Adobe Photoshop Elements and Adobe Photoshop CS3

[Jargon]

I have a copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements because it was bundled with my ATI All-In-Wonder X1900 video card. So I basically paid nothing for the Photoshop software. Now I'm wondering if I should upgrade to its professional big brother, the Adobe Photoshop CS3, which costs a whopping US$649. I couldn't find any relevant comparative info on the Adobe website. What do you think is the most compelling reason to upgrade to the pro version?

[hitkaiser]

The most compelling reasons: (photographer point of view)

is you get to use "curves"
most online tutorials cater to the full version

That is pretty much it.. but elements is very good as it is.


Update: Curious to know, just noticed what camera you have... How long have you been into photography?

[Nicole]

Wow, this thread popped up, just as I was about to post a link to something that I found very interesting... a Curves plugin for Photoshop Elements (http://www.earthboundlight.com/phototips/photoshop-elements-curves.html?search=curves&bool=and). So, basically, you download this plugin and you can use curves, layer masks, the channel mixer, and selective color. I've just downloaded it and installed it, and it makes me a very happy girl to have these features in a program I already bought. :D (btw, I'm still going to post this in a new thread so that it gets seen :p)

[Jargon]

Update: Curious to know, just noticed what camera you have... How long have you been into photography?
I started learning about photography more than a decade ago. Then as digital cameras became available, I began buying digital cameras, each one much more expensive than the previous one I bought. It was only recently that a camera that had all the features I wanted became available. And that is the camera that you noticed.

[Jargon]

Wow, this thread popped up, just as I was about to post a link to something that I found very interesting... a Curves plugin for Photoshop Elements (http://www.earthboundlight.com/phototips/photoshop-elements-curves.html?search=curves&bool=and). So, basically, you download this plugin and you can use curves, layer masks, the channel mixer, and selective color. I've just downloaded it and installed it, and it makes me a very happy girl to have these features in a program I already bought. :D (btw, I'm still going to post this in a new thread so that it gets seen :p)
Thanks for the heads-up! I haven't really spent a lot of time doing post-processing work on my photos. I normally just crop and resize them. I rarely do cleanup work and color adjustments. So I really appreciate the tips. :)