Manage updates with the Download AppAdobe Photoshop Elements 3.0 (Windows)
Manufacturer: Adobe Part number: 29230115
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- A comprehensive, easy-to-use imaging tool for digital photographers.
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CNET editors' review
Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0 (Windows) price range: $50.00
- Reviewed by: Lori Grunin
- Reviewed on: 05/24/2005
- Released on: 10/13/2004
The good: Uses Photoshop's imaging engine, including raw file support; comprehensive feature set for digital photographers; easy to use for newbies.
The bad: Can be slow with large files or generating thumbnails in the background; color management a bit too stripped down; Projects and How To content need some work.
The bottom line: A comprehensive, easy-to-use imaging tool for digital photographers.
User reviews
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Elements Offers Superior Control for Digital Photo Editing
by cfblake on May 12, 2005
Pros: Combined Editing and Organizing, Raw editing, Tags for Classification and Collections
Cons: Slow if Processor isn't of the moment, Can definitely take some learning if no prior experience
Summary: Having previously worked with Elements 2.0, I was thrilled to learn of added features in 3.0. If you're not quite ready for the big-bucks PhotoshopCE, but you ...
Summary: Having previously worked with Elements 2.0, I was thrilled to learn of added features in 3.0. If you're not quite ready for the big-bucks PhotoshopCE, but you do want to work with an industry standard format, this would be it. Mind you, I've been teaching myself through reading books and begging tips from my graphic artist pal and it's been a long road... I've dedicated some serious time staring blindly at the computer. Alas, I've made some serious headway. I improve everyday with the transformations I can make to a photo. I've brought back photos that wer so underexposed I thought they were surely destined for the trash. I have made cool arty images from outdoor shots. I have removed countless dark circles, red-eye, and even double-chins. I have marveled friends and family alike.
That said, learning the ins and outs of Elements 3 (without any prior experience) so that you're happy and confident that you can edit an image to your liking may take a little time, practice and a good book or website (of which there are many). I am a big believer in any book by Scott Kelby for Elements 3. He is amazing and his books have improved my skill more than I can even say. When you get this program, swing by the book section and get one of his books. They are an absolute MUST. There is also an Elements newletter that is terrific and will definitely keep one's repetoire of tricks and techniques on the cutting edge. Wanna know how to change a person's hair color? Wanna know how to add a fast and easy border or frame to your fave photo? Wanna do a little digital botox on your mother-in-law? It's all yours.
The Elements Organizer is a great feature unbefore seen in this program. At first, I was hesitant to use it, but I've found recently that I use the album as my starting point. Having the Editor and Organizer (Album) as separate entities can be, at first, somewhat irritating, but if you launch them both at the outset and use the Organizer as your browser and launcher, it all works out pretty well in the end. Also, the Organizer seems a little quicker and easier to print from than doing it from the Editor. The quality doesn't to be there totally, but nothing you'd readily notice and easy for giving pictures to friends. It also lets you make nifty little cards and calendars.
I'm a big fan of this program and I'm a professional photographer. It suits my needs well and for someone who spends less time and energy than I do, it would perhaps even offer more than one needs. The key, I think, is that to really enjoy it for what it's worth, you have to get to know the program. Play around with old pictures and experiment. There are many printed and web-oriented resources to help with techniques that one may need. Plus, if you know anyone who is a wiz at its big brother CE, you can ask for some help and tips as they use many of the same shortcut commands and functions.
Personally, I LOVE this program and I adore all the people who offer their advice on how to improve all my bad, out of focus shots (from college and before) on the various websites out there and through books and newsletters. You can't go wrong with Photoshop as it lends itself to a wider community, out there, that will help you along as you get to be a master at making everyone look gorgeous in your photos... or just put all your photos in some cohesive order. Go out... buy it. Get some books. Practice and have fun.15 out of 18 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Slow and can learn from Picasa on how to handle files
by vicenac on June 24, 2005
Pros: Exceptional set of features
Cons: Slow and does not really "watches folders"
Summary: Like I said the set of features is exceptional.
Very easy tagging makes finding your photos a breeze! The calendar also helps.
The editor is surprisingly "complete".
In short - ...Summary: Like I said the set of features is exceptional.
Very easy tagging makes finding your photos a breeze! The calendar also helps.
The editor is surprisingly "complete".
In short - it would be everything I need....
But:
After install I told it what folder to "watch" - My Pictures.
I expected to see my pictures pop up in the organizer... but nothing happened. I had to import them manually. AND IT TAKES VERRY LONG!!! Try the same thing with Picasa: All my 4500+ photos appear in the program quickly!
