More Questions about CS3

dogdots · 11-09-2007, 21:38

I read the previous postings on CS3. I've been looking at that program wondering if it is a good thing to get or not. I hear so many pros and cons about it. I have also read some reviews on amazon and someone stated some problems that I really don't want to deal with--ex. some parts don't work, switching from CS3 to Elements to finish a project. Is this a software containing problems that it may be best to wait for CS4 or should I just get CS2 from someplace?

When I talked with Adobe today they told me that instead of getting Lightroom I could download my photos in my elements and the use the CS3 for editing. Is that a good thing and do you think it will work well?

Also I was wondering if it is really worth it. I have the trial version of CS2 on my computer right now and I do see things that are much quicker to do then in elements. I even edited a photo in CS2 then edited the same photo in elements to see the difference. Time and quality were different.

Kinda answered my own questions didn't I.

I'd like to know the problems anyone out there has had with this program. Also can you explain Bridge and does that come with the CS3 software?

P-E · 11-09-2007, 21:45

I've not yet had any problems with CS3 and I've been using it since it was released on a daily basis.

I don't use Bridge but it's on my PC so it must have come with CS

fionaB · 11-09-2007, 21:56

i use CS3 , Bridge and ACR ( Adobe camera Raw) and have no problems so far with any of them other than speed but thats my own fault as bridge eats a huge amount of memory, more than i have avaiable on my machine.
i wouldnt use any other program, i know a lot of people use lightroom but i cant comment on that as i dont have it nor di i see the point in getting it if i have CS3 and am happy with it.

Fi

dogdots · 12-09-2007, 04:13

Can CS3 be downloaded without downloading Bridge? What exactly is Bridge?

Heck, if it takes a lot of memory I will just let my husband know I will need an new computer to

Hummmm....I wonder if that will work.....

**Markulous** · 12-09-2007, 06:15

I use CS3, which is pretty fast in operation (as opposed to my tryout of CS2 - I went back to CS!) and I've not had probs. Arguably, worth getting CS3 for Spot Healing tool alone (but then I've usually dust bunnies in abundance!).

Bridge (yes, comes with PS) gives you thumbnails of all your shots, can be "corrected" to show RAW files as they'd look after processing, will allow you to select images for editing in the rest of PS and allows tagging. Personally, won't let it run on my system as it's slow, a resource hog and won't allow resizeable thumbs!

**Dabhand16** · 12-09-2007, 06:52

There was a discussion in another thread about the viability of using Lightroom and Elements 5, which is another option.

silkstone · 12-09-2007, 08:49

Or you could just use PSP XI which gives over 90% of the functionality for a tenth of the price.

Lightroom isn't sufficient on its own - it's not an all-in-one RAW converter and editor yet, and whether you like it depends to some extent on what you feel about the database system.

IMO it's a great shame that Adobe has a virtually monopoly in the 'pro' market - their prices cannot be justified, especially on this side of the pond.

**Dabhand16** · 12-09-2007, 13:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by silkstone

Lightroom isn't sufficient on its own - it's not an all-in-one RAW converter and editor (

I'd agree with that, and it is why it was advocated to use it in conjunction with PE5.

I also agree with PSP being great VFM. I've got PSP X, but although it is excellent, I did find it was not as intuitive to use as PS, and although I bought a book as well as using the built-in help, I eventually bit the bullet and went with PS which I do find more easy to live with. I found the dialogue boxes particularly awkward, but I guess it is more me than the program.

Have you seen the very recent news item on the latest PSP incantation?

silkstone · 12-09-2007, 14:06

Yes, I've seen the announcement. I tend to wait a while before trying new versions of PSP - since Corel bought JASC the early versions have been very buggy, and it seems to take a few months for them to sort things out.

They've also managed to bury some of the very useful functions in the menu structure, and focused instead on 'one-click' fixes. It's a pity because at one time I could see PSP being a real competitor to Photoshop even in the pro market, if JASC had continued to develop it as they were. Unfortunately it has been dumbed down to some extent since then, although everything is still there and it is very good vfm as you say. It's also a shame that they only support the Windows platform.

Dave Canon · 13-09-2007, 16:49

I have been using CS3 (with the Bridge) for 3 months now having upgraded from CS. I am really pleased with both the Bridge and the new features in CS3. Adobe Raw 4.1 is excellent (you get this with Lightroom as well). I use it daily and I have only noticed a couple of bugs when the Bridge failed to close properly but obviously this did not affect my use of it. I understand that there were a few bugs initially but Adobe has upgraded the software on-line a couple of times since I installed it. I have found minor problem with the rectangular Marquee tool but you can get round it.

All in all CS3 is excellent and the best of the new features are:

Adobe Raw 4.1 (you can even edit JPEGs and TIFF's with this if you wish)
Improved Curves with Histogram
Smart Filters
Major redesign for panoramic (it works really well now)
Bridge interface improved (cataloging, filtering, renaming etc very easy)
Brightness and Contrast major rethink and is now useful
Print Menu improved
Black & White conversion using 6 colours huge improvement (8 colours if you convert in Raw)
New Image Processor Module very useful
Smart Sharpen

and there is more.

dogdots · 13-09-2007, 23:53

Good info Dave. Only one question if I were to purchase it do I have to do all the upgrades online like you did to get some of the bugs out?

John F · 14-09-2007, 08:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by silkstone

Or you could just use PSP XI which gives over 90% of the functionality for a tenth of the price.

Lightroom isn't sufficient on its own - it's not an all-in-one RAW converter and editor yet, and whether you like it depends to some extent on what you feel about the database system.

IMO it's a great shame that Adobe has a virtually monopoly in the 'pro' market - their prices cannot be justified, especially on this side of the pond.

I have lightroom and I don't like it! When you transfer to PS for editing it makes duplicate copies all over the place and I am left with the fag of deleting them. Some times I delete the last saved image unknowingly. OK for one image but if there are 30 or so then that's a different matter. So, I bought CS3 which is fine apart from printing issues but that is because I am using a Mac and not a PC.

John.

14-09-2007, 08:21	#13 (permalink)
P-E Growing roots Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Sheffield, S.Yorkshire UK Posts: 8,018