Can anyone suggest a good Photoshop program?

[LilMissDiva]

Hi, I'm looking to purchase a really good photoshop type program. Price really isn't an issue so anything you feel is a good choice, I'd appreciate it!

Also, if there are any you would not use, let me know that too.

Thanking you in advance for any suggestions.

 

[Quincy8Douby]

adobe photoshop 2 is really good... but it costs a lot.

 

[uolj]

If you are an advanced user, Photoshop is great (CS 2 is the latest version I think). It is hundreds of dollars.

If you are an intermediate user, or maybe even a beginner, Photoshop Elements works well. It is cheaper, and it is a lot less confusing than the main Photoshop program.

I know of people who have used both of the above. My wife is a designer, uses Photoshop all the time, and loves it. My dad only wanted to manipulate photos without a ton of fancy effects and features, and has had success with Photoshop Elements. I can use Photoshop myself, but that's because we already own it, otherwise I would probably purchase Elements.

I'm sure there are lots of alternatives that are not from Adobe as well, but those are the two I'm familiar with.

 

[VF21]

If you don't have to worry about price, go with Photoshop. Not only is it an excellent program, but their support people are very knowledgeable and willing to take the time to help you out should you need it.

The next purchase you make should be "Photoshop for Dummies." Don't bother with the Photoshop Bible. It's cumbersome and tough to follow unless you're REALLY into manuals.

 

[Rockmeister]

I like Photo Element and Corel Paint Shop Pro.

 

[Ryan]

Photoshop CS2. You can download a free trial online

 

[LilMissDiva]

Great, thanks for the ideas everyone!

 

[PixelPusher]

I second the nomination for Photoshop Elements. I use it extensively. It has most of the useful features I would normally use in regular Photoshop, but at a drastically reduced price. (mine actually came free with my purchase of a Wacom Graphire II Tablet) The 2 biggest drawbacks to PS Elements is that it lacks a CMYK mode (which is useful if you are doing any serious printwork, although some printing places might be able to help you out there with their photoshop program on site) and color channels (which is vital for dealing with alpha channels, but that mostly an issue for texture artists for games and 3D)