Adobe Photoshop Elements and Premier hit the consumer mark

Adobe’s latest consumer photo and video editing software package combines PhotoShop Elements, the latest light version of PhotoShop with Premier Elements – a video editor perfect for hobby-level videographers.

This latest boxed set retails at $119 to $150, depending upon whether you upgrade or start new. That’s  a 25% savings over the separate programs. This time, I think Adobe got it right for the non-pro user.

Adobe claims you can start making movies in fifteen minutes. They’re exaggerating — I’ve used Photoshop, various versions, for years and it took me about half an hour noodling around to complete a small project in Elements. The video editor was tougher, but keep in mind, I’ve never
messed with video before. My biggest criticism, one I’ve had for ages, is Adobe’s documentation assumes user knowledge that may not be there. Their writers skip small steps so you perform an action repeatedly until you figure it out. Nevertheless, a beginning user, with some imaging familiarity, can feel productive within an hour. Experienced folks will catch on quicker. Once I got it I produced cool images and enhancements in minutes.

Elements Features

• Guided Edit Mode – Analyzed photo and walked me through steps to brighten, saturate, and correct contrast.
• Complete Edit and Quick Edit allowed me to choose how much work I wanted to do.
• Easy-to-use editing tools and template/clipart catalogs.
• Excellent organizational tools – I put 1500 photos into albums, by subject matter, in about ten minutes.
• Quick selection tool – select one item from an image very easily, as long as it differssubstantially in tone and color from background. Way easier than professional selectionmasks.
• Photomerge® allowed me to create panoramas, replace people in group photos and even switch facial features between people for comic relief.
• Hundreds of borders, frames, backgrounds, themes and effects to create scrapbook pages,photobooks, email presentations and Web images.
• Direct online purchase ordering of prints, photobooks, photo calenders and other items you create. I found I could print most myself, too.

Premier Elements Features

• Shares the organizer feature with Elements. Can’t beat this for organizational freaks like me.
• Canned themes, titles, credits, transitions – some very generic, but some specific enough to seem personal.
• Import video at a click from files, Internet, camera or CD/DVD.
• Drag and drop functionality – even I could add or remove frames like a pro.
• Nice look and feel – large, clear view of video, nice thumbnails, two timelines to pinpoint the place for editing.
• Mix audio, add soundtrack and voice overs.
• HD – Blu-Ray capable, quick burning, show on Apple iPods, Sony PSP™ (PlayStation® Portable), and mobile phones with export presets for many popular models.

What’s good in the Adobe package

Both programs are intuitive. I needed little skill to fix red eyes, correct a color problem, or move someone out of one image and into another. Very enjoyable – I felt artistic. Having a video editor that allowed me to combine 10 clips and a bunch of effects to end up with a credible project was excellent. I love that there’s much more to do as I delve into both programs and that I can use as much skill as I want. Both programs sharing functions is convenient – I made a slide show and then added video transitions and effects to it. Cool.

Adobe could improve some things

Slow. I have a fair fast machine and both Elements and Premier made me impatient. Adobe makes large programs – you’ll want some oomph in your computer to make them run well. The tasks that bring you an image, make changes and take them back to where the image resides takes time. It isn’t a total drag, but I so love instant gratification. I wasn’t crazy about the dark background on the screen. Making photos brighter is good, but reading tool tips and button labels can be challenging.

Conclusion

My goal is to get my photos off the computer and into circulation. These puppies will help me reach that target. I found them comfortable to explore, even if the documentation bogged me down in spots. I figure I’ll buy a how-to book — usually do to learn a new Adobe program. I’m
having a great time working with these. Correcting faults, manipulating images for fun and creating unusual ways to share them tickles me. There’s a free trial at http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelwin/. If you’re looking for a new hobby, or want to enhance the photo-hobby you already enjoy, give PhotoShop Elements and Premier Elements a try – you’ll probably get hooked.