When Adobe Photoshop Elements first came out it always followed the full version of Adobe Photoshop. The reason for this is because it was always based on and used the full engine that drove the full version of Adobe Photoshop, so any updates to Elements had to come after the update to the full version of Photoshop. This also meant that while Adobe Photoshop Elements didn’t have direct user access to some features like actions, channels, and things like that plug-ins, automate plug-ins and even actions did. While Elements has never had actions it has allowed you to install actions recorded in the full version of Photoshop and use them in Elements. It also allowed these actions and even plug-ins to access and use the features that had no user access in Elements.

However, as each version of Elements came out it slowly started to move more and more away from just being a lite version of Adobe Photoshop, the interface became more novice friendly, the features too became more novice friendly until finally Adobe Photoshop Elements not only has an interface that is vastly different from the full version of Adobe Photoshop it has features that the full version of Photoshop doesn’t have and it now is off on its own development cycle. While I am sure that Elements still is based heavily on the engine for the full version of Photoshop it is now its own program standing on its own merits.

Elements offer many of the features that you will find in the full version of Adobe Photoshop Editor Screen Shot. Things like layers, masking tools, styles, many of the filters, the levels command, and more. What you won’t find in Elements are things like CMYK or LAB color space support (Elements will prompt you to convert these and others to RGB), there are no actions (though you can install and playback actions created in the full version of Photoshop, do a search on the web for instructions on how to do this as Adobe doesn’t include them), no channels, paths, color separations or spot colors basically anything that Adobe felt was beyond the needs of a novice to intermediate digital photographer. While you may be thinking bummer, don’t worry too much about what’s not there. Most people even with a dSLR camera are never going to miss what’s missing. . In many ways Elements is a lite version of Photoshop and in many ways it isn’t. It is one of the few programs that can pull that off, that is be like something and not like something and have it work.

One of the advanced things from Photoshop that I was very happy to see appear in Elements 5.0 is the non-destructive and always editable adjustment layers. You have adjustments layers for Solid Color, Gradient, Pattern, Levels, Brightness and Contrast, Hue/Saturation, Gradient Map, Photo Filter, Invert, Threshold, and Posterize. No Curves because Elements doesn’t have a curves feature.

The Organizer Organizer Screen Shot is perhaps my least liked feature. I dislike it for several reasons. First it isn't separate from Photoshop Elements the Editor. Both the Editor and Organizer are the same program launched from the same icon. I find this messy to say the least. Second once you go to the trouble of getting your images in to the Organizer and you get the keywords and all of that good stuff done, which can take hours or days depending on the number of images. You are quite literally stuck. There is no easy way to change cataloging programs without having to start the keywording and everything all over again. Now this is not a unique problem with Adobe. Most image cataloging programs simply do not make it easy to change programs should something happen and you have to make a change. I wish someone would create a format for image cataloging programs that all companies could use so that you could easily move from one program to another without having to start all over. Until something like this happens I will use directories on my hard drive to organize my images and use a simple browsing program that doesn't try to catalog or database my images. Third, I find the interface and feature set of the Elements Organizer to be a little too novice focused for my taste. It reminds me of the cutesy little paper clip in Microsoft Office. The Editor is powerful and easy to use but it isn't cutesy. I can't say the same for the Organizer.

Now all of this is not to say that you won't like it or even love it. If you have doubts download the Photoshop Elements 5.0 trail and see for yourself. Only you can decide what will or won't work for you. However, the editor alone is worth the money and this is why I don't like having the organizer attached to the editor like Siamese twins. I want to ignore one and use the other.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 is a great upgrade with many wonderful new and enhanced features. The addition of adjustment layers in my opinion makes it worth the cost of upgrading alone. For less than $100 (full package price, not the upgrade price) you can’t go wrong.

Personally, I think it would do Adobe good if they just gave Elements away free. I think the amount of good will this would generate would far out way the lost revenue. Sometimes good will is worth far more than money. Adobe’s attitude should be that “we feel so strongly that everyone with a camera or scanner should have access to great software and that great software is ours.” I would also like to see Adobe port Elements over to Linux. Now don’t get me wrong here I personally don’t like Linux and I think it has a good ways to go before it can take on Windows (if ever). However, of all of Adobes products Elements I think is the one they should test the water with. Again good will is a good thing especially for a large company like Adobe.

• Correct lens distortion. Easily correct camera lens distortion at photo edges and keystone effects that exaggerate perspective.
• Sharpen blurred edges. Get crisper-looking photos—even remove blurring caused by low light conditions or unsteady hands.
• Preserve image quality. Shrink photos in creations and then restore them to original size while maintaining complete image quality.
• Fine-tune exposure. Get perfect exposure with the new Adjust Color Curves command that makes it easy to fine-tune color, brightness, and contrast.
• Enjoy enhanced support for raw files. Get the highest-quality results by editing raw image files from your digital camera. Photoshop Elements now supports an even greater selection of digital camera models.
• Create dramatic black-and-whites Screen Shot. Give your color originals a dramatic, elegant look by instantly converting them into rich black-and-white photos. Simply click on your choice of variations and, if you want, adjust with advanced options.
• Customize your creations with fast, flexible layouts Sample 1 Sample 2 Wedding Album Sample. These starting points for photo creations offer three levels of control: professionally designed themes, basic frameworks, or a completely blank slate.
• Find the perfect frame. Set off your photos with more than 150 included frames, from traditional to elegant to avant-garde.
• Enjoy more creation options. Make an even wider variety of photo creations with new CD and DVD covers, more scrapbook page layouts, and photo book layouts for ordering professionally bound books online.
• Create and save multipage documents. Find, open, and edit your albums and scrapbooks more easily than ever. The contents of each book are now saved all together in one complete document.
• Animate photos with dynamic galleries. Share photos on the web in animated, interactive Flash based photo galleries, including a carousel and a book with pages that turn.
• Create fun flipbooks. Easily turn a series of still photos into an eye-catching flipbook. For example, take a sequence of action shots using the burst mode on your digital camera, and then let Photoshop Elements string them together to create a sense of motion.
• Access great photo services from within the software. Take advantage of built-in photo services that let you share photos and photo creations on the web, order prints, and more.
• Download instantly. With a single click, transfer photos from your memory card to your computer according to preset preferences so you can get back to shooting sooner
• Organize by time. Organize photos more easily by automatically tagging groups of related photos according to the time they were taken.
• See every version. Quickly find and view all the previously saved versions of a photo by simply clicking to expand its version set in the Organizer.
• View photos faster. Scroll through your collection and view your photos faster, even when your library grows to 50,000 photos or more.
• Put your favorites on top. Reduce clutter by having Photoshop Elements automatically stack visually similar photos on top of one another.
• Back up photos online. Rest easy, knowing your images are safe with the integrated online backup service provided by Iron Mountain, one of the nation’s leading document security specialists.
• Backup and restore with ease. Easily back up your entire photo library without additional software. Save time and disc space with multi-session CD and DVD burning, this lets you add data to a disc in separate passes. Built-in reminders notify you so you won’t forget.