Paint Shop Pro vs Photoshop Elements

[wotcha]

Sorry if this question has been posted before, but I did a search and couldn't find any recent posts. I'm new to DSLR photography and am wondering what software to invest in. All the magazines seem to use Photoshop in their examples, but I can't afford that.

So my question is should I buy PaintShop Pro or Photoshop Elements or something else? As well as using with my photography I want the package to be useful for designing web images and animation.



Thanks

Paul

[Bruco]

In my opinion either Paint Shop Pro (PSP) or Photoshop Elements (PSE) would be a good choice.

I started out with an early version of PSP and found it a bit more logical than PSE, but that may be because my technical knowledge at the time was more computer based than image based. However, when I got a digital camera and needed to use the software more often, I went for PSE, simply because I knew comparatively little about image editing and there appeared to be more information out there about PSE.

I also bought a copy of Adobe's book "PSE - Classroom in a book" and worked through it - unless you're already familiar with image editing or good at working out how to use unfamiliar software, I'd say this was almost essential to get the best out of PSE.

Good luck.

[Monobod]

Elements 7 is a very powerful tool and you have the advantage of upgrades to full PS from it, should you ever wish to so do.

I am biased because I know PS CS3 and Elements well, but have little knowledge of the other one.