This is a question that we all ask at one point or another. I dont think you can even start to make a comparison between PSP7 and CS PSP8 however is a much better and more powerful version of PSP as is PSP 9 And much closer to PS in terms of what it has to offer. PSP 8 has some really useful features, like the repeat tool, PS can do this too with actions but it is a little harder to set up. Really it boils down to will you use PS CS to its full potential, most people probably wont or dont. dBgrafix Has raised some good points, I too prefer PSP for adding text, but seldom use it now, Im not sure if you can make comparable results with PSP that you can with CS (very close though) due to its lack of colour management, but I believe that aside PSP is a good program. Photoshop Elements (PSE) has a certain amount of colour management. Red Eye correction in Elements 3 is superb, and PSP8 is very good PS and PSE are both better at compressing images than PSP, PS Elements 3 is much improved over version 2 with several CS tools that have been cut down but still very usable. With PSE and PSP you get a lot of what I call handholding features (user-friendly help and tips) with the full blown PS you get very little handholding, as it assumes that you know what you are doing. Oddly enough I find CS easier to use than PSP especially layers and selection tools. The bottom line I guess is, if you intend to do allot of work on your images, need excellent colour management and want to work with 16bit images then the answer is yes it is worth the money. If you are on a budget and dont need many of CSs features then PSE3 or PSP8/9 will probably be more than sufficient for you. PS is by far the better program and far more powerful once you find all its hidden gems, but at a cost to your poor wallet, it is the defacto standard in image editing, but its not for everyone. People like Donald, Michelle Cynlee.. etc will be able to give a much more informative opinion than I can. On one of this months UK Photography mags (cant remember which one) there is a CS 30 day trial or you can d/l from Adobe and give it a whirl. All IMO of course. LP

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