My primary image editing tool is LR2 – and I couple that with Elements for some creative processes. In fact, I’ve been using Elements since version 2. There have been times when I think CS would have helped with a tweak or action or both – but those have been rare.

And I’m not sure if I’ve ever paid more than US$90 for Elements (unless it was coupled with the video editing software) – making it a great bang-for-buck tool. The money saved is available for glass or other tools.

My husband used to use CS3 professionally working in graphics and having only PSE at home now frustrates him no end because he is used to doing what he wants to a file in a different way, and non-destructively. It’s a bit of a different thought process at times, and requires re-thinking things a bit. Most things can still be achieved in PSE but it occasionally takes a little more work and sometimes can’t be done non-destructively so you have to make sure you are working on a copy. Given the savings, I’d say that the few times I have to do things “the hard way” are worth it.

Kelby’s book on PSE for Digital Photographers helped me a ton, actually, and is worth picking up to help make the transition between CS3 and PSE probably.