The program has some serious bugs and fails in some of the simplest operations. You would think it would be a lot more robust after so many versions. To corrupt a video file on a rename operation, is unforgiveable. I’m pointing this out do that others are aware.
I miss the good old days of Picassa. You know you could organizer your files in folders, delete them, rename them, move them, and it all worked. When Google stopped support, I switched to PhotoElements. I’ve always had problems with the Organizer. Creating, renaming, moving folders has always been a fraught exercise. Instead of say editing a folder of pictures in my work area and them move the folder on-mass to my storage drive, I now create a folder on the storage drive and move the pictures individually. Attempts at using the more efficient folder move have rarely worked. Sometimes it moves the files, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes the new folder is there when Elements says its not. Its all rather silly.
The most recent failure by PhotoElements outdoes them all though. I moved some video files from my GoPro (using TeraCopy to ensure accuracy) to my photo work area. Since it was a MOVE operation, the original files were deleted. No problem, they’re now on my hard drive by a verified copy. I imported the pictures and video into PhotoElements and as I usually do, started to look at them and catalog them. I was looking at one video and decided to rename it. Simple – right? Well, NOOOO. After the rename, Photoelements goes into its endless loop scenario (happens many times), in which I have to use Windows to shut it down then relaunch it. After relaunching, I tried to view the video again (the name was still the original, not the rename). It wouldn’t load. It said it was an unrecognizable format. I went to the file directory and saw the file, this time under the renamed version (figure that out). I used VLC (a great program) to launch it and it wouldn’t load either. So, now I’m without a video (actually this happened twice). I had to do a deleted file recovery from the card to get the files back. Never will I allow Photoelements to do anything to my videos from now on.
How does a program blow a simple RENAME operation? It seems like PhotoElements was written before the Windows file system was invented and relies on some bizarre code to do basic file management. Reporting to Adobe will only result in a statement to upgrade which I’ll have to pay for and will not likely have fixed this issue. Such is life today in the brave new world of computing.
I have a 5600. Buy David busch’s Book on kindle. Well worth it. Explains everything you need to know and how to setup back button focus.
I use Cyberlink PhotoDirector. The online help is pretty useless but YouTube has a lot of videos on how to use it. After a few hours, you get the hang of it. I used the PhotoElements video editor for a bit. Its similar to PhotoDirector but nowhere near as easy or powerful.
I just saw where DXO has an upgrade to NIK for $60. They tout it has new presets (some look very nice), RAW workflow (that might useful), and support for HD monitors. If you've upgraded, I'd be interested to know what you think. Thanks in advance.
You really need to call them out like the girl that climbed over the marking tape to trample on the poppies so she could get her picture taken or the couple that tried to cut in line at the Duomo ahead of 50 other people. They know what they're doing and will continue until told to stop. Hard to do when you're polite yourself but nothing else works.
Easy way to get around that and its legal. Move to Oregon.
Nikon just announced firmware version 1.10 for the D850, D5600, and D7500 DSLRs. I’ve installed it and you can now connect directly via Wi-Fi to your smartphone or tablet bypassing SnapBridge. I was excited because that allows you to control the camera via an app other than Snapbridge. I initially thought I could dump Snapbridge but looking around for an app, I couldn't find one that I liked. Snapbridge does what I need it to do – download the occasional shot for posting on Instagram and providing GPS location information. Without having to go thru that convoluted interface via Bluetooth, its much easier to deal with.
There are several posts on YouTube on the difference between 2018 & 2019. Search for "Elements 2018 vs 2091". How To Gurus has one and he says you probably don't need to upgrade if you have 2015 or higher but to watch the video to see if there's something there you're interested in. I have 2018 and am passing on 2019. In fact, it may be a setback.
That's so funny Mike about the plastic cover. I bought a GoPro Hero 7 and it had this turtle picture on the screen. I couldn't get rid of it. Tried power up/down, reset, menu change, nothing. Was going to send it back and then I decided to Google "turtle picture won't go away on new GoPro". Yep, it was a plastic sticker. I had tried removing it but it didn't come off easily and I thought it couldn't be a sticker and I was damaging the screen. Embarrassed but at least I didn't send it back.
I purchased a Nikon on Ebay that did not have a US manufacturer's warranty. I was concerned that if I ever had a problem, I could not get it repaired as some people said on this site. I did have an issue though and they repaired it with no problem. Ask the seller what they suggest. You might want to ask for the serial number and go to Nikon's site to see if they'll repair it.
As others have suggested, save the original. For cropping to share photos online or ones that I don't think I'll print right away, I use the NO RESTRICTION option which allows you to do any crop to get the composition you want. If I think I may print later, then I'll usually select USE PHOTO RATION which is 3:2 in my case. Lastly, if I need a specific size that I didn't crop for, I'll go back to the original (RAW or PSD version I created), and crop for that.
In addition to the great advice above, take the Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt County and stop at the Tule Lake Elk reserve for some great elk shots. Stop @ Mendocino and Bodega Bay (near there) to see the old schoolhouse and location for Hitchcock's Birds. If you make it down past San Francisco, cut over to Hwy 1 @ Half Moon Bay to Monterey Bay/Carmel/Pebble Beach/Big Sur. Some stunning coast and lighthouses to take pictures of. And yes, while you're @ Yosemite, go to Kings Canyon/Sequoia for the Sequoias. If you do all that on your trip, you'll have done what its taken me decades to do.