Customer Reviews

Adobe Photoshop CS [OLD VERSION]

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I totally agree that Photoshop is an excellent software to use in editing images and making original art from scratch. This version of Photoshop, CS, brought with it many new improvements and enhancements that have already been taken up by previous reviewers. What I don't agree with is that most people say it is difficult to learn when in fact, it isn't! Those of you who wanted to own Photoshop and not afraid of experimenting, this is the perfect time to buy Photoshop and be counted as one image editing savvy person!

For newcomers and prospective buyers, don't let the "steep learning curve" routine preached by other folks discourage you. Photoshop is no more difficult to learn than any other software like Paintshop or PhotoImpact. I have tried all three and settled on Photoshop as THE EASIEST! All you need to have to learn it is a desire to improve your digital images, the knack to experiment, and a good book to guide you along (if you're learning on your own, like myself.)

Open Photoshop and you will see an almost unremarkable, unassuming interface which belies its true power. But this is a good thing because Photoshop functions can be simple or sophisticated as you like. It has a much neater interface compared to the above other softwares which means you can open functions only when you need them.

Get a good book that starts with simple concepts and go one step at a time. The beauty of going from simple tasks first (like how adjustment layers work) to more complicated ones (like layer mask compositing) is that you gradually develop your confidence. Pretty soon you will begin to discover on your own! Practice with you own photos and see the results immediately! Who said you have to be a professional to use a professional caliber software?

I agree on the saying that Photoshop is difficult to learn BUT only on the concept of making art. Not everybody have that eye. If you want to create works of art, then it only follows that you invest time in learning how, steep learning curve or otherwise. But this applies not only to Photoshop but to other softwares you might be using!

Now if most of your editing consists of uploading your digital images from camera to PC, enhancing exposure, cropping, framing, optimizing for email, boosting resolution to uncover detail for printing, how difficult can Photoshop be? It's easy! It's specifically designed for these tasks! Of course, other software can do this too at a much lesser price but I am assuming you want the top gun. With Photoshop, you can totally, CLEARLY do loads of other things. Because when you're ready to do more elaborate compositions, Photoshop will be there with even more specialized tools at your disposal.

If you like all the good things that you've heard about Photoshop, if you want a totally flexible, CLEAR tool to use in editing your images where all the non-destructive adjustments are right there at your fingertips CLEARLY laid out for you to turn on or off or adjust so you can instantly see how they affect your image, then do yourself a favor and buy a copy.

Just about the only reason I would recommend Paintshop or PhotoImpact (respectfully capable softwares, too) over Photoshop is the high price of Photoshop. On the other hand I understand you can take Photoshop classes and get BIG student discounts on Photoshop saving you hundreds of dollars. Read the reviews on beginning books on Photoshop and select one you believe will suit your taste. I strongly suggest one with practice images on CD and color pictures in the book itself.

Good luck and have fun!

Do not buy this? But I just said it was a great program. Superpowerful why not buy this version? If you buy the standalone of Adobe Photoshop CS. You're basically blowing money. The price tag of this is almost $600. As with many of adobe standalone products individually, they cost a fortune. But you can buy the creative suite for less than a thousand, and with that, you get Adobe Acrobat. You'd adobe illustrator, PageMaker, etc.

Search for Amazon item number: B0006J2PTO for the premium edition.

Or search Amazon item number:B0000DBNHV for the Standard Edition.

And you'll see what I mean by the savings. As far as what this program can do, it can do anything when it comes to manipulating photographs adjusting color. This thing can take a bad photo one actually save it. You might also be interested in just getting adobe Photoshop elements 3.0. It has most of the features of Adobe Photoshop CS, but at a fraction of the cost less than a hundred.

Free photoshop tutorials
/www.80four.co.uk/tutorials/photoshop.html

Hope this review helped.

Have some fun and get it done

First of all I gave this program 5 out of 5 because it is incredibly powerful, well organized, and nicely intuitive.

Now what you may or may not want to hear.

My Background:
I have been in digital photography since 1999. I started out with your typical point and shoot camera. Since then I have had two others of the same caliber. This year I upgraded and picked up a digital SLR (Single-Lens Reflexive) camera. I have since gotten really into photography and digital imaging. I have used different versions of photoshop in the past and have always appreciated it's power, but now...

