Whenever I’m out on dive expeditions, I see groups of underwater photographers struggling to master the intricacies of Adobe Photoshop CS2 (I sometimes carry trial versions around with me and share them with people).  I often sit down and try to help out a bit, but sometimes I forget that the best thing to do might be to suggest that they give Photoshop Elements a try. 

Picassa-style, auto-everything programs pretty much nuke underwater images because the programs are designed for making topside photography look good,  but with a $90 program like Photoshop Elements, photographers can get 90% of the way to a well-processed image with 10% of the hassle.  Using Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0, photographers can wield levels, curves, healing brush, and a subjective image-variation selection tool to produce excellent-looking processed images.  If and when you finally outgrow Elements, you can upgrade to CS2.  Continue reading for full press release.

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New Photoshop Elements Provides Easy Editing and High Impact Options to Showcase and Share Photos

Adobe’s No. 1 Selling Consumer Photo Editing Software Offers Fun, Creative Possibilities for Consumers to Showcase and Share Photos in Engaging Ways

London. — Sept. 12, 2006 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced Adobe® Photoshop® Elements 5.0 software, a major upgrade to the No. 1 selling consumer photo editing software*. Available for Windows®, Photoshop Elements offers new and more flexible ways for consumers to organize files, edit images with ease and share photos in engaging and innovative ways. Adobe Photoshop Elements allows for quick, one-click fixes to photos with the option of exploring more sophisticated editing techniques.

*Source: The NPD Group (April 2002 to April 2006) based on units sold.

In addition, Adobe today announced Adobe Premiere® Elements 3.0 software, a complete home video editing solution (see separate press release). Also available together in a single retail package, Adobe Photoshop Elements plus Adobe Premiere Elements delivers unique integrated functionality that provides consumers with the ability to do more with their photos and home videos.

“Digital photography has changed the way people capture moments and memories and today’s digital cameras and even camera phones have the potential to deliver some extraordinary results,” said John Loiacono, senior vice president of Creative Solutions Business Unit at Adobe. “Adobe Photoshop Elements gives customers the creative freedom to get more out of their digital camera, with the sophisticated and accessible editing features that the Photoshop name is famed for. The result is superior images that can be shared with family and friends in new, exciting, high impact ways – on the Web or in printed formats.”

Showcase and Share Photos in Entertaining Ways

Photoshop Elements software makes it easy to share photos with themed and customisable layouts, multi-page document options for albums and scrapbooks and over 100 framing choices. With drag-and-drop simplicity, photos can be moved and resized within these flexible layouts. The new Map View allows consumers to drag photos to any location tied to an online satellite map to relive memories based on locations where photos were taken.

Adobe Photoshop Services are easily accessible from within the application and offer new and fun ways to share photos. An interactive Adobe Flash® based photo gallery service, called Adobe Photoshop Showcase, allows photos to be shared for free, or upgraded to an extended sharing service via a Web site. These online galleries can take the form of a virtual scrapbook with flipping pages, a winter scene with falling snow or a spinning photo carousel. Photos can easily be sent directly to CEIVA digital photo frames, shared via SmugMug online albums or turned into real postage at PhotoStamps.com (U.S. only). One-click printing also makes it simple to order Kodak prints and using Photoshop Elements new photo layout functionality makes creating and ordering photobooks a more personalized experience.

Experience Superior Editing

Innovative editing functions give consumers new ways to tackle common photo edits. The new black-and-white conversion tool adds a dramatic and elegant look to photos, instantly converting colour originals to a variety of rich black-and-white photo styles with deep contrast. The new Adjust Color Curves controls allow consumers to achieve the perfect exposure for every image. Photoshop Elements also allows consumers to easily correct camera lens distortion.

Adobe Offers Complete Line of Products for Every Level story?

Adobe offers a complete family of Photoshop products that meet the needs of a diverse spectrum of digital photographers: the free Photoshop Album Starter Edition software for the novice digital camera user; Photoshop Elements for the digital photography enthusiast; and Photoshop CS2 software for the professional or the most demanding amateur photographer.

Pricing and Availability

Adobe’s digital imaging and digital video products will be available in October 2006 at www.adobe.com and other major electronics and online retailers including Amazon.com, Best Buy, Comp USA, Circuit City, Fry’s, Staples, and Office Depot. Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 for Windows is available for an estimated street price of $99.99 (pre-order for $89.99). Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 for Macintosh also is available for an estimated street price of $79.99 Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 plus Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0 for Windows is available as a bundle at an estimated street price of $149.99. Information about the other language versions, as well as pricing, upgrade, and support policies for other countries is available on www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelwin/.

About Adobe Systems Incorporated

Adobe revolutionises how the world engages with ideas and information – anytime, anywhere and through any medium. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.