Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 (Mac) Reviews

• Great Upgrade

  
  By A2UWPPU5GZLMQZ on 2008-04-06
  Adobe labels Photoshop Elements as a program for casual photographers. It's a lot more than that and always has been. iPhoto is fine for casual photography. Elements gives great photo editing capabilities that can carry the load for some heavy duty editing. It doesn't have all the features of the full CS3 Photoshop but Photoshop has always offered multiple ways of getting results. Elements offers enough capabilitiy there's little that I haven't found a way to achieve.
  
  Of course, if you have multiple SLR bodies and a bag full of lenses you may not like the idea of having the non-pro program. I use Photoshop in my everyday web design work but have Elements on my home computer and am happy with the photo editing I can do with it.
  
  I've been working with Photoshop Elements 6 for the last 5 days. There's a lot to like. Adobe has added some excellent features from the full version of Photoshop like Quick Selection and Refine Edge. The new Color Curves feature is welcome too. Element's PhotoMerge options are incredible making it drop dead simple to take the best parts of several group shots and seamlessly combine them to build one great photo. The addition of Smart Sharpen along with more control of Unsharp Mask gives excellent control of sharpening now.
  
  The three editing modes are well thought out. Guided mode is new and I initially thought I wouldn't bother with it. I have years of Photoshop experience after all. Wrong. It can be useful for common editing situations. And it's a great introduction to editing for the newcomer to Elements. Quick mode is still helpful and of course, there's the regular editing mode that come close to the regular Photoshop way of doing things.
  
  Elements is also faster, finally Intel processor native. It opens a lot faster and runs faster. And Adobe has included Bridge with Elements 6, the same version that comes with the full Photoshop package. If you're moving up from iPhoto to Photoshop Elements it's great to be able to not have to deal with iPhoto's strange filing system and maintain control over where pictures are stored. Bridge itself is probably worth the $89 that Elements costs. It's a great program in itself.
  
  There are some warts though. The Photoshop Elements interface does not look like most Mac programs and takes over the screen. The installer seemed to take forever to do its job and added a whole lot of clip art junk that I don't want or need, over 2 gigabytes for the installation. It's not even immediately obvious when opening the installation disk how to install the program. (open the language folder).
  
  I do suppose that if you want to use Elements to create your own greeting cards or make cute scrapbook pages you might like the clip art. If, like me, you just want a photo editor, it would be nice to be able to choose what to install and not have to fill the the hard drive with images that will never get used.
  
  That said, though, Elements is a solid upgrade and will handle editing for most photographers and a great price.
  
  

• Fantastic Photo Software For The Amateur Digital Photo Buff!

  
  By AC2EGRJTJYVBA on 2008-04-05
  I am a brand new Mac user and was looking for a reasonably priced software package for handling my digital photos. When I tried to use iPhoto, I quickly decided that iPhoto's editing tools are crude and can provide only rudimentary editing capability, since iPhoto seems to be primarily designed to organize photos. I had used previous versions of Photoshop Elements for PC, so decided to try it for Mac. I have not been disappointed.
  
  If you have a Mac and are an amateur digital photographer, this is an EXCELLENT software package. The software comes with a wide selection of editing tools, including filters and automated correction routines that will satisfy and exceed the needs of most users who do not seek a professional software suite.
  
  The interface is easy to use and integrates with the Mac iPhoto software. If you want extensive control over the editing process, you may prefer the full version of Photoshop, but for most other users this software will provide a satisfying experience. The best thing about Photoshop Elements is that a complete novice can jump right in and work on their photos; but there are plenty of flexible features to keep the intermediate user busy too.
  
  
  
  

• Excellent App

  
  By AJ32F2POR3GP6 on 2008-04-14
  I have only spent a few hours with this product, but from what I've already seen it is VASTLY improved over the old 4.0 version. Now that it is a universal binary, the app performs very well and is no longer something I dread to have to open.
  
