade to PSE3 and purchase the hidden power 3 book and cd for editing digital negatives since I can work with a 16 bit file with 3 where as I am limited to 8 bit with 2? I will apologize in advance for my novice questions because there will probably be more to come. After looking at photoshop CS2 I was so overwhelmed that photoshop elements seemed to be my best approach. You know what they say about teaching an old dog new tricks so I appreciate your patience. Thanks, Robert