Should I upgrade to CS6?

[gnagel]

I currently use Photoshop CS5. I haven't upgraded to CS6 because I didn't find the enhancements to be compelling enough for me to upgrade. I planned to skip CS6 and then upgrade later (perhaps CS7).

Of course, CS7 is no longer a possibility. The Cloud isn't a possibility for me either. After dumping nearly $700 into Photoshop for CS5, I'm not fond of the idea of committing to $20 per month (or more) for the rest of my life. The whole idea sounds absurd to me right now.

Would there be any future benefit for me to upgrade to CS6 now? Or, can I just stick with CS5 for the foreseeable future?

Thanks,
Glenn

 

[bmell]

I used CS for about 8 years without issue. I now have CS5 and plan to use it for as long as I can. Frankly I only use photoshop to design brochures and fliers and seldom use it for photo editing. I do most of that in Aperture.

 

[NewBert]

I currently use Photoshop CS5. I haven't upgraded to CS6 because I didn't find the enhancements to be compelling enough for me to upgrade. I planned to skip CS6 and then upgrade later (perhaps CS7).

Of course, CS7 is no longer a possibility. The Cloud isn't a possibility for me either. After dumping nearly $700 into Photoshop for CS5, I'm not fond of the idea of committing to $20 per month (or more) for the rest of my life. The whole idea sounds absurd to me right now.

Would there be any future benefit for me to upgrade to CS6 now? Or, can I just stick with CS5 for the foreseeable future?

Thanks,
Glenn

Glenn,

I also currently have CS5 and haven't upgraded to CS6 because I didn't see any compelling reason to. I also have no interest in Adobe's new business model for Photoshop. So, I think that our situtaions are similar.

I honestly don't see the logic in upgrading to a version (CS6) that doesn't offer you any compelling new capabilities (unless you're concerned that you'll upgrade to a camera body that CS5 doesn't support, but CS6 does). It's not as if CS5 will stop working on some arbitrary date and you'll be left with nothing. Many people happily use previous versions of Photoshop for many years if they have no need for the capabilities of newer versions.

I plan on sticking with CS5.

 

[gnagel]

I used CS for about 8 years without issue. I now have CS5 and plan to use it for as long as I can. Frankly I only use photoshop to design brochures and fliers and seldom use it for photo editing. I do most of that in Aperture.

CS5 will probably be adequate for me for quite some time. I do use Photoshop quite often for post processing.

Let's say that two years from now I purchase a new camera. Is it possible that I would be able to process those files using CS6, but not CS5? In other words, how much ongoing support will CS6 receive from Adobe relative to CS5?

Just not sure how much this Cloud thing is going to impact me over the next few years...:frown:

Glenn

 

[gnagel]

Glenn,

I also currently have CS5 and haven't upgraded to CS6 because I didn't see any compelling reason to. I also have no interest in Adobe's new business model for Photoshop. So, I think that our situtaions are similar.

I honestly don't see the logic in upgrading to a version (CS6) that doesn't offer you any compelling new capabilities (unless you're concerned that you'll upgrade to a camera body that CS5 doesn't support, but CS6 does). It's not as if CS5 will stop working on some arbitrary date and you'll be left with nothing. Many people happily use previous versions of Photoshop for many years if they have no need for the capabilities of newer versions.

I plan on sticking with CS5.

Thanks Bert...I suppose I could stick with CS5 and then upgrade down the line if that becomes necessary after a camera body upgrade. I guess that CS6 will remain for sale for quite a while yet...

Glenn

 

[Kees de Bruin]

Adobe keeps saying they will provide ACR updates for CS6 to support new cameras and to keep the integration with Lightroom. How long they will continue this is something only Adobe knows.

If you're using Lightroom I wouldn't upgrade (just export as TIFF) but if you're using Photoshop/ACR I would also look at some other options such as CaptureNX.

 

[TonyW]

Let's say that two years from now I purchase a new camera. Is it possible that I would be able to process those files using CS6, but not CS5? In other words, how much ongoing support will CS6 receive from Adobe relative to CS5?

How long camera raw updates for CS6 will be availlable is an unknown as it depends on how long Adobe continues to sell the Creative Suite 6 product.

CS6 will be updated with new camera raw as far as I know after any LR5 updates so should be good for some time to come. What I think will happen though is that if camera raw gets added functionality i.e. new tools then these may not be available in the updates to LR5 unless you are a CC user.

