I LOVE PHOTOSHOP...

[molested_cow]

Will the "Cloud" be a benchmark that creates a separation between, Working "PRO" and Hobbyist ? The working Photographer will just add the cost in.

Now I can really say I have an expensive hobby.

 

[molested_cow]

I don't have that same option IF I stay with Adobe .

Before Photoshop was big, I was using Corel Photopaint, which was a part of Corel Draw software package, which dominated the market at that time (20 years ago?). Corel is still around. Sure Photopaint(or whatever it's called now) probably isn't as good as photoshop, but I bet given enough support from customers and users, they will catch up in no time.

 

[ShaneF]

some people just like to have the newest shiniest things even if they don't know what they do, Ahhh new and shiny.

Personally i dont upgrade software unless it has a feature i know i will use or its a free upgrade. But thats just my opinion.

 

[CindeeRoo]

Because in time It will be outdated.. I mean If i offered you CS2 and said but look here I have CS6 which would you preferr? Its like sayin ill give you a loaf of bread but if you let me raid your bank account on a monthly basis ill give you the nife to butter it with, but not the butter... that comes next month!

I completely understand where you're coming from on the account of finances and the desire to stay current. I am disabled and live on a fixed income. I also happen to own CS2 and is my primary source of photo editing. I bought it when it first came out and have not been able to afford an upgrade since. I actually bought CS2 for only $100 (along with a pen and tablet), as I already had V6. Having said all that, I am/have been getting by quite well over the years with my outdated version. I like to use actions on my images from time to time and have no problem finding them, new, for my version. Also, I've recently started learning the art of photo manipulation. I'm talking about finding stock images, or using my own, and making digital art with said images. I've learned so much over the years. How to paint skin, hair, blending and so much more. I do find it a challenge on occasion to follow tutorials that use earlier versions but I still manage to get by. Sure it would be nice to have an earlier version, I know that I'm missing out on some cool upgrades, but oh well. I have had to deal with what I've got and what I got ain't so bad! My opinion is that since you're "financially challenged," like me, blow off this CC thing, be happy with what you have and keep on making art. After all, I am proof that not only is it possible to get by, but that there's still room to grow and manage just fine! ;-)

 

[KenC]

I know they won't get any more of my money. As someone who only upgraded due to OS changes and has had three versions of PS over 15 years, the monthly cost would be more than I am used to spending (even at $10/mo for the first year) over the life of a PS version. Since I don't get paid for photography and can't write off the cost, why should I spend more? I agree with previous posters that Adobe just made a business decision and hasn't made that much from people like me, but someone else will get my business next time I need to get software. I hope my current computer and OS run well for many years.

 

[pixmedic]

I'm not a big "upgrader" kind of person.
when I got CS5 (which I only got because it was a gift) it replaced my still-working-just-fine CS2. So for me, paying a subscription fee just to start keeping up on the latest PS updates is really pretty silly.
I do very little in Photoshop anyway, and from what I have heard, LR5 closes much of the gap for some things many needed PS for.
I MAY pick up a copy of the latest Elements since you can still buy that outright, but most likely i will just get LR5 and not worry about any newer PS versions.
i really don't understand the animosity towards Adobe though. we hate the oil companies for the gas prices, we hate ford/GM/Chrysler for the car prices, and now we hate Adobe for their Photoshop subscription prices. But all three scenarios have one thing in common. Of the outraged people, some simply NEED those products and will therefor HAVE to get them, and some can/will find alternatives and just not use those products that they are not satisfied paying the fees for.
some people dont drive cars. I dont have that option, but I know several people that do. some people may not have the realistic option of NOT having photoshop. (i guess) I dont "need" the newest versions, or even photoshop at all really, so while i may have to have a car and pay for gas, i DONT have to subscribe to adobes creative cloud. so i choose not to. its simple.

I think there are a lot of people that mistake their "needing" a product for "wanting" a product. sometimes for added convenience, sometimes for the prestige, sometimes just for the bling features. Adobe, for better or for worse, made a choice about their product. that they make. that they own. we, as consumers, have a choice as well.
Only time will tell if either of us made the right ones.

 

[gsgary]

Yes Thats prety attractive per month... but ( at the risk of sounding cheap) I (as I said in my origional post) cannot afford anymore Direct debits coming out of my account. I am living beyond my means as it is. I purchased my copy of CS6 legitamitly but again as I said I can just about manage my bills as thery are. So how then can I expect to pay more to photoshop for software that I paid £349 for?

