🚀 go-pugleaf

You have posted in the feature request area. I would suggest posting in 
the technical support area where you are more likely to find an end-user 
that can help you through this.

Jim,
I tried to straighten a photo which started as Sony RAW (.SR2)and which I had converted to .PSD in Camera Raw. Elements told me that it had only limited capability to process 16 bit files so I have uninstalled it. Looks like I will have to tackle Photoshop CS2 again with that appalling interface and terrible Help.

I will move this thread to the technical area tomorrow if you still post 
here so that you don't lose your conversation. Otherwise, you can start 
a new subject there, but again... this is NOT the right area for your 
question. You will rarely get any responses here.

In any regard, from your post, it appears that PSE cannot do what you 
need? Have you concluded that?

Cheers

Yes Jim, I have decided that, for my requirements PSE 7 will not be any improvement on my PSP 9.02.
9.02 does everything I want with 8bit colours and has some features which would improve PSE and PS eg: the superb two-pane before and after adjustment dialogs which can be expanded full-screen on my second monitor and the little scroll boxes for setting numeric values ['numeric edit controls' in PSP speak] which reduce the amount of guesswork involved in dragging markers along bars. There are others: proper in-line Help and a 501 page 9" x 6" User Guide.

For the record PSP 9 was the last JASC version and had a nasty bug whereby dragging a selection marquee on a layer left an unremovable 'shadow' of the marquee behind. This was fixed in Corel's 9.02.

Just looking through some other options for you. Not sure what it is 
about CS2 you don't care for and since I have CS4 now, I can't go back 
to check. Have you look at the Gimp? It's free so there is no harm in 
looking at it and from what I can tell (just tried it) it handles 16 bit 
files.

I assume that you needed PSE to leave the image in 16 bit format? I just 
tried it and it wants to convert it to 8. I got no such message with 
Gimp... but obviously there is power that you will not have in CS2.

Cheers

Jim,
Thank you for your suggestions.
It is very nice to load CS2 and get a standard Windows window but I am afraid I just do not have the time to dedicate myself to its undoubtedly enormous potential. The same with PSE. I do not have the time to wade through masses of tutorials, lots of books and that Help (which does not exist in my trial PSE version) to learn how to do simple photo adjustments. From the 'media' I get the impression that PS users (you?) spend all their working hours in it. This also seems to be the case with reviewers of PSE. I get the feeling that these reviewers are dedicated PS users and have never tried anything else.
PS is presumably now so huge that it would not be possible to rewrite the interface and Help files for part-time users like me. It reminds me of another dinosaur: AutoCAD.
My problem with GIMP (and a bonus with PSP) is that it won't run PS plugins. I take a lot of architectural photos and the Altostorm plugin is a godsend.
So, I am stuck between a rock and a hard place! My 16bit landscape photos do look better than the 8bit ones. PSP 12 does have limited 16bit support but it has lost some of the best features of PSP 9, notably the superb Adjust Histogram. This has been crippled in PSP 12 (too technical for the red-eye removal punters, I suppose). Adjust Histogram is like Curves with dragging and also numeric input and live histogram display; try it, if you work for Adobe there is bound to be a PSP 9 in the office somewhere (I got my 9.02 as a freebie CD with a Lexar memory card).
Peter

LOL... Actually Peter, I just finished an MA in German... so, I'm not 
the typical Photoshop user. Ironically, I couldn't figure out how to 
install Photoshop 3 on my computers. I went into a forum like this one 
and found it so handy. People answered my questions so quickly. Then I 
started to KNOW the answers and started helping out... haven't looked 
back since. It is true, there are some VERY advanced amateurs and likely 
some professionals that use PSE... but the market seems to demand the 
product that Adobe is currently producing... so they move towards what 
their customer base is telling them to do.

If you're using histograms and curves... I wouldn't consider you all the 
INexperienced either ;) Nevertheless, I think this is a bit of a case 
where you can definitely say one size does NOT fit all.

Cheers

Jim,
Congratulations on your MA in German; such a difficult language!
"but the market seems to demand the product that Adobe is currently producing..."
This is my problem. PS is the only product that does everything I want with 16 bit colours. I suppose I will just have to find the time to learn it if I am to continue with digital photography. I have got Scott Kelby's book 'The Photoshop CS2 book for Digital Photographers' which will be a start. Thank heaven I have got what I am realising is a superb camera and two superb monitors to view the photos on.
Thank you Jim for bearing with me through this most interesting topic.
Peter