Opinion on software, please

[RobbieR]

I have PSE 4 and know it pretty well. I also like it a lot very easy to use but have been in teaching chats lately where some of the techniques just aren't supported by elements. I got an upgrade offer from Adobe for Photoshop CS for $299.00 and have been thinking very seriously about getting it. However, I also have Corel PSPX and barely know how to use it. I've done one page and couldn't have gotten through that w/o a DSP tutorial. For all you who know these programs well, what do you recommend? Should I just buckle down and learn PSPX or is Photoshop the one to have? Is it that much better than PSPX? Thanks!!:confused:

[4guysandme]

Either way, you're going to have a learning curve. Personally, if it was me. I'd play around with the PSPX for a while. If you don't like it after a while, then upgrade to PSCS. That's just my take though.

[RobbieR]

One other thing, can anyone recommend a great book on either PSPX or Photoshop CS. I know that they are both way more complex than elements and would like to get a good teaching tool which ever way I go. Thanks again. Thanks for your reply Stacey, I economically agree with you about doing PSPX first but am afraid if I miss the Adobe upgrade offer that I won't get it again, so I want to decide on what is the very best software to use. Is Photoshop really that much better than PSPX?

[Kristen]

Some things to consider:

If you think you're going to want to design your own kits, PS can do things that PSP can't at that level (and vice-versa - but most of the designers here use PS.)

Because PSE and PS are both Adobe products, there are a lot of similarities in how the programs are set up. Tools and menu items will work the way you expect them to.

I'd suggest - if you have a broadband connection! it's huge - that you download the trial version of PSCS2 and try it out. I learned PS first, and then PSP, and the set-up and tools are just different enough that I'm still not comfortable with PSP unless I have a tutorial to follow.

[Lauren]

Im with Kristen - if you can download a trial of PSCS then do that - it does have some similarities to PSE - I was a long timePSP user - Its great and there are many designers who use it and achieve incredible results with it - but after one week playing with photoshop I never went back to PSP - . Its a huge financial commitment though - and it has a learning curve that never ends - I still learn things with photoshop EVERY DAY even after 4 years of using it
When I first started using it I did use the Sams book ( I think its something like learn photoshop in 24 hours ( yeah right!!!)- and I scoured my library for all the books I could lay my hands on after that . They taught me just the basics
and not much more - 99% of your learning is done by actually doing - This would be the same for PSP as well .