Quick review of Photoshop CC

[gregbradley]

Adobe has now placed all future updates of Photoshop on a monthly subscription basis at their Creative Cloud site.

I usually use Photoshop CS2 and I also have CS4 (which won't run on the same computer as CS2 but I don't want to delete CS2 in case its something else!.

I have been trialling Photoshop CC for the last month. Its a very nice program. I was particularly impressed with CS6 when I trialled it, it seemed to be very sophisticated yet familar and did everything I needed.

CC is hardly any different but there is a neat sharpening tool that handles camera shake. It analyses the image and proposes a sharpening which you can smooth if it starts graining up your image. It tends to reduce the effects of seeing somewhat and is very nice sharpening tool - one of the best I have seen.

I think I will subscribe to this CC software. I don't know how often Adobe will update it with new tools but you get them as soon as they do. So you use the current version at all times. Kind of nice.

The cost of an upgrade from CS2 or CS4 to CS6 is quite a bit so $20/month would take 2 years or more to run out. By then they would have released a CS7 if they kept on with how they were doing things. So economically its not such a bad deal. Its just the monthly committment is not easy to agree to.

Greg.

[multiweb]

The monthly subscription is a rort. If you stop paying or don't go online within 3 months with a valid current plan your files will be locked. Both on your hard drive and on the cloud. Once you pay you have no choice but to keep going.

[gregbradley]

Really? Wow, that's rude. So now your images belong to them once you've processed them? I hadn't heard of that. That's crazy, noone is going to agree to that.

Looks like I'll be looking for a copy of PS CS6 then.

Greg.

[multiweb]

Yes I got on CC 6 months ago as part of my automatic subscription updates before I realised what it was after reading the fine prints. When I told Adobe to cancel it they charged me a penalty of $180.00 for breach of contract. ba$tards... Been an Adobe paying customer for over 10yrs. Didn't make the slightest difference in their book.

[Dennis]

I think that your images (e.g. original Raw files, processed PSD files, DNG files, etc.) will remain on your local PC or a local Drive if you choose to store them there.

However, if you terminate the contract, you cannot run CC and therefore you cannot open those files with CC.

I suspect that if you have a copy of CS6, it should be able to open PSD files created in CC, but it will not be able to open e.g. CR2 files from new Canon cameras released after CC was released, as Adobe do not go back and update Camera Raw for new camera models for those older versions of CS.:shrug:

I have CS6 and will not be moving to CC.:)

Cheers

Dennis

[multiweb]

Correct + you'll loose files saved on the cloud when your storage is culled down to 2GB from 25GB.

You can't open CC files in CS6. You can export/save as from CC to CS6 for some of the CC apps. Not sure about exporting from PS CC to CS6 but I know Premiere CC files are not backward compatible with Premiere CS6.

[Dennis]

Thanks Marc, and how rude of Adobe!:(

Sorry to hear of your unpleasant experience with Adobe. It seems that 10 years loyalty and bone fide software purchases counts for nothing with them.:sadeyes:

Cheers

Dennis

[multiweb]

The new pricing model is very attractive for new starters but for the wrong reasons. In the long run it's all about content control and customer retention. On the surface you can access every single app in the CC suite and get 25GB on-going cloud storage for $50/mth or so. That's unreal for a new unlisenced user. But I can see that fee rising in the future.

The file lock is a really insidious tactic. When CS7 was rebranded CC and they changed the one of fee to the monthly subscription you could have CS6 and CC co-exist on the same computer as separate apps (they call them apps now, program might let you think you actually own a licence... :rolleyes:). In the latest CC version they have merged CS6 registration and activation with CC monthly subscription. I suspect they did this so CS6 files are also locked. Anyway any CS6 file using new CC features and saved once in CC will be locked. There is no backward compatibility like some other CS versions in the past, although CS6 to CS5.x worked. I hear you can export from CC to CS6 but you would need a valid subscription. Your files will also lock and CC will go in 'demo' mode whatever that is if you don't connect to the activation server within 30days.

In short it's become a pay-to-rent service but with a controlling hand deep right into your content created with their apps. Basically keep paying or you can't access the authoring files you did with our apps. That's where I don't agree. You still have copyrights over the collapsed finished product when you save as a bitmap but not any PSD file, After Effect or Premiere projects, Illustrator *.ai files or InDesign uncollapsed layered files, etc...

There is also a lot of frustration with syncing between users PC and the files saved on the cloud. Probably load issues. Also Adobe CC storage got hacked twice last week. They apologised and asked their users to quickly change their credentials and 'believed' at this stage no credit card details were leaked.... right.

The credit Card model is new too. I guess they can sting you with a fee if you decide to stop the monthly fee like they did for me. Not much I can do. Very disappointed in all this stuff as I love Adobe products but business has taken a turn for the worst. Big brother tactics.

[gregbradley]

I noticed when I started reprocessing an image in CS2 that I had been working in CC that the image had a strange watermark type impression in it. I only noticed it once I uploaded it to my site and that sometimes brings out imperfections in the image.

So CC seems to have done something there. That was after the free trial expired.

Greg.

[LewisM]

Yes, indeed, Adobe CC means Credit Card.

