Latest Adobe Photoshop and Premiere gets the Elements treatment


Company announces Photoshop Elements 9 and Premiere Elements 9 for OS X.

Elements is the scaled down version of Adobe's two popular photo and video editing applications. The titles are ideal for more casual users who may not need all the tools, and complications that tag along, in the full professional packages. Elements 9 packaging appears to update the titles to go along with the recently released Creative Suite 5.

Most interesting may be the Premiere Elements, as the video editor has recently returned to the Mac. The scaled down video editor may be appealing as a new alternative to Apple's Final Cut Express, which itself is a scaled down version of the widely used Pro video editor. Some highlights of Premiere Elements 9 include tools for fixing audio problems, working with bad footage, and correcting image and stabilization issues. The package also offers easy importing and uploading from Flip video cameras and Digital SLRs.

On the Photoshop side, some new features include Spot Healing Brush for fixing problem areas with a "magic" fill. Adobe's example involves a solution for removing pesky tourists from vacation photos. Also new are Guided Edit, which offers some help with more complicated editing effects.

The products are available for $99.99 each or $149.99 bundled.

Adobe