Photo editing software cheap (CS2) and free trial (Aperture)

OK, if you own a copy of Adobe Elements you can now purchase (for a limited time) a full copy of Photoshop CS2 for about 1/2 price. $299. US

See this:

Also, if you were unaware...Apple is offering a 30 day trial of Aperture now.

Wow, this is a great deal for prospective CS2 customers, who most likely already have Elements - I doubt people jump in and buy the full package without a lot of experience first, usually gained via Elements.

Do remember however that CS3 is looming up fast, with a likely $150 - $200 upgrade fee from CS2. However, it is still cheaper overall, if not by much, and if you hare happy with CS2 (and if you are a new buyer, there is more than enough there to keep you busy for YEARS) you have saved a bundle!

Great find Odin_aa!

Sweet. But $299 is still an enormous amount of money.

I personally think the vast majority of applications are ludicrously overpriced. Games such as Grand Theft Auto also take 2 years to develop, plus the hiring of voice actors, yet only costs say $40. In fact it probably costs more to develop most games since they're often built from the ground up, unlike Photoshop which is still basically based on version 4.

Heck, even OS X only costs around $170 to buy standalone.

I agree that Photoshop is overpriced - nearly $600 for an application seems ludicrious. HOWEVER, Photoshop is the golden standard in image editing, and if that is what Adobe charges for it, I will pay it... grudgingly, but I will (actually have long ago) pay it.

Oh, its still not cheap by any means but it gets you "in the door" with the top of the line appication for much less. If your currently using Elements and can afford the upgrade at $300. to CS2, you will be more than happy with it for years to come and do not need CS3 skip an upgrade until CS4 comes out. I would assume that is the reason for the discount, to get rid of already run copies of the older software.

It is not a cheap application, but I find it worth the price. Now Grand Theft Auto or any other video game for $40-100.00 (PS3 games are over 60.) that is not worth it for me...my kids want them all though.