For a future version, there are a couple of extra options I’d like to see.
One feature that would be nice would be the ability to burn multiple galleries to a single CD or DVD. While you can currently burn a single gallery to CD, you have to leave the program to put multiple Flash galleries on a single CD or DVD. As many of these galleries are small enough to be on web pages, it would be very nice to have an option to put all of your galleries on a single CD or a playable DVD, with a simple click menu available.
Another great feature to add would be the extremely useful Warp distortion tool that was rolled out in Photoshop CS2, which allowed you to warp pictures over curved surfaces for decals, tattoos, and a myriad of other uses. It would be a fine addition to the Elements line to have this tool in PSE7. [Note: For clarification, Photoshop Elements has a Warp Tool for text and a liquify feature, but these lack the control over images that the Warp Distortion tool has.]
Another feature, which would be great for a future edition, would be a CreateSpace book template to create book covers for the extremely popular CreateSpace service. (Many of our readers may remember CreateSpace via its previous name, “CustomFlix”, which still gives the ability to custom print DVDs and CDs, but has now expanded into book printing, as well.) As there is already a wizard for photo books and templates for CDs and DVDs, this would be a welcome addition.
Performance
Our test machine for this review was our 1.86 GHz Core2 Duo with XP Pro x64, 3 Gigs of RAM, and the NVIDIA Quadro FX 1500 graphics card (provided by NVIDIA). In this setup, PSE6 worked quite fast, even when dealing with large photographic imports. However, the program is designed to work on slower machines as low as a 1.3 Ghz P4 with 256 MB of RAM.
The overall layout performance of Photoshop Elements 6 is also quite good. A newly-added, dedicated Project Bin allows you keep all of your assets in one place, somewhat like After Effects and Premiere Pro. (I wouldn’t mind seeing this feature added to PSCS4, for that matter.)
Another new feature to accelerate performance is introduced within the Organizer. (The organizer is sort of like Bridge Lite.) Here they unveil a very Bridge-like feature called the new “Smart Albums” feature. This allows you to create special tags that can be dragged and dropped on a selection of pictures. These tags can then be isolated so you only see pictures that apply to these tags. This is a very useful (and necessary) feature that allows you to keep track of large libraries, because, unlike Bridge (which allows you to navigate to separate folders), the Elements Organizer imports all of your files and footage to a central database. While this is a great step in the right direction, I would really like to see them add the ability to navigate to specific folders in Organizer, in a future version.
Another improvement in the Organizer is the ability to see video clips that can be opened within that program, as they can with Premiere Elements 4 version. Unfortunately, unlike Bridge CS3, you cannot actually view the video clips within the Organizer interface. Hopefully, a future version will include this feature.
In addition to these suggestions, I would like to see a couple of other things improved for a future version of this program.
The first is that it would be nice to at least be given the option to have the layout of the menus, especially the top menus, identical to Photoshop CS3. While some things, like the filter menus, are currently located in the same place, other things, like the color and image adjustment options, are in a completely different location. As I’m sure many students and new users will use PSE to familiarize themselves with the Adobe Photoshop layout before upgrading, it would be useful to use a mirrored style.
Secondly, I would like to see an exporter from PSE, which allows you to send the various types of multi-media slide shows you create in Photoshop Elements 6, to Encore CS3. As the template options in this are actually simpler to use than some of the higher end ones in the CS3 suite, I could see some folks creating slide shows for DVDs in Photoshop Elements, which would then need to be included in a larger DVD project they are creating in Encore. (Of course, some companies, like those who do wedding videos, would likely want to subcontract out this sort of work and to have a less expensive program, that could do these sorts of things, would encourage production companies to subcontract to smaller firms). As such, an export to Encore, or “Save as DVD Asset” feature, would be a great help.
Value
For the sheer amount of stuff you can do with PSE6, it is an amazingly good value for $99. Sure, it doesn’t have some of the fancier color grading options, warp, and other high end tools found in PSCS3, but it has an amazing amount of clout for its price.
For an even better value, purchasing this, bundled with Premiere Elements 4, brings the combined package in at $149! For an entry graphics/video editing package, you just can’t beat it. Especially since the Elements programs will accept the plug-ins that work with the CS3 line, so when you upgrade to the pro versions, you can keep your plug-ins.
Final Comments
Photoshop Elements 6 has become a serious consideration for entry filmmakers who want the functionality of Adobe products, without the bankroll to afford Photoshop CS3. And now, with more added professional controls than ever before, while at the same time staying simple to use, this is one program that should be checked out by any filmmaker who doesn’t have the cash for Photoshop CS3 Extended. At the very least, download the demo from Adobe’s site and see if it doesn’t do the basic things you need in a photo editing program, at: Adobe Demo Download Website.
