The Bottom Line
Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 for Mac is exactly what you would expect from Adobe. It is a powerful program that can be used by novices or experts to achieve professional-quality photo editing results.
Pros
- Powerful Tools at a Low Cost
- Integrated Photo Browser (Bridge)
- Guided Photo Editing for New Users
- Powerful tools: Whiten Teeth, Blue Skies, Red Eye Remover, and Black & White
Cons
- Interface is Awkward When Changing Between Programs
- Program sometimes experiences crashes upon startup if other programs are being used
Description
- Full, quick, and guided editing modes
- Photomerge is now more powerful and also has an exposure feature for dealing with difficult lighting situations
- Powerful tools that now allow for many easy edits without perfect selection being required
- New thumbnail edit options in quick edit make adjustments much easier for new users
Guide Review - Review of Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 for Mac
Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 for Mac is the latest Elements release from Adobe. This version sees the Mac and Windows sides of the program becoming much closer with matched functionality. One minor change that Mac users are sure to appreciate is that the program window can now be resized instead of being locked into a single fullscreen mode. However, the program does still have a habit of crashing upon startup if the user tries to work in another program while Elements is loading.
PSE8 for Mac is exactly what you would expect from Adobe. It is a powerful program that can be used by novices or experts to achieve professional-quality photo editing results. This new version adds even more ease of use for the hobbyist who may not be familiar with powerful photo editing. Guided edits and quick edit tools help to make Elements 8 more user friendly and less intimidating for new users. A small but powerful new addition are the thumbnail previews in quick edit. These thumbnails give a quick visual reference of what changes the familiar slider controls will make.
Another nice new feature is the reset toolbars option. For those who spend a lot of time editing and have been reluctant to move around toolbars because of a bad experience or two that resulted in random toolbars scattered around your screen or missing in action - this feature is your safety net. No matter how you move the toolbars around, you can always reset them quickly with a simple click of the reset panels button.
The PhotoMerge feature continues to become more powerful with options that now allow you to merge exposures, pick and chose elements from two images to create one image, a recompose feature that can help remove oddly placed items in single images, and more. Add that to the simple sounding but welcome tools like teeth whitening, lots of collage/scrapbook options, and tweaks to the internal processing for accuracy and Photoshop Elements 8 is truly becoming a highly refined photo editing tool.
While the occasional crash on startup is a nuisance, this version of Elements has added so many powerful tools and is such a chameleon with regards to being what a hobbyist AND what a more advanced user needs, that I am moving it up to a 5 star rating.
PSE8 for Mac is exactly what you would expect from Adobe. It is a powerful program that can be used by novices or experts to achieve professional-quality photo editing results. This new version adds even more ease of use for the hobbyist who may not be familiar with powerful photo editing. Guided edits and quick edit tools help to make Elements 8 more user friendly and less intimidating for new users. A small but powerful new addition are the thumbnail previews in quick edit. These thumbnails give a quick visual reference of what changes the familiar slider controls will make.
Another nice new feature is the reset toolbars option. For those who spend a lot of time editing and have been reluctant to move around toolbars because of a bad experience or two that resulted in random toolbars scattered around your screen or missing in action - this feature is your safety net. No matter how you move the toolbars around, you can always reset them quickly with a simple click of the reset panels button.
The PhotoMerge feature continues to become more powerful with options that now allow you to merge exposures, pick and chose elements from two images to create one image, a recompose feature that can help remove oddly placed items in single images, and more. Add that to the simple sounding but welcome tools like teeth whitening, lots of collage/scrapbook options, and tweaks to the internal processing for accuracy and Photoshop Elements 8 is truly becoming a highly refined photo editing tool.
While the occasional crash on startup is a nuisance, this version of Elements has added so many powerful tools and is such a chameleon with regards to being what a hobbyist AND what a more advanced user needs, that I am moving it up to a 5 star rating.
