Photoshop CS First Look
Review by Colin Smith
Sept
29 2003. Adobe announces Photoshop CS
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This morning we awoke to the announcement from
Adobe Systems that Photoshop has reached version 8. Not only
that ,but there is also a new name and a new strategy from Adobe
Systems. The new release is CS (Creative Suite)
Adobe announced that the following products will
soon be released and bundled together:
Photoshop CS (8)
Illustrator CS (11)
Indesign CS (3)
Golive CS
PHOTOSHOP CS
There
is something for everyone in the new release. The group of
users that will be the most excited though, are digital Phototographers.
Photoshop cs is jammed with features for phototographers. 16
bit channel support is vastly expanded with most filters now
working in 16 bit color. The camera raw plug in is now intergrated
into Photoshop as well as jpeg 2000 support. The file browser
is more of a mini app now, with extensive meta-data
support
and
more.
There
are
new photographic filters and adjustment layers. The histogram
palette allows you to view your image histogram while working
with various filters. There is now a color replacement brush
that can remove red eye in a snap!
For
designers, there are layer comps, filter gallery, a new blending
mode and the long awaited Type on a path, which works killer!
Imageready
has had some extensive working over and now provides a much
more streamlined workflow. Image Ready cs is now more intergrated
in Photoshop and doesn't launch a seperate window anymore.
For
videographers there is now support for non square pixels.
Alright,
lets have a look at some screen shots and talk a bit more about
the new features:
Welcome
Screen
As soon as you launch Photoshop CS, you will see the new the new
welcome screen. This screen provides links to useful resources
and tips
File Browser
The new file browser has extensive meta data capabilities and
even has a window just for the meta data. Some image information
can even be edited right from this window
The browser is faster and more stable than the
one in Version 7. There is also a category of preferences just
for the file browser, this way you can choose to not display
image over a certain size, this speeds viewing a lot!
The automate menu is now intergrated in the File
browser allowing you to perform batch processing to images without
even opening them in Photoshop. There are also some new automated
tasks including the PDF presentation which will build an animated
slideshow complete with transition effects.
Type on a path
You can now create a path and flow your text on
it. You can even use a custom shape and fill it with text
Histogram Palette
This is extremely useful for image manipulation and correction.
You now have access to a histogram at all times. The palette
offers features unavalible from the Levels dialog box.
Layer Comps
This new feature allows you to take snapshots of your layouts.
You can experiment with different layouts and recall them at
the click on the mouse. The layer position, opacity and effects
are all memorized. The layer comps are preserved when the file
is saved, so you could sent it to a coworker and have them
add some of their own comps to your layout. This saves having
to create multiple "base camp" files.
Filter Gallery
You can now see a preview of how a filter will effect the image.
You can make adjustments to the filters and combime different
filters together. You can add and remove filters as you experiment
as easy as using the layers palette. This also means that you
can do all your experimentation is the filter gallery. The
benefit is speed and a better quality image because the filters
are only being applied once.
Shadow Highlight Adjustment
This new filter provides a functionality previously unavaliable.
The Shadow/Highlight can actually lighten the shadows and darken
the highlights, thus effectively increasing the tonal range
of yourimages. This is really quite an amazing adjustment filter
and will be a lifesaver for some Photographs.
Custom Shortcuts are finally here, you can customize
just about any Photoshop function and create a shortcut for it.
Bravo!
Imageready
The big news with Imagready cs is the tighter intergration with
Photoshop. It no longer has to launch a seperate copy of
the image, but Imagready now will take over the Photoshop
Workspace. Imageready has undergone a lot of updating. Some
redundant features
have
been removed
allowing
more room
for
a truely
streamlined
web workflow. The rollover paltte has been replaced by the
Web Content palette that allows you to control all your slices
and rollovers. Creating multiple and disjointed rollovers has
now become easier and more intuitive with the targetted slice
feature. You can now create custom slice sets and apply more
than one set to a page. Layer comps are fully supported in
Imageready cs and combined with slice sets provide some great
possibilities.
All in all, this is a great upgrade with tons of
new features. There are also some productivity features such
as 2 new interpolation modes (bicubic sharpener and bicubic softener).
There is now large file support for unlimited file size and a
new fortmat (PSB)
Keep
an eye at Photoshop CAFE for more information, new resources
and tutorials on Photoshop CS. I would also like to announce
that I am in the process of writing several Photoshop CS books.
The first to be released this year called "How to Do Everything
With PhotoshopCS (McGraw-Hill Osbourne) and soon to follow...
Photoshop CS for Digital Photographers
Also
keep your eye out for some new training CDs on Photoshop CS. Join
the mailing list for updated information and announcements.
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