Hi Everyone,
I'm curious as to how many of you have or are planning to get the latest release PhotoShop CS5? I have had CS4 less than a year and hate to part with more money for the latest upgrade, but have heard a lot of excitement about the new paint brushes mimicking the real deal.
Here are a few UTube post and even though some are pre-release, thought you might enjoy.
Margie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BShE_jS8jLE&feature=related (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BShE_jS8jLE&feature=related)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8sEGVoTW9Q&feature=related (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8sEGVoTW9Q&feature=related)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyxDBRnuL3s&feature=related (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyxDBRnuL3s&feature=related)
Hi Margie,
It seems like CS4 hasn't been out that long and now there already is a CS5!
Thanks for the links, it looks like some amazing new features there. The paint brushes are awesome and some of the new warping techniques are amazing. (Photography will never be the same...)
I love it when Scott Kelby does the little YMCA routine :)
I have had CS4 for almost a year now so it will probably be a while before I update. Is there anyone who has used the Beta or pre release version of CS5 yet?
Hannie
I've ordered Photoshop CS5, and am waiting like a kid for Christmas for it to ship, drooling all the while. From what I've seen in the way of previews it has the potential for making some of my restoration work much easier. I too have had CS4 for only about a year; this upgrade is just too good to pass up!
OMG. The content aware fill is absolutely amazing.
You made an upgrade very tempting, Margie.
My husband will not be happy.
Mary
I'm especially amazed by the content aware function. Have seen demos on face book, and it looks like something that would make restorations much easier. However, as with some of Photoshop's other wonderful tools, the demonstrations were with mostly pristine photos - nothing like what we battle with here. That said, if I were employed, I'd upgrade!
I saw or heard somewhere that CS5 only works with Intel machines. Does anyone know if that's true?
GK
My CS5 hasn't shipped yet, but the software has been released. Being one for instant gratification, I downloaded a trial version earlier today, and tried it out on a couple of my own photos, plus a restoration. Content-aware fill doesn't work much on really big damage areas, even a bit at a time, but it's great for smaller stuff. Have only just tried out content-aware healing, so can't really evaluate that yet. It's all magic. I've been told there are a lot of little improvements. Imagine I'll stumble on them a bit at a time. One I've already noticed is that dynamic zoom is much smoother than in CS4, and blindingly fast.
I've only been playing with it for an hour or so and doing restoration at the same time for most of that. So far I'm really tickled with the upgrade - don't regret it a bit!
And Glenna, it does require an Intel machine.
Greetings,
I have CS5 on order and like lurch I'm looking forward to receiving it. Yep! Christmas in May.
Later,
Richard
Though I have used Photoshop exclusively for imaging work for several years now, I still consider myself "in training". Regardless of my limited ability, I was invited by Adobe to be a member of their "CS5 Extended Prerelease Test" team, and have been using it for about 2 months now. It truly is an upgrade with some "meat" to it. Though I went through 3 revisions during testing, they were each stable. Being a prerelease tester was interesting, and I hope to get the opportunity to do it again. My invitation this time was through my being a member of NAPP.
Upon rereading Lurch's comment about requiring an Intel machine, I realized that she was NOT saying that it would only run on a PC. So if you misinterpret that requirement like I did initially, understand that there IS a version for the Mac, but only the Mac's built around the Intel processor.
As stated previously, there is now a full-function trial version of CS5 available which can be downloaded from Adobe's website. I recommend that anyone thinking they might want to upgrade download CS5 and try it themselves first.
Larry
Just when I thought I could skip an upgrade--now I want it! I too got an invitation to do a beta testing by being a member of NAPP. I didn't take it as I was worried about how stable it would be, and now reading your experience Larry, wish I had.
Margie
I had sworn off the endless upgrade treadmill, but I'm afraid I'm about to get hooked again!
Tori
I want CS5! :mad:
Hannie
Hannie, my feeling exactly! I was like Tori and was stepping off the upgrade treadmill, but this is way too tempting. I want, I want, I want. . .
Margie
Margie, same here. I thought CS4 would be the last upgrade for a long, long time.
This upgrade seems too good to pass.