  Adobe even made some interesting Mac features such as allowing us to have our toolbars float instead of being fixed into a frame (as an option--you can still use the default settings however). While this isn't exactly how I would like to see the menu bars function, it is much closer to what I want and is a nice touch, showing that Adobe realizes that Mac users tend to want to see and use things a bit differently than PC users do, and that they care enough about us to accommodate our preferences. I really like how easy it is to get a description of any filter or effect from the included help since it does a good job of explaining just what it is doing to the image instead of you having to play with it for a while to understand it's behavior (a genuinely useful help tool, never thought I'd see the day). Another really cool feature is the ability to search for filters using a spotlight-like tool that will show where and in which menu the item you're looking for is. This feature is simply brilliant, and a welcomed addition.
  
  There are many other improvements to this app, but I'm mostly impressed with how Adobe has taken the time, energy and resources to take advantage of some of the great features of OSX Leopard. Most software companies these days do lousy ports of their PC software without taking the time to understand the needs and preferences of the Mac community. I am grateful that Adobe "gets it" and hope to see them continue this trend in their Mac products into the future. Oh, and the value is unbeatable- I for one would have been willing to pay much more for this app. Thanks Adobe for a much needed and improved update!
  
  

• Loads a lot faster

  
  By A2Y1WNETD9AYHO on 2008-04-05
  
  Now that it is intel native it sure loads my pic waaay quicker!
  
  My favorite Magic Extractor still uses the older interface but still works great.
  
  I like the new interface - I can see my picture and work more easier than the white background....
  
  There is a $20 upgrade coupon in the box so older users can get some $cratch back for upgrading...
  
  

• very complicated to learn for a beginner

  
  By AIZUITLRKWBEO on 2008-04-28
  I am sure this is a great program for experienced users, but for a beginner, even with help from Photoshop Elements 6 for mac: the Missing manual, its difficult to learn. But, i'll keep trying since I have invested quite a bit of money and time in it.
  
  It says on the cover that it is compatible with Iphoto, but you have to do a work-around to accomplish that. When I purchased this I relied on that declaration. I thought I would be able to go directly into Elements from IPhoto. That is not so. The advertising is not truthful. I called Photoshop to get help and received it from a very patient person.
  
  
• Nice Value
  By A1NNMOD9H36Q8E on 2008-04-13
  I use Photoshop CS3 for the heavy lifting but Elements 6 is excellent for the Macbook that I carry with me when I travel. I can download my RAW images and do the basic post processing and then if I need to do some more significant processing I can do that when I get home. The Universal version is very zippy on my 2.2Ghz Core 2 Duo. Highly recommend for anyone who carries a laptop with them when they go shooting.
  
  
• Adobe has forgotten about the mac
  By AYX9OLTDIRSJM on 2008-06-02
  I cannot recommend this product due to these reasons:
  - It takes over your entire primary screen with no option to resize.
  - If you have a dual monitor setup like I have, there is no way to move the app to your second monitor
  - Clicking on the desktop on the second monitor or in fact in any other application causes Elements to hide itself on the primary (this is awful behaviour for a desktop application)
  - Use keyboard shortcuts to move around in Spaces... come back to the space with Elements.. and guess what, it has disappeared.
  
  These may not sound like much, but when you're used to operating in multiple applications in multiple windows, this behaviour is extremely detrimental to productivity not to mention highly infuriating.
  
  
• A terrific program.
  By AJBHK12N0I2I5 on 2008-06-09
  I starting using the full version of Photoshop in the late 90s, mainly for my website. It was getting older and older, but I didn't have money to update it, so I tried Photoshop Elements 2. I was kind of shocked, it had absolutely everything I had ever used in the professional Photoshop, plus it had a lot more fun features, was much easier to use, and of course, very cheap (comparatively). I used Version 2 until the new Mac OS Leopard came out last year, at which point I found out that it was one of those few programs that wouldn't work any more in Leopard and Adobe wasn't offering any upgrades. I was kind of screwed, but when version 6 came out, I bought it. I'm not mad any more because Elements 6 is terrific and worth the money. I probably wouldn't have bought it and I'm so glad I did. I also bought the new version of Scott Kerby's Photoshop Elements book for Digital Photographers (I had #2). I highly recommend it.
  
