I see that Adobe has shipped Photoshop CS6. But as I looked over the new feature list, I didn't see a lot that was useful to nature photographers. Anyone with hands-on experience have any news?
Jim: I'm guessing useful is a relative term. I've been using CS6 for quite a while now and I'm finding it useful for me. Since I also teach Photoshop and Lightroom, I must keep current.
Some things I've found helpful. Many of my files get to be quite large (500mb +) by the time I'm ready to print. The new background save ability is nice to have.
The blur filter gallery provides some nice creative possibilities and could prove valuable for most any type of photography.
Lot's of hype about the new crop tool, but for LightRoom users, there's no added value since Photoshop is now catching up to the way Lightroom crop works anyway.
Adaptive Wide angle will prove useful for folks either doing architectural work, or stitching panos.
The new and updated content aware tools will surely prove valuable for some folks. The content aware move tool is pretty neat for the right images, but not nature images where the intent is to render the scene as seen.
I've always found the updates to be worthwhile in the longer term. I'm assuming Adobe will continue their current practice of updating Adobe Camera Raw in the latest version of the software and leaving older versions behind. If that is true, as new cameras arrive, folks will be stuck with relatively clumsy alternatives if they are an ACR user.
For me, it is a requirement to stay current. For others, YMMV.
Since the beta is out there for free, it is certainly an easy way to give it a test drive to help determine "useful"
I'm being forced into it due to the RAW issue. With a Mark IV and a 5D Mark III on the way, CS4 was outdated. Adobe's already nailed me twice before for that reason. It's annoying, but to me it's not as annoying as using the separate DNG converter.
I've been using the Beta the last month or two, and though I haven't used a lot of the new features, the Crop tool is something I'm getting a lot of good use out of. I'm not a Lightroom user (since I need PS for design work) and I used to avoid the Crop tool in the past, using a marquee instead. But I like the new controls in the update version, so it's something I'm happy to play with.
Content Aware has been useful in a couple cases where I need to render an illustration by cleaning up a photo or even adding canvas when using images for design purposes.
One difference I am noticing--though perhaps it's my imagination--is that sharpening seems more sensitive. The sharpening action I used to use (something I picked up here on NPN) seems to overdo it half the time now. So I'm not sure if it's become "more powerful" or what.
Still waiting to play around with the video editing. I currently use iMovie for all my basic editing, so I'm looking forward to seeing if PS brings more to the table.
Like Keith said, your mileage may vary, but there are a few other features that make it best-in-class for me. First is, FINALLY the ability make the interface dark. I've had that luxury in Bridge and Premiere and After Effects, but why Photoshop never got it is beyond me. When I work on a ton of images (shot 1700 at the last wedding), eye strain is a major concern and I like a dark studio, therefore I don't need Photoshop imitating the bleacher lights at Wrigley Field, lol. Second huge feature: I do a lot of layers, and the Save algorithm for native PSDs in CS5 takes 30-50 seconds every time because of the compression Adobe uses. Even on my 6-core i7 with 24GB ram it's the same exact long time to save as a slower PC. Drives me batty. The workaround is saving everything as uncompressed TIFFs, because there is no option to save uncompressed PSDs in CS5. Adobe got smart in CS6 and now offers uncompressed PSDs (you have to set it in Preferences). There are some 3D and video things that TIFFs can't handle, so native PSDs are important. Speaking of, if you dabble in video, that's in the Standard edition now which is nice. The overal performance is better now because PS does leverage more of the video card. Filters with a ton of math do go quicker, such as the Blur brush, etc. But with each upgrade you get a host of improvements that Adobe never touts for some reason. Algorithms are always being improved... look at the sharpening brush in CS5 for instance, used to be garbage, not works decently. The Noise Reduction in ACR 6 that ships with CS5 got so good I never use Noise Ninja any longer, yet previous versions were terrible. So what will be better in CS6 & ACR 7? I dare say a lot more than we'll know, things are fixed under the hood all the time, and Adobe has consistently improved the quality of their tools with each upgrade. CS5 was the biggest leap, there are so many improvements in the filters and brushes and ACR, etc, that I'm still amazed people didn't jump at it. My goodness, the Refined Edge pallete in CS5, WOW, that was worth the price of admission right there! To be able to select wheat in a field with the swipe of a brush, good NIGHT, why didn't Adobe blast that all over the place? ANYWAY, point is, the improvements are always more that the 12 new features that Marketing pushes. But in the end, if your workflow is set in stone and you really like how your work is coming out, and all the yadda yadda yadda I just horned out doesn't fit in with how you roll, then maybe consider waiting. The only gotcha there is the special deal that will end soon, where you can upgrade to CS5 and get CS6 for free. If you bypass that, your next upgrade will be way more than the $199 MSRP for upgrades. Something to ponder.
