PhotoShop - time to upgrade [Archive] - Large Format Photography Forum

Lenny Eiger

6-Oct-2014, 13:31

Tin Can

6-Oct-2014, 13:57

I am in a minority here, but I consider $10 a month for Photoshop CS, meaning the subscription model, money well spent.

I upgraded for years starting with 4, now it's like 12 or something. I am saving money.

6-Oct-2014, 14:46

Photoshop and light room is together $10/mo and I think that's a deal. I don't know if cs6 has it but the healing tool is real nice for dust or scratches.

Jim C.

6-Oct-2014, 15:03

Look over what you use your current non subscription PS the most for, Levels, Color balance, Unsharp Mask, Layer Masks, etc
If you don't need the latest whizz bang that PS has shoe horned in, then stay with your stand alone version,
I'm using CS3 version ( 10.0.1 ) and it does all that I need for film and digital photography.

Henry Ambrose

6-Oct-2014, 15:17

Is there something wrong with your current version?
(pretty sure not)

Preston

6-Oct-2014, 15:20

I am using CS6 and find that it meets my needs. It does have the Healing Brush, Spot Healing Brush, and Patch Tool. One adjustment I've found quite handy is the B&W adjustment layer for converting color scans. One can adjust the tonal values of R,G, B and C, M, Y independently.

I don't use Light Room, so paying $10/mo just for PS-CC would be a stretch. The one, sorta' 'gotcha' is that Adoobie is not adding any of the new features to CS6--they only update for bug fixes and ACR.

--P

Kirk Gittings

6-Oct-2014, 15:42

Lenny like me makes his living with PS. Any tool that saves even a few seconds makes you money and gets you away from the computer to live a little. I get every upgrade and happily have the subscription. Its cheap compared to what you charge.

Lenny I believe you can pay it for a year in one lump sum. I have the same cash flow issues and generally don't like anything autopay.

Light Guru

6-Oct-2014, 16:20

I am using CS 6, standalone app. Someone asked me today if there is any benefit to signing up for the internet version. I didn't have an answer.

I really don't like having money just sucked out of my account on some specific day. My cash flow goes up and down like a roller coaster. Sometimes all the money to pay for things is there by the 1st and sometimes its the 5th, or 7th, etc. I figure it will link to a card, then I can pay the card on my time, but its the principle of the thing. I'm not sure I would get anything for the annoyance.

Let's be specific: this is just for PhotoShop, don't care about the other apps, and just for use with photography vs design, or other capabilities. I don't care about Camera Raw. Is the upgrade worth it ?

What do you guys and/or gals think?

TIA

Lenny

First of all Adobe CC software is NOT an "internet version" it gets installed on the local machine just like older versions of photoshop.

If $10 a month is going to put your bank account in the negative then you have bigger things to worry about.

That said your version of Photoshop is not too old so you would probably be fine sticking with it.

Kirk Gittings

6-Oct-2014, 17:36

If $10 a month is going to put your bank account in the negative then you have bigger things to worry about.

Did you really need to say that? I'm the only commercial photographer I personally know very well in New Mexico that hasn't filed bankruptcy since 2007 and I only escaped it by the skin of my teeth (I know how to live extremely cheap).

Deane Johnson

6-Oct-2014, 17:55

I signed up for the subscription and really like it. I believe they have decided to keep it at $10 per month permanently. I don't allow them to take it out of my account, I let them charge a credit card.

Light Guru

6-Oct-2014, 18:11

Did you really need to say that? I'm the only commercial photographer I personally know very well in New Mexico that hasn't filed bankruptcy since 2007 and I only escaped it by the skin of my teeth (I know how to live extremely cheap).

If things are that tight financially then upgrading software should not even be a consideration.

Lenny Eiger

6-Oct-2014, 18:41

First of all Adobe CC software is NOT an "internet version" it gets installed on the local machine just like older versions of photoshop.

If $10 a month is going to put your bank account in the negative then you have bigger things to worry about.

That said your version of Photoshop is not too old so you would probably be fine sticking with it.