  The one thing I have always used Elements for is compressing photos for the web or for emailing. Definitely check that feature out if you haven't already.
  
  I just got married and have spent the last weeks making amazing alterations in photos. I have put people who took photos into the shots they took. I took out wrinkles, fixed red eye, etc. In general I just made all the pictures look better, even the ones taken by professionals. And then when I was done, I used the batch function to compress hundreds of photos so they were all under one megabyte (I had some 35 meg shots in there!). All this stuff is so easy to do if you have the book. The thing I like about the book is that you don't have to really learn the program, you just go to the chapter that tells you what you want to do. It doesn't assume that you learned stuff in previous chapters.
  
  
• Windows software for mac
  By AJPRISY2PSEUW on 2008-07-17
  Yes this product is very capable.To me its just windows software for mac. 2 gb space used plus it scatters files all over your hardrive. if you download the trial version and buy the license later.....good luck on activating it. Just like windows..always problems. When uninstalling it...just like windows again...leaves tons of files and folders everywhere. Plus it adds many color profiles that i wont every use. Uninstalling does not remove them. I do not want windows software on my Mac
  
  
• Not Recommended
  By A1SH0EF5ANSCXS on 2008-08-02
  I've been using a Mac for over four years and have always marveled at how easy it it to install software. That was until I had the misfortune of ordering PSE 6. The installation failed and then took hours to remove. I finally was able to manually copy the installation files and complete the install. Ironically, Adobe only provides support to registered users, and you have to install the product before you can register. I found the answer to the problem on a Mac support forum. This is without a doubt the worst Mac installation I have ever seen. It also installed a bunch of unwanted and/or obsolete Adobe products without asking.
  
  
• Fun!
  By AGG4UMO2ZZRJQ on 2008-05-12
  I'm fairly new to Photoshop, so I can't really say if it is better or worse than previous additions, but I'm enjoying it. It works well with iPhoto. I was afraid I would have to start all over with this as my main photo program, but instead I can keep my photos in iPhoto, and bring photos I want to work with to Photoshop for digital scrapbooking, correcting, etc.
  
  
• Glad to get a stable Elements after years stuck with 3
  By ATS2855497V0I on 2008-06-07
  I might be atypical in that I tend to use Elements for small scale graphic art: business cards, software icons, etc., and not for its photo editing functions. For this is it is adequate, using the various built in shapes combined with the various bevels, shadows, patterns, textures, gradients, etc. Not as good, perhaps has a full fledged vectored drawing program, but good enough for my purposes. These functions haven't been noticeably improved with this release.
  
  What has improved is the product is usably stable on my Intel based MacBook running OS X 10.5.3., I had lost this stability over the years since the last major update to Elements, and I am glad to have it back. Not perfectly stable, but pretty good.
  
  Also, I noticed that there are a series of video podcasts available in the tech podcast section of iTunes devoted to some cool techniques you can use with this version of Elements. Highly recommended.
  
  
• PSE 6 for Mac - finally comes of age
  By A66DKNESWYT09 on 2008-06-11
  It's taken too long for Adobe to bring a great product up to snuff for Mac users, but they've done it now. For enthusiasts/prosumers who like to "work" their photos in the post-production world, PSE 6 (Mac) works beautifully. When you are ready to step up from the basic editing capabilities of iPhoto, etc., this is definitely the product to use. All the basic editing tools are there, and the creative tools are excellent. PSE 6 (Mac) will help you take your photographs to a new level.
  
  While there is still a learning curve, it's not as daunting as earlier versions. I'd highly recommend getting Scott Kelby's Photoshop Elements Book for Digital Photographers to sit beside you as you start using PSE 6 for Mac - very practical & helpful.
  
  [...]
  
  
• Trade offs
  By A1ZMAG2VT83S30 on 2008-07-25
  My main use for Elements is photo correction, mainly red-eye, lighting, cropping, getting rid of some objects. I am by no means an expert user, so take that into account when you read below.
  
