danielb59 Loc: The South

I just received an email from Adobe offering CS6 at a discounted price of $199, which is $400 off the original price. According to Adobe, the discount is offered as a way of enticement to upgrade from Elements to Photoshop. I have Elements 8 and was anticipating upgrading to Elements 11 when it is offered which, I assume, would be in the near future. I am mostly a hobbyist and have been quite comfortable with Elements, but at this price offering for CS6, I was wondering if it would be worth it to do the upgrade or just wait for the new Elements which, I assume, would be offered for around $100. My question: would the extra $200 price tag for CS6 be worth it to me or should I just wait for the new Elements to be issued and purchase it instead? Is Photoshop that much better than Elements?

unclebe1 Loc: NYC & Wellington, FL

Glad you asked. I'm in a similar quandry. I've been told in the past by CS/Elements instructors that Elements does a) 80% of what CS does, b) unless you've found Elements unable to meet your creative needs, you don't need CS, and c) the learning curve for CS is steep (for functions beyond Elements capabilities) and, if you don't use it regularly, will be difficult to maintain. All of which, plus the hefty price tag, have kept me in Elements. However, as you've noted, at $199, maybe it's time to move up. I'll be interested to read UHH users' replies. :D

barbkelly Loc: Delaware

I think it's worth the price. That's what I paid for mine, with a student discount. It's a great price and a great product, imo.

gemlenz Loc: Gilbert Arizona

I use CS3 and am considering Elements 10 which will give me most of what I use photo editing for. When I need CS I have it. Plus Elements will work better with my RAW files coming out of my 7D.

russelray Loc: La Mesa CA

For those who don't want to or can't come up with a lump sum of money at one time, Adobe leases its software, too. I currently lease CS6 for $19.99 a month, and I have a one-year lease that expires in March 2013. I went the lease route because I'm working through several books to see just exactly what CS6 can do. If I decide to stay with it, I can either buy it or lease it again. If I don't want it, I can terminate the lease.

There are many things that I'm getting addicted to because I've been using them in the past in Corel programs, i.e., Draw X6, PaintShop Pro X4, and Photo-Paint X6. If I can get one program, CS6, to do everything that I've been doing in the other three programs, I'll be going with one program rather than three.

pwd2004ringo Loc: Corona CA

I also received an ad, but it was discounted to $299 not $199.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

It would be worth it. Trust me. It has way better filters, adjustment layers, 16bit editing, way better Adobe Camera Raw, channels, paths, 3D graphics in the Extended version, Curves, just to name a few.

rocar7 Loc: Alton, England

Most of us find that Elements does everything we want, especially if you also have LR4 which has the same RAW converter as CS. I have an old version of Photoshop (the original CS, without a number) which I use whenever I need to get prints from a professional lab, as they have ICC profiles you need to use. Elements doesn't have this facility, but all versions of CS do.

I had the same email, with prices in GBP, but the lower price, of £190.80, is for an upgrade (I presume from an earlier version of CS), The higher price, of £333.60, is for the full version, but half the full price. These deals are for users of PSE. I don't think you can upgrade from PSE to CS6.

JAW Loc: LA

You state you are looking to upgrade, possibly to PSE11. I don't know how much that upgrade price may be. If PSE11 were bought outright - I would think it would be around $100, so the difference between the offer of CS6 for $199 and the outright price for PSE11 would be around $100 instead of $200 if my math is correct.

If I knew positively that I could upgrade from an older PSE version (like PSE6) to the new CS6, I think I'd give it a go. CS6 has so much more to offer and if you are correct in your thinking, for the extra money to upgrade, I think it would be well worthwhile to do so. IMHO (in my humble opinion)
I would like to ask you and any others that received this offer a few questions:
Since I have not seen the offer, is there, maybe, a catch (strings attached) to the offer? Possibly anything you might have overlooked in the offer? Please reread your offer and post back with any updates.
Example: is the upgrade only good for a student, teacher, or educator? Is it just an upgrade for the education field?
Is the offer only good for those that have the latest Element program (PSE10) that would like to upgrade to CS6 for the $199 price?

