Go into preferences and you can chose the degree of loss in image quality on save. For most of the basic stuff it does the trick, like the ol' watch commercial, "keeps on ticken"

I bought the updates 5 & 7 ---- be warned: Roxio bought the program and proceeded to mess it up like Ford and the Thunderbird, beautiful as conceived and executed and then it got bigger and less useful.

I still occupationally drop back to my MGI Photosuit 4 (not 5 or7 that a big company messed up). PSuit 4 has some very simple controls that get muddied up in modern programs by too many parameter choices. (replaced my lost copy from Amazon for 10$ last year, surly more out there - runs on XP just fine) Especially true with the clone tool and even printing. When possible I am a minimalist.

This weekend Xara and I will get acquainted. Thank you for the heads-up d/p

WoW!! Haven't seen any thing this great since Alvis on Velvet!
Indeed the work of a photo-symphonic composer. Thank you for sharing photo and details. You set my next goal. Thank you or curse you for raising the achievement bar to a new height. d/p

Vee, Topaz Uber program, huh. I have been using topaz for over a year with PSP X3 and PSE 7 works great and not all that expensive compared to many super plugs. Glad that I am not alone in my admiration of Topaz.

Hear Vee and me, Topaz gives you muscle, really great. Check it out and a trial download. d/p

Marco sorry for the confusion. My creative writing club carries over to photography. Regards to first paragraph. A little humor.

1)Saying about money "you can't take it with you." I extended that to Cameras. Small P&S cameras are for taking with you. AND wow with the P&S size of the Sony C3 and with interchangeable lens and large sensor a double wow. (also Panasonic and Olympus)

2) Harry Houdini the great magician said he would return from the great beyond as a spirit. Mystics would hold spiritual séance (4$) and there would be knocking in code on tables. If Ol' Harry were here he would consider digital revolution in photography as magic, it truly is.

3) CoasttocoastAM is the top all night radio program. Their topics range from great scientist to people kidnapped by UFOs. How does it relate to Photography "Jun 25, 2011 – Legally blind photographer Tara Miller has earned a spot as a finalist in a national photography competition ..."
http://www.coasttocoastam.com/article/blind-photographer-up-for-award See, it does relate!

I was trying to say, for a candid street photographer who goes to rough areas in USA or Foreign countries a small camera is the only way to keep your equipment and not lose your life. The latest group of mirrorless cameras fit that bill and I can take it with me.

Humm, PS plugin will not work on PSP X-3, well perhaps those that utilize part of PS as the engine and have an elite,technocracy appeal excluding the working class. Agree PS plugins look for PS, and so do some of the others. Some PS plugins look for PS CS-3 and above. Saying or rigging themselves to only work for PS CS##. This means they can appeal to PS people and make them feel good for spending more money for their programs. Like selling high-test gas for only Cadillac and Mercedes.

However many third party plugins will work on PSP. I have a full set of Topaz and I have other plugins that are called PS plugins. Not sure what edition of PSP you were refereeing to yvettegr or what Plugins. I have PSP X-3 ultra.

I refer all to instructions for loading PS Plugins and comments about using raster in PSP. Search before condemning.
www.photoshopcstutorials.co.uk/html/install_plugins_psp.html

If the Plugin experience or understanding after self education then please educate me and I will stop using my plugins that work. Seriously, I would value hearing of others experience. The directions of the above reference are VERY DETAILED.

Yes evandr a do-all program like PS-CS that evolved with out intelligent design is an ungodly thing to use!!! PSP has a learning center that gives hints and directions along the left side of the screen. Very useful to beginners or oops-i-forgotters.

Evandr, Xara, thinks I look it up. Perhaps they were not disillusioned by Corel. If you have ever been to the land of OZ you would understand having any excuse for moving to Australia, a wonderful magic country. I loved it.

