CS4

<p>Hello - While I know CS4 is just released, I was wondering if anyone had a sense for how compelling the new

version is for users of CS3. I went through the online demos, and alot of the enhancements seem to be UI

related. Masking in RAW is nice, but other than that I'm not clear what if anything is improved if you're

already comfortable with the CS3 interface. </p>

 

<p>Alan</p>

Looks like stuff most photographers would not want to shell out more money for if they already have CS3.

 

http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/photoshopextended/features/?view=topnew

Graphic artists may love it. I don`t see anything photogs need.

 

They seem to be set on a simple panel to do things which is nice.

The only compelling reason for me would be if I did get a new DSLR which is not supported in CS3 - like the new Canon 5DMKII. I only shoot RAW and I like their raw converter - other than that, CS3 does everything I could possibly need to process my photographs.

Haven't looked into it fully but I think it's more like an interim upgrade: Higher bit support for some Windows versions and a

handfull of window dressing. Nothing like the major changes that came with CS3: smart layers, etc. Being on a Mac

platform I'll probably skip this one and wait for CS5.

You're right Alan, from what I've seen everything is UI related, the only notable change for photographers

is the introduction of the "adjustment brush" (I think that's what it's called) brought in from LR2. I'm

probably going to hold out just like Juergen said until my camera system out paces CS3.

Masks panel_Quickly create and edit masks from the new Masks panel. This panel offers all the tools you need to create editable pixel- and vector-based masks, adjust mask density and feathering, easily select noncontiguous objects, and more.

 

Content-Aware Scaling_Use the new and revolutionary Content-Aware Scaling feature to automatically recompose an image as you resize it, smartly preserving vital areas as the image adapts to the new dimensions. Get the perfect image in one step without time-intensive cropping and retouching.

 

For me, are the 2 reason why i already upgrade it (another one would have been the 64bit support, but windows only for now).

 

As a retoucher i see a lot of why i need it, since i also receive a ton of raw from different camera type. Understand that some people will prefer to wait to another big realease with full of new feature, like CS3 was..and for me is totaly deductible..so why not : )

 

I also gonna give workshop on it in January, already plan in my schedule..so basically its paid even before i get it : )

 

People buy a intuos tablet or a cintiq when in fact a bamboo would have done the job. they buy a uv filter to put in front of there expensive lens, and its the first thing pro remove to take picture. they buy a spider3 tv to calibrate there projector and tv, when a simple adjustment by eye would also have done the job quickly and close to the same result. they buy expensive external plugin to sharpen, create effect, get soft focus, simulate film grain..and all of that are part of CS3 already...but the same people complain about the fact that upgrading to CS4 is too expensive and they will wait for another version?! funny : )

I see nothing compelling for me; such as the Shadow/Highlight tool being delivered in CS2 - that was worth it. I upgraded to

CS3 for the B&W conversion tool - kind of a bust as I already had far better 3rd party B&W tools At least with CS3 it was intel

native - important if you're Mac-based.

 

The user interface on CS4 has taken a BIG STEP backwards. All elements (photo edit windows, palettes, tools, etc) are now

contained within one giant window that commandeers your display, the Application Frame. Pure microsoft....

>>> but the same people complain about the fact that upgrading to CS4 is too expensive and they will wait for another

version?! funny : )

 

It's not that it's too expensive. It's about *value* and expecting to get features that will actually enhance productivity. Most

people can spring for the $200 if there was something compelling about the upgrade.

The way things have been going, every other upgrade seems to be worth the $200. Adobe knows this, and that's why they force upgrades for support of new cameras in ACR. I wonder what the number of upgrades would look like if they actually upgraded ACR separately, maybe for a small fee.

 

There is nothing in the new release that is critical. If there was, people would have been talking about the need before the release.

agree with you. theres nothing like seing it with my own eyes and see if it was or not a good move : )

 

i will let you know if for me it was a smart move, sinc ei dont buy extrenal pluging, let take this update as kind of one.

 

Brad, when you mention you get better result with a external plugin vs the bw tool in CS3, i dont think you can blame Adobe for that; i mean the point of buying plugin is they make our job easier by doing thing whe cant because of the limited knowledge whe have in that area, or the limited knowledge about the tool to get what whe want. I get spectacular result with it, because i know how to use those tools.

 

Its like saying " Man, those tool are bad, look at my crooked house.. i get better result when i hire someone! " see my point : ) Anything (or close pretty close too anything) could be achieve in CS3 without the help of any external plugin..those are tools you need to understand to get the result you certainly understand im sure.

 

Come back to CS4 a moment , i have seen a video yesterday about the new mask tool, about a dog being extract from a background with all the little hairs still present..kind of like a mask pro thing..i would love to see that on my fashion shot where the girl have the hairs all over the place and the client want me to change the background color!?

 

*by the way i alreay do it using mask, its not that long, but would love to see if this new tool could deliver it faster!

The big thing for me is the enhancements in InDesign, which I use constantly everyday. They finally added smart guides, which CorelDraw and Illustrator has had for years. Live Preflight is a major upgrade for me. Transitions and publishing straight to Flash is a bonus too. And like PS, you can rotate the page now. As for Photoshop, there's not a whole lot of new and some things are enhanced, but overall it's not a major upgrade to me. But I really do like rotating the image workboard because I work on retouching commercial real estate and this would definitely help.