The truth is, $10 is not going to matter one way or the other, you are correct. However, I have paid for a lot of things using credit, or a lease, and I am glad to be rid of most of it. It's the principle of thing mostly. I was thinking of ACH, and that happens whether you want it to or not, and you have to remember that it does. As Kirk suggested, I would just pay for annually.

I read somewhere else that they had continued to upgrade the features. However, no one has suggested that any of the features have improved since CS6. I use masking tools and curves, primarily. And of course, the spotting tools. There is nothing wrong with any of them. As always, it would be nice if they continued to improve their capacity to handle large files. Many of my scans get large... onto the many gigabytes.

Thanks.

Lenny

djdister

6-Oct-2014, 18:44

In my case, I will be switching from Windows and CS6 to a Mac machine in several months. My only option will be to get the subscription of the Mac version. Oh well...

Light Guru

6-Oct-2014, 19:37

The truth is, $10 is not going to matter one way or the other, you are correct. However, I have paid for a lot of things using credit, or a lease, and I am glad to be rid of most of it. It's the principle of thing mostly. I was thinking of ACH, and that happens whether you want it to or not, and you have to remember that it does. As Kirk suggested, I would just pay for annually.

I read somewhere else that they had continued to upgrade the features. However, no one has suggested that any of the features have improved since CS6. I use masking tools and curves, primarily. And of course, the spotting tools. There is nothing wrong with any of them. As always, it would be nice if they continued to improve their capacity to handle large files. Many of my scans get large... onto the many gigabytes.

Thanks.

Lenny

There have been changes and new features but nothing earth shattering.

Kirk Gittings

6-Oct-2014, 19:40

If things are that tight financially then upgrading software should not even be a consideration.

Wow you are really a piece of work.

Light Guru

6-Oct-2014, 19:40

In my case, I will be switching from Windows and CS6 to a Mac machine in several months. My only option will be to get the subscription of the Mac version. Oh well...

With Adobe CC you don't get a Mac version or windows version. You can actually install it on both Mac and windows.

https://forums.adobe.com/thread/998899

Light Guru

6-Oct-2014, 19:46

Wow you are really a piece of work.

Wow that was rude.

I have only tried to help with my comments. I have not been trying to be rude or insult. If that's how you read them then that's on you.

How is it rude to say that If someone is having financial difficulties then getting new software should not be a priority.

Kirk Gittings

6-Oct-2014, 19:51

It extremely arrogant of you to presume that you know anything about what should or shouldn't be my priorities.

Light Guru

6-Oct-2014, 20:15

It extremely arrogant of you to presume that you know anything about what should or shouldn't be my priorities.

There are lots of things that are much higher priority then upgrading software especially when the old version the OP has is only a few years old.

The original post did make it sound like a $10 charge at the wrong time could wipe out his account. If this were true then one really should not be looking at upgrading software.
He did come back and cleric yes things saying that wasn't literally the case and therefore considering an upgrade would be fine. However like I said there is no earth shattering new fetchers in CC that CS 6 didn't have.

I'm sorry if you felt I was being arrogant and rude that was not my intention. One of the problems with Internet forums is that you cannot read how the other person is speaking more thier body language and those things often play a big part in communication. How about assuming some positive intent on others instead of throwing your own insults.

Kirk Gittings

6-Oct-2014, 21:26

Well I tried first to respond with some genuine experience about the state of affairs in photography business' and why a few dollars every month might be important, but you came back with the same arrogant pronouncement which you have subsequently repeated yet again above. So yes I felt it was time to call you on it. Since you insist on making such pronouncements without even asking why software upgrades might be important to someone in photography with financial difficulties let me leave you with yet another reason beyond what I said above about productivity.

I teach LR and PS at two universities. I need to know and teach the current version. FWIW I get a free full product line Adobe license from each school, but I'm not sure how much longer I want to teach university classes and the free license will not go with me when I leave so I wanted to make sure I got in on the current subscription deal with LR&PS as it might not still be around when I do leave the universities. Of course Adobe could screw us all and not honor their promise of keeping the cost permanent-so it is rolling the dice a bit.

bob carnie

7-Oct-2014, 05:46

I am with Randy here, I have invited our Adobe rep to visit and talk to us about this service and also to talk to our clients.

