toxdoc42 wrote:
It is a matter of budget and frequency of use. I used Elements 2018 until I bought my Z50 and Adobe would not support Elements 2018 for the Z. I had Elements 2018 less than 2 years, I bought for under $50 on sale on Amazon. I purchased Elements 2020 which supports the Z50, for about the same. My total 2 year investment now is $100. The program, so far, allows me to do all I need to do. The Adobe PS subscription is about that per year, net saving, $100. Hopefully it will continue to suffice!
But if you are comparing apples to apples - this comparison is invalid. As good as PSE is, it lacks some capabilities that are found in PS CC, and it also lacks the comprehensive digital asset management, printing, geotagging, publishing, and just overall speed to result possible with Lightroom. It's like comparing a Smart Car with an F150. They both have wheels, they both have seats, they both are capable of getting you from point A to point B, and one is a lot cheaper than the other.But when going to the big box hardware store to by lumber for a small project around the home, I'm pretty sure the vehicle of choice is the F150.
One thing that is nice about software with greater capabilities - one tends to grow their skill set and expand their vision while using them. Software with limitations and lots of automatic presets makes that harder to do.