Hi all,

New to this forum, due to recently acquiring a D40. Now that I have something more than a basic P&S digital camera, I've been thinking more about post-processing of images.

I have full access to Photoshop CS3 (Mac) at the office thanks to my job, but for obvious reasons, I'd rather deal with the majority of my personal photos on my personal PC at home. Unfortunately, my home PCs are currently limited to a severely outdated version of PS (5 or 6), some free software I've downloaded but have never been 100% pleased with (GIMP), or the junk bundled with various cameras I've owned (never even bothered with this).

If I purchase Photoshop Elements 6, what are the major features I'll be losing when compared to CS3? I'm primarily interested in those features that are relevant for basic post-processing, like sharpening tools, levels, curves, and highlight/shadow controls. I'm also curious about the lens correction features present in CS2/3. As relatively new features in the full version of PS, I'm assuming they're stripped out of Elements?

I guess, in short, what I'm asking is if Elements is worth the $80 over something free like Picasa 2, given that I do have access to CS3, albeit on a limited basis for personal use?

Finally - my work computer is a Mac running OS X Tiger; is there an exif viewer similar to oPanda for Macs (or is this built in and I'm missing it)?

iPhoto and Aperture give you the exif info which is why there isn't a popular alternative for macs. But for those of us that hate to open such huge apps just to check the photo info there's Exif Viewer:

http://homepage.mac.com/aozer/EV/

Another comment about info on Macs ... I was assuming you wanted the complete exif data. If not, if you only need the basics (exposure, aperture, camera, etc) you can just "Get Info" on any photo. Quick key is cmd + i

Heh, I've been 100% PC until about 2 months ago - and even now I only use one at work. Thanks for the link of Exif Viewer, that's exactly what I wanted. Haven't made up my mind about PS Elements yet. I still have PS 6 that I'm using, so maybe I'll hold off.

Originally Posted by another

iPhoto and Aperture give you the exif info which is why there isn't a popular alternative for macs. But for those of us that hate to open such huge apps just to check the photo info there's Exif Viewer:

http://homepage.mac.com/aozer/EV/

Originally Posted by another

Another comment about info on Macs ... I was assuming you wanted the complete exif data. If not, if you only need the basics (exposure, aperture, camera, etc) you can just "Get Info" on any photo. Quick key is cmd + i

Preview also supports complete exif info now so there's no need for Exif Viewer at all. The 2 quick keys are then:

basic info: cmd +i when the image is selected in finder (on desktop, etc)

complete info: double-click image to open in Preview (or press cmd + down). Press cmd +i, select Details tab.

Originally Posted by ForceFed4

Heh, I've been 100% PC until about 2 months ago - and even now I only use one at work. Thanks for the link of Exif Viewer, that's exactly what I wanted. Haven't made up my mind about PS Elements yet. I still have PS 6 that I'm using, so maybe I'll hold off.

If you want more Macness, get Pixelmator which blows the doors off Elements. Amazingly beautiful app that does quite a bit for such a low cost.