Just keep using what you have the average photographer cannot use photoshop to anywhere near it potential

 

[gsgary]

Yes Thats prety attractive per month... but ( at the risk of sounding cheap) I (as I said in my origional post) cannot afford anymore Direct debits coming out of my account. I am living beyond my means as it is. I purchased my copy of CS6 legitamitly but again as I said I can just about manage my bills as thery are. So how then can I expect to pay more to photoshop for software that I paid £349 for?

Then my question still stands. Why not just use what you already have and pay zero for it?

Because in time It will be outdated.. I mean If i offered you CS2 and said but look here I have CS6 which would you preferr? Its like sayin ill give you a loaf of bread but if you let me raid your bank account on a monthly basis ill give you the nife to butter it with, but not the butter... that comes next month!

It's like saying you have to have the latest fancy camera to get good shots, if you get it correct in camera you hardly need photoshop, i hardly ever use it, i use Capture one for raw files, CS3 and lightroom 1.4 i would rather spend my money on film

 

[amolitor]

The entire Creative Cloud scam has zero to do with illegal downloads...it allows Adobe to slack off on developing innovative new features in new releases of their products, and instead allows them to get a monthly revenue stream by milking their customers monthly, kind of the way a dairy farmer milks his herd. Under the old model, Adobe earned money only once they had a newly-developed product, so there would be mass numbers of buyers, and so they were forced to actually PAY software engineers monthly paychecks for months on end, until such time as they felt their user base would buy their new, iterated version. So...every 18 months or so, Adobe tried hard to have a new product to offer, HOPING that the users would see the value of a new feature or two here and there, and would open their wallets, and buy the new "upgrade". Well, after years of development, and the development of other competitors in image manipulation software, Adobe decided they needed a way to continually milk their herd, every single month, for the rest of their lives. NO longer were users expected to buy an expensive product once, and have a product that WORKED for years on end. Instead, users would be subjected to a monthly fee in order to have access to their work. If you quit paying, well, your work would effectively be locked away from you. It's called extortion in other fields. Adobe in effect sells software that only functions as long as the user keeps paying them to allow it to work. Good job Adobe!

Interesting take. Ctein takes the exact same set of premises, and arrives at the opposite conclusion

This allows Adobe to STOP being so feature-focused. Instead of demanding that engineering deliver a basket of N many Awesome New Features every so and so many months, they can focus on rolling out things that make sense when they make sense. As a professional software developer over the last, oh god has it been that long, I can tell you that sales and marketing are a bunch of jerks and want New Features they can use to get people to Buy The New Thing, constantly. Engineering prefers a more evolutionary approach, where new features are released when they're ready to be released.

 

[molested_cow]

Engineering prefers a more evolutionary approach, where new features are released when they're ready to be released.

At the expense of paying month after month not knowing when? As someone who works in R&D that's bull****. If you don't like to work with time lines than you can always say,"Oh it's not ready yet."

Even if I pay to go to an improv, I'd be pissed if the first sentence the guy says isn't funny, let alone wait for it to happen.

 

[unpopular]

PS was great, and still is. But I think it's been pretty bloated over the years. I wish that there was a more photography/prepress-specific product, more closer to what photoshop was before CS, a sort of modernized PS 5.5, which was my favorite version.

I understand now that you can edit video with PS? WTF is that all about?

 

[amolitor]

Engineering prefers a more evolutionary approach, where new features are released when they're ready to be released.

At the expense of paying month after month not knowing when? As someone who works in R&D that's bull****. If you don't like to work with time lines than you can always say,"Oh it's not ready yet."

What? Man, I hate this part of the internet, where people want to argue with you without making the slightest effort to understand what you're saying.

 

[molested_cow]

Yes I understand your point. Google does that and they are awesome, but they don't make customers pay while they "wait". That's the main point. Adobe is charging its customers to wait for them to wow. It's not the marketers who demand new features. It's the market.

 

[unpopular]

I had not thought of that. I am unsure if this will result in less motivation to add features or more, however. I suppose that while photoshop is the only viable option, then there will be less motivation to develop their products - people are already paying and what will people do? switch to Corel?

But if competition does exist, I think having to pay a monthly fee would encourage development as people are less likely to want to pay for nothing.

I think Adobe is pretty much shooting themselves in the foot here, and are pretty much ensuring a competitive market for themselves.