Our fist goal in photography is to take well composed photos requiring minimal editing. Second goal is know our cameras and their limitations. One night at the photo club the best picture of the night was taken with a Cell Phone! The goal is to be able to edit photos and to do a good job of it. MOST IMPORTANT IS TO ENJOY THE PHOTOGRAPHY YOU CAN AFFORD AND NOT YEN FOR THE VERY LATEST AND COSTLY THAT HAVE FEATURES YOU WILL NEVER USE.

I agree with your program advice, but not the vehicles used in the analogy. See the forum on free editing programs there is a reference there under my name and it refers to an article in PC mag that agrees that Corel PSP is a fine program and is a fraction of the $$$$ price of PS-CS5. Sure PS5 may have a few more tweaks, but do we use them, well not me I use plugins to do the hard work for me.

PSP X-3 can be had at $30 or $0 on specials and that puts it far below PS Elements in price while way above in ability. Again see the other forum article reference doing a review of PSP. try
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2358638,00.asp

My feeling also is that they both do layers and act as a vehicle for Plugins. When you get the PSP ultra, then Corel includes a disk of plugins.

I am a strong advocate of TopazLabs Adjust. There may be many who say that another brand is better or as good, but Topaz Adjust is affordable at $50 and when watching a webinar free they often give a discount code. Topaz updates are free also and they contentiously improve the plugin programs.

At my age I want a camera small enough that I can take it with me!! Who says you can't take it with you, certainly not the mirrorless cameras makers like Sony. I will not knock on tables from the great beyond, rather I will photograph Houdini with a sony alpha C-3 and send it to CoasttoCoastAM!!

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/SonyNexC3/
In the review they compare to Nikon d-3100 amazon price $599, same price for Sony C-3.
Check out the compared photos.
Again I am a street shooter, candid guy. camera glued to hip. For years I carried Minolta with short and long lenses,,, what a drag.

Speaking of lenses? check out those ol' Minolta lenses! Wow, they fit the Alpha. Nikon lenses hold price compared to Milolta.
http://www.dpreview.com/news/1005/10051102sonynex.asp

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2358638,00.asp
Please read PC Magazine article. I will Paraphrase PCMag
Bottom Line comments regarding PSP X-3 compared to other photo programs. Not just PSE, but other programs are compared also.

Not as good as CS5. Better than PSE. Read for yourself, because my Corel Colored Eyes may see askew from using Corel Word-Perfect in preference to my MSWord 03 and 07 (hate the ribbon menu)

Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X3 better choice and does more photo adjusting than PSE and is less costly.

All of the programs are far more than a starter needs so pay as little as possible and by the time you learn last years program 3 year will have passed and so wait and then buy what you want!! Don't waste $ get plugin's to do great works easily. Again, download trials of a photo editing program and trial of TopazLabs Adjust. See what wow can be.

check regarding PSP X3 and Elements
http://forum.fourthirdsphoto.com/showthread.php?t=54461

The KEY word in your title is FREE. Check out Corel Paint Shop Photo Pro, PSP. You will often find it for $0 after rebate. I got mine for $30 direct from Corel. Not sure if the sale is still on. (gotta get out the door to work) Be sure to look for the Ultra. That has the extra stuff, filters etc. I also bought a Serif X4 for full rebate from Office Depot. X4 is also a good program. Often Serif has older edition for free.
Wile waiting for the $0 sale down load 30 day trials. Of course there is GIMP which is an open source freeware which is well spoken of.
I believe all of the above will utilize the PS plugins.
If you are new, even an old program will be more than you can use, there is a long learning curve.
To make some fab pictures after processing, look at Topaz Lab's ADJUST. It is like an automatic transmission while trying to drive.
Good luck.

http://www.cameta.com/Sony-Alpha-NEX-C3-Digital-Camera-Body-E-16mm-f-2-8-Lens-Black-60933.cfm

There is a pocket Sony, alpha C3, with a LARGE sensor interchangeable lenses. With short lens the cost is about $550. Check it out.

