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If you're a frequent camera upgrader, you know Adobe kind of has you by the short hairs when it comes to Photoshop revisions: If you want to process RAW files (without the horror of resorting to the inevitably kludgy software that came with the camera), you'll need the latest version of the application.
Fortunately, Photoshop Elements 6, the new edition of Adobe's mid-range version of the image-editing suite, offers plenty of non-extortionate reasons to trade up if you've skipped an upgrade cycle or two. Besides supporting the latest cameras, the RAW import tool has been expanded to include more options for tweaking exposure, sharpness and other values. Selecting parts of an image to retouch has come within the reach of clumsy mortals with the Magic Extractor option. Photomerge allows creation of seamless panoramas from multiple shots, while the Spot Healing Brush allows quick and easy masking of small blotches. And the Blur tool will easily save your bacon if you need to de-identify somebody in a group shot.
Photoshop Elements 6 is $100 for the full version, $80 for those upgrading from a previous edition.
