Adobe Elements 7 Review

Once thought of as a stripped-down version of Photoshop, Adobe Elements has matured into an advanced program in its own right, and one that allows photographers of all abilities to produce stunning results.
Now in its seventh incarnation, it has expanded once again, with more quick fixes, organisation and output options, making it easier and quicker to use. Though the full version of Photoshop, now in its eleventh version (CS4) is the aspiration of most users, the expansion of Elements means that, according to Adobe, it provides all the features that an amateur photographer should need, at a fraction of the price.
More demanding photographers may also want to use Adobe Lightroom 2, but Photoshop CS4 is designed principally for high-end professionals and graphic designers.

Features:
On start-up, the Elements 7 welcome screen gives you options to Organise, Edit, Create, and Share, along with some examples of editing tools. By clicking on the relevant tab, Elements will launch different parts of the software, potentially saving memory and loading time, though if you just want to jump into the editing it does add an extra step.
The organisation side of Elements has varied over the years but later versions include steps to help you manage your 
picture files from import, through the whole process.
Though Mac versions have included the universal Adobe Bridge application, Windows editions continue to use a dedicated organiser.
This is still the case in Elements 7 and at this time, a new Mac version has 
yet to be introduced. The organiser has become far more flexible though, allowing you to specify locations in which to look for pictures. It can even organise photos that 
are stored on CDs or external hard drives, should you wish, meaning that all of your images are easily accessible.
One of the strengths of this browser system is its ability to tag, add keywords and search. This allows you to quickly tag by subject, automatically find faces to tag by name, view images in a date line, and use smart albums to select only the photos you want to see. A new search box also allows you to type in any relevant picture information, helping you to find images fast.
On the editing side, the layout will appear familiar to anyone who has used previous versions of Photoshop or Elements, and uses the same grey colour palette introduced in Elements 6 (to be in keeping with the Windows Vista styling). The right-hand bar has three tabs along the top: Full, Quick, and Guided; these allow you to select your level of editing skill. The Full tab displays the layers palette and a selection of available filters and photo effects, for advanced editing, while the Quick tab gives a selection of sliders for lighting, colour, sharpening and a Smart Fix option that corrects colours, highlights and shadow detail. Each one also has an Auto button. Under a touch-up menu there are four icons for red-eye reduction, tooth whitening, colourising dull skies, and black & white tools, that you can apply to your image like a magic wand selection. The adjustments can then be displayed as Before and After versions, so you can keep track of what you’ve done. The Guided tab is divided into projects from simple photo edits, such as cropping, to creating a group shot or line drawing, with the guide taking you step-by-step through your project. The guided mode also includes the new Photomerge scene cleaner, which removes unwanted objects, such as cars, from an image, by combining a series of shots.
In the full edit mode there are a few additions to the regular toolbar too. The Smart Brush allows you to quickly add effects such as lighting, colour changes, and special effects, which it then stores as an adjustment layer, allowing the effect to be removed or adjusted at a later date. The range of filters is very impressive, and includes the very visual filter gallery, allowing you to try out any filter, or combination of filters before applying. It also includes a new Smart Blur, which creates a soft focus effect designed for portraits. However, with only Radius and Threshold controls the effect can be fairly crude.

Within the enhance menu, Elements 7 features all of the adjustment controls you could ask for, including the Color Curves and black & white palettes that were introduced in version 6, though both of these are still simplified versions of the Photoshop commands. For me, the only two areas that are missing are the layer masks and the recordable actions. Everything else appears adequately catered for.
The Create and Share sections will help you to put your images to practical use. Create has a series of projects, including designing your own greetings cards or photo books, and even the ability to send your images to print via the Kodak online lab. From the Editor screen you can also choose your own artwork, from backgrounds to shapes and text effects for your own creation. In the Share section there’s a range of choices for sharing both digital and hard copies of your pictures from printing to emailing, including a pretty impressive selection of web gallery templates that you can upload to the adobe photoshopshowcase.com website, export to CD/DVD or to your own site via ftp.

Performance:
The image processing and adjustment speeds of Elements 7 can’t be faulted. On a standard machine, the welcome screen opens almost instantaneously, while loading either the organiser or image editor only takes a few seconds. Any delay between modes is minimal and it had absolutely no problem dealing with multiple Raw files. Applying filters can be a very memory intensive process and can often show up any weakness in the software; however, using the radial blur filter at best quality took just 33 seconds to process (Elements 4 took over a minute). This level of performance is something we have come to expect from the Photoshop series but, none the less, the speed at which this powerful piece of software functions is highly impressive.

Ease of use:
The only negative in terms of ease of use, is that for the more advanced photographer, the sheer number of quick techniques means that the more advanced features can take some effort to locate.
However, for the majority of users, especially those who are still getting to grips with image-editing or looking to minimise their time in front of the screen, the options allow you to get the best out of the software. The editing side is especially straightforward for all users, allowing you to take as much control as you want over your images, and the guided tutorials are a great way to learn about new techniques.
The Share side is equally impressive and the standard of the web galleries, for example, is way beyond what you would expect. The organiser is the only area that can seem restrictive. Though we think some people will love the all-inclusiveness of it, the fact that you have to import your images before viewing them would not suit everyone’s workflow. A better option would be to give users the choice between the organiser and the Bridge application that has featured on Mac versions and Photoshop CS editions. Overall though, Elements is still one of the easiest applications in its class to use.

Value for money
Considering that Adobe Photoshop CS4 will cost you £570, the functionality of Elements 7, at nearly £500 less, is simply stunning. Granted, it could never replace Photoshop for professional use, but for amateur photographers, it still provides all the functionality you could need.
Users who have a previous version of Elements, Photoshop Album, PhotoDeluxe or LE also qualify for an upgrade discount of around £12 taking the price to just £65. Users can also download a free trial version of Elements 7 simply by visiting the Adobe website, at: www.adobe.com/uk/downloads

System Requirements
  2GHz processor
 Windows XP service pack 2
 or Vista
 1GB RAM
 1.5GB Hard disk space
 16-bit colour video card
 1,024x768 monitor
 Microsoft DirectX 9 driver
 CD-ROM drive
 Internet Explorer 6 or
 Firefox 1.5 for web features

QUICK EDITING & GUIDED PROJECTS
The quick edit tab provides all the adjustments you need for simple correction in a series of sliders along the right-hand side. The guided projects vary from simple image cropping to more complex tasks such as the multiple exposure screen cleaner.

GO MULTI-MEDIA
If you’re a budding film-maker, opt for the Elements and Premier Elements package for £116, as this will allow you to create professional looking slideshows or add still images to your home movies 


 VERDICT
Adobe’s Photoshop Elements 7 is a hugely powerful image-editing tool that is more than sufficient for most photographers’ needs. The layout and features make it an easy way to improve your editing skills or just achieve great results in only a few clicks. The guidance and inclusiveness of the software can be a little frustrating for advanced users, but for most users it is beneficial and allows for easier image management.
Features: 5/5
Performance: 5/5
Ease of use: 4/5
Value for money: 5/5
OVERALL: 5/5