Adobe has an "offline" pictures features for which I've been longing! It can take your pictures and burn them on a DVD, but keeps the thumbnails for you to see. When you want to open such a picture it asks for the proper disk to be inserted.
I suppose this is the feature that kills the file handling.
READ THIS:
If you change your mind on where you wanted to store some photos on your hdd and move them in a different folder... disaster!! Not only Photoshop does not automatically finds them, but it invites you "reconnect" the files in a window that lists only the names of the missing files AK: P5294091.JPG.
Good luck reconnecting 300 files - one by one!!!! Again on Picasa move your files whenever you want. It will find them without asking you anything.
Don't get me wrong! Picasa is not better then PS. But PS sucks at these tasks.
AND IT IS THE SLOWEST SOFTWARE I'VE EVER SEEN. How I wish it work! I would pay 150 for it! But it just does not!11 out of 11 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Save Your Money
by 5cents on August 6, 2005
Pros: Absolutely None
Cons: Not user friendly - complicated
Summary: For the novice user, the guy who just wants to edit home photo's easily, this software is NOT for you.
I purchased this software as a replacement for an ...Summary: For the novice user, the guy who just wants to edit home photo's easily, this software is NOT for you.
I purchased this software as a replacement for an older version of Adobe PhotoDeluxe, which Adobe no longer supports. I have had this new software program for almost a month now, and absolutely hate it.
According to the Adobe website, Elements was developed to keep Adobe competative in the marketplace.
Well, I found this software very confusing and complicated to use. What used to take one or two mouse clicks with my PhotoDeluxe, now takes four or five clicks. The various "tools" buttons do not have "drop-down" discriptions, making figuring out their functions difficult.
I gave this software the low rating simply based of it's ease of use. If I had known it would be this difficult to use and understand, I would have saved my money.13 out of 18 users found this user opinion helpful.
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All the bells & whistles
by kingmast on May 22, 2005
Pros: Lots of do dads
Cons: Could make some of the do dads easier to figure out how to use
Summary: Love it except somethings are hard to learn. Like the the simple clone stamp, I still havent figured it out completly.
Summary: Love it except somethings are hard to learn. Like the the simple clone stamp, I still havent figured it out completly.
3 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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A great suite of basic tools
by blosswj on August 9, 2005
Pros: Easy to learn & use, very powerful
Cons: More than many need, somewhat slow
Summary: I was surprised by the negative reviews but I have to assume these folks are very used to what they have been using and changing seems difficult.
I had been ...Summary: I was surprised by the negative reviews but I have to assume these folks are very used to what they have been using and changing seems difficult.
I had been using Paint Shop Pro, based on CNET recommendation, and found it took a good deal of time to learn. It was also missing tools I wanted such as panorama stitching and photo filing.
I got this software because my wife and I are preparing to teach this on a volunteer basis. Both of us have found it easy to learn and very effective. We are amazed at the level of photo improvement and manipulation available in a reasonably priced piece of software and have been able to learn and do more in a few weeks than we did in over a year of using PSP. This statement should make it clear that I am not a pro, or even semi-pro photographer or artist. But as a serious photo hobbyist, I find this to be a great set of tools.
It is indeed a memory hog, but what do you expect from powerful digital image processing software? I'm running it without pain on a Dell Inspiron 600m laptop with 512M of memory, and a homebuilt desktop with an AMD 1600 and 512M of memory. They aren't powerhouses but they work fine.
Watch out for some of the vendors suggested in the CNET list for this software. The cheapest few are offering OEM disks/downloads without licenses and one seller has a few buyer comments stating they got pirated software. Stay with a name vendor for a few dollars more.2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Must be the slowest program ever
by jonne69 on July 4, 2005
Pros: Great features, nice look
Cons: So slow it is simply unbearable
Summary: Even if you were the most patient person in the world you would find this program slow. I run Athlon 64 3500+ machine with 512MB RAM, and the program barely ...
Summary: Even if you were the most patient person in the world you would find this program slow. I run Athlon 64 3500+ machine with 512MB RAM, and the program barely starts. And that's not all: there are at least two parts to the program, the organizer and the editor - but equally slow to start. So when you're ready to edit or organize you have to wait again. And when you're working you can expect slowdowns every now and then - "Please wait..."
So, very nice, high quality functionality, clean interface, nicely thought out ways to organize your pictures.
