My DH is creating a game, for fun, with his friends and he has heard that CS is WAY better than regular photoshop, but found out it would cost close to $700 to buy . He asked me to ask all of you what the difference in the program was and if it would really be worth it. I personally think NO. I could get half a lap-top for that price, but I suppose if he is using his money I can't say anything about it. Anyway, I told him I would ask. If it is better and not much different to use than photoshop 7.0, maybe I will use it for my scrapbooking.

Shawnery

Photoshop CS is just the most recent version of Photoshop. It is "regular Photoshop", they've just used "CS" instead of 8 or 9 to denote upgrade. Yes, it retails around $600-700. Photoshop Elements is the watered-down version of Photoshop that retails for around $80. There is also the Adobe "Creative Suite" (hence the CS in Photshop CS) which includes a bunch of other programs bundled together that sells for around $1100. If you qualify for educational pricing, you can get the suite for about $350.

I really didn't use Photoshop 7, so I can't give you specific differences, but from everything I've read & heard, CS is a huge leap forward from 7. Do you already own Photoshop 7 and you're just trying to decide if you should upgrade? Or are you looking at a first-time purchase?

BTW, if you already own 7, you can upgrade to Photoshop CS for about $150. Or you can upgrade to the CS suite for about $550. Here's a link to a review that highlights some of the major changes.

http://www.ephotozine.com/equipment/...fm?test_id=312

Oh, thanks. I guess since I am new at this I am not up on all the lingo. We own PS 7 already so I will let him know about the upgrade rather than buying the whole thing.

Definitely look into the upgrade. I went from Photoshop 4.0 to Photoshop CS (ver. 8) for $169 + $20 SH from the Adobe Web Site. However you need XP to run CS.

The box says Win 2000 w/ Service Pack 3 or Win XP.

When you install CS you will need to go online (can be done by phone but on line is easier) and follow the prompts which will ask you to put you ver. 7 disk into the machine. Then their computer talks to your computer. This assures Adobe that the upgrade is from a legally licensed earlier version.

The info garnered form this exchange prevents anyone from just installing CS on any other or multiple machines without buying additional licenses. They do this because of all the piracy issues.