I think Elements can handle RAW format - if not I bet you can find a free plugin out there.
Elements is pretty good for most people who've never used Photoshop before. It is missing some stuff though, but the only way you'll likely miss it is if you've used it in another version and realize it isn't there. WAY back in the day I had PS4, and got a copy of Elements with my printer (or scanner... don't remember.) so I installed it on my sister's computer and my mom's computer. Sometimes they needed help with something and I would come over and be using Elements, and I would try to snag something and be like "....FFFFF it's not in Elements."
So basically, it's not as powerful, but if you aren't aware of what you're missing I doubt you'd have a problem with it. X3
I'm using CS2 right now, I think...