Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 and Premiere Elements 8 Available Now

Adobe today announced major upgrades to its popular digital photo and video software - Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 for Windows and Mac and Adobe Premiere Elements 8 for Windows.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 for Windows features:

• Enhanced Organizer: easily manage media and find photo and video clips even faster than before.
• New Auto-Analyzer: automatically analyzes and tags media so users can quickly find content
• People Recognition: identifies people in photos, becoming more intelligent over time, as it learns to associate names and faces.
• Sync: now users can automatically synch media across multiple computers
• Photomerge Exposure: merge multiple shots of the same scene, with and without a flash
• Recompose: the new Recompose makes it easy to automatically resize photos without distorting the image.
• Quick Fix previews: visually choose the best color, contrast and lighting adjustments from a series of previews.
• Online Album: share photos and videos with the new interactive Online Album templates

Windows users also have the option to purchase Plus. Plus includes 20GB of storage for automatic online backup and sharing (up to 15,000 photos or four hours of DVD-quality video), as well as tutorials, tips and tricks, seasonal artwork and interactive online templates sent directly to the desktop software. Photos and videos can also be accessed anywhere with an Internet connection at Photoshop.com.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 for Mac includes all of the photo-editing options in the Windows version but also gives users access to the features in Adobe Bridge CS4 software.

Additional editing features in the Mac version include:

• Scene Cleaner: brushes away unwanted elements, such as tourists or cars, from a series of photos
• Smart Brush: apply effects to a specific area of a photo with a single stroke
• Touch-Up brushes: make common editing tasks quick, such as whitening teeth or making bright blue skies

The new Adobe Premiere Elements 8 lets users create movies with automated "smart" options that take the work out of video editing, as well as add professional-quality effects.

Features include:

• Organizer: a media management hub for both video- and photos. Find, view and manage media in one place.
• Auto-Analyzer: automatically analyzes and tags media so users can find the most interesting and highest quality content with ease.
• SmartFix: automatically fixes shaky footage and color and lighting problems
• Smart Trim: identifies and helps users get rid of the least interesting, lowest quality footage
• SmartMix: balances audio elements for professional-quality sound throughout

Other features include new motion-tracking capabilities, new movie themes and greater customization controls with InstantMovie. Videos can also be shared with the new interactive Online Album templates or via YouTube, mobile devices, DVD and Blu-ray Disc. All content can be synched with multiple computers as well.

Plus is also available for Premiere Elements 8, giving users 20GB of storage for automatic online backup and sharing, tutorials, tips and tricks, seasonal movie themes and effects delivered to the desktop software. Videos and photos can also be accessed anywhere with an Internet connection at Photoshop.com.

Photoshop Elements 8 and Premiere Elements 8 are available as standalone products or as a bundle package. They are available separately for $99.99 each or as a Windows bundle for $149.99. Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 for Mac will be available in Oct. 2009. Plus can be purchased from within the product for $49.99/year.

For free 30-day trials of the products, visit www.adobe.com/downloads.