rwdaley Loc: Hilton Head Island

My pc died and just bot a new one. I have been an advanced user of PSE 11. I hear there may be PSE 13 any day now. I took advantage of a free 30 day trial. I was shocked to see this version which must be PSE 9! Do you know if I buy the $9.99 @ mo special, will I get PSE 13?

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

What version did you have the 30-day trial for? If you got it from the Adobe website, it would have been version 12, I haven't seen any older versions for download at all.

Haven't heard that PSE will be available "in the cloud."
Photoshop and LightRoom are.
I found a website saying that PSE 13 will be released tomorrow (23 September), and will certainly be checking in the morning to see that the changes/improvements over PSE 12 are, although at this point I have no intention of buying PSE 13.
Considering that the release date is supposed to be tomorrow I'm a bit surprised about the lack of "hype" on various websites.

Searcher Loc: Kent, England

It looks as though the release date in Germany has been delayed

http://www.softwarevoucher.com/adobe-elements-13-release-date/

Amazon UK is advertising their stock date as being 25th September. The videos they are posting are generic and show nothing new.

Searcher Loc: Kent, England

The ten dollar rental of the CC version is for Lightroom and the full blown Photoshop. Economically it is a bargain, but if you want PSE 13, you must still wait - today, tomorrow, next week or who knows.

When you say your trial version looked like PSE 9, was it a black background version as opposed the white background version?

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

There are some clear and compelling reasons to get PS/LR for $10/mo - with the most important one is that you can step up the quality of your post processing without the limitations inherent to PSE. I use PS/LR and numerous other programs, and the one time I had a student ask me to help her out with an image on her laptop that was running PSE12 I found it extremely limiting and frustrating to use.

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

You don't miss what you've never had...
Many years ago, I had an opportunity to use Photoshop - I believe version 4 or 5, for a short time. It was a huge exercise in frustration. Of course, I had no user's manual, I don't know if YouTube existed then, but I certainly had never heard of it. When I left my cousin's and her computer, I said a fond "farewell" to her computer, and knew PS was not for me.
Fast forward to 2009 (I think). For Christmas my son and daughter-in-law gave me PSE 7. There was still a learning curve, but I did not find it the same exercise in frustration that PS had been.
I am now using PSE 12 love the program. And while you say that there are inherent limitations in PSE, I have never once, wanted to do something to or with a photo that I couldn't do in PSE.
It all comes down to learning to use the tools you have. Since you are used to working with PS/LR, you will (often) want to do things you cannot do with PSE, however, if you had had PSE from the start and not worked with PSE/LR, you would also be proficient using that program and not worry about the inherent limitation, if fact you wouldn't even know what they are.
PSE is an excellent program, but if the readers here are still teeter-tottering between PS and PSE, I'd suggest a download of the 30-day trial of each, and play with the programs. In the end you, the user, is the only one that can make the decision which one is the "best" program for you.

Searcher Loc: Kent, England

That is one of the most sensible rational posts I have seen on the Hog for a very long time.

Mark7829 Loc: Calfornia

Nah, I have read too many post in UH and frankly I am not sure people can even play with any program like PS and understand it. Like you, it will likely lead to frustration. I know of so many who used this approach, used every slider and see what it does only to degrade the image in the process. It would be easy for one to conclude, this is not for me.

The truth is that LR and PS are superior in image optimization/editing than any other program out there. PSE has many limitation including a lack of support for smart objects, raw functions, etc. For example. In Camera Raw alone PS does not have

Color Sampler Tool
Targeted Adjustment Tool
Spot Removal (my favorite tool)
Adjustment Brush
Graduated Filter (simply wonderful)

Image Adjustment Tabs Photoshop Elements does not have:

Tone Curve
HSL / Grayscale
Split Toning
Lens Corrections (absolute must)
Presets
Snapshots

If you are worried about the learning curve. Take a class at a local community college. In a few weeks you will be up and processing and images will start to look incredible. Your level of enjoyment will soar...

rwdaley Loc: Hilton Head Island

Thanks for the info. There r 2 deals. 1 full PS for $25 a mo, 2 PSCC+Lightroom for $9,99 a month. Third option PSE 12/?? version probably for around $100. PSE Version soon to be version 13. I have friends using LR for some processing and image organization and then switch to PSE for further processing. For $10 a month you can get both PSE & Lightroom?

Mark7829 Loc: Calfornia

Yes, 9.99 a month you get PS and LR and all the updates and functions.

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

Easy for you to say, unfortunately the money-tree in the backyard doesn't yield any fruit, maybe it's not getting enough sun.
Two 36-hour units @ $550 each, don't combine well with the income from an old age pension from the government.

And as I said before: I have never wanted to do something to a photo that I couldn't do in PSE. I'll leave in the middle whether that is due to my ignorance, or to my having learned to use this tool, PSE, well.
And again: You won't miss what you've never had. At this point I won't even be looking at PS, I'll stick with PSE and not wonder or worry about what PS may or may not be able to do for me.
And at the risk of being told 'you get what you pay for': If I get the newest version of PSE every other year, it works out to just over $4/month, every third year and it works out to about $2.75month.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

For you there are only three ways to get PS or PSE. You can buy the perpetual license to Photoshop Elements 12 for $100 and pay the upgrade price, if any when and if it comes out.

Or you can purchase a subscription to Photoshop CC together with Lightroom for $10/mo. The other offer, for the full Creative Cloud (all applications currently published by Adobe) for $30 is only available to previous full Creative Suite perpetual licensees. This is first year pricing only and it goes up to $50 after the 12 month promo is up.

The third way is to purchase a single application for $20/mo.

It is a no brainer to get Photoshop CC and Lightroom. If you are a PSE user, there will be many familiar things in Photoshop CC. Lightroom contains the raw conversion program, Adobe Camera Raw, which is part of PS, and which is present in an abbreviated form in PSE. Plus it has a magnificent tool for importing/organizing/retrieving photos, as well as seamless transfer of images from itself to other applications, including PSE, PS and any number of plugins and external applications.

The true value of PS/LR is that you have a couple of applications that you will not outgrow, and will be constantly updated, for $120/yr. The will serve as your core image management and editing function, which you can customize as you wish.

if none of this matters to you, pony up the $100 for PSE and enjoy. If you are of the type that is constantly trying to improve on knowledge and technique, then PS/LR is for you. The difference in price is hardly worth discussing. Both represent a decent value, but the PS/LR combo is all you will ever need. And it costs less than 4 Latte Grandes a month. Or a 1/4 tank of gas, or a full tank if you drive a Prius. Or one dinner for two at Taco Bell. Seriously, price should be the last consideration here. We are not talking $1000s - like what you have probably spent on camera gear, or would have spent on film and processing 20 yrs ago.

Mark7829 Loc: Calfornia

One other option is to purchase LR for $130. And as I hear, Adobe is going to make this updateable for no fee. You can still bring the raw file conversion from LR into PSE.

alsheppard123 Loc: St. george, Utah

I have PSE 10. I love the organizer and quick fix editing but when I try the full edit I am lost. I have not been able to learn on my own how to run the program. I'd be happy to subscribe to the $9.99/mo offer of PS and LR but I need to find a way to learn the programs. What method seems to work the best to learn? Books, videos, how did you photographers learn?

Mark7829 Loc: Calfornia

Community Colleges are best. Lynda.com provides a full tutorial at many levels. It is 25 dollars a month. You can signup for one month and plant yourself in front of the computer for days as you like and watch whenever you like.