should I upgrade to CS2?

[arthur]

Right now I have PS 6.0. I shoot in RAW, so my workflow consists of making a few exposure/contrast adjustments in Pixmantec Rawshooter, outputting into JPG, and then making other changes in PS.

So with CS2, all of this would be integrated. Is that a significant advantage? Is the advantage enough to warrant a few extra bucks?

Have there been a lot of changes since 6.0? One that comes to my mind is the healing brush.

[johnastovall]

Yes, I had CS7 and the move to CS2 is well worth it for Bridge and Smart Sharpen to just name 2. I find Bidge an outstanding improvement and hope they add more to it.

[arthur]

is bridge a way to search through your photos?

Does it look that much different than say Google's Picasa software?

[Gordon]

I think if you shoot RAW, then CS2 is very likely to be well worth the upgrade.

A much more complete 16 bit workflow
Built in RAW converter
Bridge - which is a file viewer/ sorter/ metadata editor/ multi RAW settings manager
Lets you view your files in various ways, sort, rank them etc and then apply RAW settings to multiple files at once, cut/paste RAW settings and so on. Also supports doing batch convertion within photoshop or just in bridge to do proofing.
The improved healing brush and spot tools
High dynamic range auto merge

Never much liked RAWshooter essentials myself, never got good results from it.

You can download a 30 day free trial of CS2 and try it out yourself and see.

[h00kemh0rns]

Wish it wasn't so much...otherwise I'd be tempted to upgrade from CS...oh and get a legal version.

[thelegend1472]

pm me

[Collins]

Make sure you run it w/ plenty of RAM! I learned that lesson early...

[dsjsws]

I love CS2 when working with RAW files. I cannot wait for the next version to take the bugs out of CS2. I love it, except I still have not figured out how to make Adobe Bridge open the RAW files up as shot. It is great for fixing them if you made a mistake, but when they are perfect, it always wants to change them. Anyone have a fix for making Bridge open the RAW files as shot?
Even with this glitch, CS2 is a great program. I never like Adobe Photoshop until version 7, then each upgrade thereafter seems to be worth the upgrade.
Good luck!

[Gordon]

Photoshop CS2 Tryout version. Fully working for 30 days. Should give you a good idea on what you can/cant do.

[Gordon]

Originally Posted by dsjsws

I love CS2 when working with RAW files. I cannot wait for the next version to take the bugs out of CS2. I love it, except I still have not figured out how to make Adobe Bridge open the RAW files up as shot. It is great for fixing them if you made a mistake, but when they are perfect, it always wants to change them. Anyone have a fix for making Bridge open the RAW files as shot?
Even with this glitch, CS2 is a great program. I never like Adobe Photoshop until version 7, then each upgrade thereafter seems to be worth the upgrade.
Good luck!

Out of the box, the RAW converter (and thus preview) is set to apply an 'auto everything' correction. I've changed mine to show everything as shot as default (you do this in the RAW converter, under the settings drop down menu). At the same time I saved off a configuration that is 'auto everything' so I can quickly apply that if I prefer.

[dsjsws]

Gordon,

I have lots of little tweaks for CS2 in the default settings. However, none of them are just a general "as shot". I know it has a setting for the white balance "as shot". That is almost always in my various tweaks for the different default settings. What I need is to know how to set up my general default so that it opens the photos "as shot", not just the white balance, for all of my photos. It's maddening. I can tell they are not opening as shot, because when I open them in the Canon software - Digital Professional - I can see them "as shot". However, the Canon software does not sort them or categorize them. At the moment, I have to use both programs and it takes a lot of time that I could waste in much more fun and creative ways. I need a solution to opening bridge so that it sees all of my photos "as shot", in all categories, and then I can tweak the corrections from there.
I am thinking about using the lastest version of Phase I instead. Anyone know if Phase I is an improvement or have a solution to Adobe Bridge?
Thanks,

Donna

[Gordon]

Originally Posted by dsjsws

Gordon,

I have lots of little tweaks for CS2 in the default settings. However, none of them are just a general "as shot". I know it has a setting for the white balance "as shot". That is almost always in my various tweaks for the different default settings. What I need is to know how to set up my general default so that it opens the photos "as shot", not just the white balance, for all of my photos. It's maddening. I can tell they are not opening as shot, because when I open them in the Canon software - Digital Professional - I can see them "as shot". However, the Canon software does not sort them or categorize them. At the moment, I have to use both programs and it takes a lot of time that I could waste in much more fun and creative ways. I need a solution to opening bridge so that it sees all of my photos "as shot", in all categories, and then I can tweak the corrections from there.
I am thinking about using the lastest version of Phase I instead. Anyone know if Phase I is an improvement or have a solution to Adobe Bridge?
Thanks,

Donna

In the RAW converter, there should be two drop down boxes - one for white balance and one for all the RAW settings. You want to uncheck all the 'auto' check boxes above the various exposure/ brightness etc sliders, set white balance to 'as shot' then save those settings in the RAW settings drop down as your default.

Then when you load files in bridge, the default RAW settings will get applied - which should if you save them correctly, do nothing. Note that you probably won't see it immediately in bridge as you'll have to recreate the thumbnails to see changes to existing files - though new RAW files should be as shot.

I'm writing this away from a copy of bridge/ CS2 right now but as far as I remember this was all I did. It was pretty easy to get bridge to stop changing/ optimising the pictures by default. You shouldn't need to go to other software to fix this. If you are still having problems, I'll check more when I get home.

Edit: Here's the adobe support page that explains this process Thumbnail previews do not appear as expected in Bridge

[skiphunt]

definitely worth the upgrade.

[dsjsws]

Gordon,
Thank you for your help with Adobe Bridge. I am going to print your directions and try them. Then, I will pass them on to a whole bunch of others that are having the same problem.
Donna

[Gordon]

Originally Posted by dsjsws

Gordon,
Thank you for your help with Adobe Bridge. I am going to print your directions and try them. Then, I will pass them on to a whole bunch of others that are having the same problem.
Donna

Okay - PM me if you have any problems and I'll check on my home system.