Been working merrily away in ignorant bliss with Adobe's Creative Suite 3 since it came out and have not paid any attention to Photoshop's evolution. But, I'm contemplating a new computer, which prompts the software upgrade question. So, to those of you who have evolved with Adobe's product line, are the features in the newer versions or anticipated version of Creative Suite and Photoshop of value to photographers?
CS3 to CS6.......where do we start. CS3 was so long ago I don't even remember what was on it. There maybe still stuff posted on the web that compare CS3 to CS4 and then CS4 to CS5 etc. Also with that big of a jump I don't think you get an upgrade price. I think you will have to buy the whole version.
Thanks,
Kirk
at age 73:
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep"
Kirk - do you feel that the past upgrades were substantive for your work?Originally Posted by Kirk Gittings
CS5 has content-aware fill, which cuts dust spotting time significantly. CS5 on OSX is also 64-bit (you can work on larger file sizes, helpful for LF scans). Those were my 2 main criteria. Everything else, I could do just fine in CS3. An 8x10 scan can exceed 2GB, however, so CS5 was a big upgrade for me. On Windows, CS4 is 64-bit but of course doesn't have content-aware fill.
Don't want to light off another Mac v PC debate, but do you think it matters which computer platform you run it on nowadays?
Please don't ask this question. Just stop it right there. There is no answer to this, it just annoys everyone.
As to the upgrade, I don't think you have a choice. If one is serious about using computers in Photography, the march of upgrades will continue, both from the computer makers and from the software companies. They depend on constant upgrades for their business model and they will ultimately punish you if you don't comply. Just try upgrading to a modern mac system with an older computer. Or you will have to pay a lot extra if you don't upgrade the PhotoShop at least every other version.
That said, I would rather work with CS3. There are benefits to the new version, but they pale in comparison to losing the ability to hold down a key and see where the value you click on lies on the curve. We now have to use that hand thing, there is no shortcut to it so I have to put down my pen and go to the mouse, click it, then make sure I don't move the curve. It's truly annoying.. I don't know why they can't put some prefs in so that certain features could stay - that work for one person or another. Why, for another example, if I load up the selection for a mask, and then make changes to that mask, does it automatically change the mask? It used to just change the selection, at which point I could make another adjustment layer (based in part on some selection from that layer). Now, if one wants to do that, you have to click back to the background layer before you adjust the selection. Why can't we turn that of?
Each version does get a little better with working with memory and if they do the Lion thing, which is to save versions constantly so that you don't lose work when the bloatware crashes on you, then that will be welcome.
They still don't understand that some people work with large files and they would like it to open and save within reason. They think a really large file is 30 megs. I think most of us have a love/hate relationship with the program and company. It's essential to what we do, but its also expensive, and I think, as a company, they are extremely arrogant and seriously out of touch their users.
Lenny
EigerStudios
Museum Quality Drum Scanning and Printing
One nice improvement in CS6 is that files save in the background. So you can initiate the save, and then continue to work on that image (or another image). You don't have to wait until the file saving has completed anymore.
This would be a very useful feature. I am still on CS3, thinking of doing the upgrade they are offering to those of us on the dinosaur versions.
Absolutely not. I use both-PC at home in the studio and Macbook Pro in the field. No difference worth even commenting on. Except the odd plugin that won't run on both.
Thanks,
Kirk
at age 73:
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep"
Excellent! With that question answered, I pulled the trigger on the new box, i7-3820 processor, solid-state drive, 64 Gb of memory, 2 Gb video card, dual 24" monitors, and few tb of hard disk drives - that ought to make the Photoshop happy for a little while.
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