My concern is the cost for multiple workstations, some of us use LR , some us PS and Lightroom, and others use Illustrator and other CS programs.
I am trying to find the best option for our needs, but I think this is the way to go.

FWIW I went to a cloud version for my bookeeping needs and I am extremely happy with it..

I am in a minority here, but I consider $10 a month for Photoshop CS, meaning the subscription model, money well spent.

I upgraded for years starting with 4, now it's like 12 or something. I am saving money.

gregmo

7-Oct-2014, 09:40

Of course Adobe could screw us all and not honor their promise of keeping the cost permanent-so it is rolling the dice a bit.

Exactly.

Promises are pretty hollow these days in the world of publicly traded companies who's only responsibility is to increase shareholder value. As soon as they start itching for larger quarterly earnings, upping the subscription rate is an easy place to turn.

I can understand Lenny's stand on principal.

cowanw

7-Oct-2014, 09:46

FWIW I went to a cloud version for my ... needs.

Yah, I saw the nude selfies.
4chan would not publish them though, so you are safe.

Tin Can

7-Oct-2014, 11:54

Another secret advantage of adobe CS, is never having this conversation again.

For me that's worth $10 a month. How much is a 'crafty' beer these days?

Luis-F-S

7-Oct-2014, 12:53

Lets see, I have CS1, CS2, CS4, CS5.5 & CS6. 99.99% of my commercial work is digital shot on D800's. What do I use most of the time on my computer? CS1. But again, I do have 4 Deardorffs...............

Preston

7-Oct-2014, 13:37

Of course Adobe could screw us all and not honor their promise of keeping the cost permanent-so it is rolling the dice a bit.

That would be my fear, as well. There's certainly nothing preventing them from raising the subscription rate at some future date in order to satisfy the stock holders.

--P

Kirk Gittings

7-Oct-2014, 13:46

Luis, I've had all those but why keep the earlier versions of PS? No 16 bit image processing, 64 bit computer processers, or adjustment layers?

Tin Can

7-Oct-2014, 13:47

Coasters

Michael Mutmansky

7-Oct-2014, 13:53

andrehh

7-Oct-2014, 14:23

Once you have the CC version, I believe that you will be forced to upgrade your computer hardware, etc in time to accommodate their requirements, even though you may not need any of the features that are in the new version.

No one is forced to update the software if the new features are not needed. And if you don't update the software, you will not need to update the hardware. It is the same logic as today.

bdkphoto

7-Oct-2014, 14:30

My biggest concern is the inability to "opt out" at a later point.

Once you have the CC version, I believe that you will be forced to upgrade your computer hardware, etc in time to accommodate their requirements, even though you may not need any of the features that are in the new version.

Are you willing to concede both your software and hardware decision-making to Adobe?

No thanks on CC until I have no choice, and then I'll have to decide if I really want/need what they are selling, or if a different product will meet my needs better.

---Michael

You actually have more flexibility with the CC subscription - you can use it on either windows or a mac machines. You are allow to have it on 2 computers - one can be a Mac one can be windows. This was not true with the perpetual licensed versions of PS. If you decide to stop your subscription you can always go back to your earlier purchased versions, those perpetual licenses remain valid. If you decide to switch from Mac to Windows or vice-versa you simply download the program and keep going….

bob carnie

7-Oct-2014, 14:34

this is a big concern as I am using an older Mac Pro, a new Imac and another G5. I do plan for a new Mac Pro but I hope to still use existing hardware for some time.

My biggest concern is the inability to "opt out" at a later point.

Once you have the CC version, I believe that you will be forced to upgrade your computer hardware, etc in time to accommodate their requirements, even though you may not need any of the features that are in the new version.

Are you willing to concede both your software and hardware decision-making to Adobe?

No thanks on CC until I have no choice, and then I'll have to decide if I really want/need what they are selling, or if a different product will meet my needs better.