I will keep using 5.1 for as long as possible. I am avoiding ANY Cloud software completely. I do NOT agree with any of it, as it is very invasive and Big Brother stand-over thuggery

[multiweb]

I am not sure at what level they modify the files but another worry is that CC suite installation on your HD is branching in every parts of your OS. When it 'de-activates' you can't use it but it still sits there so it is dormant and god knows what it still communicates to Adobe back and forth about the data on your machine while you can't use it.

[Nikolas]

I reckon they will see that this business model will come and bite them on the bum as their profits will see a decline in the long term

[LewisM]

It is simply AMAZING how many cracked and hacked PS5, PS 6 and even CC (yes - fully dll and networked hacked) there are. People are revolting against the Adobe (and others) shenanigans even more than previously.

[multiweb]

The scary part is the massive adoption by new users of the new pricing model. As I said it looks extremely attractive. They seem totally oblivious to the fact that they don't own their working files. They only see the carrot.
Hell, I myself migrated into it with my eyes closed for $19.00/mnth because I had been on a yearly licencing system since late 90s. I thought I'll pay monthly instead of yearly. No big deal...
The only people who started to 'click' and ask questions were the long time licensed users like me, who could choose which program to update every two years or so based on their needs.
When I realised what was going on with the working files and the backward compatibility all the alarm bells went off but it was too late. The freaking thing locked me out within days of signing off and I had to re-image my whole PC to an earlier version to get rid of every single CC apps left-over on my system. This thing is like a bloody octopus.

Unfortunately I believe that other companies such as Microsoft, Autodesk, AVID and others will adopt this pricing model. It is a gold mine. There are far more new users to tap into and hook than existing Adobe customers. Windows OS, AutoCAD, 3DMAX, Lightwave, etc... There are already hints of things to come in my other yearly subscriptions... Besides this pricing model will also suit large corporations that keep going with licensing. So I don't see any revolution happening. Use CS6 as long as it will last. Probably a couple of years. Then what are you gonna use? The gimp? I think not. You'll be assimilated ;)

[Geoff45]

Another good reason to change to PixInsight.
Geoff

[multiweb]

:lol: Pixinsight doesn't do half of what I need to do with PS.

[Geoff45]

Agree: it probably does twice as much.:)
Looks like a good discussion coming up for Wednesday night.

[DJDD]

have they gone this way with Lightroom, as well?

[multiweb]

No PS is a proper photo editing and authoring tool. PI is just another astro processing package.


I have LR 4.4 64bit which has stopped updating since LR5.2 was released via the cloud. As far as licencing goes I am not sure if LR is part of the CC suite now but I would think it won't take long before it is. So will camera raw. For now version 8 will still update for CS6.

[Spookyer]

The new model put me off right from the start, I will be sticking with existing Adobe software for as long as possible and then look at my options when I need too. Paying a subcription for software and then being held hostage is in my view a last resort.

[gregbradley]

At this time Lightroom is not part of the subscription fee system. Its stand alone.

Greg.

[LewisM]

Agree there. I am a little disappointed in PI. I am finding myself using PS MORE that PI still. If only someone would write a stacking and calibration action/plugin for PS :)

[gregbradley]

I am about to get back into PI but when I played around with it about a year ago the best thing about it seemed to be the dynamic background extraction tool and the mosaic tool. The mosaic tool is hard to use and I never got on top of it. It really has now been replaced by much more user friendly and effective software. The main issue with PI is whilst the various modules no doubt are the best type in performance, the user interface is terrible.

Greg.

[Octane]

I think the UI is beautiful.

And, yeah, PixInsight while being a wonderful tool, has nothing on Photoshop for general image processing.

They're disparate tools; not one superseding the other.

Non-cloud CS4 and CS5.1 user here. Won't be upgrading!

H

[LewisM]

With PI, all I find myself doing is using the batch stack (or the integration script), DBE and histogram. OCCASIONALLY will use Masked Stretch. I then save as a TIF, and keep playing with it in PS, which does things better for the most part, and easier.

[gregbradley]

I just used PI this morning and yes the UI isn't bad. I am referring more to the unusual format and extra icons that are unfamiliar and so there is a learning curve to simple file operations. Like no back key or easy comparison. I am sure it can be done and there is a learning curve to the differences.

I think PI may also have an edge in image callibration and registration. CCDstack struggles terribly with anything more than a few files at a time which is not ideal. My Proline 1x1 subs are 32mb each and CCDstack goes ultraslow on a fast laptop if I open more than about 6 at a time.

Greg.

[multiweb]

CCD Stack rejection algorithm works on the whole stack. PI is able somehow to batch a large quantity of files and open one at a time then free RAM as it goes. I have 24GB of RAM and can stack about 100+ subs in CCD Stack. Once it's loaded it flies. You just need a lot of RAM. The data rejection is also much faster and more effective in CCD Stack.

[DJDD]

thanks for the replies on Lightroom.

I have Lightroom 3 so will see if I can get to LR 4.
Will not go to LR 5, I think, as it may go the way of CC.

EDIT: just checked- can get Lightroom through CC, as well.

I wonder if it woudl be worth buying LR 5 full box set, anyway, and hope they do not do some funky/evil licensing model post install...