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I have been anxiously waiting for this review and was a little let down upon reading it as it seemed to create more questions than it answered. Of course most Apple users use iPhoto so how does Adobe's "organizer" compare to iPhoto? Is Organizer a good replacement? Whose face recognition is better? How does Organizer handle large photo collections. Does Organizer store photos in one big database like iPhoto? How well does it integrate with other Mac apps? Does it support non-destructive editing of my pictures better or worse than iPhotos solutions? Should iPhoto users move to Organizer or not?

When you boil this review down it was basically the press release with screen shots.

All in all this article seemed to be trying to cover both the mac and PeeCee verisons without highlighting specfics. I give this review "2 mice".

This post has been edited by payneok: 29 September 2010 - 07:52 AM

Organizer is definitely the weak spot BUT it's great to actually have parity / have Organizer now. I like where things are headed for PSE and PRE!

Where is my iLife '11????

The best news for Mac users is that Elements 9 seems to be back to being a dual-platform Windows/Mac CD, so you'll be able to buy it anywhere, at the same discount price as the Windows version.

Just as iPhoto is an alternative to Organizer, Acorn is an alternative to PSE. It would have been nice to see a comparison between the Adobe products and the competition - especially because the competition is quite a bit cheaper.

Take a deep breath, relax and enjoy the review. When an upgrade with this many very significant improvements come out, it is reasonable to discuss the new features. And Lesa has done that very well. Comparisons to other products is going to come in future reviews, on this and other sites. It would have taken much more research and writing to compare products at this point -- the article would have been too long and wouldn't be out yet, if it adhered to the quality of this article.

As a 20 year veteran of its big daddy, Photoshop, I am very impressed with the depth and power of this consumer targeted version of Photoshop. It will do far more than its competitors, but you have to decide whether you need that extra oomph. Try the trial versions and check them out.

I have used Organizer on the PC and it is very capable -- and I've used iPhoto, mostly with friends that I help with learning the programs. Compared to iPhoto for organizing? -- For consumers, Organizer will need some usage over time to see how convenient and helpful it is in practice for them. For the average home/family shooter I'd take a guess that you'd be happy with either product. And more familiar with the one you are already using. There are particular features and integration I like and prefer about Organizer, but I am not at all an average user and in fact I don't rely on them since my working choice is Lightroom and Photoshop Extended.

Keep your eyes out for subsequent reviews and comparisons.

I do a lot of work with photos - gotten a little cash out of it now and then - but I'm not an artist (who can do amazing work with the full Photoshop, or Corel Painter) - what I want is to do work quick and easy, so this product that I've just started using for it's free trial, has great appeal. I don't care about the Organizer too much; iPhoto does fine -- but the feature Perfect Portrait, that "walks you through skin smoothing, eye and teeth brightening, and blemish zapping," is, without doubt, the most common request from customers or friends: Number One: woman want the wrinkles removed, eyes brightened, teeth looking better, etc (for sure!) -- and men like to 'look good,' too -- the other feature, Content-aware fill is a miracle, imo, and I'll probably buy it just for this alone - it's the second most demanded request, like getting rid of electric or cable TV cables, utility poles, or the many annoyances that can clutter a picture. -- As mentioned by others, layers are absolutely necessary and 'non-destructive adjustment layers,' is state-of-the-art and very valuable in all photoediting -- being able to 'copy styles,' from another photo, another miracle, and actually being able to 'replace people,' from one photo to another -- miracle number 4 or 5 and if you've ever taken a group photo of a wedding or a group of kids, this is great to get a group shot without that one, um....get rid of/replace, the kid sticking his tongue out or the guy picking his nose and these are the common tasks and problems of shooting pics of people in the real world. The Out-of-bounds effect also sounds pretty cool for some 'artistic fun,' and flourishes. Photomerge improvements nice, etc.-- for $79.00 (with rebate till end of year) I think I will find it pretty irresistible, if these features work out as well as advertised. Other than this, keep your focus sharp and pay a little attention to 'white balance' / color balance -- and your shots will be second to none.

folklore, on 29 September 2010 - 10:34 AM, said:

I too think Acorn is a great tool! Far more capable than iPhoto, far less expensive than Photoshop, and even a little less expensive than 'Elements'. I agree that, to the extent possible, an objective comparison article would be most appreciated!! /hint

payneok, on 29 September 2010 - 07:50 AM, said:

I'm so sorry you're disappointed in the review. Because Elements is a pixel-editor and selection-based program, I do not feel it warrants being compared to iPhoto, which has no selection tools and therefore is more of an "all of nothing" type of editor. It's not a question of should iPhoto users switch because the programs are so different.

Also, I did note that you can store photos anywhere you want, and even create custom folders from within the photo import dialog, and I also noted that photos are duplicated when importing from iPhoto because of the way iPhoto stores them.

As far as integration with other apps, again, Elements is a pixel-based editing program so of course you can use any resulting photos into any application that supports images.

And lastly, I'd love to be able to cover everything in great detail, but I can only submit as many words as Macworld allows me to.

This post has been edited by Lesa: 01 October 2010 - 10:40 AM

Lesa, thank you for an excellent review and helped me realize my present use of Lightroom 3 as my "organizer" and editor except for those rare "gems" that I think I can improve with PSE 8. As a hobbyist, I have never felt my skills and interest were sufficient to warrant the expense of the full PS.

I,too, used iPhoto and think it is a truly great program for the multitude of folks who want to take good photos, touch them up and file them in what ever manner they prefer.

Ed

I downloaded and tried a trial version of Photoshop Elements 9. I set Elements 9 as the editing application in iPhoto '09 preferences. When I double clicked a photo in iPhoto, Elements opened but didn not load the photo. An Adobe sales rep told me that the problem was that I was using a trial version, and since Elements 8 worked this way with iPhoto, so would Elements 9 once I purchased. However, in Elements 9 help, I found a statement that Elements 9 does not load photos from the iPhoto library, whereas Elements 8 help explains how to set iPhoto preferences to use Elements as the editor. I'd be interested if there are settings in either Elements 9 or iPhoto that allows you to keep your photos in iPhoto and use Elements.

I don't care for the "organizer", iPhoto is powerful enough. Or use Picassa.
Most important tool for most people is editing.
Again, the new iPhoto is good enough for majority of people. For photographers among us, GraphicConverter is a cheaper and a good option, plus there is LiveQuartz, or Gimp.
But...if I find 60 bucks around my house, I'll save them for something better. No need to pay every time a new versions comes up. It's crazy!
New version of this, new version of that...crazy consumerism!
Stop it, slow down!!!

I find something lacking in the new organizer that was present in Bridge and that is the ability to sort manually. I do not want to create a photo album in order to do a manual sort. I just want to put my pictures in the order I want them within the folder I want them without using a pre-determined sort tag. That option existed in Bridge CS4 and is missing in the new organizer. I consider this a step backwards.