You may know this but camera raw support stopped in CS5 and although you can use D800 files you cannot update to accept D600. Without making a software change the only way is to convert your raw to DNG.

In your position I would not consider upgrading from CS5 as it does all you need for fine tuning your images. Assuming that you use another application for your raw editing and catalogue then this is the one I would be concentrating on.

 

[cbbr]

Adobe keeps saying they will provide ACR updates for CS6 to support new cameras and to keep the integration with Lightroom. How long they will continue this is something only Adobe knows.

If you're using Lightroom I wouldn't upgrade (just export as TIFF) but if you're using Photoshop/ACR I would also look at some other options such as CaptureNX.

I use CNX to process RAW files now and then do touch up in CS5, so I will be keeping CS5 for a long time..

 

[crazy]

In order to maximize my current LR/PS processing lifespan, I plan to be on their most current perpetual versions. It's a new Adobe world, so I want to be current on their perpetual offerings and try to mitigate the surprise impact, especially in case LR was to be suddenly available only in the cloud.

 

[ImageReflex]

I upgraded to CS6 earlier this year because I was testing LR 4 (which seems to integrate better with CS6). For me, it turned out that the cropping tool has been improved in CS6, which makes for faster editing on deadline. The memory handling and overall performance also seems to be improved over CS5.

The problem you may face is that the CS6 upgrade has been yanked from many places. Amazon, which used to have the CS6 upgrade available for electronic download, no longer has it. I took a quick look, and it appears that Adobe's online store still has it (whether it will allow you to complete the transaction for the upgrade is another matter), but you'll need to search for it; it has been buried since Adobe started pushing the cloud subscriptions.

If I hadn't already upgraded earlier this year, I would upgrade now before the cloud subscription is the only choice.

 

[james thiel]

Glenn I have CS6 but would not upgrade from CS5 if I had it to do over. If I had a camera like the D600 I may reconsider. I watched a very good video by Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskowski. http://kelbytv.com/thegrid/2013/05/09/the-grid-episode-95-.
discussing-adobe-creative-cloud/ They were talking about the possibility of a Photoshop for photographers which would be very nice. Scott has 70,000 members and thus has some pull with Adobe. They also said that Photoshop Elements is 80-90% of Photoshop so that could be an option in the future if needed. It costs about $60 and has camera raw support. I have not used it since it first came out and did not have layers and masks so it was of little use. It has grown since then. I think it is early in this process and only time will tell. Good luck with your decision.

 

[barphoto]

I use both CS5 and Lightroom 4. I do the majority of my PP in Lightroom. I find the UI to be a tad more user friendly and I don't have to open ACR, then photoshop when I shoot raw. I will use photoshop if I there is a lot of "clean-up" that needs to be done or if there are objects that need to be removed from a photo.. Because of this I saw no need to upgrade to CS6.

 

[Butlerkid]

I upgraded to CS6 earlier this year because I was testing LR 4 (which seems to integrate better with CS6). For me, it turned out that the cropping tool has been improved in CS6, which makes for faster editing on deadline. The memory handling and overall performance also seems to be improved over CS5.

The problem you may face is that the CS6 upgrade has been yanked from many places. Amazon, which used to have the CS6 upgrade available for electronic download, no longer has it. I took a quick look, and it appears that Adobe's online store still has it (whether it will allow you to complete the transaction for the upgrade is another matter), but you'll need to search for it; it has been buried since Adobe started pushing the cloud subscriptions.

If I hadn't already upgraded earlier this year, I would upgrade now before the cloud subscription is the only choice.

+1.

I use CS6 and found the improved crop tool a BIG improvement (much better than LR). I also use the Adaptive Wide Angle filter (AWA) a LOT to quickly and easily ensure straight verticals & horizonals. I have also found the content aware fill extremely fast and accurate. Performance and stability have also improved.

I'd rather be totally current with CS6 and LR5 and be able to benefit from whatever updates Adobe may make available for CS6, rather than rely on CS5. 'Cause I have no intention of going to a Cloud - or Elements!

