Photoshop Elements 7 in stores October
Adobe have announced the upcoming launch of the next version of Photoshop Elements, version 7.
It is due to hit the shelves in October with an expected retail
price of US$99.99 (with a reduced price for an upgrade) is purchased
alone, or it is also being bundled with Photoshop.com Plus and Premiere
Elements 7 (US$149.99).
Is it worth waiting for this new version if you are looking to buy
Elements? Is it worth upgrading from an earlier version? From what I
have read it sounds like Elements 7 is going to be a large improvement
on previous versions, and let’s face it, Elements 6 is pretty swish
anyway.
A major new focus for Elements 7 seems to be online photo sharing,
an ever growing trend on the web. It is being bundled with a year’s
subscription to Photoshop.com Plus.
Photoshop.com
extends the reach of your photo editing by providing online storage
(5GB for free members, 20 for the paying members at $50 a year (so not
unreasonable at all for that much storage) allowing you to access your
photos from anywhere. The service will also provide templates and
tutorials.
New features include a Smart Brush tool, taken from Photoshop CS3 and a Scene Cleanerhas been added to the Photomerge tool.
Kathleen Cullen, from PC World, has a good review of the beta version of the product published on the Washington Post site, and there is also a comprehensive article at the Photography Bay.
So, do you wait to purchase? Do you upgrade?
Well, I admit I’ll be there knocking on the doors the day it goes on
sale. Depending on your finances (hopefully better than mine, but I
just can’t resist some things) I would strongly suggest that anyone
looking to purchase Elements 6 waits just a little longer and opts for
the new version.
If you are considering upgrading then, unless you are as impatient
as I am, you see if Adobe offers a 30 day trial (which I bet they will)
and see what you think and if there are new features you’ll enjoy. From
what I have been reading I suspect a taste will be all it takes to have
you grabbing for your plastic.
