Purchasing Photoshop

[Chops]

Gday guys,

I am at the stage where I am going to purchase Photoshop. I am only really considering Elements as I am only brand new to the whole photography scene, and I recently seen the price difference!!!

I jumped on Ebay, and as scepticle as I am purchasing things like this on Ebay, I would just like to know if this would b a version of Photoshop I should look at??

Any advice would be great!!
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ADOBE-PHOTOSHOP-CS4-WINDOWS_W0QQitemZ130346199247QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAU_software?hash=item1e593d28cf

[I @ M]

Brad, before you jump into a bidding frenzy for that one I would suggest that you seek as much advise about processing programs in general from the members here.

Adobe Photoshop has become the tool of choice for an extremely large percentage of photographers for several reasons, two of them are that;

(a) It works very well for those that take the time to learn how to use it properly.

(b) It is heavily promoted by massive marketing campaigns and people dedicated to making money from teaching others how to use it.

Before you spend one dollar, let alone upwards of one thousand dollars on software that you may never utilise to it's full potential or even actually need, have a good look at the free editing programs available and decide what sort of processing that you want to do to images, many basic functions to bring a photo to printable or web standard are included in the software that came with your camera.
If you decide later on to get right into creating art works with software then it is time to look at all the varieties of editing programs that will allow more "manipulation" than the (cheap or free) basic programs.

My personal opinion (and I am not having a go at photoshop users) is that instead of taking mediocre pictures and turning them into something a bit better on a computer it is far preferable to get out and learn how to take better photos and spend less time in front of a screen. :)

[ricktas]

Elements has grown into a great program. It has a fair stack of the features available in photoshop, and very much worth considering. Buying software off E-Bay is fraught with issues, though it certainly can allow a good bargain. There are some good, reliable on-line stores that offer great prices and have good reputations. Have a look at http://www.engineit.com.au/shop/ and http://www.citysoftware.com.au/Browse/Browse.aspx

As Andrew says, there are some good alternatives out there as well. Paint Shop Pro (http://store1.corel.com/corel/product/index.jsp;jsessionid=wLTNOzQU66Gy3rMK5WtIKQ**.prd-atg-commerce1?&onyxcampaignid=3771&countryCode=AU&trkid=CAF&promo=3771&url_coupon=3771&1=1&trkoi_trkid=CAF&mapcounter=1&pid=prod3430312), the software that came with your camera, and the free ones like The Gimp (http://www.gimp.org/)

[dbax]

Sound advice from the two posts above, don't rush into it, do some research.
Many of these programs are also available on a 30 day trial so try before you outlay your hard earned.
I've heard many sad stories about buying Photoshop on Ebay. Beware!

[cinvala]

If you are a student or a teacher, you may be eligble for one of the academic versions. I brought CS4 on my wife's uni card for less than $200

[IanB]

Elements will do most PP for most weekend photographers; and a lot of Pros. Pair it with Lightroom you are set to go; in fact Lightroom may be a better way to go. ;)

I still have only PS E5 on the lappy and CS3/Lightroom on the fotoputer

There are a lot of illegal PS copies around; be careful. The Adobe site would be the safest.

[maccaroneski]

As your a Nikon user you should also consider Capture NX2 - there are a couple of threads on it at the moment. I have it and Elements, and never use Elements.

It is definitely available for a 30 day trial.

[mclean8]

any comments on the original question which i paraphrase as "do people think think ebay copies of photoshop cs4 are genuine"?

they go for somewhere between 150 and 230 dollars. awfully cheap compared to anything shopbot comes up with:
http://www.shopbot.com.au/default.asp?kw=photoshop+cs4&position=search

[ricktas]

any comments on the original question which i paraphrase as "do people think think ebay copies of photoshop cs4 are genuine"?

they go for somewhere between 150 and 230 dollars. awfully cheap compared to anything shopbot comes up with:
http://www.shopbot.com.au/default.asp?kw=photoshop+cs4&position=search

E-Bay as has been stated, you can get genuine copies and fakes. We are not in a position to say which is which. Only the seller and buyer would be able to determine that.

[etherial]

I have PSE7 and have had version 4 for a long time. I find it does everything I need at this stage and so much more I am still learning. I can't see myself needing to step up to something else any time soon or even in the medium term. If you are set up moving towards full blown photoshop, elements won't be a waste as most things you learn in elements is the same in PS. I often get online and look for photoshop tutorials if I want to do something specific and find that it is the same in Elements.

Save some money, buy elements, the learning curve will be steep enough with that!

[Chops]

Fantastic guys, all of the advice is really appreciated!!

I think I will try and find a 30 day trial of a few different programs and see how I go!!

Thanks again

[ricktas]

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[IanB]

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LOBL Rick; do you have enough AP members? Your avatars would frighten any new member away :D