Favorite Features in CS5

My idea with this topic is to share favorite new features, discuss how to use them and whether CS5 is worth the sticker-shock price.

Although there are more spectacular features, the one that has been most useful to me has been the improvements to the Refine Edge command under the Selection menu. By smoothing and feathering selections when making adjustments, I have eliminated halos and that funky "3-D" effect. Very useful.

The enhancements to Adobe Camera Raw are the winner for me. Superior capture sharpening and noise reduction, auto lens distortion corrections from profiled lenses and just a better overall camera profile combine to make it my preferred Raw converter. Even though I prefer to edit in PS using layers and luminosity masks, the improved ACR means much less work in that regard.
The new Refine Edge feature which you covered was a very close second.
Closely followed by the new Mini-Bridge feature, which allows me to sort and choose images within the PS workflow, and content aware fill (in both the Fill and Spot Healing brush). When that feature works well, there's nothing comparable for eliminating problem areas of an image.

That is a nice tip on the Refine Edge command, I have never used that one. I also like the enhancements made in ACR. The raw sharpening and noise reduction is way better and I it seems to fit better into my work flow.

This post captured my attention because I currently have CS4 and am seriously considering upgrading to CS5. My issue is that I also use Lightroom and it has become so good I'm not PS as much as I used to, except for the really complicated editing.

I was particularly intrigued by John's comment on ACR, sharpening and NR in CS5. Are you saying John, that you import your images directly into CS5 so you can use the ACR in CS5? I import directly into LR which also has ACR built in, so the images are processed automatically during the import. I then convert them all to DNG so now I have the same image control but using up a little less space, and of course, I also have the all the amazing image management tools of LR at my disposal. I guess my question boils down to this; is ACR, Sharpening and NR in LR and CS5 the same, or is one better than the other? It's all Adobe, so I would think it's all the same code and algorithms in both applications. Does anyone know for sure?

The raw processing engine in ACR in CS5 and in LR 3 are the same. The interface is slightly different, but all of the functions available in one are available in the other. I much prefer the interface in LR to that of straight ACR.

I use both LR and PS, but spend most of my time retouching in LR. However, as mentioned before, there are some things PS can do that LR simply can't. I was a beta tester for the lastest version of PS and the very same question was posted in their forum. Hands down the number one favorite new feature was Content-Aware. I must admit, it's my favorite too. If you never used it before, what it does is this - let's say there's a twig or branch in your image that you want to remove. Rather than spending hours cloning, patching, and healing, now you can simply select it, hit the delete key and viola, it's gone. PS will replace that area with information from the nearest surrounding pixels. It takes a bit of practice because sometimes the information it uses isn't what you want, but with practice you'll see that it's a real time-saver. Here's a You-tube tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH0aEp1oDOI

I also like the scrubby zoom tool. lens correct, and HDR toning. In my opinion it's definitely worth the extra cash.

I see I'm not the only one who spends most of his time in LR. However, very nice tip on the Content-Aware tool on PS Audrey. That's one demand we have all had 'to get rid of that menacing rock, branch, hair, etc. without spending half a day on it. I'll have to upgrade now for sure.

Keith you said the ACR engine in LR3 is the same as CS5. Do you know if that applies to CS4 as well, or was ACR updated between versions?

I upgraded specifically because of the content - aware feature. I have not been disappointed. But I agree that the upgrades to ACR -- which I wasn't aware of until I started reading up on them, are definitely also worth the price of admission.

Keith you said the ACR engine in LR3 is the same as CS5. Do you know if that applies to CS4 as well, or was ACR updated between versions?

CS4 has the older engine from LR2. LR3 and CS5 are the newer one.

Thanks for the clarification David. That explains why the NR is so much better in LR3 than in CS4.

Favorites:
-Content-Aware FILL for Patch, Edit-->Fill, and Spot Healer
-Refine Edge, and the ability to select hair or wheat or anything like that
In fact, watch this video, and you'll be convinced to upgrade! Wait until you see how easy it is to select the mane on a horse...
-ACR, definitely, just keeps getting better. How did I survive without Local Adjustment Brush and the grad filter? lol! (I think these are in CS4's ACR also)
-Bridge: Asset Management is now a breeze. Mini-Bridge is also great to navigate PSD files.
-HDR and B&W conversion tools are finally good and usable
-Print dialog and soft proofing are improved
-CS4 crashed a lot and was buggy for me. CS5 is way more stable IMO.
-Lastly and a biggie, the amazing video editing it offers for my 5D2 footage (in the Extended version), I'm starting to do more color grading in PS than Premiere!

I can't add much to the LightRoom discussion... I can see what an asset it is to many folks, but I have zero use for it because it doesn't do layers or softproofing. I thought about it for asset management, but with the new Bridge, I've created a solid workflow. I'm not knocking LR at ALL, it's just not a good fit for me personally. Somewhere along the way I became a Layer lunatic.