I personally like this release of PSE. I was badly disappointed with 4.0 because it was a bit clunky. In this release Adobe fixed some of the bugs that were so annoying in PSE4, but in the process it must’ve added some new ones, because PSE5 eats memory and processor cycles for breakfast! I would discourage anyone with pc > 2 years old to buy this product: it will be VERY slow and will probably crash your machine if you do not have enough RAM (or it will hard-drive thrash like crazy!). As for the features I like are the “Levels” and “Curves” though they use a different nomenclature (to differentiate with the PRO version) they offer very similar functionality. I own the pro version for my business, but I’ll definitely be using this at home. It’s a good product, just don’t expect it to be snappy unless you have very current hardware.

I don’t think that this software is much better than its predecessor, Photoshop Elements 4.0. They advertize that the software has a “curves” function, the powerful constast and color controlling tool in the full PS package. This was a big reason for my decision to purchase the software, But this PSE 5.0’s curves function is so truncated and limited that it is simply not a real curves function. Second, Adobe persists in its declination to include masking tools, which are the key to making layers really work. Third, for some reason, Adobe says that versions 4.0 and 5.0 can’t run at the same time. How foolish! Bottom line: PSE 5.0 continues to be a somewhat useful software, but not one to rush to purchase if you have PSE 4.0 or even one of the recent Corel offerings.

Having had and enjoying Photoshop Elements 2, the Elements 5 up grade was a great purchase. There are so many more things that the program has over Elements 2, that I find myself trying them all to see what they will do. Everytime I use the program, I find and learn something new! I’m delighted that I purchased it and as always, Adope makes great software.

I like the Adobe Photoshop Elements so far. This is my first time with advanced Shotoshop. I like many of the effects I can make with it. I bet pros would do so well using it. It also has this feature that if you insert your memory card in your PC hub, it would load the pictures on to your PC in a nice simple way. I wouldn’t say it’s the most amazing photoshop, but its really really good for the price.!

Photoshop Elements 5.0 is a superlative product for the price. Editing is easy to do from cropping to enhancing images.

After working with this for several weeks have found 5.0 very useful for post processing photos.

I like this product a lot. I can do all kinds of fixes to my photos – either quick or more advanced. I do, however, recommend getting the “missing manual” to help learn all the uses for Photoshop.

Excellent photo editing tools for almost all requirements. One missing tool is an automated system for saving multiple photos at a file size small enough for the web.

I currently have PSE 2.0, and downloaded 5.0 to try it out. So far, it’s an excellent product and is worth the cost of upgrading. Some of the great new features (which may have been in versions 3 and 4) are the cookie cutter, frames, and THANKFULLY, strokes! I was very disappointed that 2.0 did not allow you to draw strokes around objects, but 5.0 has this. This version also gives you much more control over layer styles as well as more style, theme, and other artistic options. My only caveat to you is that you should have a lot of memory. Even with 1GB of RAM, the program can be slow to respond at times.

This “newer” version of Elements is a waste of money. It does not have the most used features that 4.0 has. Undo, sharpen, brushes, save. Red eye works worse than ever. There’s no hard copy manuel and customer service is almost impossible to get through. Would not recommend!

I bought this Photoshop Elements software to help boost my digital scrap booking hobby. Unfortunately, it is a bit over my head. Perhaps if you are already familiar with Adobe Photoshop, then this software would be a cinch. But, for me, it isn’t. I have spent more time trying to figure out how to use the Elements software versus having actually used it. If you are trying digital scrap booking for the first time, I recommend buying Scrapbook Factory Delux 3.0 version for less than 1/2 the cost of Photoshop Elements.

This book made using Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 so easy. I couldn’t figure the software out on my own. Worth the money!!

PhotoShop Elements is my favorite photo editor program. It does everything that I needed to do in editing my photos. I would recommend this software program to anyone who does not want to spend the many dollars for it’s parent, PhotoShop CS.

I agree with the positive reviews of PSE 5, but just wanted to warn anyone here that Adobe’s service is horrible. Expect to wait 10-20 minutes just to speak to anyone, even sales! I won’t go into the details as to why I had to call (LONG STORY!!!), but I will tell you that I used up almost all of my cellphone minutes over 3 nights of calls to adobe. And no, my problem (not with the software, was with the lost delivery) was never fixed. I ended up getting tired of them and just blowing 100 bucks. Once again, I love the software, but don’t like adobe. Just don’t let that stop you, it’s still THE photo editing program. Oh, and to anyone that bought 4.0 between Sept. 12 and sometime in December, Adobe has a free upgrade, ALL you have to do is call them. Check out the current specials on the website. The details are there. Don’t say that’s not helpful.

Adobe PS Elements 5.0 (older version) works nicely with XP and does function as advertised. It is worth the price.

Bought this to put on my Vista laptop. Have been using 2.0 which like most programs is not “Vista compatible”. I have enjoyed using the 5.0. It loaded without any snags or delays on my Vista – for which I am eternally grateful. It’s close enough to the 2.0 to feel comfortable, but of course many more options.

If you’re new to PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS this is a great tool for digital scrapbooking. If you’re considering an upgrade, I’m happy with the added features. Some of the built-in embellishments are lame, but over-all function is great. Adobe’s photo organizer is a must if you have a lot of digital photos. Subscribe to the photoshop elements magazine, it’s the best tool to teach you how to get the most of your program.

