Ok so here is the deal. I am a seventeen year old who loves making graphic art on photoshop, and would some day like to make it a career. But thats besides the point. At home the only photoshop version I have to use is Photoshop elements 2.0, I know its very old. I am looking into buying a newer version, but I am unsure which one I should look in to. Is it necessarily the best idea to buy the newest version out there? Or is there a version that is in some ways better than the newest that someone would recommend?

Hi

It really depends on how much you can afford to spend on software, Elements 8 is the better version in the Elements chain and on the same note the full Photoshop CS4 is also in my oppinion the best out of the group.
But cost wise your talking a vast difference between Elements and CS4.
CS4 and previous versions also come in two editions, the standard version and the extended versions.
In CS4 the extended version has 3D capability that the standard version does not have.

So it comes down to two things, what you want to do with photoshop and how much your budget will allow you to spend.

Hope that helps

I have a PC.

And as for the price I have been trying to work a deal out through my high school. Schools can get huge discounts on Photoshop, so price isn't that much of a problem.

I have tried all the photoshop software since photoshop 7 and by far the best ( and I mean the fastest and stable ) has been photoshop cs2. PScs2 was so fast at start up and never crashed for me. It was a nice idea not to load the fonts at the start because that made it slower, instead it loads the fonts once you click on the font icon ( hence it will take a sec to load ) .

I say stick with the cs2 for the performance, but if you really need all the features the new software has make sure your computer can handle it. Cs4 has the graphics accelerator, you need a really nice graphics card for this to work. I got the GeForce 8800 gt and it works really fast. http://www.nvidia.com/page/geforce_8800.html

Thanks for the advice.
So, did the newer versions continue in cs2 footsteps, by not loading the fonts?

yup

i have cs3 extended and cs4 extended...i know cs4 is newer and suposed to be better but i almost never use it...i still use cs3 cause i like it that much

This dont happen often but I have to agree with Oscar...man that felt strange writing that...(He knows Im jokin)

Cs2 is more stable and unless you are into 3d, then for me it is the better version out there. I have cs3 and 4 on my pc and still use cs2.

Correct

MS Paint...

That is like... so pro.

I used PS7 for years, skipped CS2, then finally bought CS3 Extended. Students are able to get a pretty good deal for this software.

So by the sounds of it the majority of you think cs2 is the way to go. thanks

hmm...in my opinion...go for CS3...working with that one for ages now...and it has what i want.

+ i tried the try out version of CS4..but found out some of alot of used shortcuts which is mostly use have been appointed to another function..

My advice to you is go for CS3..nice and stable, never crashed on me either.
If you want to go for the future look and nice looking stuff and 3d Editing..
go for CS4.

Up to you

I'm with Tommekin and Eve and huub666, I've got CS3 extended, and it's got all you could possibly need, at least for right now. And since it's an older version, your school most certainly should be able to get a good deal on it. It's got WARP for heaven's sake! That's a huge addition - you cannot warp with any other tool, it's not the same.

Good luck to you and have fun with this amazing program - I still think it's magic.