Adobe Systems Incorporated has released two major upgrades to its digital photo and video software for Windows: Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 and Adobe Premiere Elements 4.

Available separately or together, the new offering provides creative ways to organise, edit, create and share digital photos and home movies.

New features include Photoshop Elements' new Photomerge technology that helps enthusiasts take perfect group photos by combining the best facial expressions and body language from a series of shots, said an Adobe official.

Premiere Elements 4 makes it possible to create entertaining movies in just minutes. A streamlined Organiser - with a common database accessible from both applications -  speeds performance and eases importing, tagging and retrieving.

"With our new offering we are providing tighter integration and a shared Organiser that will help users do more with their photos and videos," said Adobe's Middle East Channel Manager Jacob Alex.

"Both, Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements, are available for Windows users and we also plan on introducing a separate version for Macintosh by early 2008," he added.

Photoshop Elements' new Quick Selection Tool reduces time-consuming select-and-adjust tasks to a single click. Beginners or experts can now select one of three edit modes, each geared towards a different experience level. Also, the software's new Guided Edit mode helps users through the steps of improving a photo.

Photoshop Elements 6 streamlines editing with clean, uncluttered screens and its new tabs simplify access. Enhancements include an improved conversion tool that dramatically converts colour images into elegant, nuanced black-and-whites.

"With video and digital cameras now part of our everyday lives and social networking sites on the rise, people are demanding sophisticated tools to show off their photos and videos," said senior vice-president of Creative Solutions at Adobe John Loiacono.
 
Premiere Elements' new Audio Mixer works like a mixing board in a recording studio, adjusting the relative volumes of different audio with sliders. The new Sharing Center centralises ways to show off videos.

Users can upload and share videos in multiple ways, including Blu-ray disc, the Web, and mobile devices such as the Apple iPhone. Videos also can be exported in a video format based on Adobe Flash to Web sites like YouTube, without special encoding requirements.

for Windows is available as a bundle at an estimated street price of $185. Photoshop Elements 6 and Adobe Premiere Elements 4 for Windows are available separately for an estimated street price of $123 each. The products will be available in the market in the second half of October 2007.- TradeArabia News Service