 

[bpdougd]

Here are some reasons for choosing CS6 (in addition to those already noted in the replies above):

- Content aware move and patch
- Big improvements in brushes. A big deal if you paint with PS much.
- White balance and noise reduction added to the adjustments that can be applied with a selective brush
- Lighting effects much improved. (IIRC it was pulled from at least one former version but I could be confusing it with something else.)
- Improvements to image resizing. I used to curse the image resizing tools in PS and used the Genuine Fractals/Perfect Resize plugin. Now, I rarely use the plugin.
- With CS6, HDR is finally useful
- Much better performance. I tested CS5.5 versus CS6 with some transforms and filters. The improvements in CS6 were easily noticed when measured with a wristwatch.

These are a few that are a big deal for me. Allegedly the layer filtering is much improved but I have not had a need to use that feature (yet).

 

[bpdougd]

And a big +1 on the crop tool. It is finally useful. Prior to CS6 I did my cropping in Lightroom.

 

[wingspar]

Still using CS3. I have CS4 and CS5, but have never installed them due to lack of space on my C:\ drive. I’m in the process of researching components to rebuild my 7 year old computer, and when it’s done, I plan on installing CS3 and CS5. Unlikely I’ll upgrade to CS6.

Adobe must have it’s head in a cloud. :frown:

 

[TonyW]

And a possible reason why not to upgrade (or at least hold fire) if you are happy with all the tools you have at present and are not likely to upgrade cameras in the near future i.e. to Nikon D400 or D900 if/when released :smile:

Currently Photoshop CS6 is available via Amazon UK @£607 it is also available via Adobe direct and as mentioned you do have to drill down through the CC c***. Assumptions here that approx. $ for £ applies

In most peoples books and certainly those that do not earn money from using PS £607 is a considerable amount of money for an application that you are unsure will have continued support. In addition PS was originally designed for graphics artists and that trend has continued with many features that are of use to such people, this alongside excellent photo editing features. I will bet that most of us use only a fraction of the toolset contained within PS.

At the moment there is much FUD and misunderstanding around Adobe moves with CC and also a large backlash from unhappy punters (I include myself in these). At the moment Adobe are not disclosing if they have any plans to add alongside the CC model a method of obtaining a perpetual licence. It seems clear at this point that the CC model will not be abandoned nor do I think it should from a business perspective for Adobe and for those users that are actually welcoming the change and have adopted CC.

The rumour is that even within Adobe all are not happy about the decision to drop perpetual model licencing. It has been reported that Thomas Knoll, Eric Chan and others are not exactly jumping for joy and further that there is a germ of an idea for a new product Photoshop for Photographers. This product would if produced sit above/between Photoshop Elements and Photoshop CC and be designed to include all the tools that a photographer may need without the bells and whistles a graphic designer may require.

Your own guess is as good as any if this product will ever see the light of day or if perpetual licencing is offered from the CC model of Photoshop.

In any case for me I do not see any reason to panic at this time and abandon a perfectly good ship in the form of LR and PS either version 5 or 6

 

[Geof]

The way I see it is it's all unknown.
How long will CS6 be maintained?
How long before CS5 (or 4 or 3) no longer works?
How long before a non PS alternative comes along?

If you upgrade OS's routinely then perhaps CS6 is a better (longer lived) alternative than earlier versions. OTOH, if you're willing to ensure any new OS doesn't break CSx and/or stay status quo then the program should work for a very long time. As to Raw conversion one could rely on other products (such as NX2 or others).

I already own CS6 and I'm standing pat. If I had CS5 I'm not sure what I'd do but if you use the program a lot or want RAW capability with newer cameras than upgrading to CS6 makes sense. The other question remains....how long before the CS6 upgrade is no longer available? If you're tempted to upgrade to CS6 at some point I'd personally do it sooner rather than later.

 

[TonyW]

The way I see it is it's all unknown.
How long will CS6 be maintained?

Adobe say they will be continuing the availability of Creative suite indefinitely ?

How long before CS5 (or 4 or 3) no longer works?

Why should it stop working? Earlier versions of the software down to at least plain old CS continue working within Windows 7 - may have to be in 32 bit mode though. There will be compatibility issues if you try and go backwards using smart object with new tools from whatever version you use to a previous version that does not support these. The answer plain old layers with the effect that you want flattened on that layer.
[/QUOTE]

 

[Geof]

I'm not sure I trust what Adobe is saying, but I have not read any "indefinite" (as in for a very long time) answers about CS6 being maintained.