Adobe Photoshop CS Upgrade (Windows)
by Adobe
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Our Price: $449.00 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used and New: from $199.00 (click here) Category: Software See more product details and other editions |
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Software Reviews of Adobe Photoshop CS Upgrade (Windows)
Customer Review: Image Previews Gone in Photoshop CS!
Summary: 1 Stars
:: BUYER BEWARE! ::Here is yet another reason that I'm upset that I purchased this upgrade. The image thumbnail previews that used to be displayed in the Windows XP Explorer window are now gone. All that's visible are ugly, green PSD icons. The option of finding PSD files visually, outside of Photoshop, no longer exists.
Removing this feature is a terrible blunder by Adobe. My friends and I used this feature all the time. I frequently have several windows open when looking through files for projects. I also drag and drop a lot of the time. Many of my folders have over a hundred images in them. I used to be able to look at what I had at a glance but now all that's gone.
Some people say, "Just use the File Browser", but that window is so huge and clunky it's not a viable solution when files are located in several folders that span a whole company network. The file browser window is HUGE! It takes over the whole window. Unless you're running multiple monitors this thing is a joke! Plus, you can't have more than one browser window open at a time, and I need more than that. Unless all of your files are located in one place, this thing is a chore to use.
This is a new era of Adobe. They are becoming more like Microsoft. These days, Adobe doesn't seem to care about its users anymore. I called Adobe tech support and was talked down to by a technician who was indifferent to my needs as a designer. I'm no longer loyal to this company, and I probably won't buy anymore of their upgrades sight unseen.
I'm also having similar problems with Illustrator CS. The previews are gone in that program too and the old files hang because they are searching for the old preview. Adobe removed the image preview feature from its software because the company said it created problems on some user's systems. Personally, I've never had a problem with PSD image previews and neither has anyone else I know that runs the software. I do, however, have many problems and issues with the new "Creative Suite" of products from Adobe.
Customer Review: Great Product Enhancements, but Activation Required
Summary: 2 Stars
This would be a fantastic upgrade if it weren't for the activation requirement. I work from several locations on three computers (including my mom's -- she has no clue how to use it), and I'd like to install the product on all three computers, including a laptop. Activation, of course, prevents this.Keep version 7 if you have it. The enhancements for the most part (except for text) won't be missed.
I will say that Adobe's activation policy is many times better than Quark's, and they do have a good customer service team that might cut you some slack. This version is the best ever, but my advice is to just say no to activation.
Customer Review: Should You Upgrade? Its Really Depends.
Summary: 4 Stars
I have been using Photoshop since version 4.0, and to be honest, I still use 4.0 for some of my task. But, I have always made a leap to newer versions of Photoshop because of the new enhanced tools they offer to the user experience. Photoshop CS version 8 to me, is more of a Workgroup application, because basically thats where you will see and take advantage of the new features it has to offer. For users who might have made the sacrifice and bought a copy of Photoshop; 5, 6 or 7 for the first time, because they just wanted a strong, true professional image editing application, upgrading to this version will see no benefits. However people who work in a commercial environment and depend on other applications such as Illustrator, Indesign and GoLive will benefit more because of the tight integration they share with each other. When these tools work together, features such as version cue which is only a part of the Creative Suite sold separately users will be able to manage different versions of content created by different users over a network.
Photoshop CS also has some new relief features for editing text easier than ever before and also for typing text on a path. The File Browser is even more productive, you can use the Photo-Merge to create panoramas,the file browser also allows you to create Web Photo Gallerys and Picture Packages. But Photoshop continues to be a tool that offers expert image editing with tools such as the Healing Brush introduced in Photoshop 7. Photoshop CS also introduces the Camera Raw Plugin as a built in part of the application (Photoshop 7 users can acquire this plugin for an extra $100), the plug-in offers support for working with images at 16-bit resolution. You can also turn images into PDF Presentations and Photoshop CS gives users a History of actions done on any work in the application.
I continue to stress that for a first time user, Photoshop is not a application to get a hang of easy, it is recommended you buy a book that teaches you from the ground up, where you can get the basic understanding of how Photoshop works. Its also best to go to a lesson class in Graphic Art and Digital Imaging where you can learn in a more interactive environment and get a much deeper knowledge and gain more experience in using the application more effectively and efficiently.
For users who want some of the power of Photoshop CS but much cheaper, Photoshop Elements is an excellent choice that offers great value for its features and ease of use in comparison to Photoshop CS. So, for persons such as Digital Photographers, Graphic Artist, Design Shops, Ad Agencies with designers within a workgroup environment, Photoshop CS is a worthy upgrade. But,if you are serious about digital imaging and editing and need a robust tool that can take your images to new heights both old and new then this is the one. But if you are fixing a wrinkle, brightness or two in a photo, stick with your present copy of Photoshop or purchase Photoshop Elements, to put it simple enough, Photoshop CS depends on your work ethics, which means meeting deadlines, in a workgroup, working with other Creative Suite applications such as Illustrator CS, Indesign CS and GoLive CS.
Customer Review: WHAT AN UPGRADE!
Summary: 5 Stars
Your first reaction to purchasing the CS upgrade may be a bit of disbelief about your decision as the user interface, at least on first blush, is almost identical to the PS 7 interface apart from the new splash screen and logo. Don't be misled by the looks of it, CS sports several MAJOR improvements, and I've become increasingly more impressed as I've used it the past few weeks.
So far I'm especially thrilled about the more comprehensive (but not complete yet) 16-bit image support, camera RAW support plus auto-stiching of images, text on a path, customizable keyboard shortcuts, a facelift for OpenType fonts, more layer functions (comps, nested layer sets, and the ability to export both as individual files), and above all the vastly improved and far more useful File Browser.
It's now possible to create MM Flash animations with vector artwork and variable text in ImageReady CS, bundled with Photoshop CS just as before Enhanced ImageReady user interface and more image manipulations features and improvements, especially for web design.
If you're into video, there's now innate support for pixel aspect ratio correction and several presets for working at various video resolutions.
Ever wanted to match a particular color in an image and replace it with another one? Well, it's possible with a "Color Replacement Tool" which works a lot more accurately than selections.
The price is a bit steep for an "upgrade" but you won't regret it. Highly recommended!
Customer Review: RAW file support rocks!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've read complaints about activation, but I didn't have any problem with that. Of course, you need to be connected to the internet and you you can't let Aunt May borrow the disk to put on her computer so she can then give it to Grandma to put on hers, and so on and so on.... As far as the upgrades, the ability to work with the digital negatives (RAW files) it is worth the upgrade alone! I have a Canon 10D and the difference in my photos has greatly improved just by being able to tweak the little things (exposure, sharpness, shadows, etc.). I thought the file browser in versoin 7 was just a novelty, but the one here in CS is actually a powerfull tool. I stopped using ACDSee! I thought that although the healing brush is a cool tool, Photoshop didn't improve much going from 6 to 7, and I didn't expect much from CS in the way of changes. Boy was I wrong! This was the upgrade I was waiting for. Well done Adobe!