Many questions that need answered before we jump to conclusions as to eligibility.
If you have further info, please post it as I'm sure someone may wish to upgrade but not know if they are qualified or eligible to do so.
Thank you for the info, hope to hear more about this offer real soon. If I were offered this, I think I'd have a hard time turning it down at the price stated.

russelray Loc: La Mesa CA

I have Lightroom 4 but I can't find anything remotely similar to Photoshop CS6's Camera Raw.

rocar7 Loc: Alton, England

In the Develop module, the right hand pane is the RAW converter (version 7.1). It looks different and is laid out differently, but it is exactly the same as the RAW converter in CS6.

rocar7 Loc: Alton, England

Here is the main text from the email issued in the UK:


Go big for so little.

Get new Photoshop CS6 at a great low price.

You’ve been producing sensational photos with Adobe®
Photoshop® Elements software. Now, you can produce
virtually anything you can imagine at blazingly fast speeds.
Packed with imaging magic, here are a few examples of
what’s ahead when you move up to Photoshop CS6.

Stunning images – Use Content-Aware features to move,
remove and extend objects. With fine controls and a magic
touch, the creative possibilities are limitless and your work
can look flawless.

Spectacular highlights and lowlights – With Adobe
Camera Raw 7 in Photoshop CS6, you can reveal details
in the highlights of an image while still retaining rich detail
in the shadows.

The coolest videos – Put your ideas in motion. With the new
video tools in Photoshop CS6, you can create movies that have
slick transitions, powerful stills, eye-catching effects – and so
much more.

Purchase Photoshop CS6 today and get 50% off the standard price – exclusively for Photoshop Elements owners.*
Buy now

To order by phone, call 0800 0280148 for Adobe Sales and mention offer code 8L9U. Have your Adobe Photoshop Elements serial code ready for verification.

Get a Photoshop CS6 subscription edition for as low as £17.58
(including VAT) per month.
Subscribe now

As you can see, the offer is for half price CS6 (£333) for PSE users. There is an upgrade offer (£190) if you have CS3 or later.

You cannot "upgrade" from PSE to CS6.

Ziza Loc: USA

It may be wise to look into Adobe upgrading policies for Photoshop before taking the big jump, even if the price currently offered is right. They are not the same as for Photoshop Elements. With Photoshop Elements you are eligible for "upgrade" prices as long as you are the owner of a previous version; there are no restrictions as to how old the version you own is.

It is a different story with Photoshop. Adobe eligibility for "upgrade" prices for this program is a factor to consider. Adobe is not as generous as they are with Photoshop Elements. From the quote below it seems that you need to purchase just about every other future version of Photoshop to be eligible for "upgrade" prices.



For more information see the section -- Upgrade eligibility, pricing, and purchasing options -- in the link below.

http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/faq.html

By the way, this new Adobe’s policy for eligibility requirements for Photoshop caused quite a stir not too long ago. It even prompted Scott Kelby to post an open letter to Adobe.

http://scottkelby.com/2011/an-open-letter-to-adobe-systems/

If you have no intention of ever upgrading to another version of Photoshop, then, indeed, the current price offer is a sweet deal. However, keep this in mind, pretty soon your version of Photoshop CS6 will be as "behind the times" as Photoshop Elements 6.

Ziza Loc: USA

I believe that since at least Photoshop Elements 7 Adobe has been offering the same upgrade price of $79.99. I doubt they will raise the upgrade price to $100 (or to $99.99). This has been their full price, i.e., for those who don't own a previous version of Photoshop Elements. If they raise the upgrade price, they will have to raise the full price as well. Not a very sound marketing strategy.

http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-elements.html

russelray Loc: La Mesa CA

Definitely not exactly the same. In fact, I'd say completely different. In fact, the sliders in the Develop module are extremely sensitive whereas the sliders in Adobe Camera Raw with Photoshop CS6 are not. I find myself using half the settings in Lightroom that I use in ACR CS6.