Elements 5 is an amazing program. If I had only one program for photos, graphics, and designing, this would be the one. It even exports to PDF for publishers wanting to design fantastic book covers. John Crippen, photographer, writer, and web designer. Animal Portraits with the Digital Photography of John Crippen: Learning Photography with Animals Scenic Photography Using Examples from the California Central Coast: A Visual Guide to the Central Coast and Digital Photography

I purchased a $25 OEM version here a couple of months ago. That means it came without a manual – but that’s OK as my PE1, 2 and 3 had manuals – and while some may think the Adobe manuals are fine, a good aftermarket version is much better. I chose PE5 over 6 as there have been some PC interface problems reported plus the gray boundaries are tough to see menus. And there are only very minor changes in V6, Then, best of all, V5 was $75 cheaper!! It’s a great photo processing program, especially for those that don’t need the complexity of full blown Photoshop CS3 but is taking me a while to get used to it after the earlier versions. There are some hidden items that I’m just starting to find, but have enjoyed working with it anyhow.

I was disappointed to spend so much on APE 5 and receive no hard copy manual in the box. I called Adobe customer support and was asked what size the box was and was then told that there is no hard copy manual with APE 5 that is sold by resellers. The rep I spoke with must be misinformed, as I know people who bought APE 5 from Best Buy and Costco and got the hard copy manual. I was told I could purchase the manual from Adobe for $20 plus applicable tax and shipping. I told them no thanks, I would buy a 3rd party book instead and ordered the ‘Missing Manual’ book. That’s funny if you think about it. Besides the 38 page quick start guide, there IS a copy of the manual on the CD, so it isn’t like there is no documentation at all. I find those hard to work from, and one can definitely not carry a copy around for reading while on breaks or waiting for appointments, but it is better than having none at all. However, if I had known a version was available with a hard copy manual, I would purchased that version instead. Lesson learned. I miss the undo and redo buttons I had in version 3, but they may have thought those a little redundant since there is an undo history in the palette bin which serves the same purpose. As for the selection brush, it is still there, along with the magic selection brush. The sharpening tool and unsharp mask were moved (under Enhance instead of with the Filters) but they are still there too. Digital scrappers should like this version with the new Artwork palette where backgrounds, frames, graphics and shapes are stored. I added some of my own artwork by putting it in subfolders here: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\Photo Creations\artwork I don’t have enough in there yet to know if it slows the program down and so far it hasn’t caused any conflicts that I noticed. Third party styles must be put here instead of the elements\presets\styles folder as in previous versions: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\5.0\Photo Creations\special effects\layer styles Once restarted, Elements will rebuild the cache and your styles will show up. I found that putting them into several smaller subfolders worked best, ie: all the gold together, metals, cutouts, etc. but you can name and group them however you like. But you must create at least one folder with a name. Otherwise, they will all show up with the bevels. There are some nice alignment tools added to this version. Layer styles can be edited more than in previous versions, shadows removed or the colors of the shadows changed quite easily within the styles editing box. I noticed that if I change the angle of a shadow on one layer, if there are shadows on other layers, they change so that they match. That’s all I can comment on right now as I have had this version only a few days. So far, so good, but I gave it a 4 instead of a 5 due to the lack of the hard copy manual in this package, and my not being thoroughly acquainted with this version yet.

I had an older version of Photoshop Elements and recently upgraded to version 5.0. I’m thrilled with the improvements with editing and organizing my digital photo collection. Impressed with the new templates and layouts also.

It doesn’t take long to accumulate a large number of photos. I scanned in a large number of old slides and family photos that were deteriorating along with all the digital photos. It quickly became apparent that I would need tools to organize and retouch them. Photoshop elements provides very complete tools. I have used the previous versions (2,3,4) and version 5.0 adds some nice but not revolutionary improvements. The organizer allows you to attach keywords, modify date and time metadata (scanned photos only show scanning date), description text, and finally in version 5.0 location data (converted to longitute, latitude) with a map display. Once this metadata is added, the search capabilities are quite powerful. It is possible to find all photos with a people tag of “Dave” but exclude photos that have “Dave” taken with a date tag of “Christmas”. It is possible to search by filename, date range, keyword, absence of tags, collection etc. I like the collection feature which allows you to create a sequence of photos to stage into a slide show. Version 5.0 makes it easy to add a zoom and pan effect to slide shows which is widely used in professional productions (Ken Burns). The editing features are extensive. In version 5.0 they have enhanced the tonal adjustments when converting to grayscale. They have also added raw support as part of the product (it used to be a plugin). Files can be saved in .dng format (Adobe’s digital negative format). Overall more features than you can imagine. Why 4 stars? I ran into a bug on my system when I ran the editor. It would not allow me to save the edited file and gave me a vague “Program Error” message, not very useful. It may be a problem with my computer but who can tell? I was able to fix it by re-creating the preference files for the Organizer and the Editor (psa.prf and Photoshop Elements 5 Prefs.psp). Hopefully you will not see encounter this, it baffled me for some time.

I am still taking all the lessons I can find. The first chore of organizing photos seems excessively cumbersome for my purposes. I have always kept my pictures in folders that are event and/or people oriented. I hope I can master the editing because it seems much more complex than ealier editions and other Photo programs I have used. It certainly has a lot of power, but it seems more than I need, and uses a lot of RAM.

It has all the tools to match the novice to the experienced.

Photoshop Elements is a great photo editing tool, however I would purchase the most current version.