CS5 v. CS5 Extended

[Ed Richards]

Anything in CS5 extended that would benefit a still photographer?

[Donald Miller]

If you're not into 3D or motion based content there probably is little benefit to buying the extended version.

[jeffm2009]

I second that, it's not really worth it for photographers. I am pretty excited about CS5, there are some really cool new features that I've seen demonstrated.

[Jack Dahlgren]

I've been using CS5 and like it, but even after all these versions, it could be a bit more user friendly. The content aware fill works better in the demo than in real life, but is useful for small fixes in inconspicuous places. I played around with the HDR feature and nearly made myself vomit :-)

But there are a few subtle fixes that make it work better and the noise reduction is a lot better - for those who shoot smaller film or digital.

[Steve Sample]

I have been using Photoshop 7.0 since day one and just purchased CS5. I am overwhelmed with all the Photoshop information out there. Can anyone recommend a comprehensive on-line or cd training course to bring me up to to date with all that I have missed. I am particularly interested in learning a good digital work flow from scan (or digital image) to final print. Thanks, Steve

[Brian Ellis]

I've been using CS5 and like it, but even after all these versions, it could be a bit more user friendly. The content aware fill works better in the demo than in real life, but is useful for small fixes in inconspicuous places. I played around with the HDR feature and nearly made myself vomit :-)

But there are a few subtle fixes that make it work better and the noise reduction is a lot better - for those who shoot smaller film or digital.

I've made every upgrade since PS5 but I may sit this one out. FWIW a friend who's very knowledgeable about PS says the same thing you do - content aware not as useful as the demo suggested it would be and HDR still not very good. I thought CS4 was a major improvement in several areas for still photographers, contrary to what some reviewers said, but so far CS5 isn't doing much for me.

[D. Bryant]

Anything in CS5 extended that would benefit a still photographer?

Yes if you are interested in HDRI or focus stacking.

Don Bryant

[Jim Noel]

I have been using Photoshop 7.0 since day one and just purchased CS5. I am overwhelmed with all the Photoshop information out there. Can anyone recommend a comprehensive on-line or cd training course to bring me up to to date with all that I have missed. I am particularly interested in learning a good digital work flow from scan (or digital image) to final print. Thanks, Steve

Lynda.com is excellent.

[Brian Ellis]

Yes if you are interested in HDRI or focus stacking.

Don Bryant

Don - Could you explain the benefits of CS5 vs CS4 for focus stacking (I'm assuming that by "focus stacking" you mean what some people call "extended depth of field," i.e. making several exposures by focusing at different points from near to far in the scene and then merging them). I've been doing that quite a lot in CS4 and it seems to work very well and very easily with auto align layers and auto blend layers.

[Kirk Gittings]

Yes if you are interested in HDRI or focus stacking.

Don Bryant

I have CS4 on different systems, one Mac CS4 Extended, the other PC CS4 regular. CS4 regular on my PC does HDR and focus stacking. What am I missing?