16 bit tiff files

I am deciding whether to upgrade from photoshop elements 2.0 to a full version, but
I cannot see a definitive statement that V7 (or v5 or v6) can accept 16 bit colour depth format tiff files
Can anyone help to enlighten me.
Has anyoune any experience of handling such files (for image correction and printing ?

PS7 has limited support for 16 bit images. Enough to do some adjustments with the extra precision, but not much.

It seems that the newly-announced PScs [aka PS8] has much broader 16 bit support.

I use PS7 to convert raw files from a Nikon D1x into TIF files, witha plugin from Nikon Capture. PS7 has enough basic tools to create a master image file for photographic purposes. Besides the conversion, I use the histrogram, curves, USM sharpening and various dodge/burn techniques. It would be better to use a manipulation layer, so that changes could be reversed without loss, which PS8/cs appears to offer.

The real advantage is that you are much less likely to introduce posterization than when manipulating a 24-bit image.

PS7 prints from a 48-bit file without any problems. If I need to resample, for significant size changes for example, I generally convert to 24-bit (to save space) and save as a new file. 48-bit files have no advantage in printing, just in headroom.

wrote in message

I am deciding whether to upgrade from photoshop elements 2.0 to a full

version,

but
I cannot see a definitive statement that V7 (or v5 or v6) can accept 16 bit colour depth format tiff files
Can anyone help to enlighten me.
Has anyoune any experience of handling such files (for image correction and printing ?