# Adobe photo deluxe, photoshop, which to buy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 20, 2003, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-photo-deluxe-photoshop-which-to-buy/220092 "2003-12-20T01:31:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chuckster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b9bd4f/32.png) [@chuckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chuckster)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-photo-deluxe-photoshop-which-to-buy/220092/1 "2003-12-20T01:31:06Z")
I had an older adobe photo deluxe cd rom. That software has served me well to this point, but I would still like to get something better. I recently switched to a new Dell PC with XP and discovered I cannot install the new cd rom because it has been scratched up too many times. My budget is limited, but I have decided to buy another version of photo deluex or an older version of adobe photoshop (version 5 le for example) on e-bay. I have heard adobe photo deluxe ver 4 will not run well on xp. Is photoshop version 5 le a good buy, or is there something better i can get cheaply? ---
**Author:** ![Guy\_Incognito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guy_incognito/32/3920_2.png) [@Guy\_Incognito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Incognito)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-photo-deluxe-photoshop-which-to-buy/220092/2 "2003-12-20T01:52:19Z")
Have you considered Adobe Photoshop Elements? It looks like it sells for about $82 on Amazon right now. It’s sort of a stripped-down version of Photoshop, but it contains most of the popular tools. I haven’t used it myself, so you might want to look up some reviews to see how it fares. ---
**Author:** ![Landshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/77aa72/32.png) [@Landshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Landshark)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-photo-deluxe-photoshop-which-to-buy/220092/3 "2003-12-20T02:16:50Z")
I own and use Photoshop Elements myself. I was previously a user of full-blown Photoshop, but found myself very rarely if ever using several of its harder to learn tools. Thus, when Elements first came out and I understood it was basically Photoshop without those tools, I bought it right away and have been happy with it since then. Definitely recommended. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-photo-deluxe-photoshop-which-to-buy/220092/4 "2003-12-20T02:59:51Z")
Photodeluxe is free so that’s a point in its favor. I use it a lot and it does quite a few things but I also use Irfanview and MS-Paint for simpler things. I am often working on a graphic and continually transferring from one program to another depending on what I want to do. For basic stuff I do not need anything more and I would not get another much more bloated program unlwess I really needed it. ---
**Author:** ![KenGr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecc23a/32.png) [@KenGr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KenGr)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-photo-deluxe-photoshop-which-to-buy/220092/5 "2003-12-20T03:12:42Z")
As another former Photoshop (full version) user, I vote for Photoshop Elements. Definitely worth the money. ---
**Author:** ![Headcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6bbea6/32.png) [@Headcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Headcoat)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-photo-deluxe-photoshop-which-to-buy/220092/6 "2003-12-20T06:10:06Z")
For non-professional work, [The Gimp](http://www.gimp.org/) is good. It started off as a Linux equivalent to Photoshop, but now there are Windows versions out. And its completely free. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-photo-deluxe-photoshop-which-to-buy/220092/7 "2003-12-20T08:07:05Z")
Photoshop Elements. highly recommended. And Gimp is also available for MacOS X, as MacGimp, if you’re so inclined. ---
**Author:** ![booka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@booka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/booka)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-photo-deluxe-photoshop-which-to-buy/220092/8 "2003-12-20T14:40:33Z")
PS Elements 2. Great deal for the money. ---
**Author:** ![Merhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Merhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merhouse)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/adobe-photo-deluxe-photoshop-which-to-buy/220092/9 "2003-12-20T16:42:28Z")
I just took a look at [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com), and Photoshop Elements 2.0 is selling for $82 less 2 rebates: Adobe $30 if you buy by 12/31/03 Amazon offers another $10 if you buy **today, 12/20/03** Just thought it might help you make up your mind. FTR, I’ve never used “Elements”, and I don’t have a relationship with Amazon, (other than as a consumer) but it still looks like a great deal 🙂