Customer Reviews

Adobe Photoshop CS Upgrade (Windows)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

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One problem with reviewing a program like Adobe Photoshop CS (8.0) is that one never knows just how much to write about. Adobe Photoshop is such a complex and massive program; it is almost an operating system in itself. So rather than going into each and every feature of the program, a task few would undertake in a product review, I will look at some of the new features of the program.

16-bit color support is probably the biggest improvement in Photoshop with the new CS version. Most graphic programs work with only 8-bit images, but Photoshop CS can now work with 16-bit in layers, brushes, text, shapes, and more. The support is worthwhile for those who need to work with the highest resolution images for color correction.

RAW Data. When you take pictures with a digital camera, the picture is compressed in .JPG format. This is not an ideal solution if you want to get the best picture you can, and with Photoshop CS, you can now work directly with the RAW picture data rather than the .JPG compressed file. Unfortunately, not all digital cameras are supported. Neither Kodak nor HP digital cameras will work with the RAW support in CS. Canon, Fujifilm, Minolta, Nikon, and Olympus does have some supported cameras. If you need to take professional quality images, but are using a digital camera, as well as having a supported product, you will be very pleased with this feature.

The new and improved File Browser in CS works exceptionally well. While I had been using the Browser feature in Photoshop 7.0 for a year, it was somewhat cumbersome and not as intuitive as I would like. Photoshop CS has taken the Browse feature to new heights, making it much more intuitive, and much faster on both my G4 and G5 machine than previous versions.

Histograms are now, finally and "about-time" in color. This will help you when you're working with RGB channels. This may not sound like much of an issue, but when you are color correcting photos, working with a color histogram will allow you much more precise control over your workflow.

Better PDF integration. A neat feature is the ability for Photoshop CS to create a "PDF Presentation" even if you do not own the full Acrobat version. While I have no need for this feature, a Photoshop friend and avid PDF supporter told me this is a big deal. So there you go.

The new Shadows/Highlights filter, found in the Adjustments menu, is simply amazing. This one feature is now a must-have for me. I take a lot of photos with my digital camera, as well as having scanned all my old photos a few years ago. Even after cleaning my old photos up in previous versions of Photoshop, I was amazed at how much help the new Shadows/Highlights help them. It is a great filter, one I am VERY pleased with.

This is a major upgrade if you are a die-hard Photoshop user, and need the new features found here. If you take a look at Adobe's website, read through the list of new features, and decide that the ..upgrade fee is not too steep, you will be pleased. If, however, you don't need the benefit, you would do well to wait for the next major Photoshop rollout.

I have had my hands on most versions of Photoshop - including version 7 - but there are too many hidden costs with this product to even consider an upgrade. If someone buys this out-of-the-box they may feel diferent, but this is the upgrade version, and not very forgiving.

1) will only run on a new version of Windows - I dont' so thats +80$ for starters
2) will NOT run your old add-on filters - for myself I would have to fork out an additional $400 for buying new filters and upgrades just to get the basics [this has been an issue before, but never as bad as this time - I could only keep one old filter]
3) activation "feature" - it will hit you one day - dont' joke yourself, sooner or later you'll be standing there with a worthless disk because there is some number you cant find or they bark at you because you want to install it for a fifth time during one or two days (while you're recovering from a fatal crash or rebuilding your system, and what you really dont' need is an additional fight with some so-called "support" person asking you to explain in detalies about what you are doing with your system with question like "is this the last time?). No! I'll install it 10, 50 or 100 times if needed. I've given up on two titles before (not Adobe products) - and I HATE ACTIVATION SOFTWARE. I do not have the time, energy or inclination to waste my life with it. Be smart - actively avoid it!
4) No - this version does not have any super-to-die-for feature that you cannot live without [though the RAW editing feature may be usefull for some people].
5) there are some irritating drawbacks like the missing thumbnails, which is a real productivety hit for some people (Adobe actually hyped it as a productivety gain when it came oboard! Now it's XP, K.O. and out)

I may come back when they release CS 3.0 one day in the distent future. But for next couple of years I will be happy about mastering version 7 like a real pro (it really can perform wonders allready). And save tones of money and countless hours for now.

Of course as I start to grow away from Adobes new product, I may turn to the competition...

Last tip - the market speaks - did you notice how fast the price for the CS version started to drop compared to 7.0 ??? think about it...

:: 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.

I purchased the upgrade specifically for the RAW import feature. After installation, I was not able to import files from my Nikon D70 camera (.nef files), although the website claims to support this camera.

