Adobe Courts Digital Camera Fans with Photoshop Elements 2.0 Photoshop's Little Brother Now More Grown-Up Eric Grevstad
Mon 7/15/02 -- Adobe Systems Inc.'s Photoshop is the king of high-end image-editing software, but your average digital camera snapshooter doesn't need that kind of professional publishing firepower. That's where Photoshop Elements comes in -- and in the third quarter of this year, Adobe promises, Photoshop Elements 2.0 will deliver new desktop-darkroom convenience for digital photographers.
The second edition of the $99 image editor, designed specifically for photo hobbyists who want to enhance images for printing, e-mailing, or Web posting, offers easier access to lighting and color correction tools, with a single control window accompanied by "before" and "after" previews of the image. A new file browser lets users preview, sort, and organize images in thumbnail form without opening the files, while a one-step "resize and attach" function simplifies the job of sharing photos via e-mail.
New color-correction, compositing, and creative tools include a Selection Brush that masks unwanted areas of a photo for precise editing; simulated oil, watercolor, charcoal, pastel, and canvas-texture brushes; and an improved Color Variations feature with real-time color-adjustment preview. showing the tools, original, and modified image at once.
Photoshop Elements 2.0 can also capture and edit still images from video clips, and create slideshows in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) for viewing on any device with Acrobat Reader software. The upgrade will carry a $30 mail-in rebate for users of Photoshop Elements 1.0, Photoshop LE, PhotoDeluxe, or selected competitive products.