  I am actually moving up from version 2.0 to 6.0, so I guess a lot has changed. Since this version was designed for my new Intel Mac, it seems to run faster and be more stable than my old version. However, I am not use to the new layout of the menus and I am not sure if I like them. I also really don't like the red-eye tool as opposed to version 2.0. I was told this was actually changed in 3.0 so some people might not know or care about it. The version I like was sort of like the air brush tool. You could change the size and pressure of the brush, and where you clicked it would sample the area and change that color with the eye color. Allowed for greater control I think. This new one you specify the pupil size and the darkness and just click. It see it either not completely do the job or goes way overboard and flows way outside of the eye.
  
  I don't even know what they call, but that solid gray workspace area where they try to contain the application is very un-Mac like to me. You can get rid of that, but then the remaining bar at the bottom is distracting. They should allow the palette's to float like they used to.
  
  I miss the old quick fixes, especially the fill-flash mode. I am sure I can still do it, probably some other option (adjust lighting perhaps?) or combination there of, but I am not sure why it was removed.
  
  It does support RAW, which I didn't have before so I like that. There are probably a ton of other things that I haven't discovered yet that are good, it will just take some time.
  
  All in all, I am not to thrilled with this version. It might grow on me, but it hasn't yet.
  
  
• Fun!
  By A3PUARE9QT243A on 2008-09-03
  I'm having a great time learning Photoshop Elements 6 for Mac! There's so many fun and helpful things you can do with your photos. It was extremely intimidating at first, however, as I had no clue what to do. After purchasing a book, given a different book AND having taken two classes about Photoshop, I'm finally feeling like I know what I'm doing. As a side note, if you're working with an Apple computer, you do not have to use the "bridge" to move photos from iPhoto to Photoshop for editing. You can set your preferences to send it there directly and it will return to iPhoto if you select "save" (not "save as"). I'm pleased with the product and hope to learn much more as I experiment and enjoy transforming ordinary photos into "works of art" (perhaps only appreciated by me, but -- hey -- why not?) :-)
  
  
• Great Product but be sure not to download a free trial from Adobe's website
  By A1A28FIKIGVXO9 on 2008-09-03
  Adobe Photoshop Elements (PSE) 6 is exactly what it says it is - a large portion of ordinary photoshop at a fraction of the price. I use PSE mostly for working up my photos and it seems to have all the tools and corrective measures that I need. A few words of warning - if you're planning on purchasing this DO NOT download a free 30-day trial of PSE6 from Adobe's website. I did so thinking that the product key which I received with this product would be functional for the free trial - well it isn't. I then tried to install from the PSE6 disc from Amazon - that doesn't work either. To complicate matters further, unlike most Mac software, PSE6 isn't packaged and so it is NOT easy to un-install (Even the read-me says not to drag the files into the trash). The only solution to un-installing the free trial of PSE6 so you can use your recently purchased version is to run the install from the disk image (.dmg file) that you installed the free trial from and to select it to uninstall. For some reason, the Adobe install utility (found in Applications/utilities/Adobe) does not work. In the end, it's a great piece of software but be sure not to use the free trial first.
  
  
• At Last A PhotoShop Elements for Mac OS-X 10 (Leopard)
  By A1C73RRUMRZIHS on 2008-05-18
  This edition of PhotoShop Elements continues the excellent Adobe support for the Macintosh. When Leopard came out there was worry that there would be no support other than the full Photoshop suite. This product does everything I wanted it to do and more without the expense of the full Photoshop. I highly recommend this product for the Mac user who is into photography as a hobby or sideline. The price from Amazon was $10 cheaper than the Adobe website and came with a $20 upgrade rebate (I was still using PE 2.0) so my net cost was less than $60. Adobe provides a 30-day demo for free from their website if you'd like to check out the features. That's what I did!
  
  
• Doesn't work with Leopard (OS 10.5.4 or above)
  By ACEGG9ZDX19IK on 2008-11-07
  If you have a Mac running OS 10.5.4 or 10.5.5 (or above) you should be aware that NONE of the Photoshop Elements software versions--including 6-- is compatible with it. It won't work.
  
