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Is It Another Incredible Upgrade

Here yet is another revised edition of the leading image editing program Adobe Photoshop. I was a bit impressed with the version 7 upgrade and then even more so with the introduction of CS (version 8) and now am blown away again with CS2.

Since most of my work actually involves commercial art and design I use many features of Photoshop that the typical photographer never even thinks about using. But Adobe is listening to photographers and making additions to the program that now make it the greatest digital darkroom tool you can purchase.

If you have at least upgraded to CS2 and are hesitant to buy again to get CS2 then hopefully my quick summary of the new version will help you to make up your mind. While with the difference between version 7 and 8 I could right off the bat tell you that the upgrade is worth the difference. And for the graphic designer or commercial artist the upgrade to CS2 is a must have. While I admit there are some improvements in the photographers tool set you can probably get by with CS for a while longer.

Oh... but what a second, did I just say something to piss off the so called experts who have already reviewed this upgrade... Probably I did.

New Features At A Glance

Adobe Bridge - A super enhanced version of their browser where you can process multiple camera raw images at once; resize, rate, and label thumbnails; quickly review images in Slideshow mode; search metadata; and more. And to add fuel to the fire for the so called experts, I will have you know that this feature is not one that means anything to me. But there are a lot of photographers that really use this in managing their image catalogs.

Vanishing Point - Allows you to establish a physical perspective that may not match the actual image and then clone, paint, and paste elements that automatically match the perspective of the surrounding image area. While this is not some thing that some photographers may encounter, if you do a lot of capturing with wide angle lenses you will greatly appreciate the ability to correct perspective.

Image Warp - Create dimensional effects by wrapping an image around any shape or stretching, curling, and bending an image.

Advanced noise reduction, 32-bit High Dynamic Range (HDR) support, Customizable workspace and menus, Spot Healing Brush, One-click red-eye correction, and my favorite feature Shadow/Highlight correction are just the tip of the iceberg as for new or improved functions.

Printing Enhancements

My reasoning for even writing this review actually had nothing to do with the great number of new features. Nor did I get a free copy from Adobe or any other perk to entice me to shed a bright light on the product. It wasn't until I read another review from one of those "experts" and their article about printing from within Photoshop.

In my design projects and ad mock ups I usually print from InDesign or FreeHand but when I print images for my gallery I print from Photoshop. And new with version CS2 is a feature in which Photoshop can control the color instead of a print driver. And the ability to print it as a "proof" in case you wanted to see what it looked like if it was to be published or printed by offset methods.

I knew that the "proof" aspect of it was a joke since I spent many years in the printing industry running all sorts of sizes of presses. There is a visible difference just in the parts of the country, different ink manufacturers and to what density your particular print shop uses to measure color. While it may be similar, you can be just as close or as far off by printing the image as RGB. I mean come on guys give me a break, there is just as many or even more variable in offset printing that there is no way and inkjet printer is going to reproduce colors as if they were printed by CMYK process printing.

But I was intrigued by the "experts" claim that letting Photoshop determine the colors would yield better looking prints. But since I have found that so many self proclaimed experts and even those with a piece of paper stating they are an expert often tend to anger me in their presentations. So I opened up an image and tried the methods of letting the printer determine the colors. And I printed the same image letting Photoshop determine the colors.

By now you have guessed correctly, the print with the printer driver determine the colors looked far superior and as close to a dead on match to my screen version of the image. Of course if that was because I didn't use the "amateur" profile known as sRGB I will never know. I will never allow any of my images to use such a narrow gamut of colors. As for me and the AdobeRGB profile, I find that the images I print look the best that is possible. Sometimes I will even take a file to the lab and have a C print made just to compare, and its hard to tell the difference.

I may need to mention that I use the Mac operating system and if you use Windows, then you may want to try the other method since I have yet to see a Windows machine that can print just what you see on the screen... that is without using a calibration tool. Then of course if I had such a problem keeping my printer in sync with my monitor I would quickly abandon the Windows platform anyway. Don't get me wrong, yes you can get good prints from Windows but the trouble and effort to get there and furthermore to stay there is hardly worth it. (Oh my, I just probably pissed off a bunch more folks)

In the end of course this is not about operating systems or even printing, but the question is should you upgrade to CS2?

If you already are making excellent quality prints then you really wont improve upon that too much right out of the box. The methods in which you touch up and edit images are improved and worth some of the money. And if production is at the top of your list in requirements from your image business, then its worth all the money. But if you are the photographer that doesn't process hundreds of images on a regular basis or you work a while on each image as in the fine art world, you can get by for a long time without it. Probably until CS3 or whatever comes next. That is unless you look over the new features and find one you just can't live without such as the image warp or vanishing point.