I could not find any help on the Adobe website, so I finally called support. The representive was not helpful (in fact rude) and wanted to charge me to get my program working as advertised.

Make sure you have an expert friend before buying- Adobe will not help you.

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.

I ordered my upgrade from Amazon.com, feeling certain that Adobe would continue to provide high quality software. Yes, it's premium-priced, but it's always been worth it. So worth it that while I waited for the package to arrive, I downloaded the tryout program.

Right from the start, I had problems. (And before I go any further, let me just say that this is not a resources issue. I have more than enough RAM, disk space and power to run this puppy.) It took forever to install and a long time to boot up. Finally I got it up and running, changed a few settings, including telling it where to look for my filters and plug-ins, shut it down and rebooted. And it refused to start. Told me a file was missing. So I tried again. Same error message. I reinstalled per their instructions. Booted up. Another crash, same error message. I don't really know how a file can be missing if I've just installed it.

So I uninstalled everything, reinstalled (This is installation #3. It's going on an hour and a half now, between the download and the installation issues) and booted up. No problem. I pointed the program to my plug-ins directory, shut down and rebooted. Guess what? Yup, crashed on boot-up again, and again I got the file missing message. Long story short: Photoshop CS won't use or even recognize any of my plug-ins from PS7. None.

While it offers nothing new in the way of its own filters, the plug-in gallery is a nice touch and too long in coming. Unfortunately if I have more than about 10Mb of images open doing anything in the gallery crashes the program. I'm sure there ae a lot of wonderful features in this program, but judging by my own experiences with the try out, and the customer reviews (I should have read them before ordering!) I can tell you that the package is going back as soon as it arrives. And if Adobe doesn't get its act together, it's lost me as a customer. And I've been a devoted user since PShop3.

I purchased this software not knowing that Adobe had implemented an activation scheme into this version of Photoshop. By the time I realized it, the software was already installing. Since the software was opened, I couldn't return it.

I downloaded several new feature articles from Adobe's website before I purchased this product and none of them mentioned the newly added activation procedure. If I had known that Adobe had added activation to this product, I wouldn't have bought it and opted to stay with version 7. I really hope a lot of people complain to Adobe about this because the only people that will be inconvenienced by this will be the legit users who actually purchased the software. The pirates will soon have versions of Photoshop CS with the activation disabled to freely swap around-just like they do with Microsoft products right now.

I'm not against companies trying to protect their property rights, but punishing its paying customers is not the way to go about doing it. If (like Adobe claims) activation will save the company millions of dollars a year that would be lost to piracy, then can we expect the savings to be passed on to us? Will future Adobe products cost half what they cost now? Don't hold your breath. Adobe is turning into another Microsoft-punishing its loyal paying customers while letting the criminals go free.

I'm in a predicament because I need Photoshop to work. There just isn't another image editing software package that is as good or as widely supported. However, the company I work for started making the switch from Quark XPress to Adobe InDesign a little over a year ago. I'm going to do everything in my power to switch the company back to Quark and dump InDesign. Hey Adobe, you might have us on Photoshop, but we can still find other alternatives for page layout and illustration software! Add to that the fact that I'm also going to opt to stay with Photoshop 7 even though I purchased the CS upgrade. Version 7 will be the last version of Photoshop for me and the company I work for as long as Adobe puts activation into any of its software.

When I did have Photoshop CS installed on my system I noticed that it took extremely long to load. The splash screen stays up for at least 60 seconds before the program will open. When it did finally open, I noticed that some of the tools in the tool bar were blocked out and there were lines running through some of the palettes. After doing some research on the internet I've concluded that there is an incompatibility between my graphics card and Photoshop CS. I'm running an NVIDIA GeForce3. I would suggest that you check your hardware for compatibility before purchasing this upgrade.

The one-star rating here reflects my answer to the question "Should you pay the money to upgrade to this product if you have an earlier version of PhotoShop"?

My answer is no, unless you need direct RAW support, which is about the only major feature that might worth the price. Otherwise, the new features are nothing really indispensible. (At first look, you probably won't notice ANY new features.)

And then there is the Nazi-esque product activation scheme. Just say no to software that does this! It's a hassle and it is completely unnecessary. Consider the fact that "cracked" versions of PhotoShop CS appeared worldwide on P2P networks even before the product hit the shelves, and you've got a draconian activation scheme that only causes a lot of hassle for the honest people. All that money spent on development of a pain-in-the-butt scheme that was immediately cracked anyway. It's futile and pointless.