  
• PS 6 Mac is finally here...
  By A2YNCP0JD2EGFS on 2008-05-11
  and it was worth the wait.
  
  The program does have a couple things you need to know. First, if you are having trouble with your old plug-ins not loading you will either need to upgrade them or launch PS6 under Rosetta. (select PS6 and get info for the activation box)
  
  Next, running natively on an 2.8 GHz Intel iMac the program is wickedly fast. Amazingly fast. I can't say as I really care for the UI but it doesn't take long to get used to it. I miss a few features from Photoshop like LAB color and Soft Proofing but these are minor quibbles.
  
  All-in-all, this is a fine program that seems to do 80%-90% of what the full Photoshop CS3 does for a tenth the price. A great tool for the photographer.
  
  
• Adobe Photoshop Elements 6
  By A3DKC00G65IVCY on 2008-05-18
  This Product is easy to use for editing photos. It is fast, on an Imac with 2 gigs of memory. It will do the editing automatically or guide the user step by step. Although it can be used without help there are several books that are helpful. A good starter book is "Teach Yourself Visually Photoshop Elements 6" by Mike Wooldridge and Linda Wooldridge. Another more detailed book is "The Photoshop Elements 6 Book for Digital Photographers" ) by Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskowski.
  
  This is far better photo editing software that which comes with the Mac computer.
  
  
• Wonderful low cost photo editing
  By A20OBCQWBKCGZT on 2008-05-30
  Having used photoshop and been intimated by it, I found Photoshop Elements to be both intuitive and exceptional at editing photos. Because this is so easy to use, I run nearly all of my digital camera pictures through this software. Sometimes I just use the auto adjust feature, other times I crop, redirect the light sources, frame, add captions, resize, or create collages.
  
  When I'm done I upload them to snapfish to share with friends and family, or I print them out. Many people have thought my cropped, edited photos were professional, they really do come out that good!
  
  
• Caution: OSX 10.5 File System Requirement
  By A1D2FEQ2AXKENL on 2008-09-06
  Photoshop Elements 6 for Mac will not install if your hard drive is formatted using Case Sensitive Journaled HFS+. This requirement is not mentioned in the Elements 6 documentation.
  
  The current fix is to reformat your hard drive using non-case sensitive HFS+. Mac users who need the case sensitive drive format are out of luck with Elements 6 at this time.
  
  You can check how your hard drive is formatted by looking in ->About this Mac->More Info->Hardware->Serial-ATA (if you are using a MacBook Pro).
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Too many bugs
  By A3TLKYSNVEEBOF on 2008-09-15
  Having owned PSE 6 for the Mac for over a month, I am still very disappointed with it compared with PSE 4. Time and again, I fall back on version 4 because I cannot get version 6 to do what I know it should be able to do. Among other disappointments, it has crashed several times for no apparent reason and will not open existing animated gifs, as PSE 4 does so easily. I would be happy to receive a refund on this product until (if ever) the bugs are worked out. To be sure, it has some new features that I like and that do work. For example, I find the backgrounds in "Content" are very useful to me. Overall, though, for someone who owns PSE 4 already, I would not recommend purchasing this product.
  
  
• Big improvements from earlier versions
  By A2NVQZ4Y7Y0J1R on 2008-10-25
  I had been using Elements 3.0 for the Mac for a few years and had been happy with it for the most part. However, there were several times when it was incapable (or I was incapable of figuring it out) of fixing a flawed photograph.
  
  For example, I had a photo I had submitted to a stock agency that had a small corporate logo in the background that needed to be removed. No matter how hard I tried, the results looked horrible with version 3.0. I spent probably an hour on just that one shot. Elements 6.0 was like a lightening bolt in comparison. Problem fixed in under 10 minutes. I used the exact same tools as I did with version 3.0. Version 6 just works better. I found this to be true with half a dozen shots I had wasted hours trying to fix in the past. I fixed them all in mere minutes.
  
  As others have noted, the color of the interface is now much darker than before. At first I didn't like it, but it has its purpose because it increases contrast for your eyes and actually makes it easier to work on your shots.
  