But unfortunately it doesn't matter - because it is the slowest program i have ever tried, and therefore useless for everyday casual use. And therefore I cannot give it any more than a 4.2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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its slow, just like using the "proper" version 3 years ago!!
by mahoney on June 3, 2005
Pros: its fairly nice to use once you're familiar with it, it does a lot
Cons: The "help" - is not very helpful at all - they need to revisit this and do extensive user testing with the target market! Not as intuitive as it ought to be at this stage in its life - buy a book!
Summary: I bought online via Adobe - but (stupidly) i had not downloaded the version properly - changed mind on file location! So I was told to "resend form" I paid ...
Summary: I bought online via Adobe - but (stupidly) i had not downloaded the version properly - changed mind on file location! So I was told to "resend form" I paid again and downloaded. I then had two emails with delivery notes - yes i paid twice !! I emailed the customer services and its going to take upto six weeks to get the dosh back for the version!! I'm gutted and think it sucks - be careful when you order online and learn by my stupid mistake - I tend to trust in the web and service providers, but with Adobe their banking system is not upto scratch if you ever need a refund!
At least you can buy into the "industry standard", but you might shop around and find something easier to use!3 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great program for the not so confident
by tc1313 on June 23, 2005
Pros: Has similar features to CS but not as complex. With a little effort you can achieve outcomes that you normally would have to use CS for. File browser feature is much improved over Elements 2.
Cons: Can be slow if you do not have enough memory.
Summary: Photoshop Elements 3 is a very powerful program that can be very cumbersome to learn for someone who is not familiar with Photoshop. If you have never used Photoshop before ...
Summary: Photoshop Elements 3 is a very powerful program that can be very cumbersome to learn for someone who is not familiar with Photoshop. If you have never used Photoshop before but are good with computers I would recommend the book “The Photoshop Elements 3 Book For Digital Photographers” by Scott Kelby. The ISBN # is 0-321-26905-5. It has been a lifesaver for me. I am very proficient with computers yet I was having trouble with getting all of the settings correct when I would try to adjust my photos. This book gives step-by-step details on how to use almost all of the features in Elements 3. Another one of his books, “Photoshop Elements 3 Down & Dirty Tricks” deals more with special effects but is still very easy to follow. He explains how to master lots of techniques that will really impress your friends and family. The ISBN # for this book is 0-321-27835-6.
3 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Super Easy and powerful!
by kdog24 on July 21, 2005
Pros: Quick, easy organization of photos and video clips. Excellent creation options. One click to backup your files to a CD/DVD. Super easy to import pictures from your camera/memory card. Stable.
Cons: Runs a little slow on older machines. (like under 2.3ghz) I have a Pentium 4, 3.2ghz machine and it runs amazingly FAST!
Summary: Awesome program. Never has software made it so easy to go from digital camera to DVD. This program allows you to edit, enhance, orgranize, and share your photos with ease. ...
Summary: Awesome program. Never has software made it so easy to go from digital camera to DVD. This program allows you to edit, enhance, orgranize, and share your photos with ease. I am blow away at how easy it makes it to get photos from my camera and then use them to make photo albums, slide shows on VCD or DVD, create calendars, greeting cards, really the sky is the limit!
1 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Best bang for the buck
by Stig123 on March 4, 2005
Pros: Very powerful and userfriendly
Cons: Somewhat slow start up
3 out of 7 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Adobe
- Part number: 29230115
- Description: Adobe Photoshop Elements offers unique features designed specifically for amateur photographers, hobbyists, and business users who want an easy-to-use, yet powerful digital imaging solution. State-of-the-art image-editing tools free you to explore your creativity while mastering the elements of digital imaging. Flexible image-capture options let you work with photos taken with digital or traditional cameras, and versatile delivery features enable you to prepare images for print, e-mail, or posting on the Web.
General
- Packaged Quantity 1
- Category Creativity application
- Subcategory Creativity - graphics & image editing
- Version 3.0
- Language(s) English
- License pricing Standard
- Localization English
Software
- License Type Complete package
- License Qty 1 user
- License Pricing Standard
- Platform Windows
- Min Supported Color Depth 16-bit (64K colors)
- Distribution Media CD-ROM
- Package Type Retail
System Requirements
- OS Required Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition SP1,
Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4 or later,
Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP1 - Software Requirements Adobe Reader 6.0.1,
DirectX 9.0 - Min Processor Type Pentium III,
800 MHz - Peripheral / Interface Devices CD-ROM,
XGA monitor - System Requirements Details Microsoft Windows XP,
Pentium III - RAM 256 MB - HD 800 MB
Manufacturer info
- Manufacturer profile
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- Manufacturer:Adobe
- Address:
345 Park Avenue, San Jose, CA 95110-2704 - Phone: 1800-585-0774
- Fax: 1-408-537-6000
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