Seeing all the cool,humorous, and sometimes incriminating photoshop masterpieces you all post has made me interested in trying my hand photoshop too.

I was already at Best Buys so I figured I'd briefly checked out some of photoshop stuff. I saw all kinds of add-ons and enhancements and what I though was the latest edition of photoshop ........... for over $600! Is this the going price for this kind of software? Seems a bit much for a novice like myself who just wants to dabble a little with images. Is there something else I could use for the same purpose without breaking the Bank?

Rather than lay out that much money on photoshop I think I would rather stash it into the covert forced induction savings account.

Any feedback or advice is obviously welcome, TIA.

 

Don't get the latest version if it's just for playing around with. Check out this page for downloads or to order cheaper old versions of the software.

http://www.americasbestsoftware.net/adobe.php


I haven't bought it yet; but, I probably will eventually.

 

Well, I got my copy of photoshop free from Adobe. Way back when I was a software purchasing agent. They sent me (the store) 2 copies of each of their main products at the time. You can download a demo from their website. Also if you are a student or know a student then you purchase it at a discount. It's only ~$150 that way. There are other programs like Paintshop that can do quite a bit. Photoshop is by far the most powerfull program though.

 

Photoshop may well be the cadillac of the imaging programs (high price too) but it is also multilayered and deep in tool use which makes it difficult to master. I started messing around with video and photo editing several years ago with a cheap program from ULEAD Phot Express.... easy to use and I find myself missing it since it is not completely XP compatible.....
I am now using MGI Photosuite 4 which is fairly easy to use and pretty deep in capabilities.........

Yes, I tried the latest version of Photoshop and for what I do with imaging, found it just too time consuming and complex........

Several companies allow you to download a sample program for use for 30 days or so....... maybe you'll find one that suits your efforts nad talent..... Good luck..

 

Hey Le Pew,

As Donny stated, Photoshop is the Caddy of image editing software, and it has the price tag to match. $600+ sounds right the last time I checked. The nice thing (sorta) is that after you buy it the upgrade to the latest version is only about $100. It doesn't matter what previous version you have, either. I upgraded an old computer that was running 3.0 directly to 7.0 and it was still only $100.

If you are a student (or have a leftover student ID) you can usually find a "student version" at the college book store for a little less ($400 or so the last time I checked.)

Again, this program is mostly for designers and it's a bear to get the hang of - I've been using it for about 8 years and I'm still on my way to a new training semenar in a couple of weeks.

Roxio makes a program called Photosuite that I haven't tried but have heard good things about. It retails for about $30 and supposedly has all the tools you would need to make some cool images (and isn't supposed to be as tough to learn). It might be worth your while to check the web for prices, it seems to me a while back Best Buy was carrying versions of this program for about ten bucks.
Click Here for Photosuite

And finally, a slightly more expensive alternative (around $80-$90) is a program called Paint Shop Pro by Jasc software. I've used older versions of this and it's a nice program, again, just not as many features as Photoshop, but they are most likely features you can live without.
Click Here for Paint Shop Pro

Hope these are helpful to you. If you come up with any digital imaging questions, send me a note and I'll be happy to help out!

-Graphic

 

XP comes with Elements (Version of Photoshop)

Or you could I dunno, get it for free *coughKAZAAcough*

 

If you want a *coughTROJANcough*

protip: NEVER download an executable file from a P2P program. videos and audio, fine. But you're asking for it if you download .exe's.

Not to mention it's just plain wrong :P

 

I downloaded a program called PhotoPlus 5.5 from a company called Serif Applications. It was a free download and seems to be pretty good. I have only played with it a few times, but it works pretty good as I have completely changed some of my pictures, like adding a picture onto another picture and various other things like that. Like I said I haven't really messed with it alot, but it worked pretty good and seemed pretty easy to use. Now I don't know where I found it at, but you could try searching for it either by Serif or by PhotoPlus 5.5. There may be a new version available, I haven't checked lately. And the best thing is that it was free!

It may no have all the bells and whistles that Photoshop has, but it comes pretty close. I have seen what the windows look like in Photoshop and the windows and options in this program looked close to the same. Give it a try.

 

I wouldn't go as far as to say that you get a virus when you download photoshop from Kazaa, I would say that it would be very ok to d/l a good rated version from Kazaa.




-------------------------------------
FILESHARING IS NOT WRONG!

 

Never had any viruses from Kazaa.
exe videos audio never.

Stay off the hard **** downloads Johngs.


PS:Seen the latest from the Kazaa boys.

www.skype.com

Works great.

 

Going away from the original topic: I don't at all mean to be 'holier-than-thou' about piracy, but I have to put in my 2¢ about it. I don't recommend pirating of Photoshop (or any intellectual property, really) for a few reasons:

• Viruses. As stated above, you run the risk of downloading a virus to your computer. (Though perhaps you've got it coming to you if you're stealing software.)
• Lost jobs & wages. This is a quote from a 2002 essay on piracy, That might not mean anything to you, but I bet a lot of people on these boards know firsthand the frustration of losing a job/finding a new one. In todays job market, it's pretty rough. Generalizatons aside, I rely on Photoshop to perform my job every day. I have no choice but to purchase the full copy and its upgrades. I don't like the idea of paying more than I should because people that don't rely on the software decide to take it for free.
• And IMHO maybe the worst effect is that piracy hurts innovation. I think I'd rather see Adobe spending its time and funds on cool new features to be added to their programs, not sinking all of their revenue into combating piracy.

Ok, end of rant. I don't mean to sound preachy, I just want to put a different perspective on the topic because I think it's easy to take it for granted.

- Graphic

 

I've never had the problem myself.

If you're going to DL .exe's it wouldnt be a bad idea to scan with an AV program before you run it.

Also I just dont agree with pirating software.

 

LE PEW,

I agree with Graphic about PaintShopPro.
Great program for a reasonable price.

 

People loose jobs everyday, and yet people get hired everyday. Can you produce a quote on how many jobs become available every year? Probably not.

There's two sides to every story.

 

A seventeen year old that listens to Rush Limbaugh! Will wonders never cease?