Adobe Photoshop Cs3 Beta First Look with Adobe Bridge and Camera Raw [Paperback]

Ben Long (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0321508130 | ISBN-13: 978-0321508133 | Edition: 1

 This book, covering the public beta of Photoshop CS3 will get you up to speed with the new interface changes, and will help you learn all of the new features in the CS3 beta such as next generation Camera Raw, new and improved Bridge, Photoshop Lightroom Integration, improved printing, Nondestructive smart filters, black and white conversion controls, improved curves, automatic Layer Alignment and Blending, and more. The Photoshop CS3 Beta is available free for download on Adobe labs for registered users of of either Photoshop CS2, Adobe Creative Suite 2 Standard or Premium, Adobe Production Studio Standard and Premium, Adobe Video Bundle or Adobe Web Bundle.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Veteran writer, photographer, and videographer Ben Long is the author of Getting Started with Camera Raw, Real World Aperture and Apple Training Series: Aperture 1.5. He has contributed articles to MacUser, Macworld, Macworld UK, and Computer Graphics World and writes a regular digital photography column for Creativepro.com. He hosts the web site www.completedigitalphotography.com where visitors can find how-to articles, reviews, and free software.

Product Details

• Paperback: 150 pages
• Publisher: Peachpit Press; 1 edition (May 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321508130
• ISBN-13: 978-0321508133
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,433,144 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ben Long is a San Francisco-based photographer and writer. The author of over a dozen books on digital photography and digital video, he has been a longtime contributor or contributing editor to many magazines including MacWeek, MacUser, Macworld UK, and others. He currently writes for Photoshop Elements magazine, is a Senior Contributor at Macworld Magazine and, and a senior editor at CreativePro.com. His photography clients have included 20th Century Fox, Blue Note Records, Global Business Network, the San Francisco Jazz Festival, the Pickle Family Circus, and Grammy-nominated jazz musicians Don Byron and Dafnis Prieto. He has taught and lectured on photography around the world. A sometime dabbler in computer programming, he has written a Mac-based image editing utility that is used by the British Museum, the White House, and others. You can learn more about what he's up to at www.completedigitalphotography.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In the Interim, March 3, 2007

By 

Conrad J. Obregon (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Adobe Photoshop Cs3 Beta First Look with Adobe Bridge and Camera Raw (Paperback)

Here's a book that will prove useful for a limited time. That's because Adobe Systems Incorporated seems to have adopted a policy of making a free, public beta release of its new software before coming out with a final version. It did that with Lightroom, and now, with Photoshop CS3. Unfortunately the help facility that comes with the Beta version is practically non-existent, although one can learn a little about PS CS3 by searching around the internet for various spots discussing the new software.

Ben Long's very brief volume is aimed at filling the need for some kind of guidance for users until a final version of PS CS3 comes out, and then several weeks later, lots of books come out. (Lightroom came out in late February, and at least a half-dozen Lightroom books are scheduled for publication before summer.)

Long's book only deals with the new features of PS CS3, and then only tells how they work. There is no advice on the application of the software. Don't buy this volume if you don't know how to use PS CS2, because there is no discussion of tools and practices that haven't changed. Yet I commend the publisher for producing this volume so quickly, because there was a real need for it.

You may well ask yourself why you even need to try the Beta version of PS CS3. Well for some people, there are tools available that will make it worthwhile making the Beta their main image processing software. For example, many PS users objected to using the old Bridge facility for the initial culling of pictures because although you could see an image almost full screen, you couldn't bring it up to 100% of the pixels, which is often necessary to make an accurate judgment about the quality of an image. The new Bridge allows 100% viewing. Long covers this feature, although, probably because there was an earlier iteration of Bridge when he wrote this, there are a few aspects of its use that he misses. Others who have despaired over the fact that application of filters was often destructive of the basic image, or not subsequently adjustable, or required the use of difficult keyboard commands to preserve the image, will appreciate the introduction of smart filters.

Some of the better features of Lightroom have also been introduced into the Beta like an improved Adobe Camera Raw interface, and Long describes these features nicely.

There are some things that PS CS3 Beta won't do, like embed EXIF data in a JPEG, that Long doesn't mention. That's why any serious user of PS CS3 will want to keep in touch with the CS3 discussion group on the Adobe web site. On the other hand, if you are getting started with the Beta version, this book will be of great help, at least for a while.

As a side note, there is no comparison between PS CS3 and Lightroom here. Although some of the interfaces are similar, they do handle files differently, and each user will have to decide which software to use, especially since use of the one software may actually lose you some features of the other. But that's a different story.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Well, it came in well below my expectations, March 29, 2007

By 

Jonathan Carl (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Adobe Photoshop Cs3 Beta First Look with Adobe Bridge and Camera Raw (Paperback)

Ben Long used to be dedicated. Back in 2000 - 2002 his books were a joy to read. But his latest installment on "Adobe Photoshop Cs3 Beta First Look with Adobe Bridge and Camera Raw" was just hastily rushed to print. Apparently nobody even bothered with reading it. But even worse, the book lacks any structure and concept. So all in all, very dissapointing I must say. It's so sad I spend the money on such a useless book. Hmmm. Next time I'll be smarter!

5.0 out of 5 stars Good overview of new Photoshop, April 11, 2007

By 

D. Kruse (Fairfax, VA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Adobe Photoshop Cs3 Beta First Look with Adobe Bridge and Camera Raw (Paperback)

This was really the only book I could buy now to get somewhat up to speed with the newest version of Photoshop. This is good for those already familiar with previous versions who want to get a better idea what to expect. Even when CS3 and other instructional manuals come out, this is very straightforward and quick to read covering the most important info. This is not for someone new to Photoshop.