Photo answers review
Photo answers rating 
Twelve months on from the launch of Elements 9, Adobe has released the tenth version of its affordable and accessible imaging software. Elements 10 is designed to be a condensed version of Adobe’s Photoshop Creative Suite package, combining a range of beginner-friendly options with some more advanced features to give users a taste of what it’s like to have maximum imaging control at their fingertips. Last year, Elements 9 broke new ground by introducing Layer Masks to the interface, so what does this latest version have in store for us to get excited about?
All-new features
With Elements 10, Adobe has spent time improving the Organizer and for those who are new to Elements, this is where images are grouped, tagged and searched for. In previous versions features like People Recognition have helped identify people in images and new algorithms are now in place to help locate those images that contain visual similarities. Object Search lets you drag out a frame over any area in an image before it searches your library for shots it thinks are similar, with the option of refining the search by colour or shape.
Duplicate Photo Search on the other hand is capable of detecting similar or duplicate images so you can group them more easily or delete them to keep your library clutter-free.
Also new is the option of linking Facebook friends with People Recognition to alleviate the task of manually tagging every photo online and for the first time, videos can be uploaded directly to YouTube straight from the Organizer.
In the full editing area, Adobe has taken the opportunity to expand the Guided Edit options that are found under the Edit menu. These are particularly useful if you know the type of effect you’d like to apply but aren’t entirely sure how to go about creating it. The latest Guided Edits to be added are Orton Effect, Depth of Field and Picture Stack, bringing the total number up to 30 compared to 27 in the previous version.
Orton Effect, pioneered by photographer Michael Orton, produces a dream-like, glowing quality to images and is controlled by three sliders – Blur, Noise and Brightness.
As its name suggests, the Depth of Field mode is used to refine the areas of focus within an image. It’s applied as a single step or alternatively there’s the Custom setting which lets you use the Quick Selection tool to specify the areas you’d like to remain in focus. Picture Stack mode creates a scrapbook look to images and it’s interesting to note that once applied, you can rearrange and fine-tune the effect in the Layers palette.
Adobe has also answered its composition critics by offering Overlay Guides, which are available to use with the Crop tool. The Rule of Thirds Overlay is particularly useful when recomposing images and we found the Grid Overlay handy for straightening horizons and buildings, saving the hassle of pulling out Guidelines.
New tools in the full editing area include Text on a Shape, Text on a Path and Text on a Selection. These are all located under the Type tool and are designed to let you apply text in more unusual ways than simply horizontally or vertically. They all worked well and we found we could write text in a more dynamic way, but their usefulness depends on how often you use the Type tool.
Interface
The first thing we noticed from opening Elements 10 is how familiar the interface looks. The light grey on dark grey layout is identical to Elements 9 and this neutrally toned background is perfect for making colour and contrast adjustments. Loading it onto our Intel Core 2 Duo PC (2.66GHz and 2GB RAW with Windows 7) took less than ten minutes and as we’ve come to expect from Elements, all our adjustments occurred in real time and there were no signs of lag or infuriating delays.
Value and Verdict
Costing £79 for a download or boxed copy, Elements 10 offers superb value for money and continues to set the mark for being the best entry-level image-editing software on the market. New features in this edition seem to have been focused mainly around the Organizer but don’t let that put you off.
If you can’t afford £653 for Photoshop CS5 and you use a earlier version of Elements (like 4,5 or 6) Elements 10 is well worth the cash. If you’re using Elements 7 or 8, it’s also worth a look as it puts Layer Masks at your disposal.
AT A GLANCE
Photoshop Elements 10: £79
Upgrade Price: from £65
(see www.adobe.com/uk for more details)
Minimum Spec (Windows) Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP (SP3), Windows Vista, or Windows 7
Processor: 1.6GHz or faster
Memory: 1GB of RAM
Hard Disk: 4GB of available hard disk space
Display: 1024x576 colour monitor
Other Requirements: Microsoft DirectX 9 or 10 compatible sound and display driver; Graphics card with latest updated drivers; DVD-ROM drive.
Minimum Spec (Mac) Operating System: Mac OS X v10.5.8 through v10.7
Processor: Multicore Intel processor
Memory: 1GB of RAM (2GB for HD video functions)
Hard Disk: 4GB of available space
Display: 1024x768 colour monitor
Other Requirements: Graphics card with latest updated drivers; DVD-ROM drive, QuickTime 7 for multimedia features.
AS FEATURED IN THE NOVEMBER ISSUE OF DIGITAL PHOTO