PSE11 to PSE2019?

[RSHPhoto]

I'm a long-time user of the consumer version of Photoshop going back a couple of decades to Photoshop Deluxe (remember that?). I've had PSE11 for nearly eight years now and wonder if it's time to update. I've read a few reviews on PSE2019 and they seem to emphasize novelty elements like collage, guided edits for special effects, etc. that don't especially appeal to me. I do my PSE work in the expert panel. My questions: 1. I assume the expert functions haven't been reduced (and please tell me if they have) but have there been important photo editing expert additions since PSE11 (like maybe a gradient function as in LR)? 2. Is the raw editor basically the same or has it been upgraded? It's hard (at least for me) to find answers to these questions in Adobe's promotional materials for PSE2019. I see that in various non-Adobe online forums that PSE sometimes gets knocked as falling a bit behind photo editors like Affinity, which, for example, is getting a boost in the pages of MacLife. Can anyone answer the questions I need to decide on an upgrade? Many thanks.

[99jon]

I think expert mode is pretty much unchanged. There are additions to the Enhance menu such as Open Closed Eyes and Enhance Facial Features. The new auto-selection tool lets you isolate a subject with a single click.

There is no graduated filter as in Lightroom Classic or Lightroom Cloud and PSE 2019 still has the same limited range of raw sliders.

Some people speak well of Affinity but I dislike the proprietary file format one is forced to use, albeit you can save a jpeg or tiff etc from it. However I’ve not checked in a while and it may have improved.

You can download the latest version of pse and try free for 30 days.

[RSHPhoto]

Thanks. I'm not really interested in Affinity: don't want to learn a new system. I just want to determine if it's time to upgrade from PSE11. Thanks for the help.

[RSHPhoto]

Can anyone come up with a good reason why I should update from PSE11 to PSE2019?

[99jon · Accepted solution]

Why not continue with pse11 if it is still working. Many customers find that older software becomes incompatible with updates to Mac OS or W10 but if performance is still acceptable there is no need to change unless you need new features.

[simmy25]

I'm having an issue with my pse11, it crashes every time after about 1 min of use

[99jon]

Try checking the control list if using Mac. Similar thread which could be adapted for pse11.

Re: Photoshop Elements 12 Editor Keeps Crashing on macOS Mojave

[99jon]

Lightroom is only available with a subscription. See my blog:

99jon tech: Compare Adobe Photography Plans