Pros and cons of PS Elements+: I have Elements 14, don’t need to upgrade but I’m thinking about getting Elements+ to go with it. Saw a video on the Curves features and it seems that...

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

I have Elements 14, don’t need to upgrade but I’m thinking about getting Elements+ to go with it. Saw a video on the Curves features and it seems that would be worth it right there. What’s your experience with it?

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

The one downside of Elements is that the majority of the tools are 8-bit.

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

gvarner wrote:

I have Elements 14, don’t need to upgrade but I’m thinking about getting Elements+ to go with it. Saw a video on the Curves features and it seems that would be worth it right there. What’s your experience with it?

I haven't used Elements since my hard drive gave up a little while ago. But for a number of year I did use Elements and Elements+ together. To me it was well worth it. And E+ is cheap compared to some other add-ons.
I am using my laptop right now, hope to get a new computer soon, and among the first items to install will be Elements and Elements+

Esther

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

TriX wrote:

The one downside of Elements is that the majority of the tools are 8-bit.

8-bit works fine for me. Do you have experience with Elements+?

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

gvarner wrote:

8-bit works fine for me. Do you have experience with Elements+?

Indeed I do. I originally used Elements (still have it installed) and I also added Elements + which is a bargain. I found it easy to use and with the + add on functions, did everything I needed, but the 8-bit tools were a limitation for me resulting in banding during certain operations. It is limiting to start with 12 or 14 bit raw data, but then limit it to 8 bits by using 8-bit tools.

photoman022 Loc: Manchester CT USA

I use Elements and this is the first time I've heard of Elements+. I looked it up and will be ordering it. Thank you for opening up something new to me!

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

TriX wrote:

Indeed I do. I originally used Elements (still have it installed) and I also added Elements + which is a bargain. I found it easy to use and with the + add on functions, did everything I needed, but the 8-bit tools were a limitation for me resulting in banding during certain operations. It is limiting to start with 12 or 14 bit raw data, but then limit it to 8 bits by using 8-bit tools.

When did you get banding and how limiting was it?

kenArchi Loc: Seal Beach, CA

gvarner wrote:

When did you get banding and how limiting was it?

I've only seen some banding when working on some jpeg files.
Have seen no banding on raw or tiff files.

My work is architectural and commercial.

BassmanBruce Loc: Middle of the Mitten

I have pse19 with e+. Got e+ for red blue channel swap in IR (works well) and focus stacking. Haven’t used focus stacking yet but plan to.
For $12.00 I don’t see how you can go wrong.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

gvarner wrote:

When did you get banding and how limiting was it?

I’ll see if I can find a representative image and post it. It typically occurs on a continuous color gradient when you’ve modified the curve for a specific portion of the image resulting in too few levels in that area to provide a continuous tonal gradient.

gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast

TriX wrote:

I’ll see if I can find a representative image and post it. It typically occurs on a continuous color gradient when you’ve modified the curve for a specific portion of the image resulting in too few levels in that area to provide a continuous tonal gradient.

I’ve never noticed it but I’m not really to critical on my PP work. Not a problem for me. Thanks for your input.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

gvarner wrote:

I have Elements 14, don’t need to upgrade but I’m thinking about getting Elements+ to go with it. Saw a video on the Curves features and it seems that would be worth it right there. What’s your experience with it?

Just to clarify (because some people are misunderstanding)... original poster is asking about "Elements Plus" (Elements +), an add on of sorts that greatly expands the capabilities of plain old Elements (which OP already has, though a 7 or 8 year old version of it).

OP,

Elements Plus (or +) only costs $12. Why not just give it a try!

There's a pretty comprehensive list of the features on the https://www.elementsplus.net/ website. How many of those would be useful to you, only you can say.

Also might to want to watch for a sale on Elements 2021 or 2022... which often happen in the Fall and Winter months. Maybe it's time for an update!

topcat Loc: Alameda, CA

I use Elements+, and I really like it. The curves adjustment is the one that I use most of the time.
Well worth the price.

You might consider upgrading to Elements 2021 or 2022. 2022 on saleis a good deal.