First look at Photoshop Elements 8

New look, content-aware scaling lead the charge in update

Mac users could be forgiven for doubting the future of Photoshop Elements for Mac, Adobe’s low-cost image editor. In the two years since Elements 6 appeared to wide acclaim, Mac users have watched as their Windows compatriots progressed to Version 7. At the same time competition has heated up from an ever-growing crop of inexpensive image editors for the Mac, such as Acorn and Pixelmator.

With Photoshop Elements 8—released simultaneously on Mac and Windows—Adobe is once again staking its claim in the consumer image-editing market. The new version (which cost $100, and comes with a $20 mail-in rebate) offers new tools for quickly applying editing effects and merging information from multiple photos, sports an updated interface, and includes technology from its much larger sibling, Photoshop CS4. While Elements 8 doesn’t offer as many groundbreaking tools as previous versions, it does look to be a well-rounded update to an already good product.

Read more: macworld.com