  Adobe has added a few extras, include photo merging, but to me that's more of a gimmick. I just needed something to fix flawed photos and this does that superbly. Version 6 is also native for the Intel Macs so it does run faster than before.
  
  If you have Elements version 3 then I strongly urge you to upgrade. I never used version 4 so I don't have any experience to compare it with version 6. I've also never used the Windows version of Elements so I don't really know if there's a difference there either. For my purposes version 6 for the Mac does the job.
  
  
• Very Pleased
  By AM6163UC1409G on 2008-06-03
  I have used Photoshop (the full version) in the past but didn't use half of what it was designed for so I decided to give Elements a try. I downloaded the demo before I purchased just to be sure that it would have the functions I needed. I have been very pleased! It is easy to use and has a lot of functionality. I am able to do all the things that I did in the larger version of Photoshop but without the expense. As an artist, I use the filters more than anything else and was thrilled to see that all the same filters are available to me with Elements. If you find Photoshop daunting but want to edit photographs, apply filters to them, and have more functionality than iPhoto, give Elements and try. Oh yeah, it was cheaper by at least $10.00 to order through Amazon.com and I received free shipping. How can you go wrong with that?
  
  
• Photoshop elements
  By AHOZDA0P8LB1Y on 2008-06-11
  The product has some great features. Very easy to cut out portions of a picture or to delete backgrounds. Unfortunately it does not come with a manual and it takes a while to catch on. Also it does not integrate fully with MAC, i.e. no close, minimize and scale buttons on the top left corner. If it does have these features, I have not found them yet. The lack of full integration is increasing the time on the learning curve. For instance, I kept clicking on the HELP feature displayed at the top bar and didn't get much help at all, only to learn a few days later that PS has it's own HELP located just below the MAC one.
  So far, I like what I see on the program, it's just taking a long time to learn it. And, I'm not sure yet, but I suspect that PSP has more features, but I have a lot to learn before I can confirm this.
  From my limited time on the program, I do like what I am finding and using. I wuld give it 3.5 stars for now.
  
  
• Great upgrade
  By A3J1DHKVHP4979 on 2008-08-08
  Just purchased a copy of Photoshop Elements V 6. I have used Elements since version 3. This is a great improvement. I work in raw format on Nikon, Canon and Olympus and have found no problem. I do not care for the black back ground. It will do many of the things found in Photoshop CS. You are limited to only "Photoshop Elements 6 the Missing Manual for Mac" as a manual. Others may follow. You can also download the manual from Adobe. A great value compared to other programs, (Bibble, Aperture, iPhoto and LightZone.
  
  
• Too much work
  By A3ON9TW5R1PYS3 on 2008-08-29
  Photoshop Elements 6 is undoubtedly a comprehensive photo editing program. The problem is that, even with an aftermarket manual, the learning curve is too steep. The program uses an arcane vocabulary, naming tools and features in ways that may have meaning to some graphics specialists, but not to ordinary consumers. I believe people who don't mind spending a lot of time learning a new program, who don't mind sitting in front of the computer for hours, will also enjoy the challenge of learning Elements 6. For me, it was overkill. I'd rather be out shooting pictures. The program undoubtedly is comprehensive and you can do amazing things with it, but it requires a major commitment and is just too user unfriendly for my tastes.
  
  
• Photoshop Elements 6 for Mac
  By A3GWRFW436T5S4 on 2008-05-08
  A great product. I am not a professional photographer and this does all I need.
  
  
• great job of photo correction and editing
  By A1FJQHXLFWP3GO on 2008-06-19
  I have used photoshop for several years.
  This latest version is by far the best of
  the various versions that I have worked with.
  For new users it will usually do a very acceptable
  job even if you use the automatic functions.
  With some experience and training the functions are
  almost limitless and all work very well.
  
  

• Photoshop Elements 6 for Mac: The Missing Manual
• The Photoshop Elements 6 Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter)
• Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Home & Student Edition
• Mac OS X Leopard: The Missing Manual
• Apple iWork '08