Photoshop 7 or 8 Is it practical to D/L ?

[Izagaia]

Paint shop pro is terrible, and doesnt even come close to the realiability/usability of photoshop. I would take Photoshop 4 over the newest paint shop.

PSP9 is buggy as hell, at the moment. It was released not all that long ago. I am staunch supporter of the application in general. Mainly because of it's ease-of-use for new users just starting-out with graphics. At that stage, you really do not need the uber power of Photoshop. Sort of like squashing an anthill with a howitzer, IMO.

I started out with PSP8 and am quite happy with it overall. It does not do a great deal so far as .png images are concerned but other than that weakness, it truly does the job well for me. Mainly creating XP visual themes and simple image editing/manipulation. A decent share of the well-known plugins are compatible for it and so far as I can tell, Paintshop Pro 8 is considerably less taxing on system resources, IMO. A good thing to keep in mind if you are running on a machine with anything less than 512MB ram with about half of that to spare at any given time. The installation is simple. For retail versions, there is no product ID key required. And you can even legitimately register the application through Jasc/Corel without utilizing phony .dll files.

Do not get me wrong. I would love to be able to say that I can use Photoshop CS. I just believe that the learning curve is out of my league for the time being. And for what I currently need out of a graphics application, PSP8 does the job well. And at a 90MB download, I think you would spend considerably less time aquiring it.

[Smurfette]

Well the debate continues...
I myself use PSP9 (have been using it since v4) and think it's fine for my purposes - rotating/cropping CD covers, touching-up photos, that sort of thing.
My son, however, pestered me to get hold of Photoshop 7 last year because he'd seen what can be done, and has been working with Photoshop CS for the last 6 months.

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[Izagaia]

Very cool, Smurfette!


Tell your son to stick with it. For only six months invested, that is some damn good talent.

[fkdup74]

Indeed, consider whether you really need it.
I have version 8 and use about 1 millionth of it's power.

Mainly because of it's ease-of-use for new users just starting-out with graphics. At that stage, you really do not need the uber power of Photoshop. Sort of like squashing an anthill with a howitzer, IMO.

jp fugs, izagaia....
TY, you said it better than i did
(and yeah i was mostly talkin PSP8, i havent dug around for 9 yet)

and hey orcutt, it was another option, so take your opinion and stuff it kthnx
this guy was askin about the PRACTICALITY of it,
so he must not know exactly what he wants to DO with it yet
so maybe a more beginner freindly app would be better...
and dont forget you guys are tryin to talk him into twice the dl on dial-up

hey thats sweet smurfette....you know i am gonna steal that first pic for a desktop dontcha?

[digmen1]

Thanks guys !

So many replies !

What I meant was that even tho I'm on dial up I do not mind spending the time to get the Photoshop file as long as it is one that will work.

Thanks Filliz and VNZ for those filename comments. That will make sure I get the right one !

When I said it would take me a week, I meant by the time I go on line a few times here are there (family commitments etc etc)

As regards Paintshop v Photoshop.

I have used Paintshop since v 4.00, mainy for basic photo editing, reszing, cropping etc.
I now have version 8.00.

I have never used or seen Photoshop, but hear that it is good but has a long learning curve.

What I want to do is to erase the background from photos leaving just say a bikini model with a blank backgound that I can paste onto other scenes etc.

They call this clear cutting, or back gorund erasing, or lassooing etc etc.

Paintshop Pro 8 has a tool called Background Eraser, but it does not seem to be able to do a very sharp cut, ie you tend to get little blurs on the edges which show up when you print. Or I am nto doing it correctly (there is a lot to learn about this tool)

I have seem many pics on the web which have very sharp edges, so either I am doing it wrong or they are using a different progarm (Photo shop ?)

Any thoughts on this matter ?

Regards
Digby

[uNz[i]]

The best way to start out with Photoshop is to use the tutorials that accompany the program.
You should find the tutes in the help menu, but if they're missing, search any of the popular P2P networks for Photoshop 7 tutorials. I know they're out there.

Once you've grasped the basics, this tutorial is just what you'll need to learn how to use the pen tool to make the neatest cut/crop.
It can be a bit tricky at first, but if you stick with it, you'll be hard pressed to find a better technique.


I cropped this spider out of a pic I took last Xmas. I used the pen tool tutorial I've linked to learn how.

[fkdup74]

What I meant was that even tho I'm on dial up I do not mind spending the time to get the Photoshop file as long as it is one that will work.

if you dont mind spendin the time on it, yeah its worth it then
i mean, photoshop dont have its reputation for nothin

and if you've got some time on paintshop,
then you could have a good headstart catchin onto photoshop

[orcutt989]

I would say PS 7 with Imageready 7 is a good one. I prefer CS, but 7 is good and easy, and doesnt require registration, or a crack. But the crack for CS isnt hard to figure out. So either one.