PE 7.0 Versus 3.0 Question

[Steve Bryant]

Hello Everyone,
I have owned/read/studied the book Hidden Power of Photoshop Elements 3.0 since it was first published, but I've not been active on the forum before. I figure that there's no time like the present. I've also owned PE 2.0 and 3.0 for several years.

Right now, I'm considering upgrading to PE 7.0 for the newer features, especially the manner that PE 6.0 & later can handle Photomerge compared to 3.0, where the panels are "wallpapered" together. However, I am concerned about loosing some of the features like curves that were available in version 3.0 via Hidden Power.

Are my fears unfounded?
Also, is there a book that is more recent/applicable that the 4.0 book or will my 3.0 book still serve me well?

Thanks in advance,

Steve

[Richard_Lynch]

I'm considering upgrading to PE 7.0 for the newer features...
I am concerned about loosing some of the features like curves that were available in version 3.0 via Hidden Power.

*Are my fears unfounded?
*Also, is there a book that is more recent/applicable that the 4.0 book or will my 3.0 book still serve me well?

Steve,
Elements 7 comes with curves natively. They are not as robust as the curves in Photoshop, but they do all you really should do with curves. I hardly use curves at all anyway -- in Photoshop OR Elements. I think there are better ways to get those results.

I think generally the fears of upgrading to less are unfounded, but I have to say I don't know that there are a lot of new features that are must-haves in the upgrades. Be sure to check out the hiddenelements.com pages for each version...I do outline what I think the real enhancements are (Adobe tends to repeat some of them on their release notes).

I think the 4.0 book is flat out better than the 2 or 3 book...and there are some interesting work-arounds for what you might consider using Curves for by substituting Gradient maps...

I hope to be coming out with revised packages soon. These should have 'chapters' as part of the documentation. However, it is not likely I'll be re-writing that book soon for a publisher.

[Steve Bryant]

Richard,
I genuinely appreciate your thoughtful reply. I'll take a look at the 4.0 book, although I feel like the 3.0 book is excellent. I've also downloaded with trial versions of PSE 7.0 and PS CS4 and am playing around with them. I've gotten into doing some panoramic landscapes lately, and I really like how the later versions of photomerge work as compared to my version 3.0 of PSE. Also, I'll look into gradient maps.

All my best,

Steve

[Richard_Lynch]

I'm glad to have the questions and the interest...there just isn't enough consistent traffic here anymore! I'm glad to help when I can.

[sailnow]

I have Elements 5 and Premier 3 combo.
I've never mastered "Layers" and would appreciate some guides toward simple introduction and "how to" ! !
Sailnow