Pros: Speed and functionality is enhanced somewhat
Cons: Not enough BIG feature changes to warrant an upgrade from 7.0
The Bottom Line: Upgrading from PS6.0 or earlier makes sense, but only do so from 7.0 if you are upgrading other software (particularly Illustrator) as well.
martytdx's Full Review: Adobe Photoshop CS Upgrade for PC (23101784)
I've been using PhotoShop since version 5, and I've seen it undergo many small changes - while the basic layout has remained the same for all of the versions (5.5, 6, 7) there have been some minor tweaks, mostly new functionality added to the old. Most times, there has been enough for me to upgrade in a relatively expedient manner.
PhotoShop CS is Adobe's latest release, a new version set to be a part of its Creative Suite of applications which will work together in much the same way as Microsoft Office, easily moving between applications and keeping similar functions across all programs. The other major pieces of the Creative Suite are Illustrator CS, InDesign CS and GoLive CS. In theory, having tighter integration will allow users to more easily switch between Illustrator and PhotoShop, then to InDesign. But what about the PhotoShop program itself? Is it worth the upgrade as a standalone application? Read on to find out.
[• photoshop - WHAT'S THAT? •]
Although this review is for the upgrade, I'll give a quick review of PhotoShop. Adobe PhotoShop is the premiere photo/graphic editing software and creation program on the market (much better than Paint Shop Pro, Corel and even Macromedia Freehand). It offers incredible functionality for editing and manipulating photographs and creating new images from scratch. It allows users to play with nearly every aspect of an image, including colors, size, add filters and effects, adjust photographic quality and more. It comes packaged with ImageReady, a web graphic design tool that gives users the ability to create animated .GIF images and even full one web-pages with rollover effects included.
[• i know photoshop - WHAT'S NEW? •]
Depending on which version you are upgrading from, you might see a different set of changes when you load CS. For simplicity, I'll assume that the reader is upgrading from version 7.0, and then highlight a few of the changes from earlier versions later.
• Improved File Browser » - the browser is much quicker to load and gives you more options to include on the files. You can now add meta data to your images and use that data to track all of your photos, logos or whatever work you have. The program now sits open in the background for easy access, but I would prefer to be able to dock it, as you could in PS7.
• Text on a Path » - one of the best new features in CS is one which Illustrator users will appreciate - the ability to put text onto a path, giving it wavy, round or other shapes instead of only flat-line directions. A very nice addition!
• Shadow/Highlight Correction » - anyone who has worked with a digital camera (or any camera, perhaps) knows that shadows and highlights can be difficult to get just right. CS's Shadow/Highlight Correction helps you compensate in a manner that the normal brightness/contrast controls never could.
• Layer Comps » - I've started using this more and more. When you are creating different versions of a project, it sometimes gets annoying to have to turn layers on and off and save each one so that you can present them to the client. With Layer Comps, you can save a set of visible layers as a Comp - and then play with only those layers that you need and present them all easily.
• Match Color » - Match Color is a neat feature that I have had a problem getting to work like I want it. Essentially, you could take the colors and tones from one photograph which was exposed correctly, and apply them to an incorrectly exposed photograph to try to match them. It works to a degree, although never with the same mastery that Adobe shows on their site.
• Flash Export » - I don't use this very often, more often taking shapes from Illustrator and using them in Flash, but it's nice to have this option now.
• Customizable Keyboard Shortcuts » - Most people who have used PhotoShop for years already have the keyboard shortcuts down, so they won't use this much. Still, I have heard clamoring for it in the past, and Adobe responded. If you don't like the way the program is set up, just change it to your own preferences. I have used this slightly to get rid of 3- or 4-finger keyboard combinations and replace them with simple 1- or 2-finger combos.
• Integrated Digital Camera Raw File Support » - CS can now take RAW images straight from your digital camera without them being in .JPG format, thus saving a lot of image loss in the transition between formats. A nice touch, that I don't take advantage of because I don't use a digital camera.
• Comprehensive 16-bit support » - this is going to be more print designers more than web designers. The 16-bit images support much higher resolutions and colors than the normal 8-bit images, but I haven't had to use it. If you need it, you'll know.
• Histogram Palette » - I have never used this, although I understand that some people will love having the flexibility to play with the color combinations in their images.
Improvements over version 6 and earlier:
• Healing Brush » The healing brush is a great tool. Similar to the clone stamp, it carries over color information from a source spot, but maintains the brightness, luminosity and other features of the destination to help blend the fix better.
• History Brush » Allows you to 'roll back' changes to earlier versions, and allows you to better manage changes to images.
• Batch Processing » If you have ever had to run the same effects on multiple images, you know how long it can take in PhotoShop. If you use actions, you can speed up the process, but it still required opening each image. Now, you can create an action to do what you need, and run it on a selection of images - super quick changes!
