Adobe Releases Photoshop Elements 8 & Premiere Elements 8

This week Adobe announced the release of Photoshop Elements 8 & Premiere Elements 8:

http://www.adobe.com/digitalimag/consumer/

Terry White has this to say on his tech blog:

This new version continues to refine the great user interface and feature set of versions 6 and 7. Mac users will be happy to see this new version on the Mac (skipping version 7). While there is a lot to like in this consumer photo editing app, here are a few of my favorites:

• Mac users get the full Bridge CS4 app included with all the benefits of Adobe Camera RAW plus the ability to create panos and access to the new Photomerge Scene Cleaner and Photomerge Exposure

• On the Windows side instead of Bridge CS4 there is a new Organizer that works with both Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements.

• Photomerge Exposure is amazing!

You’ll want to check it out Terry’s video review, and watch for my presentation of the new features of Photoshop Elements 8 next month after returning from Photoshop World.

Have a happy Wednesday, and don’t forget the best camera is the one you have with you.

Photoshop Elements 7 & Photoshop.com

Adobe has announced version 7 of Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements as well as a mobile strategy for the Photoshop.com website. Looking at Adobe’s site it appears that these version upgrades are only for the Windows platform. While I understand the rationale, WAAAAAAYYYYY more Windows consumers in the global marketplace, it’s a little disappointing that the Mac version still lags behind. What’s even more annoying is that Adobe’s mobile strategy is setup immediately for Windows 6 Mobile, and not an iPhone–still on my Christmas wish list donate today–which is really a better device for imaging.

As a professional, my day-to-day is inside Photoshop CS3, and rarely do I need to fire up PSE. In the consumer market, interest in PSE is picking up, which caused me to add it to the Media Cats class list. It’s a great tool even for the serious photo hobbyist, and with a price point of $99 it’s a tough program to beat. So long as they don’t make features exclusive to PSE over Photoshop I’ll be okay. I hate having to install an app *cough iPhoto* that I keep just for one or two features I use on occasion.

First reviews of Photoshop Elements 7 seemed to draw a yawn, but PSE has always felt a bit cluttered to me compared to Photoshop. Certainly it does not have the UI strength built into Lightroom. More coverage can be found on the CNET download blog.