Hands on preview: Adobe updates its Elements

Adobe Photoshop Elements 8: New features tour--screenshots

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Time again for Adobe's annual update of its consumer photo- and video-editing applications, Photoshop Elements (Windows | Mac) and Premiere Elements (Windows only). We're up to version 8 now, and while there's no killer must-have new capability--unless you consider automatic sync across multiple computers--the two products still provide solid mass appeal for their respective markets.

As in the past, you can buy the pair together for $149.99, which is a far more attractive buy for video-editing shoppers than Photoshoppers, and in fact the combination makes quite a nice bundle for home videographers. Independently, they're $99.99 each. Tack "Plus" to the name of the product for another $40 and you get an extra 20GB on the otherwise free Photoshop.com membership (along with ongoing new template and tutorial content), which will then cost you $50 annually to renew.

The latter becomes key if you plan to take advantage of one of the nicer new features, the ability to sync your videos, photos, music, projects, and PDF files across multiple systems using Photoshop.com as the hub. (In case you missed it, Photoshop.com rolled out video support last month in preparation for this release of Pre.) While Adobe doesn't make a Plus membership a requirement for doing so, you'll very quickly max out your free 2GB without it.

After allowing the product to languish for a while, with 8 Adobe brings the Mac version of Photoshop Elements up to parity with the Windows version and with the buzzy new features in iPhoto, including face recognition and geotagging/mapping. Unlike iPhoto, however, there's no direct upload to Facebook, though it supports a broader number of services, including Kodak EasyShare Gallery and Smugmug. Annoyingly, those choices are buried as More Options on the Share pane (likely because the interface decision was based on the technology used--implemented via an API rather than core program code--rather than where the user will look for them).

Like most current facial recognition implementations, Adobe's is only moderately accurate. For instance, in many photos it correctly identifies one person, but didn't detect others and thought inanimate objects were faces. The batch detection and labeling where you confirm different faces in groups of selected images is better, but still a little clunky.

PSE also includes a version of Photoshop CS4's Content Aware Scaling, Adobe's implementation of seam-carving technology, called Recompose. Recompose sort of lets you selectively drop objects from a photo as you scale it down, preserving those elements that you designate as worth keeping.

Now that Adobe includes the Organizer with both products, it's been updated to handle video and audio files rather than just stills, which is nice, especially for Premiere Elements users. There's some more "Smarts" in the latest version of Premiere: SmartFix, which makes adjustments to perceived flaws detected by the Auto Analyzer (a feature introduced in the last version that parses and tags files for problems with shake, exposure, focus, and so on); Smart Trim, which extracts clips based on similarly derived information; and SmartMix, which automatically fades voice and background audio tracks in and out depending upon your prioritization.

If you want to take some creative risks, you can use the Motion Tracking, which lets you sync effects, text, or graphics to objects in a scene, or Effects Masking, which applies effects only to specific rectangular selections. (Unfortunately, I ran into technical difficulties with mix 'n' match betas on my system that prevented several features from working when I tried to create the walkthrough for Premiere.)

I'm reserving judgment on performance, stability, and quality of results (especially on Photoshop Elements' tricky Recompose tool) until I have final versions of the software. Since it's shipping now, that should be soon.

[Kimo Sutton]

So lets see,It cost more than Apple software, does less and not as good. Iphoto rocks, as does iMovie so why use a pc app to do less? Oh yeah it does not have the old software working with Snow Lep so you have to upgrade. Where were you last year Adobe? Now with an upgraded version you do not get upgrades like iPhoto, but may have facial recognition as good as what a beta? Let us see a demo and choose for ourselves then it will be a full suite decision. I like iLife and love MAC. It just works.

[rnaoncfixd]

I may be an Apple Fanyboy sometimes, but I'm more of a photographer/videographer and will tell you straight up, that iPhoto sucks...

Unless you're a soccer mom who couldn't be bothered with over complicating things.

[crudis01]

Does less? I'm assuming you have never used Elements. Elements is to try to bring some of the power of Photoshop to home users. iPhoto is nice as a very basic toy, and the "cool" stuff is the candy that a facebook\flikr user thinks is fun and easy. It has very little true power for Vid editing. iMovie is a better comparable product simply because of the wide gap between basic tools like it, and super power apps. Facial rec on iPhoto stinks, it is a toy, and again a nice toy, but a toy nonetheless. The fact iPhoto was compared in this article for any reason isn't appropriate. None of this article talks about the complete lack of real world editing tools in iPhoto. iPhoto is a great basic tool, and certainly better than what M$ ships, and it is easy for all the iSheep, but it is not anything even a pro-sumer would use. I enjoy my Apple to pieces, but it is my fun box. My Linux and M$ boxes handle all the techy stuff I need done.

[chade2001]

Is this a sign of the imminent release of CS5?

[voyager529]

Elements 8 sounds basically like a shelf refresh and very little more.

Personally I think that Elements 4 was about the best release they had. after that it just started to get Adobe Bloat. In fact, my copy of 1.0 was darn close to full-blown Photoshop, and while it wasn't terribly pretty to look at, upgrading to full-blown Photoshop was a breeze. At this point though, Adobe is stuck in a bit of a plateau with little more to offer. This is the problem with being feature complete.

Joey

[Lambert John]

Just another way for Adobe to make money. Money money money. That's what everything comes down to these days. Way to go Adobe!! I'll stick with Elements 6.

[b8665122]

very nice thank you !!!

[nit_patel4u]

Personally I think that Elements 4 was about the best release they had. after that it just started to get Adobe Bloat. In fact, my copy of 1.0 was darn close to full-blown Photoshop, and while it wasn't terribly pretty to look at, upgrading to full-blown Photoshop was a breeze. At this point though, Adobe is stuck in a bit of a plateau with little more to offer. This is the problem with being feature complete.

[MadLyb]

So...ummm...if I want to sync between two computers in my house, I have to send it out to Photoshop.com? No thanks.

[newpeg]

I liked Adobe Photoshop Business Edition 1.0, which shipped with a printer I bought back around 2000. But it had problems with Windows XP and stopped working. I tried Photoshop 5.0, but didn't like the interface. On a desktop with Windows XP bought in 2007, I recently discovered Microsoft Digital Image Starter Edition, with 60 day free trial of the full edition. I liked this software, but after they deactivated many of the features, I tried to purchase the full edition and got the response "This software has been discontinued". I think it's dispicable that they don't let those with the deactivated version already sitting on their computers reactivate a program. So I am blowing off some steam. Any suggestions? I just bought a new HP laptop with Windows 7 and haven't investigated yet what if any digital editing software has been put on it.

Still, it is very annoying when software you have learned to use stops working on later versions of Windows, and even more upsetting when you they deactivate something you are using and give you no option to keep it.

I want something simple to use, but with options like clone, smudge, go to B&W, make colages. adjust brightness and color balance, remove redeye, etc. It seems the ones that work on the new versions of Windows have gotten much more complicated. Any suggestions for a user friendly one that works on Windows XP? Free or Cheap preferred.