Michael, my scanner came with Photoshop Elements. Can you outline the advantages of using the full program? Thanks, Joe
Can't outline them all, Joe. I'm still learning. But I can lay out a few things for you. Elements is definitely easier to use. It's also quite powerful in its own right. If you spend a reasonable amount of time exploring it, you'll be able to do an awful lot. Photoshop CS2 has apparently undergone a reworking of its UI (I don't have experience with an older version for comparison). Layout seems pretty logical, but there's an awful lot under the hood. CS2 supports RAW camera format. CS2 also supports 16-bit images (16 bits per pixel). It has a very nifty mode for tripod shots. If you're shooting a scene with a large dynamic range--something that would overwhelm a typical digital camera--you can stack a number of shots done at different shutter speeds. The short exposures would capture the bright stuff and the long exposures would capture the dim stuff. Photoshop will use the best parts of each exposure to make a stack. This is different from astronomical stacking in which the images are integrated. The end result is that you have a photo with a much larger range than your camera is capable of. CS2 has a much more powerful way of using layers. I don't know how useful this is for astrophotography, but it's fabulous for retouching or creating composite shots. CS2 has a great lens correction filter. It can correct 'bowed' lines shot at low F/stops. It can remove JPEG noise. It can easily level an image that leans one way or another. It can even do small perspective changes. There are many more basic image corrections available, along with a lot more in the way of filters. If your primary interest is astrophotography, I really can't address that. I have tremendous admiration for folks on the list who share their shots, but I have too many demands on my time to undertake it. My own photography interests lean more toward landscapes, critters and people. For that kind of work, CS2 has been a real step forward. Hope this is helpful. MC