Customer Rating: 
Summary: PhotoShop elements is great.
Comment: The full PhotoShop is expensive and over the last 3 years we haven't found anything we couldn't do with PhotoShop elements. If you are a professional you probably want more but we have done a lot with Elements.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Nobody does it better..
Comment: The full Photoshop is the program that leads the pack for photo manipulations of any kind, and Elements 3.0 gives you a lot of what the full program offers. You will probably need one of several "how to" books to tackle specific foto fiddles, but these are $30 or less, and you will be opening up a whole new world if this is your first shot at at serious foto manipulation of any kind - or even if it's not (but then you don't need to read this).
A caution - your PC configuration is important to how fast you can work. You really need a second HD for any Photoshop program unless you are doing a bare minimum of manipulation (in which case you don't really need PS). If you run out of RAM and the program needs to write to disc, it needs to be a different disc than the program itself is installed on. Otherwise everything seems to come to a "halt." Well, to tell you the truth, it does! This is what's behind complaints of slowness..
My PC is a P-4 machine with an 800 MHZ bus and 2GB RAM, plus a second SATA HD installed just for this program (Photoshop calls this a "scratch" drive).
You can get a second HD and a big memory upgrade for about $300. If you are serious about foto manipulation, this is the way to go with a PC.
How about a MAC, you ask? My MAC is not a fire-breather. It is a PowerBookG4. No, not the latest. This is a laptop with a 1.33 GHZ processor, a 167 MHC bus, one HD, and 1MB RAM. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, no?
It easily runs Elements 3.0, albeit a bit slower than my PC - but - the MAC has a calibrated 17" display, and my printer pumps out very close to what I see on the screen. The PC is a little faster for sure (and it has a good display also), so rather than buy a new MAC, I am switching to the PC for my foto editing.
But make sure you have the right PC configuration or you will be miserable.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent quality for the price
Comment: I purchased Elements because I didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars on PhotoShop and didn't need all of the features that PhotoShop offers.
With Elements, you are still able to work with layers, make very particular selections and edits, and save in multiple file formats. For the very basic work I do with picture files, and taking into account my skill set with this type of software, Elements was the right choice. However, if my graphic design requirements were more robust and I planned to spend the time necessary to learn the application, I would buy PhotoShop instead.
For those who have basic graphic design requirements, beginner or intermediate level skills, and a relatively limited software budget, Elements is an excellent choice. Fortunately, you can download a trial version from Adobe for 30 days for free before deciding to buy the product.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Well worth the price.
Comment: I am very pleased with this user friendly, value packed program.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Definitely, positively upgrade from Elements 2
Comment: Although most of the reviews of Elements 3.0 are positive, the minority of negative reviews here seem to be unfair criticisms either from people who are disappointed that Elements (which sells for $60) is scaled down from Photoshop CS (which sells for $600) or people who think Elements is too complicated. I personally think Adobe solved the Goldilocks problem and Elements is just right, especially for the money! It delivers lots of editing and organizing power but is simple enough to use if you invest 10 minutes in reading a manual or watching the enclosed DVD.
The most wrong-headed criticisms are those that claim Elements 2 was better than 3. Wrong! The newer version adds lots of editing tools and makes them easier to use. And the Organizer can't be beat. After reading some of the negative reviews, I put off upgrading for several months. What a waste of time! I experimented with several different programs and none approaches Elements for ease of use, power and value.
Summary: PhotoShop elements is great.
Comment: The full PhotoShop is expensive and over the last 3 years we haven't found anything we couldn't do with PhotoShop elements. If you are a professional you probably want more but we have done a lot with Elements.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Nobody does it better..
Comment: The full Photoshop is the program that leads the pack for photo manipulations of any kind, and Elements 3.0 gives you a lot of what the full program offers. You will probably need one of several "how to" books to tackle specific foto fiddles, but these are $30 or less, and you will be opening up a whole new world if this is your first shot at at serious foto manipulation of any kind - or even if it's not (but then you don't need to read this).
A caution - your PC configuration is important to how fast you can work. You really need a second HD for any Photoshop program unless you are doing a bare minimum of manipulation (in which case you don't really need PS). If you run out of RAM and the program needs to write to disc, it needs to be a different disc than the program itself is installed on. Otherwise everything seems to come to a "halt." Well, to tell you the truth, it does! This is what's behind complaints of slowness..
My PC is a P-4 machine with an 800 MHZ bus and 2GB RAM, plus a second SATA HD installed just for this program (Photoshop calls this a "scratch" drive).
You can get a second HD and a big memory upgrade for about $300. If you are serious about foto manipulation, this is the way to go with a PC.
How about a MAC, you ask? My MAC is not a fire-breather. It is a PowerBookG4. No, not the latest. This is a laptop with a 1.33 GHZ processor, a 167 MHC bus, one HD, and 1MB RAM. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, no?
It easily runs Elements 3.0, albeit a bit slower than my PC - but - the MAC has a calibrated 17" display, and my printer pumps out very close to what I see on the screen. The PC is a little faster for sure (and it has a good display also), so rather than buy a new MAC, I am switching to the PC for my foto editing.
But make sure you have the right PC configuration or you will be miserable.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent quality for the price
Comment: I purchased Elements because I didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars on PhotoShop and didn't need all of the features that PhotoShop offers.
With Elements, you are still able to work with layers, make very particular selections and edits, and save in multiple file formats. For the very basic work I do with picture files, and taking into account my skill set with this type of software, Elements was the right choice. However, if my graphic design requirements were more robust and I planned to spend the time necessary to learn the application, I would buy PhotoShop instead.
For those who have basic graphic design requirements, beginner or intermediate level skills, and a relatively limited software budget, Elements is an excellent choice. Fortunately, you can download a trial version from Adobe for 30 days for free before deciding to buy the product.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Well worth the price.
Comment: I am very pleased with this user friendly, value packed program.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Definitely, positively upgrade from Elements 2
Comment: Although most of the reviews of Elements 3.0 are positive, the minority of negative reviews here seem to be unfair criticisms either from people who are disappointed that Elements (which sells for $60) is scaled down from Photoshop CS (which sells for $600) or people who think Elements is too complicated. I personally think Adobe solved the Goldilocks problem and Elements is just right, especially for the money! It delivers lots of editing and organizing power but is simple enough to use if you invest 10 minutes in reading a manual or watching the enclosed DVD.
The most wrong-headed criticisms are those that claim Elements 2 was better than 3. Wrong! The newer version adds lots of editing tools and makes them easier to use. And the Organizer can't be beat. After reading some of the negative reviews, I put off upgrading for several months. What a waste of time! I experimented with several different programs and none approaches Elements for ease of use, power and value.