Adobe Photoshop CS Upgrade

Rating:
Summary: RAW file support rocks!
Review: 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!

Rating:
Summary: Activation is a Windows thing
Review: It should be pointed out somewhere that Mac users don't have the same activation issue that Windows people do. On the Mac, you install it and you're done. And it zips right along. I was a beta tester for this version, as well as every previous one since PS 4, and I really like it a lot.

Rating:
Summary: Adobe Photoshop CS Upgrade
Review: My finger was on the button, ready to order this latest Adobe upgrade and then I read the reveiws. I bought Photoshop 4.0 and have upgraded at each step through Photoshop 7.0. Each of the CS reveiws either appologizes or complains about the registration and /or securiity traps that are now built into Photoshop CS. I have been there and done that with Microsoft XP Pro. This is where I part company with Adobe. I am not going to buy a product and have to beg the manufacturer for permission to use it. Adios Adobe

Rating:
Summary: Something in it for designers and for photographers
Review: Photoshop CS (forget the numbers from this point on, think "CS") comes back with an improved File Browser, with very nice features such as the ability for users to add keywords to the files, PhotoMerge (which will allow you to seamlessly put together two or more pictures that were shot "side by side" as in a landscape picture of a city, for instance), and a number of great features that will make the application friendlier to photographers.

Among the photographers' goodies comes embedded support for the Camera Raw file format (previously only available through a paid plug-in) and MatchColor to allow you to apply the color of one image to another. Those that scan multiple prints at once are up for a great surprise: the Cop and Straighten feature which does just that... as unbelievable as it sounds, it crops all the scanned pictures and rotate them so as to make them perfectly straight, eliminating the guesswork and the rework from this tedious process.

Once again, for image processing there just is no better option (considering it comes bundled with Image Ready as usual, Macromedia Fireworks' direct competition). Photshop has something in it for all, designers and photographers.

Rating:
Summary: best
Review: RAW support alone justifies the purchase price of this outstanding program. I am purchasing this program for digital photograhpy and use NONE of the cornucopia of other extraordinary features. In fact I only use a fraction of the program's digital photography features. But, with the help of Scott Kelby's "Photoshop CS for Digital Photographers" I am making steady progress and becoming reasonably capable in the "digital darkroom."

Realize that Photoshop Elements contains a substantial measure of the capabilities of Photoshop CS but does not contain RAW support which as I said above alone vindicates the purchase price.

A complete review of this programs is beyond the scope of this "user review" and I would direct potential purchasers to the Adobe site at www.adobe.com for an exhaustive look at the program's features, but more importantly to try out a fully functional Photoshop CS for a 30 day trial period. I myself tried the trial program first and after realizing that I would miss it once the trial period was over I went ahead and ordered it.

So, what have you got to loose?! Go to the Adobe site and download the trial version and see for yourself what a great program this is.

Rating:
Summary: Hey, for $169 it's a steal!
Review: RAW support alone justifies the purchase price of this outstanding program. I am purchasing this program for digital photograhpy and use NONE of the cornucopia of other extraordinary features. In fact I only use a fraction of the program's digital photography features. But, with the help of Scott Kelby's "Photoshop CS for Digital Photographers" I am making steady progress and becoming reasonably capable in the "digital darkroom."

Realize that Photoshop Elements contains a substantial measure of the capabilities of Photoshop CS but does not contain RAW support which as I said above alone vindicates the purchase price.

A complete review of this programs is beyond the scope of this "user review" and I would direct potential purchasers to the Adobe site at www.adobe.com for an exhaustive look at the program's features, but more importantly to try out a fully functional Photoshop CS for a 30 day trial period. I myself tried the trial program first and after realizing that I would miss it once the trial period was over I went ahead and ordered it.

So, what have you got to loose?! Go to the Adobe site and download the trial version and see for yourself what a great program this is.

Rating:
Summary: Almost got suckered into purchasing until i read the reviews
Review: Thank God for Customer Reviews - I am always running different compter systems through my home network - always purchasing the latest and greatest equip to stay one step ahead of my customers who need support. This means I load and reload all OS's and APP's on different machines (thought never more than 2 at a time). What drives me CRAZY is that I do have to call MS and beg them to let me re-use XP and Office again and again, and I have to explain to them why I need to re-install; like I'm asking for approval to take out the family car from my Dad.

Now Adobe wants me to call them every time I swap out systems - they just lost me, I thought I was a very good customer :-(

By the way, to the few who said that you performed the Activation and did not have any problems with the process; I think you missed the point of the second reviewer. He wasn't saying that the process did not work - he was saying that he will not participate in the process - like me!

Rating:
Summary: Keep your existing version
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Great Product Enhancements, but Activation Required
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: WHAT AN UPGRADE!
Review: 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!