Should I upgrade?

[Reyna]

I have Photoshop CS2 and keep considering upgrading to CS4. Honestly, is there really that much of a difference for the price? I can do mostly everything that needs to be done in CS2, so I really don't know what the difference is. TIA.

 

[Stormin]

Do you shoot in RAW.

Adobe Camera Raw in CS4 is just spectacular.

 

[Reyna]

Do you shoot in RAW.

Adobe Camera Raw in CS4 is just spectacular.

YES, that is all I will shoot. It's so much better. So, guess I should upgrade? Is it just faster or is there a lot more you can edit with RAW pictures in CS4?

 

[Big Mike]

The new version of ACR (adobe camera raw) is pretty good. But I wouldn't upgrade just for that. I'd recommend Lightroom for all your RAW editing.

Here is part one (it says of four, but there are more) from 'The Photoshop Guys' talking about the new stuff in CS4 and why they think you should upgrade.
The Photoshop Guys Discuss Photoshop CS4 (Part 1 of 4) | Photoshop CS4 Tutorials

 

[EleanorW]

I have Photoshop CS2 and keep considering upgrading to CS4. Honestly, is there really that much of a difference for the price? I can do mostly everything that needs to be done in CS2, so I really don't know what the difference is. TIA.

I am in the same situation Reyna. I also have CS2 and am looking at upgrading.

The new version of ACR (adobe camera raw) is pretty good. But I wouldn't upgrade just for that. I'd recommend Lightroom for all your RAW editing.

Here is part one (it says of four, but there are more) from 'The Photoshop Guys' talking about the new stuff in CS4 and why they think you should upgrade.
The Photoshop Guys Discuss Photoshop CS4 (Part 1 of 4) | Photoshop CS4 Tutorials

I did some research on Lightroom today. I was going to just buy Lightroom v2 but it's not (as far as I could tell) compatible with CS2. So I did some more looking around Adobe's site and I think the best solution I found for my situation (I use Illustrator a lot, but don't need to upgrade that for now) is to buy Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended, which is compatibile with CS2 and Lightroom. Means buying 2 programs, but... what can you do when you have an older version of CS.

 

[Big Mike]

As far as I know...there shouldn't be an issue between Lightroom and Photoshop CS.

I think there some added enhancements when using LR2 with CS4...but I wouldn't say that they're incompatible.

Besides, you don't have to integrate them all that closely into your workflow, if you don't want to. Many people use them both, but use them separately.

 

[thenikonguy]

yea, you can use cs2 with LR2