Which kind of photoshop software should I get?

I love photoshop contests online (especially worth1000.com) and I really want to be able to participate, unfortunatley I am not super rich and can't afford to get photoshop CS2 for the $600 or whatever they want for it. Is there another version of photoshop that can be used for digital image editing that is in the $200-$300 price range? I looked all over the adobe site and the one that I saw the most was adobe elements (besides CS2) and after watching the demonstration, it doesn't seem to be a great program for graphic design. I would really like some input from anyone who has (or knows a lot about) a version of photoshop and can tell me which version would be best for me. Thank you!! =)

Which kind of photoshop software should I get?vincent

Alternatively, you might try Paint shop Pro .... but I would not go with recent versions.

Try version 8 or 9. You should be able to get either of these for around $35 or less.

They started ''dumbing it down'' to the lowest common denominator after version 9, and IMO, ruined the program.

Which kind of photoshop software should I get?adware remover

Here you can get a full Photoshop 7 or an academic version of Photoshop CS2:

http://www.dealtime.com/xGS-discount_ado...

Ciao:)
Why not trot on over to the gimp website at www.gimp.com and look at the free 'open source' software. It's modeled after photoshop and yet entirely free.

A LOT of people in the 'art forums' are talking about it.

Good luck!