I know I yammered on a lot, but hopefully it'll help you decide. I will encourage you if you have CS4 or earlier to get up to CS6 through the CS5 upgrade special. CS5 was such a good upgrade that you at least want that much, and whatever CS6 brings to the table is all gravy. You can always do the trial, but I wouldn't load it on the same machine as your earlier version. I did that and it messed me up big time, But I was about to wipe and reload Winders anyway, so it wasn't a big deal.
For an in depth look at the new capabilities of ACR7 in CS6, check out this recent article at 'Luminous Landscape' (note that ACR7 and the RAW converter in Lightroom 4 are indistinguishable).
Those new features alone made it worth the price of upgrade to me.
This blog post from senior Photoshop product manager Bryan Hughes sums up what's in CS6 for photographers,
Discussion
5 repliesSome things I've found helpful. Many of my files get to be quite large (500mb +) by the time I'm ready to print. The new background save ability is nice to have.
The blur filter gallery provides some nice creative possibilities and could prove valuable for most any type of photography.
Lot's of hype about the new crop tool, but for LightRoom users, there's no added value since Photoshop is now catching up to the way Lightroom crop works anyway.
Adaptive Wide angle will prove useful for folks either doing architectural work, or stitching panos.
The new and updated content aware tools will surely prove valuable for some folks. The content aware move tool is pretty neat for the right images, but not nature images where the intent is to render the scene as seen.
I've always found the updates to be worthwhile in the longer term. I'm assuming Adobe will continue their current practice of updating Adobe Camera Raw in the latest version of the software and leaving older versions behind. If that is true, as new cameras arrive, folks will be stuck with relatively clumsy alternatives if they are an ACR user.
For me, it is a requirement to stay current. For others, YMMV.
Since the beta is out there for free, it is certainly an easy way to give it a test drive to help determine "useful"
I've been using the Beta the last month or two, and though I haven't used a lot of the new features, the Crop tool is something I'm getting a lot of good use out of. I'm not a Lightroom user (since I need PS for design work) and I used to avoid the Crop tool in the past, using a marquee instead. But I like the new controls in the update version, so it's something I'm happy to play with.
Content Aware has been useful in a couple cases where I need to render an illustration by cleaning up a photo or even adding canvas when using images for design purposes.
One difference I am noticing--though perhaps it's my imagination--is that sharpening seems more sensitive. The sharpening action I used to use (something I picked up here on NPN) seems to overdo it half the time now. So I'm not sure if it's become "more powerful" or what.
Still waiting to play around with the video editing. I currently use iMovie for all my basic editing, so I'm looking forward to seeing if PS brings more to the table.
Max
I know I yammered on a lot, but hopefully it'll help you decide. I will encourage you if you have CS4 or earlier to get up to CS6 through the CS5 upgrade special. CS5 was such a good upgrade that you at least want that much, and whatever CS6 brings to the table is all gravy. You can always do the trial, but I wouldn't load it on the same machine as your earlier version. I did that and it messed me up big time, But I was about to wipe and reload Winders anyway, so it wasn't a big deal.
Those new features alone made it worth the price of upgrade to me.
This blog post from senior Photoshop product manager Bryan Hughes sums up what's in CS6 for photographers,