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Home: Video University Forums: Digital Photography for Videographers:
Photoshop CS2 worth it?

Jeko
Enthusiast

Dec 5, 2005, 10:41 PM

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Photoshop CS2 worth it?	Can't Post

Photoshop's CS2 version has been out a while now....

Can anyone tell me their major advantages of it to justify a $170 upgrade?

Thanks in advance.

Jeko

Sony VX2100's, iRivers, M-audio 24/96, Canon 5Ds/20Ds (and too much glass), Vegas6, PhotoShop CS3, Lightroom, etc.

jt53787
Novice

Dec 5, 2005, 11:32 PM

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Re: [Jeko] Photoshop CS2 worth it? [In reply to]	Can't Post

If you shoot in RAW format (which you should try if you haven't) then it's a MUST HAVE!! I edit almost all of my files in Bridge with Camera RAW and then usually never have to open any in photoshop after.

And the auto-adjustments are awesome!!!

I can upload my RAW workflow if you ever need one. I can edit 250-300 pic per hour.

Jeko
Enthusiast

Dec 5, 2005, 11:58 PM

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Re: [jt53787] Photoshop CS2 worth it? [In reply to]	Can't Post

I've ordered it actually.... just wanted to know what best advantages are.

All of my candids (about 85% of my shots) are as jpegs. Formals and photo sessions are raw, so I would love test another work flow for it. Especially since I do so little to the RAWs unless I goofed something up.

Is the workflow an "action" then?? I'd love to try it; perhaps you can just e-mail it to me at jeff@jekovideo.com? Many thanks.

Jeko

Sony VX2100's, iRivers, M-audio 24/96, Canon 5Ds/20Ds (and too much glass), Vegas6, PhotoShop CS3, Lightroom, etc.

Xray
Veteran

Dec 6, 2005, 1:05 PM

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Re: [jt53787] Photoshop CS2 worth it? [In reply to]	Can't Post

JT,
If at all possible, could you please send me (marcin.r@sbcglobal.net) a copy of that workflow. I have never seen any of those things in PS. Is it bundled as set of actions?

Thanks

Marcin
_______________________________________________________________
If it's sent by ship then it's a cargo, if it's sent by road then it's a shipment.

jt53787
Novice

Dec 6, 2005, 1:08 PM

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Re: [Xray] Photoshop CS2 worth it? [In reply to]	Can't Post

It's not any type of action. But it's just my workflow that I use when processing many RAW files. I can usually process 250-300 pics per hour, which helps when I have 4000-5000 pics from a wedding.

I'll post it on a new topic later today once I get it all typed up.

Xray
Veteran

Dec 6, 2005, 1:14 PM

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Re: [jt53787] Photoshop CS2 worth it? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Awesome. Thank you.

Marcin
_______________________________________________________________
If it's sent by ship then it's a cargo, if it's sent by road then it's a shipment.

Brackish
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Jan 4, 2006, 8:48 AM

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Jeko
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Jan 4, 2006, 6:13 PM

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Re: [Brackish] Photoshop CS2 worth it? [In reply to]	Can't Post

No statistics, but I bet it is a larger number.

Why? ...CS2 is essential for RAW work... well worth the upgrade to handle RAW, and RAW is worth the larger file size for the adjustability advantages.

I've not been in it long, but as of 2006 I am only working in RAW. The portable HD is essential to this switch too, just as PhotoShop CS2.

Jeko

Sony VX2100's, iRivers, M-audio 24/96, Canon 5Ds/20Ds (and too much glass), Vegas6, PhotoShop CS3, Lightroom, etc.

Brackish
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Jan 4, 2006, 7:50 PM

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Jeko
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Jan 4, 2006, 8:06 PM

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Re: [Brackish] Photoshop CS2 worth it? [In reply to]	Can't Post

I really can't compare to many other programs....

I started with JASC PaintShop (tried to get off cheap) and then got Abobe PhotoShop CS (v7 i think) for better color management and general support from the public at large. I then upgraded to CS2.

PhotoShop was less intuitive than the PaintShop, I will admit. However, I was able to get better directions for PhotoShop than for PaintShop. Really, none of this was too difficult to learn. Just a little bit of time. Also, the album printers all seem to use PhotoShop files as standard.

ANYHOW, my previous comments are regarding CS2's handling of RAW files (mostly with the new Bridge) as opposed to the CS version. The only other app I've used for RAW was Canon's EOS viewer, which seemed limited and cumbersome. MS Windows/Explorer had some type of RAW viewer application for XP for free download (found it on photography forum), but it never worked when I installed it....

Jeko

Sony VX2100's, iRivers, M-audio 24/96, Canon 5Ds/20Ds (and too much glass), Vegas6, PhotoShop CS3, Lightroom, etc.

