Photoshop Elements

[Tracey]

Anyone have any experience of this software?

I'm thinking of doing a photography course in September, and one of them provide this software for the students to use/keep.

Is the software good?
Is it easy to learn? (I've not had any exposure to editing software apart from cropping and the auto button on my Olympus software)

Thanks in advance

[Hedgehog]

Perfectly good for photo manipulation (though I think it lacks the plugins of it's bigger brother)... personally as a CAD user I find Paintshop Pro more easy to use. I think you can free-trial all of them so give 'em a spin & see.

[Tracey]

Well as I've never really used any manipulation software, I dont know what to expect, what they are capable of etc. But if the course is giving it away for free, then I suppose I ought to think about using it.

What are the plugins, and what are they used for? (sorry if its a silly question, but like I said, I'm a total newbie)

[Hedgehog]

Plugins are a bit like the lisp routines you'd get in CAD... they are programmed to carry out specific tasks at the click of a button while offering options along the way... e.g. there are ones to turn photo's into aged sepia with patchy fading & everything.

[Tracey]

Oh wow... It sounds like lazy developing I like the sound of that  

Are the plugins any good, or is it still best to know "How to get the results" manually