---Michael

bob carnie

7-Oct-2014, 14:35

What about the different versions of Operating systems.. I had a hell of a time when I brought in my Creo Scanner , finding the right Mac to drive the sucker.

You actually have more flexibility with the CC subscription - you can use it on either windows or a mac machines. You are allow to have it on 2 computers - one can be a Mac one can be windows. This was not true with the perpetual licensed versions of PS. If you decide to stop your subscription you can always go back to your earlier purchased versions, those perpetual licenses remain valid. If you decide to switch from Mac to Windows or vice-versa you simply download the program and keep going….

Kirk Gittings

7-Oct-2014, 14:44

No one is forced to update the software if the new features are not needed. And if you don't update the software, you will not need to update the hardware. It is the same logic as today.

Exactly and I have taken that option in the past choosing to skip a version or two. There is nothing that I can see that would stop one from doing the same with CC. On the other side sometimes I need that nudge from more advance software to upgrade my hardware and have always been pleasantly surprised by how much improvement was gained ( and I understand that you can get a bump just by doing a clean install anyway).

bdkphoto

7-Oct-2014, 14:46

What about the different versions of Operating systems.. I had a hell of a time when I brought in my Creo Scanner , finding the right Mac to drive the sucker.

https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/system-requirements.html

Peter De Smidt

7-Oct-2014, 15:29

Lenny, I don't think you'd benefit much from the upgrade. The content aware fill and up-sizing algorithms have been significantly improved, but I doubt that you use those very much.

Robert Brummitt

7-Oct-2014, 15:32

Well, I'm in the same boat as the original post. I have CS3 and love it. I see no reason to upgrade that was until I upgraded my operating system to use Lightroom 5. I did that and lost all my NIK plug-ins I bought. We're talking hundreds of dollars gone. I called on Google to try to fix it and they couldn't. They gave me three or four step by step procedures to maybe get my software back and running. No luck! I'm not an IT guy.

Like the first post, I don't believe in having companies in my wallet for auto pay. I don't want them attached to my bank or credit card accounts. It just feels wrong and bad. I don't earn a living doing photography. I do it for the fun. The situation is kind of like what I'm hearing about the National Parks wanting fees from photographers who are working inside the parks. If I was a commercial photographer or made a living from the medium thats one thing but if I do it for fun thats another.

I wish Adobe would offer folks like me a version we can buy thats low in cost. I'm not talking about PS Elements either. I'm talking about a CS5 version that be use with the the other plug ins and maybe not upgradeable. For now, I will just plug along with LR5 and PS CS3.

Tim Hodgson

7-Oct-2014, 15:38

OK, I have a question and I apologize if the answer is obvious common knowledge, but this is the part of Adobe's CC program that I am not clear on.

I do not use Photoshop but I do use Lightroom. Lightroom is a non-destructive editor. As such, it builds an EDL for any given photograph that you are working on. I assume that the EDL's are stored in the "catalogue" which up until now has been stored on and backed-up on, your own computer. With the CC design, are they still stored on your own machine, or are they stored somewhere else? If you have access to your work from anywhere on any machine, then one must presume that your "catalogue" is stored in the cloud. That is a dangerous situation. You don't own your catalogue, they do. Or, worse, the Cloud does. That's safe, right? Just ask Jennifer Lawrence ...

That is the danger of letting your subscription lapse ... you no longer have access to your EDL's and therefore anything you had in your catalogue will no longer reflect the work that you have done on any given photo, (unless you have exported all of your work as TIF's) but that eats up a ton of drive space.

Of course, this raises the question of what does happen when you let your subscription terminate. Is your catalogue gone? Forever ?

Like I said, I am not on CC and I don't fully understand the details. I have looked at their website but of course, they wouldn't admit to any of that up front anyway.

I think that the approach that Adobe took with this is flawed. If they had introduced the latest version of Photoshop as either a stand-alone purchase or a CC lease they wouldn't have everyone all wound up over this. We as Photoshop users would have made our own decision to all migrate to the CC version and by the time the next version was available everyone would have realized the economic benefits of the CC model and would have cheerfully made the transition, all the while smiling and waving the Adobe flag.

