Can Photoshop Elements 8 Beat The Challengers?

The competition is heating up among low cost image editing software for Mac users. Adobe hasn’t upgraded Photoshop Elements for years, again neglecting Mac users, and leaving the low end of the market open for newcomers.

For well under $100 there are many competent, capable photo editing titles. Consider Pixelmator, Acorn, Funtastic Photos, and others, all carving out their own territory in the market. The latest photo editor hopes to quash the new competition. Enter Adobe’s Photoshop Elements 8 for Mac. It’s back with more features than ever.

Resurrection

What happened to Photoshop Elements for the Mac? While the Windows software progressed with new features, and went from version 6.x to 7.x to 8.x, the Mac version languished for years, stuck back at 6.x.

While Adobe seemingly ignored the growing Mac market, an anti-Adobe backlash brought opportunities for software developers to fill the vacuum. Apple added photo editing capability to iPhoto.

Not wanting to lose more share of a growing market for photo editing software, the Adobe empire strikes back with another version of Photoshop Elements.

Adobe Noise

This time, Adobe is making some noise by introducing Elements 8, skipping version 7 altogether. Noise? Adobe calls Elements “The #1 selling consumer photo-editing software.” Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t.

The fine print of Adobe’s advertising doesn’t say whether it’s Mac or Windows or both, but the data covers 2002 through early 2009, and North America only. Regardless, Elements is back with more features than previous versions.

Windows users get both odd and even numbered versions, while Mac users, so it seems, are stuck with only the even numbered versions, since Adobe skipped Elements 5 and 7 for the Mac.

Mac or Windows? $99

The Mac version of Photoshop Elements can be pre-ordered for $99, but a $20 mail-in rebate is available to bring the total down to $79, and more competitive with the likes of Acorn, Pixelmator, Funtastic Photos and friends.

Adobe is in to bundling these days, and $120 gets Windows users Photoshop Elements 8 and Adobe Premiere Elements 8, a video editing application that is comparable to Apple’s iMovie.

Unfortunately, Adobe doesn’t bundle much for Mac users, unless you move up to the more expensive Creative Suite 4, which comes in a variety of packages at substantially more cost.

What’s in Photoshop Elements 8 for Mac? How does it compare to previous versions? Click Here for Page 2 and a look at some slick and sassy new features you’re going to like.