What Are the Differences in Photoshop CS6 vs. CS5 — What’s New?
April 5th, 2012 23 comments
[UPDATE (May 7th) – CS6 is now shipping!]
At Photoshop World last week, we had the chance to sit down with Adobe Senior Product Managers Bryan O’Neil Hughes and Zorana Gee for hours of in-depth walkthroughs of the new Photoshop CS6 release. And all we can say is – on top of what we already knew and experienced – this is the Photoshop version you’ve probably dreamed about…
And with over one million downloads in record time, clearly we’re not the only ones thinking that. The reviews are in: Gizmodo calls it, “The best update in recent memory, I’m in love” … PC Magazine says, “The future of creative image editing is upon us – this new version will thrill nearly all categories of users, from photographers to designers” … USA Today writes, “Having lots of fun with the new tools – the beautiful and streamlined new interface is a huge improvement, and the images really do look sharper and more pronounced.”
For expediency we put together a quick “cheat sheet” below of the top differences and new features in Photoshop CS6 as compared to PS CS5. Naturally if you’re still on CS4, CS3, or earlier, then you’d also need to add in the differences between CS5 vs. those older versions.
But really, it’s also a fit and polish thing – with two years since the last major release (and having no architectural challenges to worry about), the Photoshop team had plenty time to hone this into a smooth and polished product. This is reflected in the 62% more new features added in this cycle contrasted to the previous one, and nearly twice as many JDI requests (user-focused “Just Do It” items) addressed.
Four Hours of Free Tutorials for Lightroom 4, plus Other Resources
March 8th, 2012 8 comments
Adobe Lightroom 4 is only days old, yet it’s quickly getting rave reviews across the net…
PC Magazine gives it 4½ stars and their Editors’ Choice Award for photo workflow software, writing: “For anyone who’s serious about digital photography, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 is now a more essential tool than ever – this is the app you need.”
Digital Photography Review also has great things to say: “Lightroom 4 is a substantial upgrade … offers an impressive list of features … on image quality, the Lightroom team has kept its eye on the prize … consistently getting pleasing results in fewer steps … works impressively well on a range of images … you can get superior results compared to previous versions … video users will also be pleased … welcome surprise price drop … compelling reasons to upgrade.”
And there is already a wealth of free learning resources available… Here are some good ones:
New Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 – Review & Rating Roundup
January 9th, 2012 4 comments
It’s been a few months now since Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 was officially released, so let’s take a look at what the reviews out there are saying…
First, for a quick overview of the new version, check out our Elements 10 Release Guide, as well as What’s New in PSE 10 vs. 9, 8, 7, or 6?
And if you’re wondering which edition of Photoshop is right for you, see: What’s the Difference between Photoshop CS5 vs. Elements 10 vs. Lightroom 3?
OK, so now on to the reviews for Photoshop Elements 10:
PC Magazine writes, “If you’re mostly concerned about doing interesting and creative things with your images, but don’t want to invest the time and money in learning Photoshop, Photoshop Elements 10 is an excellent option… Competitors don’t come close to matching Photoshop Elements’ array of dazzling photo effects, organizational tools like face tagging, and sharing and output options. Photoshop Elements 10’s tools for perfecting your digital images are unrivaled, making it our Editors’ Choice for prosumer photo editing.”
About.com says, “Each new update to Photoshop Elements has always brought strong new features to the program. Photoshop Elements 10 is no exception… Elements remains an extremely powerful and useful photo editing program for anyone who doesn’t need the graphic editing feature of CS or its high price tag. Whether you are a beginner or ‘old hand’ at photo editing, Photoshop Elements 10 offers strong tools for a very reasonable price.”
Adobe Acrobat X (10) Pro/Standard – Review & Rating Roundup
December 22nd, 2010 2 comments
It’s been almost a month now since Adobe Acrobat X was officially released, so let’s take a look at what the reviews out there are saying…
In our earlier article on the differences between Acrobat X and earlier versions, we covered what PC Magazine wrote: the new software is “massively improved” and “faster and more powerful than ever,” with “finally a lucid, up-to-date interface” and “terrific corporate and automation features, including high-quality exports to Word and Excel documents.” Their review gives Acrobat X a rating of 4½ stars and concludes it is “the most powerful, flexible, and best-designed PDF software ever written,” and “a giant step forward, and an essential upgrade for anyone who creates or manages PDFs.” And About.com rates the product 5 stars.
How about the end-users out there – how is Acrobat X being received? Here’s a quick video:
Adobe Lightroom 3 Review & Rating Roundup – June 2010 to Date
July 28th, 2010 Leave a comment
It’s been over a month now since Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 completed its beta program and the final version was released, so it’s time to see what most of the reviews are saying out there…
In our earlier article on LR3 tutorials and other resources, we covered what Expert Reviews said: “The new lens correction and noise reduction tools make Lightroom 3 a must-have upgrade from previous versions (just $99 for the upgrade edition), while its powerful management tools remain as good as ever. For many people Lightroom 3 will be the only bit of photo-editing software they need, but even those that have to turn to Photoshop for more-advanced image effects will find Lightroom 3 an invaluable management and pre-processing tool.”
Bright Hub gives the software a perfect 5 out of 5 overall rating and concludes, “It is easy to end this Lightroom 3 review with full marks for Adobe. This product stands head and shoulders above the competition in an increasingly crowded sector. It is a great choice for professionals and advanced amateurs who are looking to for the best way to improve their digital workflow, and it has an appropriate learning curve for those who are new to this series of editors. In short, it may be all you ever need.”
Adobe Photoshop CS5 Reviews: What Are They Saying?
May 5th, 2010 2 comments
So Adobe Photoshop CS5 is finally out in its official release, with over 100 new and enhanced features… What’s the word out there so far? First, a quick summary of what’s new:
◊ Photoshop CS5 delivers exceptional power and creative control with the next generation of advanced tools for outstanding image manipulation and superior compositing. It redefines image editing with a strong focus on photography, including breakthrough selection capabilities, content-aware fill options, state-of-the-art processing of raw images, advanced creation of High Dynamic Range (HDR) imagery, automated lens corrections, puppet warp technology, extraordinary new painting effects, and a sweeping range of workflow and performance enhancements that boost productivity.
◊ Photoshop CS5 Extended takes it even further, as a superset of tools and features made for professionals who want to push the boundaries of digital imaging. It delivers all the editing, compositing, and painting capabilities of Photoshop CS5 plus powerful new features for creating stunning 3D artwork from selections, graphics, and type with direct control over lighting, materials, and meshes. See the complete differences between Standard vs. Extended.
And here’s what the reviewers have to say about it:
“When was the last time software changed the way you think and see? Photoshop CS5 will.”
— John Paul Caponigro, photographer
“Each new version of Photoshop has included many exciting enhancements, but Photoshop CS5 is the most amazing technological jump I’ve seen since I started using the software.”
— Ira Block, Ira Block Photography
“The Content-Aware Fill feature in Photoshop CS5 got a wow from me when I first used it. It is very good at replacing areas where you would otherwise need to use more strokes and time to clone or heal out a distracting element in a photograph.”
— Dianne Taylor-Misztela, TM Photo