Well, S, for its day the King James Bible was proper English, but not now. Our language, American English, has never had such a rapid metamorphosis as is occurring today. Even down to the spoken mumblese. You and I came from a time when words had flavors and we seasoned the paragraphs according to those who would be dining on the idea; we cooked with words. NOT SO TODAY, as Bobby D would sing in "Times are a changin" don't stand in the door way.

Handwriting!!! They do not teach cursive anymore! Well, OK, I took a week long course and I failed my certification because I could not finish the two hour exam. I had been using Word-processing so long that my hand cramped while writing.

To tie this to Photography, the automatic brains of the cameras removes the need for the basic knowledge of composing a pictorial symphony. The art department, where I taught after retirement, REQUIRED that students an old 35mm. They developed etc. - basics!

My ideal digital would be something like my ol' 1970's Rico where I adjusted every thing with dials and rings and saw setting on the eye screen while composing. Menu in a menu!! Forget it.

TO DEHNE: A good photograph begins in the eye of the photographer and ends in the eye of the beholder. Behne you have a good eye and will advance quickly.

Tuccij, excellent side by side, not a great deal of difference is there. Comes down to what lenses do you have already and who puts what on special rebate sale. Of course I am a guy who like light weight always with me cameras.

Ok I will confess, at times I would like that big sensor heavy weight with big lenses and great external flashes. Photos would be much better, if I only had the camera with me!

Great advice above. And yes, believe it or not Canon and Nikon are not the only cameras. Like when I grew up if you did not have a Chevy or Ford, then you were not conforming, Studebaker??

I may get a Sony Alpha simply because I have Minolta Lenses.
A What!! S O N Y??? Oh! Like the cheap little radios!! Yes, read some more camera reviews, it is a good camera and used it is lower cost than the N & C cameras. For any camera you may be considering, check EBay for the number of "Parts Only" dead bodies and refurbished. Humm, could that be an indicator of problems?? How about the number of old cameras still selling as good cameras on EBay, like the Canon G-2 I bought for conversion to IR. Case beat up, but "keeps on ticken" like to classic Timex ads.

I shoot with a Panasonic TZ3. It is always with me, no one will fight me for it in a foreign country like New York. They will be killing for the expensive SLR. TZ3 is reliable, good quality shots. Home made accessories should I need filters or fisheye. Small, and simple and quick. Never do I say wish I had my 70-200 and/or please wait while I change lenses!! Ever hear of a "super zoom?"

Take a memory chip to the camera store. Shoot distance, macro, etc. with each candidate camera - right there at the counter. Do one-hand hold, which feels best. There will be times when shooting with one-hand shooting is necessary. Can you hold for vertical shots OK. Weight? Slippery? Make a check list, take a buddy, alternate eyes.

To me, screens disappear in bright sun lite!! Is there an eye-viewer. That is a must for me. Use KIS, Keep it simple. A menu within a menu, within a menu... forget it!! Any way in the sun I can not read the screen. Touch screens, ugh, I would change the setting with my nose while using eye viewer. Remember KIS. Next year you will have a SLR with a GPS and Telephone, sure that is all I need, humph. KIS. ( I was shocked one nite at the Camera Club when the best shot of the nite was shot with a telephone!!! A What!!)

Price of accessories? Take your time, numbers $ count? Frankly, it may be a Heads Nikon, Tails Canon. If your shooting buddy has a Nikon, get a Canon. This way you have competitive fun and they have an excuse when your shots are better than theirs; it is not them, huh, it is the camera.

And perhaps best reason of all "Cause I wanna" Go with your predigest and do not look back in six months with the "I Sudda." Only read those reviews that reinforce your final decision. Write down your decision reasons on paper and read it when you have the look back moments; you had good reasons. Tormenting isn't it? AND if you wait to long the new models will be out and you have to start the process over,,, OUCH.