Photoshop 7 vs CS

[LarryB]

I'm fairly comfortable with Photoshop 7.1. Granted there are tons of things that I don't know how to do with it and tons of things it will do that I have no idea that it can even do. :? But after a couple of years working with it I can generally get it to do what I need it to do.....usually. :wink:

Anyway, I have the opportunity to get a full version of Photoshop CS at a decent price and can't make up my mind if I want to go through with it. So I have some questions for those that have gone from 7 to CS.

Am I missing the boat by not upgrading?
What is/are the major improvements?
How steep is the learning curve?
Are there "must have" plug-ins/accessories?
Has there been a service update since it's first introduction?
Are there things it should do that it doesn't?
Anything else you'd like to address?

And this last question I realize is a total guess...but....how long before they "update" this version to yet another one? CS MkII perhaps? :mrgreen:

[PacAce]

Just to name a few....

- most processing functions also allowed in 16-bit mode
- Updated ACR
- a much improved file browser
- highlight/shadow adjustment function

After using PS CS for a while, you will feel crippled if you have to go back to using PS 7 again.

[Radtech1]

The sweetest thing for me is the "switch values" button now in the crop tool.

When I use the crop tool and select "Front Image" as the source for the values, it sets it to 17.067 inches wide by 11.378 inches tall. (Strange numbers, but it works out to be 3072 x 2048 pixels at 180 pixels/inch - the native resoultion for my 10D in "Landscape" format.) With those values, I can crop a landscape shot and keep the 3x2 ratio of width to height.

"So what?" you say, "That is what I do in PS7"

True, but in CS, if I decide that I want to see it in "Portrait", it has a button which swaps the width and heght values, so my crop is now a 2x3 ratio. I have gotten so used to this "ease of use" feature, that when I am on my laptop (running PS7) I find myself getting so frustrated that I could just spit!

Rad

[LarryB]

Thanks. I appreciate the replies.

I'm still kinda undecided.

[LarryB]

I've just spent the better part of the evening reading posts on the Adobe Photoshop forum regarding the activation/reactivation process for CS. YIKES!!! :shock:

There are numerous horror stories of people who lost the ability to use the program on say a Friday evening and, due to the weekend/holiday when there is no person available at the Adobe support desk, were unable to get the program up and running again until Monday. This would be completely and totally unacceptable.

My "second installation" of the program would be on a system that never has access to the internet. Therefore, activation/reactivation would have to be performed via telephone. Photoshop is a crucial/critical part of my workflow and without it, I am dead in the water. I can't imagine showing up to an all weekend event and upon firing up Photoshop it says something like "sorry, but you have to reactivate". I would be furious if the automated help system refused my reactivation request and I had to close up shop (in other words....make no money)!

These horror stories, all of which are well within the realm of possibility, really REALLY scare me.

Has anything similar happened to anyone here? Please share your story.