From 7 to CS2

sillyphaunt · Jun 30, 2005

I have PS 7, but I've heard a lot about CS/CS2.. is there a lot of differences between the 2? I didn't pay for 7 (was given to me), so don't have the money invested in it, and have toyed with the idea of buying CS.. just wasn't sure if it was worth it.

capturedinfocus · Jun 30, 2005

As a photoshop novice, I would say that it isn't worth it. But that's my opinion. I haven't really looked into all of the details and I don't necessarily use photoshop to its full potential. I would imagine that there would be a larger difference if you were a heavy photoshop user instead of a touch-up guy like me.

PhotoB · Aug 5, 2005

I love CS2! I just upgraded from 6 though so there is a lot of new stuff to get used to. But I play in PS all day pretty much everyday so I love all the new features.

hobbes28 · Aug 5, 2005

I was reluctant to make the switch from 7 because I was so used to it but there are some features on CS and even more on CS2 that would make it worth the switch...even for novice users. There is a smart band aid tool for CS2 so you don't have to select the area you want to pull from...(I don't even think you have the band aid tool in 7, you only have the clone tool). And there are more filters and you can adjust shadows/highlights in CS/CS2 and there is an exposure adjustment in CS2.

Long story short, I'd do the upgrade...in fact...I did already.

rallyxe · Aug 6, 2005

ADMIN EDIT:

Sorry rallyxe, we cant talk about software trading here..keep it to PM's if you could.

thanks!

md

DigitalRay · Jan 15, 2006

I went from PS7 to CS2 and I love it. Adobe Bridge really helps me out alot. Now I need to upgrade my memory, I just ordered 2GB for my computer, can't wait to get it. So my opinion is Yes, upgrade.

Digital Matt · Jan 15, 2006

Admittedly, there's not much in terms of amazing new tools or features, but I do still recommend it. Most of it boils down to enabling faster workflow.

Yes, there is the smart bandaid tool (version 7 does have the band aid tool, called the healing tool), but you can't use it in all situations. I still use the regular healing tool, and more often than either of those, the clone tool.

For me, the biggest nuisance about version 7 is that you cannot move beyond the canvas, when in full screen mode. In CS and CS2, you can pan the image around beyond the screen size, which enables you to bring the corners of an image to the center of the screen. Another bonus is, you can move photos to your other monitor in a dual monitor set up, and have an image on each monitor if you want.

There is the addition of smart shapes, (I think that's what they are called) which give you a higher quality resample when free transforming objects.

If you shoot lots of raw, and like to process them quickly and accurately, Adobe Bridge is a great tool. You can quickly and easily batch process an entire folder of raws, and keep working while it's doing it.

16 bit support is another key feature, if you are a quality fanatic, and like to get the absolute most from your raw files.

I can't think of any other major differences right now. I'm sure more will pop into my mind. Like all versions of Photoshop have been, it is a powerful tool, well worth it's pricetag.