>>> Brad, when you mention you get better result with a external plugin vs the bw tool in CS3, i dont think you can blame Adobe for that;

i mean the point of buying plugin is they make our job easier by doing thing whe cant because of the limited knowledge whe have in that

area, or the limited knowledge about the tool to get what whe want. I get spectacular result with it, because i know how to use those

tools.

 

I'm not blaming Adobe. I'm saying I made a bad decision upgrading for the B&W tool. But actually, I had to upgrade because of the Intel

native issue.

 

>>> I get spectacular result with it, because i know how to use those tools.

 

And I do to having processed a ton of B&W. And you're missing the point. There are some tools that do what can't be done with a series

of operations within ps. And it saves a huge amount of time in the way way information is presented in a real time window.

 

 

>>> Anything (or close pretty close too anything) could be achieve in CS3 without the help of any external plugin..those are tools you

need to understand to get the result you certainly understand im sure.

 

That's just not true - unless of course you put a very low value on your time.

"I don`t see anything photogs need."

 

How about time and money? If you're on a Mac and have a very low value on your

time, then, like the consensus here, probably not see anything worthwhile to upgrade. But time in front of a monitor

working is very important to me. The less the better. If on a PC, for

the first time PS can

use more than 3.2 gigs of ram when on a 64-bit OS. Using 16 gig of ram will be a welcomed change for me and my

eyes. One used

to

have spend $3500 in parts at newegg and out

perform a $8K Mac. Now you only have to spend $1200 to do it. No doubt

there will be a few platform request

changes heading to Adobe over the next 20 months or so.

PS CS 3 has had the ability to use more than 3.2 GB of ram on Macs for some time. barefeats.com has tests using 16 GB

of ram and maxing out all 8 processors on a MacPro, for editing a PS image with 32 layers.

Tough crowd!

Mr. K said: <I>One used to have spend $3500 in parts at newegg and out perform a $8K Mac.</I><P>Interesting, I

bought a 2x3 GHz MacPro this year for less then $3500 and after maxing out the RAM to 16 gigs the total cost was around

$3800. I would do your Macintosh shopping somewhere else is I were you, try the Apple Store.<P>Mr. K then continue with his

Microsoft talking points; <I>If you're on a Mac and have a very low value on your time</I><P>LOL. You might want to let

Microsoft know this seeing that they use Macs to do all their graphic work, their Graphic Division is 90% Mac. Interesting

comment consisting that professional photographers/graphic artists and publishing companies are almost 100% Macintosh.

You might want to check out Microsoft's latest $300 million ad campaign, all done on a Mac. Oh, and if you are loyal reader of PC

Magazine you are supporting the Macintosh platform - PC Mag. is done on a Mac.

ROFL!

The upgrade price is now $349, previously to CS3 the upgrade was just $199. A slight "ouch!" there. In any case, I'll be upgrading 1Q09 when I get a new PC and the 5d Mk II.

PS CS 4 upgrades are $199.00 most places. Maybe you're looking at PS Extended?

wel i pay mine 2 days ago 199$..i doubt they inflated the price..maybe casue of the bad review they get, since

less people seem to not want it..those who want it will pay it more LOL.

 

See, you should have bougth it 2 days ago!

 

Brad, my time is really important, not for me but for my paying customer : ) and when i say that i can do

anything a external plugin do..i can. using action, image processor, mask technique...name it. The point is, even

if im agree with you about the easiest way to do thing using a external plugin, i dont heard a lot of people

complaining about a PK sharpener that cost money to sharpen a file, a GF pro that cost more than the Ps upgrade

to blow a image like Ps could do it, or silverfx to create bw and noise...but a lot of people dont see the point

of upgrading to CS4?!..and this is where i dont get it.

 

Its a personal choice of course, and maybe a lot of people dont need this upgrade, i probably dont even need it

myself! but i can buy it without going broke, and it will pay by itself 2 days after...i like to get new toys

once in a while, specially when they are bizeness related : )

That a none sense version to get for a photographer..CS3 extended, yet, people have it for no real reason...just because..and certainly those one will complain about the upgrade price!? hello, you already pay too much for nothing for a version that you dont use anyway now....

 

But i think the point is, for some CS4 will be a good addition because of it 64bit support, for others it will be for is new mask and content aware filter..for toher it will be a just because its the latest version.

 

Anyone have is own why to get it or not, and i think all reason are good.

Patrick, if I was in your shoes, the content aware scaling feature alone would be reason enough to buy the upgrade. ;o)

If it work as showned, man..ist a serious enhancement for my job. Now i have to see how the image look after; full of bizarre pixel or clean and fresh... For a moment (really short one) i almost want to get a PC with it : ) but THAT would have been a non sense upgrade LOL just to play with Garrison ; P

When CS3 came out, reading the promotional materials and feature lists made me want to spend the $200 to

upgrade from CS2. And it indeed has proved a noticeable improvement in many ways. The improvements to

Camera Raw and Bridge by themselves almost justified the cost.

 

So far, I have seen nothing in the list of CS4 improvements that compels me to spend $200 for an upgrade. It looks

like a collection of "nice" incremental tweaks (along with greater code commonality between platforms that primarly

benefits Adobe) put together to meet Marketing's demand to keep the Upgrade Treadmill running on schedule.

 

Am I perhaps missing or overlooking something?