Just wondering what Photshop Elements 2.0 is? I received this with my tablet, but have never bothered to install it.

I already have Photoshop CS2 - is there any difference? Is it worth installing Elements as well?

Thanks

Elements is a very stripped down version Photoshop meant for simple photo manipulation. All the stuff you can do in Elements you can do in PS CS. PS CS gives you many more tools for drawing and the like. You might load it just to see what it's like but I think you'll find you won't use it much.

i use photoshop7.0
why i use old version,beacuse CS get a lot DLL files,make slowly,if you open more photos
Elements is same problem
maybe you can think old version!

Thanks

Anniebel, you'll find that your version of Elements is very out of date. They're up to 5.0 for Windows and 4.0 for Mac. I'm not sure that it's quite accurate to say that Elements is a "stripped down" version of Photoshop. It's true that some features of Photoshop proper are not readily available in Elements, most of them can be incorporated into Elements via plugins, actions, or more roundabout techniques. Almost all PS plugins and brushes will work with Elements. The Elements interface is generally more intuitive and user friendly than PS, as well. Finding your way around and making use of the tools is easier, IMO. The layer styles, effects, and filters palette makes things like adding frames or applying complex effects into a one-click affair. Additionally, Adobe uses Elements as a proving ground for new features that will be added to PS at a later time. The very handy and useful image straightening tool in Elemts 4.0 is a great example of this. In post-producing my photographs and, more recently, in post-working my renders, the only two significant drawbacks I've found with Elements are 1.) you can only work with 8 bits of color info and 2.) there's no built-in curves feature. For most users and uses, though, neither of these presents a major obstacle. The best part? Elements costs about $400 LESS than Photoshop.

Thanks, I don't think I will both to install.

If you just want to do something quick or pretty basic, such as a crop or resize - the old/lite versions can be handy because they load a lot faster. (No waiting on extra plugins, tools, librarys, etc. that have to load.) Some people have both because of this. But if you're not likely to do an in and out jobber, then there's not much point for having the dated or watered down stuff.

Well I also have PSP8 & 9 so I tend to use those for that sort of stuff.

I used PS6 for ages and there were a number of things about the interface that always irritated me. Then I got PS Elements 3 with my Wacom tablet. What a pleasant surprise!  Sure, it's missing some pretty major functionality (like alpha channels, CMYK support, the ability to make custom brushes, history brushes etc, etc) but if you don't need the missing tools it's a whole lot nicer to use than PS. 

To me it's almost like Elements is an 'admission of guilt' that Photoshop's interface sucked and so they overhauled it in Elements (where they could make changes without upsetting old users). They even fixed that maddening thing where you undo your first brushstroke and find yourself back on the wrong layer.

I'm now trying the demo of CS2 and I'm very disappointed to see that it's every bit as irritating as PS6, and a big step backwards from Elements. I was hoping for a whole lot more   :-(

Being used to the ease & functuality of PSP8 & 9 I find it hard to get used to CS2 as well. Even though it is supposed to be a better programme, I find it very clumbsy & work intensive.