Photoshop CS:
This is the first time that I have had the opportunity to work with a DNG (digital negative) otherwise known as a Camera Raw file. Being able to adjust your exposure after you have taken the picture is mind altering. Pictures taken on the fly where the exposure is off or the white balance just isn't right or the camera was set for altogether different conditions and everything is messed up, can be FIXED! It is like going back in time and putting in the right settings before you took the picture. If you are shooting RAW files and you are not using this software you should get your head checked!!! You can even change certain lens properties: vignetting for example is a great tool to really focus the viewer's eye where you want it.

If you shoot JPEGs:
Buy this if-
1. You are a perfectionist and you want uncompromising quality and accuracy out of your shots.
2. You are intensly creative and never want to be limited because a program just can't do what you want it to.
3. You are an elitist and you just have to have it for no other reason than the fact that it is the best. (Its ok, but max out a Roth before buying this)

If you just want something to get rid of pimples or red-eye and manage your pictures this is not worth it. Adobe Photoshop Elements is a great program and very cheap. Matter of fact I believe version 3.0 even supports Camera Raw files if you are a purist and don't like to mess with things very much. Although it is still a pretty powerful program for all besides the most demanding.

If you do buy this you may want to consider getting it as part of the entire "Creative Suite" if you can make any use of the other programs.

Also, BUY A BOOK! It will take you a year if you try and learn this program just by messing around with it.

It's hard to believe that Adobe keeps finding ways to make the new version of Photoshop better than the last, but they've gone and done it again. If you use and like Photoshop 7, you're gonna love Photoshop CS. As with any other version of Photoshop, all the same stuff is there that's in version 7, along with some new and improved things. I got this the day it hit the shelves and was immediately able to work with it and catch on to the the new features as well. As the hype suggests, the browser is much better than the one in version 7, and one other new tool that I really like is the color replacement tool. This little number is right out of Photoshop Elements version 2. In Elements, it poses as the red-eye tool. In fact, in Photoshop CS, even though Adobe calls it a "color replacement tool", the icon in the tool bar is the same red-eye icon that's in Elements. This is a Godsend. I used the hell out of this tool in Elements and I was thrilled to see it in Photoshop CS. Now replacing color in anything is a breeze. Without getting long-winded here, everything about this new version is a plus. There's more layer options, also the ability to match color between images, and a whole lot more that space doesn't really allow going into. You'll have to trust me on this. I do photography for a living and use Photoshop every day, and believe it or not, with this new version, Photoshop just got easier to use.

You can't go wrong with this one. Definitely worth the cost of upgrading.

Okay here is the lowdown on why you should get this product and why you should not get this product.

You should get this product if:
- You want to learn the #1 photo/paint package that is an industry standard.
- You do not mind the massive learning curve.
- If you do not want something that you pop out of the box and use right away without spending weeks learning it.
- If you want total control over every aspect of paint/photo manipulation.
- If you do not mind it being a bit slow on anything less than a cutting edge computer.
- If you do not mind it taking up a lot of hard disk space.

You should not get this product if:
- You do not need to learn an industry standard package.
- If you want to use something right away out of the box.
- If you do not need total control over every aspect of paint/photo manipulation.
- If you want a fast package.
- If you want to conserve hard drive space.

If you are looking for a paint/photo package that you can use out of the box and has lots of features then use Paint Shop Pro. If you are looking to learn the industry standard with the most features then learn and use Photoshop.

However I would like to finish this off by saying that I have worked for various multimedia groups that have demanded experience with this package and yet when it came to working for them they used 10% of this package and should have been using Paint Shop Pro instead. If you mention Paint Shop Pro in an interview then the interviewer will look at you sideways. What a load of mumbo-jumbo. They simply use this package because it is the "industry standard" instead of actually looking at a package that suites their needs. If you are an interviewer and someone says they also use Paint Shop Pro then you should actually listen to them for not toeing the official line. You might learn something there that will save you time, money and wasted space. Why bother training people for a couple of months to learn this package when they can do your intermediate tasks on a package they can use out of the box? That is the bottom line.

When I bought Photoshop CS, I was pleasantly surprised with the enhancements on it: improved file browser, expanded filter gallery, integrated camera RAW among others. It allows you to program your own "How to" and include that in the help file. A nice touch for teaching the younger ones. It provides a way for getting your images corrected for export to video- an important issue for me since I edit video as well.

However, the more I explore CS, the more I realize I didn't really need these enhancements, my use of it being more "enthusiast" and family-related than business. My Photoshop Version 7 has all I needed. In my older 900Mhz Pentium 3 Class computer with 512MB RAM and with dedicated hard disk for data and Photoshop scratch disk, Version 7 happily zips along with a 100MB file while CS stutters a little. I believe that CS has been beefed up at the cost of more processor power and RAM- the newest types being Pentium 4/HTs, AMD XPs and RD/DDR RAM.

