Adobe Photoshop Creative Suite 5

I'm sure this has been asked a bunch...but is CS5 worth the 600 bucks for image processing?

CS5 means Creative Suite 5. Why do you think you need the entire suite?

Maybe a better question would be, whats the best photo processing software out right now?

Photoshop CS is certainly the top-of-the-line, the standard-setter, and has capabilities that can, well, blow you away.

But, many of those capabilities are geard toward "production" photography, meaning processing a fairly high volume of photos in a number of very efficient and effective ways. It's a "natural choice" for either a pro or an amateur who has evolved into a "serious" amount of shooting.

But, if you're not in that category, you can get a whole lot of mileage out of the other apps out there at a fraction of the cost of CSx, and especially if cost is a concern I'd definitely consider other things.

Photoshop Elements is a good thing to consider, because it shares a lot of tools that it "inherited" from Photoshop, meaning that if you see people in a place like this discussing Photoshop tasks you often have either the same tool or something similar in Elements. And, because Elements is a part of the Adobe "family" there is a huge amount of support, resources, tutorials, books, etc out there.

And, the good news about both products is that you can download and install them and use them as a free trial for 30 days. A month dedicated to learning and practicing an app can go a long ways toward helping you to decide if it is "value added".

To answer your 2 questions and is entirely my view, other opinions may/will vary .

1. Yes, for me it was worth the original cost and also the $$ I've spent on the upgrades.

2. Photoshop CS5.

As Tony said, PSElements will probably suit most needs. You can always download the trials and check them out. I can't say whether it is worth it to you or not, because I don't know what $600 means to you and the use you would get out of it.

D Thompson wrote in post #13051636
To answer your 2 questions and is entirely my view, other opinions may/will vary .

1. Yes, for me it was worth the original cost and also the $$ I've spent on the upgrades.

2. Photoshop CS5.

As Tony said, PSElements will probably suit most needs. You can always download the trials and check them out. I can't say whether it is worth it to you or not, because I don't know what $600 means to you and the use you would get out of it.

^^This is a great answer along with Tony's. For me as well it was worth it. Many people refer to it as CS5 even though they are only talking about Photoshop. If you want to do anything in vector graphics, acrobat files or desktop publishing then the suite is definitely as asset. I have always bought the Design Premium suite and have never regretted my purchase.

Where would I download the trial versions? I am getting into the processing end of things and I don't want to buy something now only to not be satisfied and wish I had bout the whole kit and kaboddle....

Eng27DCFD wrote in post #13053410
Where would I download the trial versions? I am getting into the processing end of things and I don't want to buy something now only to not be satisfied and wish I had bout the whole kit and kaboddle....

http://www.adobe.com/p​roducts/catalog.html

It's been a long time, but I believe you go through the "normal" process of downloading the software, following the link above, and then you have the choice of buying it now, or using it for 30 days, the trial. Maybe someone with specific details can chime in if you get confused!

If you are a student or work in education, you can purchase CS5.1 extended for $199 through their ed store.

The student thing is a pretty sweet deal. I signed up for a photography class at my local college and now have the student version. I think I'd be a bit hesitant about dropping $600 for it... but at $169 (from Amazon) it's totally worth it. I would download the free trials of Photoshop, Elements and Lightroom, use them for a month and then decide which you can't do without.

Well, I wouldn't throw Lightroom into the same category, simply because it's not a "do all" app in the sense that Photoshop and Elements are. If you have Photoshop you don't "neeed" Lightroom for any editing. But if you have Lightroom and have an editing challenge, well, you'll have to use an editor.

Now, that being said I'm a long-time Lightroom user, it's the center of my workflow, but I still consider Photoshop an important part of my "arsenal" (although it rarely gets used).

Some people don't understand this and jump on Lightroom and then pop up with a question: "I have this thing I need to do with this photo. I only have Lightroom -- how do I do this with Lightroom?" and we have to send them off to find/install something, Photoshop, Elements, the Gimp, whatever. It would be much better if people could be prepared before they have that kind of need!

Help!!! lost my cd is there somewhere to go to download it I have the seril # but no disc in the process of moving and I just replace it and now can't seem to find. if any one knows where I can down load I would appreciate it very much oh btw it's photoshop cs version. thanks

gail wrote in post #13124182
Help!!! lost my cd is there somewhere to go to download it I have the seril # but no disc in the process of moving and I just replace it and now can't seem to find. if any one knows where I can down load I would appreciate it very much oh btw it's photoshop cs version. thanks

Head over to the Adobe site and download the trial version. Enter your serial number when prompted.

Eric Xu wrote in post #13124676
Head over to the Adobe site and download the trial version. Enter your serial number when prompted.

That won't work since she's running CS, not CS5.

You may need to call Adobe with your info. It seems like that happened to someone else here and it was a pain IIRC.