Photoshop or not?

[garyjlambert]

I have dpp , Should I buy PS? If so how much should I spend on it? Any great deals that are "SAFE" ?

[Mr. Pickles]

You need PS (PSCS/PSCS2) if you want to tweak the DPP settings more, or do things that DPP can not do for you. It is really that simple, in my opinion.

If all you have is DPP, then you SHOULD get PS Elements, in my opinion. One should have come with the body, but if not it is a LOT cheaper than PSCS2 ($100 vs $500 - approx), and has 90% of the stuff, or probably 100% of the stuff you would want to play with.

Once you get it, and do some adjusment layer tweaking,a nd some basic mask techniques, you will know it was worth the money to go the next step. We even have good stuff in the Image Editing forum here that might get you pushed into giving PSE a try...

[garyjlambert]

Thank's
* *I also have Photoshop Elements 2.0 that came with my 300D . However do you think that is realy all I need?

[Mr. Pickles]

Do I think so? I don't know. I'd say if you have NOT tried PSE2, then you should. You could spend some more money and bump up to PSE4 (latest I think) if you want, or you could wait till you play in PSE2 some.

I haven't seen where you have said what you "think" you need that DPP isn't giving you. If you know that, we can tell you if PSE2 or PSE4 will do it. If you are rich, then just get PSCS2, but I assume you are not rich, thus the question about "safe deals" before, which is best answered as "do NOT buy PSCS2 off of eBay".

[Blinky]

OK, I'm stupid... what's DPP?

Ps.
Wicked avatar Gary.

[garyjlambert]

DPP = Digital photo professional . It is the program that came with the 30D. I also got adobe photoshop elements 2.0 when I bought the 300D . I can transfer the files from DPP to PSE2 and it works "ok". But I am looking for more.
Thanks for your replies. I used the serial number from PSE2 that came with the 300D that I bought on 9-27-04 to get PSCS2 for 299.00 from Adobe.
thats a very good deal I think!

[Mr. Pickles]

To further what Gary said, DPP is Canons RAW convertor program. Pretty decent program.

Not sure what is meant by PSE2 works "ok" though. I figured you hadn't used PSE, but maybe that was a bad assumption. If one is "new" to post processing (PP), then PSE4 isn't gonna be a lot better than PSE2 was. It can do a lot more, but the basics were pretty much in PSE2.

Anyway, if you are getting PSCS2 for $300, then the decision has been made. PSCS2 will do pretty much anything you may ever need. Now all you need is another $150 for some books on the subject.

[garyjlambert]

Well see thats the thing I am " new" at pp so my thinking is to learn the program that I will be using for a long time (years)
rather than getting used to many diffrent programs only to end up with the program I could have been learning on all along.
I don't know if that makes sence or not? Should I be learning diffrent programs? I have a full time job photography is a hobby so time spent learning one program makes sence to me.
What are these "books" you speak of? could you give me some titles? Can't I learn by using the program? Or is it that hard?
i'm 48 years old now I hope I have time .
Thank's

[metalstorm]

I'd say Elements does 90% of what most photographers need. Photoshop is very feature rich and I probably don't use 99% of what it's capable of.

[Mr. Pickles]

It depends on your learning ability, your learning style, and a bunch of other factors. I personally avoid "blah blah for Dummies" series books. As for PSCS2, it has a learning curve, so don't think it doesn't.

Some hate the learning curve, but I didn't have much trouble. You stick to the basics and learn as you go. PSCS2 and PSE work pretty much the same, so your idea on getting it is a good and valid one.

As for books, there are a bazillion. Really. I would suggest something simple and something that is well written and isn't too overwhelming. They are below. The first is by Scott Kelby, who IS in charge of PhotoShop User Magazine. He is a highly regarded teacher and lecturer among other things. His books explain how to do things. THey don't teach you from the ground up, because that is boring to some. But things in this book will be good to know really soon, and others will mean more later, and inspire you to try and get there. My opinion.

The other is Adobes own classroom book. It might be the best at doing what a classroom book should. Teaches you all kinds of stuff, from the ground up. That may work for you, and may not. Might be too strict and boring for you. You have a big bookstore nearby, you can go there nad check them out.

Photoshop CS2 for digital photographers - Scott Kelby
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/032...e=UTF8&s=books

Photoshop CS2 Classroom In A Book - Adobe
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/032...e=UTF8&s=books

Also, you know we have a forum here for Image Editing, and there are some good stuff in there too. But more importantly, you can ask us all questions in there, and we will try and give you a simple answer to your question, and get you on your way. Some treat PP as work, but if you're a hobbiest (like some of us), then PP may just be a fun thing for you too. I treat it as fun, and it is funner that way. We are here when you need us...

[garyjlambert]

Thank You
I will look into those books and others.
When I bought PPCS2 I received 2 magazines from NAPP maybe they will also help.
I have been using PPCS2 for about a week now and have found it to be a lot of fun. it's like moving to another state thou, where I have to learn where everything is and how to get to it. But not bad so far. I spent some time just checking the settings to make sure my monitor profile for color management was all set right, it was, it does it automatically
Well thanks again!