Photoshop CS3 or CS3 Extended (and Illustrator)

[BogBunny]

Just thought I'd say Hi to everyone before I make my first post, so Hi

I've recently bought a new PC and Adobe Creative Suite CS3 (student edition) which includes Photoshop C3 and Illustrator CS3.

However I've since been reading about Photoshop CS3 Extended and was wondering whether instead of the Creative Suite I should have just bought the CS3 Extended version (I haven't opened or installed it yet so might be able to exchange it).

I only aim to use this software for Photo editing and retouching and wondered whether anyone had any comments on whether the base Photoshop CS3 is sufficient or whether there are features in the Extended version that would be of benefit (I have seen articles claiming that the photo stack feature might be useful). Does anyone have experience of both?

Although I've used Photoshop for a while I've never used Illustrator. Are there any features in Illustrator that would be useful for photo editing/post processing that Photoshop can't do?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers

BogBunny

 

[Glen]

For me Illustrator is more of a vectors graphics package, all I use it for at work is customers supplying logos/graphics/illustrations etc. It is a very powerful program, but as a tog I don't think you'd reap the benefits.

 

[Messiah Khan]

Ive got both Photoshop CS3 and Illustrator CS3 and I highly doubt you'd need the features of the extendded version or Illustrator. As Glen said, Illustrator is mainly designed for Vector graphics and I can't see any reason why you would use it for Photo editing. You would be much better off only getting Photoshop and Lightroom.

 

[BogBunny]

Thanks for the swift replies.

My main question was really about whether there is anything in Photoshop CS3 Extended that makes it better for photo editing than the base version.

I didn't think there was much of relevance in Illustrator but just wondered if there was something I was missing.

Cheers

Bogbunny

 

[Mohain]

My main question was really about whether there is anything in Photoshop CS3 Extended that makes it better for photo editing than the base version.

From the Adobe website:

Photoshop CS3 Extended delivers everything in Photoshop CS3 and more. Render and incorporate 3D images into your 2D composites. Stop time with easy editing of motion graphics on video layers. And probe your images with measurement, analysis, and visualization tools.

Photoshop CS3 is the professional standard in digital imaging. Enhancements to Photoshop CS3 include a streamlined interface, many productivity improvements including faster launch times, features that deliver unrivaled editing and breakthrough compositing including the frequently requested Smart Filters for nondestructive editing, and Auto-align and Auto-blend for advanced compositing. Photoshop CS3 Extended includes all the features of Photoshop CS3 plus customized features meant for professionals using specialized images including 3D and motion based content. Photoshop CS3 Extended enables easy editing of motion graphics on video layers as well as compositing and texture editing of 3D content. Photoshop CS3 Extended also includes measurement and visualization tools that allow deeper analysis of scientific and engineering images.

So probably not