I have used Photoshop Elements since version 2 and I strongly believe it is the best photo-editing program available for under $100. It will do most of the editing tasks that the full version of Photoshop does but at a fraction of the cost. It is the software I have my "Digital Photography" and "Digital Drawing and Painting" students use for the college courses I teach.

If you are serious or semi-serious about editing your photos I highly recommend that you purchase this. In addition, an important advantage of learning (and using) Elements is that if you decide to someday move up to the full version of Photoshop all the stuff you learned translates to the more expensive program. Also, there is a TON of instructional material available online (most of it free!) and in books that will help you learn this program.

I've included a short video showing a few of the features of Elements 10 and how they compare with the same features in Photoshop CS5.

If you just want an easy program to use to edit a few photos now and then you can find cheaper software programs, and many online programs that are free. One good free online application is Sumo Paint.

My recommendations to current Photoshop Elements users:

1. Element 9 Users: The new features in Elements 10 basically deal with organizing your photos and some quick and easy templates and photo effects. For the most part, I wouldn't recommend upgrading to Elements 10 if you have Elements 9.

2. Elements 3-8 Users: I recommend upgrading to Elements 10 because there was a huge improvement between versions 8 and 9 (content aware, puppet warp, and the ability to add masks to layers).

I hope this helps!

Photoshop Elements (PSE) 10 --like its predecessor versions-- is an image editor with a spectrum of features that will rapidly surpass the skills (and time available to tinker) of most amateur digital photographers...even highly skilled ones. The overall interface will be familiar to user of PSE versions as far back as PSE 6 or 7. It incorporates most of the multiple image merge functions familiar to users since PSE 7. As with previous versions, PSE 10 offers this for a fraction of the cost of its big-brother Photoshop CS5. Most amateur photographers --and even some frugal professionals-- can perform all but the most advanced digital editing with PSE 10 (and then use the money saved for some nice new hardware!).

Note: This review assumes some familiarity with digital photography and digital image concepts, and previous exposure to earlier PSE versions.

Installation:
-No issues with installation on a machine with a fresh (less than two weeks old) install of Windows 7, a dual-core 3 GHZ processor and 4 GB of RAM.

-Unlike PSE 8, PSE 10 does not require users to decide whether to continue using an earlier version or use the new version exclusively. You have the option to use --or remove-- both version 10 and an earlier version (but you can't do so at the same time: I tried!).

-The license for this product permits installation on one primary and one "mobile" computer, with the restriction not to use on both computers at the same time.

-Total installation time (including entering the registration code and skimming the EULA) took less than 10 minutes. This was followed by PSE 10's "Organizer" peforming its own indexing of the digital images on my computer. Cataloging nearly 50,000 digital images took slightly less than an hour. If you're a Windows user and store your images in a non-default "My Pictures" location under your user name: you'll have to tell PSE where to browse for this indexing.

Function and features:
-The interface, function and features of PSE 10 will be familiar to users of recent PSE versions. The .psd files are still manipulated using layers and selection tools. The complete range of image effects ("filters"), image enhancement and editing tools are essentially unchanged since version 6. Still present are options to open, edit and save in wide range of file formats.

-PSE 10 recognized the scanner on my system, and immediately allowed imports of scanned images using both the scanner's proprietary interface (Epson software) and the generic WIA Windows Image Acquisition, the successor to TWAIN) options.

-Output to the printers on my system was trouble-free. Accepting the default printing options yielded fine results, but advanced options for those who like to tweak are readily available. PSE 10 successfully offered options to print to the two physical (laserjet, inkjet) and two virtual (Acrobat and Microsoft Document Writer) printers attached to my desktop.

Issues:
-PSE 10 and Adobe continue to assume plenty about user connectivity. All of the help files for PSE 10 are online. Select "Help" in the menu bar (or press the "F1" key), and you are not taken to local help files...you are taken to adobe.com. This is fine if you are connected to the Internet, but less fine if you are not (and some people are NOT connected at all times). You can optionally download a 27 MB .pdf user guide. This is an option you'll want to exercise if you anticipate needing help while not online or if you have bandwidth constraints where you work.

-Adobe also continues to also push its online services hard. At install, and *every* time you launch PSE 10, you will be invited to enter your "Adobe Online ID". If you register (and you'll probably want to just for update notifications), you'll get some free services (2 GB of storage and some sharing functions). This seems to be aimed at two things:
(1) tracking use habits of users (my opinion only; but read the EULA carefully!)
(2) enticing you into the $49.99 per year "PSE 10 Plus" services (20 GB of online storage and some sharing and effects services). While I suppose the integration with PSE is nice, you can register your own domain --with unlimited storage-- from hundreds of providers for much less than this. Resist!

As long as you download the .pdf file so you have access to help files when offline, and remain aware of what *any* software company may be doing when they solicit you to use the online extensions of their products: these are not serious shortcomings. But my suspicions about how Adobe might track user behavior and over-reliance on online help files are what move this from a 5-star to a 4-star review.

Finally:
-PSE 10, like all of its predecessors is feature dense. Even powerful users will benefit from additional help. In addition to widely available online forums (hosted by Adobe and elsewhere on the web; search popular video sites for step-by-steps on even the most advanced functions), a reference book will improve your user experience. Remember: technology is complicated, and you're not a dummy! Rather than something in yellow and black that calls you names, consider the Photoshop Elements 10 "Missing Manual" instead.

My copy shipped with a $20 gift card for online printing services from Shutterfly (available with any purchase of $20 or more), a trial version of Adobe Premiere Elements 10 (for video editing; $79 to activate), which installed concurrently (and optionally) with PSE 10. I have a functional earlier version of Premier Elements, so just uninstalled this trial version. Also included in this package was an installation CD for a 30-day trial of Lightroom 3, which I did not install.

The physical media for PSE 10 consists of thee 3 DVDs, One is for Windows users (Disc 1), one for Mac users (Disc 3). I was never prompted to do anything with the mysterious "Disc 2"; perhaps it is Mac-unique?

PSE 10 is a powerful image editing tool priced right for consumers. Purchase with confidence. Is it worth upgrading from version 8 or 9? Probably not. But if you're ready to do take on some powerful editing of your digital images, PSE 10 is a good choice if you don't already run a recent earlier version.

The first few hours are a nightmare. There are so many levels of tools and effects it gets very confusing and frustrating. The last time I used a program this complex it came with a 600 page manual. I found the information in the help menu helpful but limited. Save yourself some brain cells, buy one of the how to manuals. I am finding the "Missing Manual" book very informative. Photoshop Elements 10: The Missing Manual Also find a print out of the key board short cuts. Once you understand the basics it starts to get easier.

Saving your work is confusing at first with all the options available to you. Let PS save the way it wants to, and never move a file from where PS thinks it is. The next time you try to open PS it will go fruit loops and spend the next five hours looking for it.

After a few days things start to make sense, and you start to figure out how things work. I am using PS on Windows 7, and a Mac also. Works just as well on both OS.

Once things start to congeal it is a very excellent program that will allow you to make beautiful pictures with which you can bore your friends!

I am a user of Photoshop Elements. I downgraded from Photoshop CS(x) as I no longer needed such a powerful program. Adobe Elements offers all of the features that most home users want or need. I have given it four stars instead of five because I think the Help component is lacking.

As to the other reviewer who gave this program 1 star, I have to point out that Adobe Photoshop Elements is NOT movie editing software. It is photo editing software. Perhaps she was referring to Adobe Premiere Elements, which is a movie editing software application.