Tim

Kirk Gittings

7-Oct-2014, 15:41

On CC you can store your images on the cloud or on your own devices. Same with catalogs. I store everything on my own drives.

And FWIW The CC subscription has been an overwhelming success for Adobe. The naysayers who are omnipresent on the web are a tiny portion of their customers at this point. Don't expect any concessions to the holdouts.

Peter York

7-Oct-2014, 16:43

I purchased CS6 to avoid the new subscription service. As Peter already stated, I doubt any of the new tools would be very useful to Lenny. And I doubt he would transfer any of those massive, drum-scanned files to the cloud.

However, there is the perception of being on the cutting edge, and that in itself may benefit Lenny and his business. Not as much as the necessity of staying current for teaching purposes, but perhaps worth the pains associated with ensuring the ability to autopay each month or bulk subscribe each year.

Kirk Gittings

7-Oct-2014, 19:15

FWIW I have a friend on one of their top level advisory boards. He says they have become nothing but "bean counters".

Robert Brummitt

9-Oct-2014, 13:44

When the "Bean counters" get involve things can fall apart fast. I'll just have to see if I can find a copy of CS5 or 6 for sale.

Peter York

9-Oct-2014, 13:54

It would not surprise me if the shift to a subscription-based service is to capitalize on a program that is largely mature. Photoshop is amazing, but I have a hard time envisioning future developments that significantly alter the program's capacities. If CS3 was 64 bit I would never have purchased CS6, though I would miss the content-aware healing brush.

It reminds me of the academic textbook market. The publishers add a few pages and change/reshuffle quiz questions to perpetuate (astronomically-priced) sales.

Robert Brummitt

9-Oct-2014, 14:03

Well there could be Photoshop 3D for those new 3d printers.

towolf

9-Oct-2014, 15:02

I assume that the EDL's are stored in the "catalogue"

No, the edits are stored in XMP tags in your files. You can also use external sidecar XMP files for RAW formats that do not allow LR or ACR to embed tags. But usually the files created during scanning film (DNG or TIF or whatever) embed those tags.

Maybe the ratings and whatever are stored in the catalogue, dunno.

Tyler Boley

9-Oct-2014, 18:31

It would not surprise me if the shift to a subscription-based service is to capitalize on a program that is largely mature....

bingo.
shareholder driven.
We don''t represent their market any more, we used to have some impact because these companies paid lip service to being part of the arts culture, now it's probably monetarily not worth the effort.
I guess that's OT. I upgraded, not happily, not sure how long I'll stick with it, it's been doing what I need, well, for many versions.

Jim Andrada

10-Oct-2014, 08:54

I use several Adobe products - PS, InDesign, Acrobat (with page imposition plug-ins), Premiere, After Effects, Illustrator.

The new model is much cheaper than multiple individual upgrades. The only thing that annoys me is that it's hard to use different products on different systems since I do my video work on a different system than my still work and sometimes use Audition on my notebook.

Kirk Gittings

10-Oct-2014, 09:14

I don't understand. Isn't that a problem with your setup?

Tin Can

10-Oct-2014, 09:58

I use CC on Mac Mavericks and Win 8, no issues. And I think the download copy of CS6 also allows you to use 2 computers and 2 OS's if needed.

Kirk Gittings

10-Oct-2014, 10:09

I too use my CC software on a PC desktop and a Macbook Pro Laptop with no issues.

Jim Andrada

10-Oct-2014, 13:13

I use it on two systems - but I need a couple of the apps on my notebook when I travel or record audio/video offsite so I actually want to run on three systems. I can temporarily "unlicense" one of my systems and "unlicense the notebook when I get back but it's a pain in the a-- because I then have to re-license the other large system!

Ideally I could keep stills apps on one large system and video apps on another and both on the notebook so only 2 copies of any single app, just spread over three or four machines but the license manager doesn't work that way..