Hannie
Margie, Hannie - go ahead and bite the bullet. You won't be sorry. I just spent part of an evening going over a restore with lots of little scratches in intricate places, using the content-aware healing brush. It didn't work perfectly on all of them, but when it did, magic! :wow: In the old days (like last week) I would have spent hours on those areas. Just for that feature the upgrade is worth it. And when you throw in all the other new and improved goodies . . .
drool.... :D
Lurch, I can't wait til I too can say: "In the old days, I would have . . ." :funny:
Now you have done it--I have to have it!
Margie
I took the plunge and ordered the CS5 upgrade last night.
Buying Tips:
Adobe's CS5 upgrade price is $199 (US). Although I was a CS5 Prerelease Tester, I couldn't get a "deal". (In Adobe's defense, no "deal" was promised when I signed on to be a tester, and I would do another test for Adobe if I were to be invited again to participate -- it was fun.)
Members of NAPP receive a 15% discount for the Photoshop CS5 family of products. For an upgrade, you'll save $29.85. You can join NAPP for less than $100 per year and, in addition to getting the discount for CS5 purchases, you'll get access to NAPP's website and will receive their PhotoShop User magazine which is very high quality and chocked full of hints, tips, and tutorials. I believe you get 12 issues per year. You'll also be eligible for discounts on other Photoshop-related products if you are a NAPP member.
Adobe will ship for free until May 31.
I whined until they threw me a bone and offered to FedEx my order to me for free. (I can't promise they'll offer anyone else extra goodies, but if you talk with "Patricia" at x2026, she seems helpful in trying to get you the best deal possible.
One thing more -- if you are going to purchase a Wacom graphics tablet, purchase it first (before CS5). Then you'll be eligible for their "Privileges" program that will allow you to upgrade from the software packages included with the tablet. For example, a full version of PhotoShop Elements will be included on a CD that comes with the tablet. Through the Privileges program you can get a special price on upgrading Elements to CS5.
Disclaimer: I know the information above applies to buyers within the US because I fit that category. I don't know if citizens of other countries will see the same deals; maybe yours will be even better.
Larry
Hi Larry,
I'm so glad you wrote about the upgrade. I was under
the impression that it was about $600 (obviously did not
do enough research). Now it seems more feasible.
Mary
I got Photoshop CS5 Extended Upgrade at 20% (NAPP Discount) off via the Adobe store. Just call them up and give them your NAPP membership number. They originally quoted me 15% but I had read the NAPP forums and everyone was getting 20%, so I got it as well. I beta tested this package, just as Larry did, so I had to have it. I also have to say that I'm stuck on the Extended version. 3D has become something I can't do without.
Regards, David
p.s. Mary, the full (no upgrade) Photoshop CS5 Extended version is $699, I believe.
I finally bit the bullet and got Photoshop CS5. I like it a lot. I purchased Scott Kelby's Photoshop CS5 for photographers with the upgrade. Upon initial review, it does not look to have much in it for restorations.
I want to get a book on CS5 restorations because I do better with a book in hand than using a tutorial.
I was looking in Books A Million and found Adobe Photoshop CS5 Restoration and Retouching for Digital Photographers Only (Paperback) by Mark Fitzgerald. (It's odd that the ebook version is $45 and the paperback version is $31. Go figure. ::) ) Has anybody used this book or other books on restorations by Mark Fitzgerald? Any comments or advice?
David Gr :-\
The "Bible":
http://www.digitalretouch.org/ (http://www.digitalretouch.org/)
David-GR, I just got the Mark Fitzgerald book as well, but I haven't gotten too far into it. I also upgraded to the newest restoration book by Ctein, because along with Katrin Eismann's, I think his first book was top notch. He covered the process from scan to print, but there were a lot of interesting fixes for really bad problems (for instance, a half tone from a newspaper restored to a pretty decent image). I'll be interested in your opinion of the Fitzgerald book if you finish it first.
I bit the bullet and upgraded to the CS5 Design Suite as well, and with my upgrade, since I got the whole suite, I received a free month of tutorials from lynda.com. That was great, as I went through several very long tutorials, especially on the new features. I agree that the application of content aware on large areas isn't all that useful for our restorations, but the healing brush or patch tool with content aware on are incredible. The brush must be just a bit larger than the area being repaired, but it pretty consistently blends the area beautifully. I'm very happy with the Suite. I love having the web software to experiment with. Since I'm signed up for Kelby Training, I'm hoping to get more into web creation. (You know, to promote my new photo restoration business now that I'm unemployed/retired/poor!)
GK