ImageReady »
ImageReady has also had some enhancements to it, although I found that many of those same "enhancements" to be hard to get used to. The user interface has changed significantly in regard to rollovers and slices - although now you can do multiple image selection, the rollover design method isn't as straight-forward as it was in the past. Maybe it's just that I was used to the old way, but I didn't like it.
They say that they improved the integration between PhotoShop and ImageReady, but I don't see a whole lot of improvement other than some speed gains. The tools and shortcuts are better aligned, but still a little different.
Flash file export is a nice addition - I haven't really used it yet, but is a nice feature to have. However, since flash is a vector-program, I would probably use Illustrator CS and the Flash export there before I would use ImageReady.
Last, ImageReady now has database support so that you can automate the production of web graphics - similar to the functionality that Macromedia Fireworks has had for a while. It's a nice addition, but not one that
Not so good
I REALLY don't like the new manner in which you play with text. Before, you had pretty set control over it when you were altering the angle, etc. through the transform tools. Now, you get a weird angle tool similar to Macromedia Freehand - it's confusing and less user-friendly than the old way.
The rollover methods are not as intuitive and seem to make it harder to create rollovers. Supposedly, they have put auto-updating rollovers into the mix, but I have yet to figure out how to make those work.
[• but is it worth $150+ •]
After using CS and PhotoShop 7 concurrently (CS at home, PS7 at work, believe it or not), I can say that the biggest difference that I see is a change in speed. CS seems to run much quicker than PS7, although it might be hard to see a major difference depending on your system configuration (note:if you are having PhotoShop speed problems, having a partitioned 'scratch disk' that only PhotoShop can touch can help tremendously).
Of the new functionality, I've found that only half of them are used on a nearly daily basis: the file browser, text on a path, shadow/highlight correction, layer comps and match color. I'm sure that many people have use for the camera and 16-bit image support, as well as being able to export to flash (which I use, just not very often). The histogram is almost never used, and most people familiar with the program already know the existing keyboard shortcuts - that would be more useful for those newer to the program. I preferred being able to have the file browser docked in the tab bar up top instead of the background, but that's a minor objection. The new filter browser is nice, showing all of the filters at once but I find that it sometimes loads VERY slowly and I would rather focus on just the filter I want to see at that time.
The batch processing seems to work much better, running faster and with fewer problems. I've used it several times to avoid repeating similar actions on a number of files (such as color correction on a series of shots), and it works beautifully.
What's Missing?
I still don't know why you have to preview your work when saving to the web ONLY through the Save to the Web menu. Can't PhotoShop have a "launch in browser" feature similar to ImageReady? Or at least some sort of Preview Mode?
[• should you or SHOULDN'T YOU? •]
I got my upgrade for Xmas, so it was an easy decision - thanks, Mom and Dad (they're ever so practical). But if you are spending your own cold, hard cash for the upgrade then I would think twice about it. The text-on-a-path and batch processing functions are pluses, and some of the photo-related additions are nice, but not necessarily a huge leap over PS7. You may also get some speed back, but not enough to invest $150 or more. I found most of the new features to be nice to have but not necessities when upgrading from PS7. However, if you are going to upgrade to other programs in the CS line (such as Illustrator), then you would be well served to upgrade all of your products to get the most of the interaction.
If you are upgrading from PhotoShop 6 or earlier, my answer would be an unequivocal YES. The features added over the last 2 versions combined are worth the cost of the upgrade - and you gain quite a bit from the two combined.
One other note - PhotoShop CS comes with the new authorization scheme that Windows and other products started, meaning that it will install to your machine and send a file with some identifying data to store with your product key. If you try to install on another machine, it will notice and cause problems. I haven't tried it, but I have read where others have had problems installing on multiple machines. Just a thought.
[• final THOUGHTS •]
Am I glad that I got PhotoShop CS? Yes, because I got it free as a gift. If I hadn't, knowing what I know, I would have stuck with PS7 for now, expecting the next version to have included enough new features to be worth the cost. But I like what I have, despite a couple of annoying traits (the text transformations and new rollovers. I plan on upgrading my Illustrator soon so that I can get the best of both worlds, and that is perhaps the most compelling reason to spend the money from PS7 to CS - to keep all of your applications in line.
If you are upgrading from earlier versions of PhotoShop, don't hesitate - unless, of course, you are going to wait for PhotoShop 9 to come out - whenever that is.
[• more INFORMATION •] What's New In PhotoShop CS »
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/newfeatures.html
What is Creative Suite? »
http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/overview.html
Adobe Exchange » - a great source of actions, styles and other tools for PhotoShop
http://share.studio.adobe.com/Default.asp
Improved file management, new design possibilities, and a more intuitive way to create for the Web Support for 16-bit images, digital camera raw data,...More at Amazon Marketplace
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