FighterControl

I currently use elements version 4. It's time to upgrade to a later version, do I need to get the 2021 release or will an earlier version save a few pounds?

Only used for basic editing, such as cropping, adjusting levels, spot removal and sharpening.

2nd question can I buy second hand from ebay / amazon etc, as I seem to remember you needed a unique id code on the product when I got version 4.

Thanks Brian

I upgraded from Elements 6 to version 15 a few years ago and I don't think I paid an awful lot less than the current Elements 2021, so maybe not much of a saving buying an older version unless buying secondhand, provided the seller includes the key code.

Also worth considering is Affinity Photo from Serif, which sells for around £50. I bought a copy when Serif were doing a half-price offer last year during the height of the Covid pandemic. It was worth taking a punt, and I'm pleased I did.

I use Elements for some pictures and Affinity Photo for others. Don't ask why, I don't even know the answer to that myself! I have to say though that I find sharpening easier to do (or rather, easier to see the difference) in Affinity Photo.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Thanks daggerfan for your helpful reply. Something to think about

I thought Photoshop had moved to subscription only. Purchasing was no longer an option - mind you that's was my impression four or five years ago.
I moved to Gimp then - it does much of the same stuff, though requires some re-learning. It's Public Domain, so free and works on all platforms.
https://www.gimp.org/

I use https://nikcollection.dxo.com/ and it's also a plug-in on Elements.

CookipediaChef wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 16, 2021 10:22 am

I thought Photoshop had moved to subscription only. Purchasing was no longer an option - mind you that's was my impression four or five years ago.
I moved to Gimp then - it does much of the same stuff, though requires some re-learning. It's Public Domain, so free and works on all platforms.
https://www.gimp.org/

Yes, Photoshop is now only on subscription, but the cut-down and very capable Photoshop Elements is not and is available as a one-off purchase.

[/quote]

Yes, Photoshop is now only on subscription, but the cut-down and very capable Photoshop Elements is not and is available as a one-off purchase.
[/quote]

Ah ok, thanks for that.

It has been useful to see this thread.

I have found this article: https://digital-photography-school.com/ ... photoshop/

I'd be interested to hear if DaggerFan agrees with this assessment as I have been suffering the same 'upgrade' dilemma, and am now edging towards Affinity having seen this.

Paul

It is the Photography Show at the NEC this Saturday (18th) - Tuesday (21st) so there may well be some offers about - I would check the websites / social media.

Have been an Affinity user for several years as I did not want to be hooked on a monthly fee.
For my needs it works perfectly.

Nighthawk237 wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 16, 2021 5:10 pm

It has been useful to see this thread.

I have found this article: https://digital-photography-school.com/ ... photoshop/

I'd be interested to hear if DaggerFan agrees with this assessment as I have been suffering the same 'upgrade' dilemma, and am now edging towards Affinity having seen this.

Paul

Apologies for this late reply. It has been a busy time recently, including heading south to Hertfordshire for my wife's aunt's funeral.

It was an interesting article and it's worth noting that it was comparing Affinity Photo with the "full cream" Photoshop rather than the more basic, but still capable, Photoshop Elements. But it seems Affinity can hold its own with the top dog, so it's not doing too badly!

Like the OP, I use image editing software mainly for the basic tasks of cropping, levels, spot removal and sharpening. Life's too short to spend a lot of time sitting in front of a computer faffing about too much with a picture!

Thinking more about my personal way of working, I tend to use Elements for my aircraft pictures and Affinity Photo for general photography. This is perhaps not the ideal way to be working, as you end up with a passing familiarity with each application rather than being confidently familiar with using just one program. But it does give you the opportunity to see if Affinity can do one particular job better than Elements, and vice-versa.

As I said in my earlier post, I seem to find the results of sharpening in Affinity easier to see than in Elements. My sharpening work using Unsharp Mask in Elements seems to be more by luck than good judgement, but the results are good enough for me.

At the end of the day, if you are already an Elements user it probably makes sense just to upgrade to a more recent version of the same. If you are delving into image editing for the first time the choice is perhaps more difficult!

Just purchased Elements 2021,Thanks for all your inputs and thoughts on this. Brian