Photoshop Elements vs CS3

[Eviatt]

Just getting started on web design.
What do you think? Photoshop Elements 6 for $80, or Photoshop CS3 for $hundreds-n-hundreds$?
What are the key differences that would apply to web design? I have done basic, simple photo editing with other software, but what I read is that Photoshop can be used to create mock-ups of webpages in addition to editing/enhancing photos....
The question: which software, and why?

Much appreciation in advance.
Eviatt

[Mirko]

Well it all depends on how professional you want to get. Maybe you can try Gimp, it's free and open-source. Not good enough for print design, but you can do everything you need for webdesign with it. Photoshop is just more user-friendly than it.

[Tailslide]

I use PS Elements and find it does everything I need day to day. It's got about 80% of the functionality of full photoshop at a fraction of the price (I'm very mean - most of the software I use is free so actually laying out £70 ish for PSE was a wrench!).

I'd say if you're a Graphic Designer then full photoshop would be the one to go for. If you're like me, a Web Designer who has to do some photo manipulation and graphics then PSE is probably good enough. The most useful feature is the Save for Web which allows you to gradually reduce the quality of an image whilst comparing it with the original - takes out all the guesswork.

[Varelse]

The major difference between regular Photoshop and Elements is CMYK color mode - but it's used for print design purposes.

[Eviatt]

This is great info. Thanks mucho.
So, can you use Elements to do mock-ups of web pages for customers? Do any of you use Photoshop for that? Or do you pencil it out on paper and go straight to XHTML or CS3 or ... ?

[Eviatt]

... Sorry. I mean, do you go straight from pencil and paper to HTML or CSS, or do something else?
.... Im looking for a way to give customers a mockup first, before creating webpages for them to pick apart and critique for tedious changes.