Long past time for me to upgrade from CS2. I had heard from one source that to upgrade to CS5 you had to have CS3 or 4. If I can upgrade to CS5 I'll wait, otherwise I'll go ahead and upgrade to CS4. I'm running a PC with Vista.
Bill, I think Adobe's policy is to allow upgrades back 3 versions. So if you have CS2 you should be OK. Users of CS will not be able to upgrade, so they may want to get CS4 now to cut costs in the future.
Bill, same thoughts for me as my CS2 has not been too healthy lately. After reloads it is still having issues, so if I must do further fussing I would prefer to be updating at the same time.
The only reason I have CS4 is because my old version, Photoshop 7 or something, would work with Vista.
Actually, I'm just being a curmudgeon again. Your jump probably won't be a big as mine was, but I bet there will be a feature or two that you'll appreciate. I was so out of date that Bridge was a revelation to me!
There was a post on John Nack's blog (he is a big wig on the PS development team) a few weeks back that basically said if you have CS1 you should make sure you have at least CS2 if you want to upgrade to the next version... A not so subtle hint that CS5 was going to be announced soon and that they wouldn't accept upgrades from CS1.
I am on CS3 for Mac and didn't see any compelling reason to upgrade to CS4. I will upgrade to CS5 for the 64 bit architecture and the painter tools, but not until my bread and butter add-ons are upgraded to run on CS5. If you rely on filters and automations for your post processing, wait a while before upgrading. Our world is defined by Lucis, Topaz, Imaginomics, and SiteGrinder. Until they all certify CS5 compatibility, we'll be a CS3 shop.
If your version is too old to upgrade, you can still buy CS3 from Amazon for a song and upgrade from there. I bought Dream Weaver CS3 for less tan $200 after CS4 was released.
Here is the upgrade path for adobe, http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/upgrade/. Bottom line, yes you can upgrade from CS2 to CS5 and depending if you are going with Photoshop versus Photoshop Extended will depend on the upgrade price.
"If your version is too old to upgrade, you can still buy CS3 from Amazon for a song and upgrade from there."
Be very careful attempting to use these non-conventional upgrade paths--you can't upgrade an installation unless it has been registered and there are several potential gotchas. First, a quick check of Amazon will reveal there are no real deals there for either CS2, CS3, or CS4. eBay has a lot of cheap packages but the "deals" on ebay come with a catch--you don't really know what you're getting until you open the package and many won't take an opened package back. Many of the "deals" there are bought at auctions from corporate bankruptcies. If the company was a valid Adobe retailer then you're probably OK. However if it was originally bought under a corporate multi-site license then you won't be able to register or upgrade the software--this can only be done under the original license. Many of these guys say you can register and upgrade the software in their descriptions but when you send them an email asking they hem and haw about it and give no guarantees.
If you buy from an individual you run the risk that they already registered the software and/or did not properly uninstall it and again you will not be able to register and/or upgrade. Adobe has really done their homework on this and they make it almost impossible to get around paying their full retail price. You may get a good deal or you may get stung.
Discussion
8 repliesThe only reason I have CS4 is because my old version, Photoshop 7 or something, would work with Vista.
Actually, I'm just being a curmudgeon again. Your jump probably won't be a big as mine was, but I bet there will be a feature or two that you'll appreciate. I was so out of date that Bridge was a revelation to me!
Regards, and good luck with the Adobe upgrade.
Pete D.
Drew
If your version is too old to upgrade, you can still buy CS3 from Amazon for a song and upgrade from there. I bought Dream Weaver CS3 for less tan $200 after CS4 was released.
The new capabilities of the selection tools will be very welcome.
--P
Here is the upgrade path for adobe, http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/upgrade/. Bottom line, yes you can upgrade from CS2 to CS5 and depending if you are going with Photoshop versus Photoshop Extended will depend on the upgrade price.
Tim
Be very careful attempting to use these non-conventional upgrade paths--you can't upgrade an installation unless it has been registered and there are several potential gotchas. First, a quick check of Amazon will reveal there are no real deals there for either CS2, CS3, or CS4. eBay has a lot of cheap packages but the "deals" on ebay come with a catch--you don't really know what you're getting until you open the package and many won't take an opened package back. Many of the "deals" there are bought at auctions from corporate bankruptcies. If the company was a valid Adobe retailer then you're probably OK. However if it was originally bought under a corporate multi-site license then you won't be able to register or upgrade the software--this can only be done under the original license. Many of these guys say you can register and upgrade the software in their descriptions but when you send them an email asking they hem and haw about it and give no guarantees.
If you buy from an individual you run the risk that they already registered the software and/or did not properly uninstall it and again you will not be able to register and/or upgrade. Adobe has really done their homework on this and they make it almost impossible to get around paying their full retail price. You may get a good deal or you may get stung.