Brackish
Veteran

Jan 4, 2006, 8:31 PM

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abracadabra
User

Jan 26, 2006, 3:31 PM

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Re: [jt53787] Photoshop CS2 worth it? [In reply to]	Can't Post

JT...I just upgraded to CS2 from CS. I shoot only RAW on 2 20D's. I look fwd to seeing your RAW workflow for CS2 as well. Thanks, Craig

RustyB
Veteran

Jan 30, 2006, 3:05 AM

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Re: [Brackish] Photoshop CS2 worth it? [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

Also, the album printers all seem to use PhotoShop files as standard.

That's a very good point right there.

Brack, PhotoShop Elements can handle RAW files as well, and it's only $99...or free with things like scanners and cameras, if you don't have it already. I haven't tried to process RAW files, but it says it is capable, and the full list of compatible cameras is on their website.

I've been playing with a friend's copy of CS. I loaded it up just to take advantage of it's batch "actions", since I wanted to process a couple of hundred video stills automatically, which I sold to the client for $150. Like open a .png, auto-levels, add my watermark, and save as a .jpg, all at the same time for example. You can automatically "process multiple files" with Elements, but it's limited as to what it will do. You can't create "actions" in Elements as far as I know. This so far is the biggest advantage of CS for me personally.

Navigating the desktop in CS is also not as easy as in Elements, but it's an old version of CS. The keyboard commands are also different, which took some getting used to. If I ever do any pro photography, I'd probably invest in the latest version of Photoshop for automated file processing, but so far Elements has worked great for video.

faith poison films
it's better than nothing

jt53787
Novice

Feb 1, 2006, 11:27 PM

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Re: [abracadabra] Photoshop CS2 worth it? [In reply to]	Can't Post

Ok, I totally thought that I had posted the workflow already, but my mind is totally going nutz.

Disclaimer: This is v.1 of my RAW workflow steps. I'll eventually spend time and refine all of this. Also, this is for those of you that already know how at actually 'adjust' images in Adobe Camera RAW.

This workflow requires that you have Photoshop CS2 and Bridge(comes with CS2)

I do all of my RAW editing in Bridge.

First off, Setting your Camera RAW Defaults.
I use the default settings for all of my outdoor shots.

Open one image in Camera RAW.
Setting should be set at:

'Adjust' tab:
Exposure: Auto
Shadows: Auto
Brightness: Auto
Contrast: Auto
Saturation: 0 (feel free to bring this up if you usually like them more saturated)

'Detail' tab: Leave as is
'Lens': (adjust this if you wish, my settings are..)
Vignetting:
-Amount: -80
-Midpoint: 37

'Curve': Medium Contrast
'Calibrate': ACR

Oh, I also make sure before saving the raw settings that the 'workflow settings' (bottom of camera raw dialog box) are set to:
Space: sRGB
Depth: 8-big
Size: I bump my images up one setting (I'm on 6MP though, D70)
Resolution: Mine is set at 240 by default, but i'm sure 300 is good too. (not sure if it makes a difference)

Ok, now right above all of these settings is a small arrow. Click it and choose "Save new Camera RAW Default"

This will now be the default setting applied to RAW files when they are opened.

Now for an Indoor Setting:
Everything is the same except:
'Adjust'
Exposure: Unchecked (don't move the slider)

Click the same small arrow button and choose "Save settings..."
name it 'Indoor Settings' and make sure it is saving it to the 'settings' folder. (it should by default). Click Save.

Ok, now click 'cancel' in the camera RAW dialog.

So when bridge builds your thumbnails it will now use the 'Camera RAW defaults' that you saved to create the thumbnails.

Next step is to select all of your indoor shots in Bridge and then ctrl-click (right click on windows) the selected files and you should see 'Indoor Settings' listed in the menu (if not try restarting Bridge). This will apply these settings to all of those files.

Now make sure to clear your cache (Tools>Cache>Purge cache for this folder) so that it will delete the old thumbnails that it built and now use your settings (auto and indoor) to create the thumbnails.

This should set you up as a good starting place to start fine tuning your RAW images. Go through and adjust the ones you need to adjust and delete if you wish.

Then once you're done you can save them all to jpegs using the image processor option (Tools>Photoshop>Image processor) You can choose the folder you want to save the jpegs in and set your image quality (10 for me) and you can have it apply an action if you wish. I have mine apply an unsharpen filter action that I have recorded in actions.

From this point I delete down to the final files I want and rename them all as I wish.
Then I sort out into event category folder for pictage (my first folder is 01_FAVORITES, which would be empty at this point)
Then I view each folder in Bridge and copy (not move) my favorite images to the 01_Favorites folder. (Usually 60-80 favorites from entire day)
These are usually the only files that I actually open and work with in Photoshop. I make these files look spectacular since these are most likely the ones that will be ordered.

Once I'm done with those I upload the entire event and backup all of the jpegs to DVDs and hard drives.

Once Bridge builds all of the thumbnails (with indoor settings applied to indoor shots) at the beginning step then I can usually crank through 250-300 shots per hour.

WOW...I'm sure I missed a few things, but I hope that helps you out.