I bought the full version of Photoshop at version 3 with my first PC, which ran Windows 95. As I progressed to Windows 98 and now to Windows XP, my faithful old Photoshop has transferred with it, running normally each time. But now it has started displaying an error message each time it starts, and refuses to do anything more. The Adobe website's first suggestion to overcome it, is: "Buy the latest version". I guess it's time to upgrade, but there is no upgrade pack for such an old version, so I need to buy new. But here's the problem. The full version of Photoshop CS2 is prohibitively expensive, so I have wondered about Photoshop Elements. A search around the internet revealed plenty of Elements at version 4, including one significantly cheaper, billed as OEM (which apparently may lack connecting cables etc - just what cables, I wonder?). If I pay about half as much again, I can get version 5. So what I want to know is, what can CS2 do that Elements can't (and do I really need that functionality?) and what can Elements version 5 do that version 4 can't? Is there anyone out there with experience of Photoshop that can advise me, please? I'd be most grateful.

I have used Photoshop Elements and it's OK
Also used Photoshop 7 - does so much more than Elements but I never really got to grips with it, very steep learning curve. It's a real beast of a program. Would not recommend unless you are prepared to put in the time to learn.
Currently using Photoshop CS2 - much better and easier to use than P/shop 7, but to get the best out of it you still need to learn how to use it and it does so much that there is a lot of learning to do.
Photoshop 7 and CS2 are not just for photographers - they can also be used by artists and designers, as well, which is why they are complicated to use and contain so much that is not required by your normal run of the mill photographer.
I am also using a Beta version of Adobe Lightroom available as a free download from Adobe.com, although I think it's got an expiry date. I'm very impressed with Lightroom and will buy it when released, so long as it's not too expensive. Lightroom is aimed at photographers and enables you to do the things you would have done the old fashioned way in the dark-room - there are no over-blown weird effects as in Photoshop just straight forward processing of your photo. I shoot in RAW format and find Lightbox a dream to use - also comes with library management, simple to use print and page layout and more
Just DOWNLOAD and play with it (until it expires - last I heard Feb, 2007)

I've just downloaded a free open scource program called GIMP for windows, that is supposed to be almost as good as Elements. It does not have the big instruction book so that may have to be purchased separately. There were a few good reviews about the program but I can't vouch for it, as of yet. It has a professional look to it.

Hi, I never quite managed the learning curve for Photoshop which eventually turned me off the program. I subsequently tried 2 versions of Elements. Version 3.0 drove me nuts because of its determination to be the be-all on my computer. Recently, I bought a Coolscan V film scanner which led me to the trial download of Capture NX. It is based on color points and is quite fascinating on the way it works. I still have two weeks on the free trial and I have already made up my mind to buy it. It is simple, intuitive handles RAW and a lot of fun to use. I does require a pretty healthy engine and lots of memory for fast rendering. It's cheap compared to PShop - abt 150.00
You can learn about it and dload a trial version here:

http://www.capturenx.com/

T.