Camera Labs

Hey, basically, i was looking at investing in a photoshop package, out of interest more than anything, but have been almost completely mind-blown by the different versions and scales of the photoshop system. Namely, could someone please explain the real differences between Adobe Lightroom, Aperture, Element and the CS series.
The other thing is how would each product handle Nikon RAW (NEF) files? Is that where Adobe Camera RAW comes into the equation? And if so, does Adobe Camera RAW come with all/any of the Photoshop versions?
The way i understand it is that Adobe elements is the way into using photoshop so to speak, but i wondered what the real differences between the products are! Please help, im sure there are others in the same situation when it comes to this muddle of products!
Thanks in advance!

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Nikon D80
AF-S 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 Nikon {} AF 50mm f1.8 Nikon {} AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 VR ED Nikon {} Nikon AF-S 105mm VRII f2.8 Micro ED N
MB-D80 battery grip {} 4GB Sandisk extreme SDHC {} Manfrotto 109xb & 804rc2head {} Lowepro Primus AW {} SB800
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27747651@N04/

Simply put, Elements is a stripped down version of photoshop at a reduced price, and Lightroom is a completely different program which mostly replaces photoshop, and is tailored towards photographers.

I use lightroom most of the time, and hardly fire up photoshop. Aperture is a mac-only photo suite very much like Lightroom. Perhaps also consider Bibble as an alternative to lightroom/aperture.

All of the programs have 30 day free trials, so check them out

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I take pictures so quickly, my highschool was "Continuous High".

Adobe Camera Raw does come with all the above, but the version with Photoshop Elements doesn't have as many options as the others.

Photoshop Elements is the affordable cut down version of full Photoshop. It is what I use for editing images as it has enough of the functions you use most often.

Photoshop CS5 is the current full blown version. If you want everything in an editor, that is where you go. From a photographer's perspective, there's probably a ton of stuff that is unlikely to be used.

Lightroom is NOT a Photoshop replacement as such, and has a different focus. Its main selling point is workflow and organisation, which integrating many editing features useful for a photographer.

As Citruspers says, do check out the free trial versions to get a feel for it.

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Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.

Well Popo, Lightroom can be a photoshop replacement for photographers, the functions I use are pretty much similar across both applications. Photoshop has more functions, but I very rarely use it.

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I take pictures so quickly, my highschool was "Continuous High".

Different people want different features, that's why the various products exist Obviously my needs are quite different, and of the 3, Lightroom is the last one I'd want to touch.

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Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.

Thanks guys, cleared a few things up there! Im just downloading a trial of lightroom 3, see how that goes, and get back to you! Probs try out Elements at some point later as well. No way i need CS5 though, especially at that price tag!

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Nikon D80
AF-S 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 Nikon {} AF 50mm f1.8 Nikon {} AF-S 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 VR ED Nikon {} Nikon AF-S 105mm VRII f2.8 Micro ED N
MB-D80 battery grip {} 4GB Sandisk extreme SDHC {} Manfrotto 109xb & 804rc2head {} Lowepro Primus AW {} SB800
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/27747651@N04/

If you just want to 'tweak' your photos, exposure, sharpening, saturation, b&w etc, then Aperture or Lightroom are the way to go. You can always find a web-based app or the Gimp if you want to add text or make something humourous out of your photo.

Now CS5 does come with a new feature that just blows me away (I haven't used it yet, I've seen the vids and tutorials) called Content Awareness. Have a look on the Adobe site for some explanation. You will never trust another photo as long as you live. Quite scary really.

Matt

I used the content aware filter in a batch job to remove the date imprints from a friend's photo collection. the results were inconsistent, but impressive for the most part.

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I take pictures so quickly, my highschool was "Continuous High".

I just got Abode Photoshop CS5 extended today, its a very powerful program but I prefer to use Lightroom for its easy of use.

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