I am a professional photographer, and, though I came to this page planning on buying PS-8/CS I just bought PS-7 instead ( I am currently using PS-6.5).

Having used PS since V2 I have found that getting every other upgrade has been the most satisfactory way to go. Until V4 the real strength and utility of PS was in its ability to make excellent color separations (for ultimate printing on a press). It has never been a state of the art image editor, and until V4, was not even a decent one.

PS-6 was the first version I was happy with both for editing, and for pre-press. PS-7 did not add much, so was going to skip it for PS-8.

Instead of PS-8 we get PS-CS which has valuable new tools in it (I wanted it for the "patch tool" alone!), but which has more problems than new features.

As do many of the other commenters, I do not like software activation. Computers are fragile, MS-Windows even more so - but, unfortunately - the only new, fast, and affordable programs are written for Windows. So, if you are counting on a Windows system, you better have a backup system (or two). I have four computers that I am actively using at the moment (3 desktops and a portable) - but, as I only use one at a time, I certainly do not feel that I am violating any of my software licenses by having a program installed on all four (though, with PS, I actually have different versions installed on each of the computers).

I also do not like WinXP (It was recently installed at my office). Of my personal computers one runs W2K, two W98, and one Linux/Lindows. Software written for any WinVer except for XP will run on Lindows (albeit more slowly) and it is ever so much more stable - Though W2K/NT3("5") - is actually quite good. My feeling is that is one of the main reasons the new versions of Adobe products are written to XP (yes, I do think there is a close relationship between Adobe & MS).

But. Having said all that, I would have bought XP just so that I could run PS-CS except for the deal breaker: Plug-In incompatibility.

Years ago I was trying to decide which 35mm camera system to go with. I had pretty well decided on Canon when they announced what was to be their THIRD lens mount system in 8 years: the old lenses would not work (or would not autofocus) on the new system. So, I went with Nikon - virtually any Nikkor lens made will work with the newest Nikon camera. When you've spent tens of thousands of dollars on lenses, the cost of a camera body is insignificant: you just want some assurance that you can use your existing lenses!!

Likewise with Plug-Ins. I have spent thousands of dollars on PS Plug-Ins. Why? Well, some make repetitive actions (such as repairing damaged jpgs, creased photos) quick and easy; others do things that are very difficult or impossible to do by "hand" (converting an image to only black and white - not the greyscale of B&W photos - with an acceptable loss of image quality); some are just fun (like adding crepuscular rays of light, or mist).

So. To "upgrade" to PS-CS would mean 1) a new OS (with all the attendant driver problems and incompatibilities, and weeks spent getting the system stabilized and working again); 2) at least $2000 to replace my existing Plug-Ins (IF they still exist).

Not a good deal for me, I can afford neither the time nor the money. So I bought a used PS-7 from a (poorly rated) Amazon Partner instead. I know it will be my last PS update ever - unless Adobe has an interest in retaining old customers ...

I hate to bring the average rating of this product down but as a new entrant to the high level of digital imaging software I have a few beefs. But first...

Pros: Easy to install (WIN XP Pro) and so far doesn't appear to have any certain hangups. This software package is so amazingly robust that, as a beginner, learning to use it can be daunting at times. I'm just looking forward to getting my hands on a reference manual to help me learn to use it. The movie tutorial packaged with the software provides good lessons on the new features included in CS (by Total Training) as it shamelessly markets its other products. The File Browser and image preview features are excellent. I like the shadow/highlight feature which does a pretty good job of balancing out high contrast images. As I stated above, I'm a Photoshop virgin and don't have a lot to base my review on other than the fact that there is a huge learning curve you enter when attempting to use this powerful software.

Cons: Documentation and Activation. Especially activation. Now I can't travel with Photoshop on my laptop. I don't know what these software companies are thinking by only allowing one installation per software bundle. Most photographers have both a desktop and a laptop and I'm pretty sure they would like to have the software on both of their machines - I know I would. I'm about to go to Afghanistan for a year and I'd like to tote this software along with me on my laptop. Now I'll have to uninstall it from my desktop and reinstall it on my laptop. I wonder what kind of jerk-around the people at Adobe will give me when I try to do this and re-activate the software.... As far as documentation goes, Adobe could have saved a couple thousand trees and left out their fairly useless user's guide. Their online help is a waste of my hard drive space, too. I just need the Photoshop CS books to start hitting the shelf so I can get reference material that'll actually teach me how to use this awesome software.