Photoshop CS2 vs Photoshop Elements 4

I just wondering what's the differences between those two software besides the price?

wrote:

I just wondering what's the differences between those two software besides the price?

check the adobe website. briefly, photoshop is the premier, professional, industry standard image editing program. elements is a lame, seriously stripped down version of photoshop.

The complexity of CS2 also yields many more sophisticated options. CS2 has a multitude of features that are more important to graphic artists and web designers than photographers.
In my experience the most practical difference betwen Elements and PS has to do with more options for handling layers and sublayers. I have not seen Elements 4 but I could not do many of the things in Elements 2 that I habitually do in Photoshop.
Depending on how you work this may mean nothing or make the full version of PS indispensable.
Many, but not all, of the filters that are in CS2 are available as independent plug-ins in one form or another.
If you can use the full power of Elements you will be able to adapt to CS2 and may find the added functionality of CS2 invaluable. If you mostly use the automated features of Elements and are not devoted to color management CS2 is not a worthwhile investment.

Regard ing the difference in functionality between the two programs, the following link suggests that a lot of the missing features (e.g., Layer masks, etc.,) in PS Elements are merely hidden and not missing. These can be made available by the application of a "patch" , see http://simplephotoshop.com/photoshop_elements/
MH