But if you're concerned about features, About.com lists the following features as those that are in Photoshop that aren't in Photoshop Elements:

• CMYK and LAB color modes
• More tools and features that work with high-bit (16-bit and 32-bit) images
• Combine multiple exposures to create high dynamic range (HDR) images
• Channels Palette
• Recording custom Actions (for batch processing)
• Adjustments: Color Balance, Match Color
• Layer Masks, Layer Comps, and Quick Mask mode
• Smart Objects, Smart Guides
• Lens Blur Filter
• Vanishing Point Tool
• Pen tool and paths palette
• Some adjustment layers (curves, color balance, selective color, channel mixer)
• Editing History Log
• Text on a path, advanced text formatting
• Advanced Layer Style manipulation
• Advanced Color Management
• Advanced Web features and ImageReady (rollovers, slicing)
• Customizable tool presets, keyboard shortcuts, and menus
• In the features and tools that are shared, the Photoshop version usually offers more advanced options for fine tuning and control.

I sometimes use Elements and I sometimes use the full Photoshop. Because we do animated Web ads, I couldn't live without ImageReady and I often use adjustement layers. But most people I've talked who don't do graphics work for a living never use any of the features above.

Wrap-up
We are huge fans of Photoshop Elements and recommend it to most people looking for an image editing solution. We have one minor beef with some of the background software the program installs on your computer (see "Permanently turning off the automatic Adobe Photo Downloader"), but otherwise are unreservedly impressed with the product.

We give the Photoshop Elements/Premiere Elements bundle (and Photoshop Elements alone) a picturesque four out of five.

OUR RATING: 4 of 5

For more than 20 years, David Gewirtz, the author of Where Have All The Emails Gone? and The Flexible Enterprise, has analyzed current, historical, and emerging issues relating to technology, competitiveness, and policy. David is the Editor-in-Chief of the ZATZ magazines, is the Cyberterrorism Advisor for the International Association for Counterterrorism and Security Professionals, and is a member of the instructional faculty at the University of California, Berkeley extension. He can be reached at david@zatz.com.