[GordMacDonald]

Hi all

I am thinking of upgrading from Photoshop 7 to Photoshop CS - What are the Advantages of CS?
How signifigant if the brush engine for illustration ?(beyond brush definitions in Photoshop 7)

Gord MacDonald
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Gord MacDonald: http://www.cg2020.com

[sweetums]

You won't really be gaining all that much for what you will sacrifice.
You will have activation issues. You have to activate your installation, and can only install CS on 1 PC and 1 laptop (both of which have to be activated through Adobe). If your PC goes down, and you have to reinstall, you will have to re-activate, which can be a BIG problem if it goes down on a weekend or holiday. PSCS also has some big issues with letting you work on images of currency (a counterfeiting deterrent).

Some people have no problems with these issues, some do.

As for benefits, they aren't that spectacular. You can now place text on a path like in Illy, and there are a few new adjustment bells and whistles, but overall, not enough (IMO) to warrant the cost for the limitations the new version has. CS is the first upgrade since Ver 4 that I have no interest in buying. I'm sticking with 7.01...
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[Impaler]

I upgraded from 5.5, so the changes were a little more dramatic for me. Neverthless:

1) CS has an "okay" new file browser. It's occasionally sluggish, but you can more easily navigate all of your pictures.

2) You can assign any command in Photoshop to a keyboard shortcut. Very, very handy if you can remember them all.

3) Layer compositions are very handy.

4) Camera RAW files are now handled very well. Not a big selling point if your digital camera can't write to RAW, though.

5) You can now do everything in 16-bit mode, if you want. You probably won't notice any immediate benefits unless you've got a 16-bit scanner.

6) There are numerous benefits for photographers, like: match color, shadow/highlight correction, panoramic stitching, a histogram palette, color replacement brushes, et al.

All in all, you'll love Photoshop CS if you work with photos or do a lot of web layouts. Otherwise, save your money for the next version.
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QED, sort of.

[GordMacDonald]

Sweetums and Impaler

Thanks for the input.

Gord MacDonald
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Gord MacDonald: http://www.cg2020.com

[Bruneau]

Hey Gord MacDonald

I'm brand new here
i'm a painter from antwerp Belgium
I've had the CS version and used it for a while.
The activation issues is already mentioned by Sweetums .
The only difference with PS7 i saw was the File Browser.
There was something that you could search files by name wich you can not in the file browser of PS7
I can't explain very good 'cause my bad english.

Bruneau

[GordMacDonald]

Bruneau: Thanks for the reply! Sounds like CS does not have that many critically new (gotta have) features.

ps: your English seems fine to me!


All:
One thing I an curious about is the "brush engine". Is this a radically different technology in PS CS than in PS 7 ? How does it compare to the custom brush tool in Painter 8?

Thanks
Gord MacDonald
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Gord MacDonald: http://www.cg2020.com

[Bruneau]

Hey Gord MacDonald

I'm thinking the same, it's not worth the effort.
Sorry I can't help you 'bout the brush engine, it's the first time I hear from it.
You see I learned PS by myself and there are several features I hear for the first time. Is it an important feature in PS the brush engine I mean.

Bruneau

[Yarik]

Gord, I have tried CS and hate it. Unless you are a Digital Industry leader, which I have to presume you are not since you are asking our advice, I suggest no. There isn't anything new to see in CS8.

[seth1]

GordMacDonald> If you really wanna see, download the trail and see what you think... I personally hate the new version more lagy and slower, No great improvements for what i use it for except the name:p and the lay out.. I like the feature that you can move your picture around the screen but besides thats not to much i like...

[stacy]

It dovetails with GoLiveCS better.
You can work with Photoshop
files right inside GoLive without
switching apps.

But since PSCS has a draconian activation schema
and the slugs at Adobe destroyed the DC function
of GoLiveCS, I still use PS7 and GL6, and am quite
happy doing so.

[Sukhoi]

I have to add this.

The fact that you can move your image beyond the programmes borders (like in painter) makes a world of difference to me. In 7 it was sometimes a problem to do stuff close to the edges while being zoomed in.

I got used to this "new" feature VERY quickly.

Custom key mappings is a nice touch aswell.

-Sukhoi

[GordMacDonald]

Bruneau, Yarik, seth1, stacy, sukhoi:

hey folks, thanks alot for the input! I am thinking I will probably save my pennies for a future release. The activation issue has not only popped up here ,but elsewhere as being a royal pain.

Sukhoi, I understand the value of full accessability to the image - although I don't know if I want to pay a couple of hundred buck for that feature.

I do own painter, and am looking towards working with both programs, taking the best from each.

thanks again everyone

Gord MacDonald
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Gord MacDonald: http://www.cg2020.com

[eyewoo]

Another feature in CS that I find useful for certain types of work is the ability to nest layer sets... i.e. layer sets within layer sets. ...
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[Cpt.Obvious]

I work on cs, shortcut assignment is really realy handy.
brushes have more options,
it works faster on my machine than 7.
rest was said
cheers

[GordMacDonald]

Thanks alot for the input!

eyewoo: now nested sets sounds interesting!

tiger1313: are the brush options available signifigantly different?

Gord
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Gord MacDonald: http://www.cg2020.com