My advice for first time buyers, you'll probably get CS as it's the latest. A sensible choice given that software got updated every year or so. Just be aware of it's system requirements, among them: On Microsoft operating system, it will only run on Windows XP, it will require activation, and surprise (!), it will not allow you to scan money! For details just go to Adobe Photoshop and Image Ready forums and product Webpage. Be aware that although a lot of people there had valid complaints against CS, many others who were happy with it just kept quiet.

If you already have Photoshop Version 7 running well on an older machine that you don't plan on upgrading anytime soon, you don't really need Photoshop CS. Photoshop Version 7 is still so powerful and rock-stable. I have Version 7 for almost a year now and I am pleased to say I have a lot more to learn from it. Photoshop CS can never make Version 7 obsolete. But that's just my opinion- easy to say when you got CS on standby.

In a nutshell, if I were stuck on an island with a computer (this is the part where you roll your eyes) and given a choice between Photoshop CS, Photoshop Version 7 and PaintShop Pro 8.1...

I will pick, seriously now, Photoshop Version 7.

I had PS 5.5. That is the one I learned in collage a few years back. I used it up untill a few weeks ago when my husband was rebuilding my computer and I used his. He has CS. It did take me a few days to get used to it, they made a lot of changes between 5.5 and CS. Good changes, once I got used to it anyway.

It does take some learning. Dont expect to take it out of the box and be an expert. I also would like to say that dual monitors helps a LOT, mostly because its nice to have all your tools, history, layers, and brush pallets open at once while still being able to see what you are working on. To learn, I suggest finding free online tuts. I have learned many tricks just recently by reading tuts on dA... Also just play with it. Thats basicly what I did in the class I took, I learned more by just playing around then anything else.

The price is really the only bad thing about CS, or PS in general. Thats why I gave it only 4 stars.

My last version of Photoshop was 4.0, and that was quite impressive in itself. However as the price of the software increased, I decided to look at other alternatives which were cheaper. I'd played with Macromedia Fireworks for a while, actually up to MX, and even JASC Paintshop Pro. While these programs work, they're often too slow compared to Photoshop and not as intuitive. So I went back to Adobe with version CS, and I must say, I was coloured impressed. With intuitive features like colour matching and the healing brush, it just fit right into my workflow. I was even able to select paths and copy and paste into Macromedia Freehand. I got this software at a special Adobe discount, so the price wasn't a big hurdle, but I must say for what I can do in Photoshop today in five minutes, would've taken an hour in Fireworks. Any graphics program can do anything if you work at it long enough, but who has the time these days to spend hours on one photograph? Adobe understands our changing needs and priorities and I give this product a big thumbs up.

This is more than a mere software application; Photoshop is a multifaceted platform for creative expression. You can of course use this program to perform routine tasks such as cropping and touching up photos. However, you can also use it to design complex works of digital art. The top Photoshop gurus can create original photorealistic artwork that is virtually indistinguishable from the real thing.

Photoshop is used to create print ads and logos, and the program even has its place in the creation of special effects for film. If you want to do professional-grade graphic design work, then you will want to buy this program. It simply has no competition at the higher end of the design spectrum.

Nonetheless, there are a few caveats to consider. Photoshop has a hefty price tag. It is priced for professionals, not for hobbyists. Before you spend the money, ask yourself if you really need all the features that Photoshop has to offer. If you simply want a program that will allow you to retouch and crop personal photographs, then either Photoshop Elements or PaintShop Pro will be more than adequate, and much cheaper.

Photoshop also has a steep learning curve. Casual users will likely be overwhelmed by the interface, with its multitude of tools, commands, and palettes. Don't expect to produce great results the first time you use PS. However, if you decide to commit yourself to learning Photoshop, there are plenty of tools on the market that can help you. An entire cottage industry is devoted to teaching neophytes and advanced users alike about the intricacies of alpha channels, layers, clipping masks, etc.

Finally, Photoshop requires a powerful computer in order to run efficiently. Before you buy it, make sure that your machine exceeds the minimum hardware requirements specified by Adobe. If you are using the same computer that you bought three or four years ago, then you will likely be looking at an additional hardware investment before you can take advantage of Photoshop.

In summary, this is a phenomenal program, but look before you leap. The investments of time and money needed to purchase and learn to use Photoshop are substantial. However, the results that a dedicated user can achieve with this program are truly amazing. If you are serious about graphic arts and/or photography, then Photoshop is a must-have piece of software.

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.