Time for an upgrade

[ScottWy]

I'm still kicking around with Elements 4.


I was thinking of getting the latest version of Elements, but ran across CS4 on EBay. There are numerous examples in the 300$ range. They claim 'brand new, not student version, not OEM', etc. They also state there is a product key.

Anybody know the true story behind them? If they are not a scam, I would be interested. The few ads I looked at said no return, will replace the disc if there is a problem.

 

[--ares--]

It might just be brand new CD's, you might just be safer getting a new copy. CS4 I thought was under 200$ now, and if you are attending a college/university you get a student discount.

 

[ScottWy]

They appear to be packaged.

Is it OK to post a link to one example?

 

[AnneRiceBowl]

You can also purchase the download or discs directly from the Adobe site--if it's still available since CS5 was just released.

 

[cnutco]

I am still rocking CS3... Still learning. I think I will stick with it for a while.

 

[AnneRiceBowl]

I am still rocking CS3... Still learning. I think I will stick with it for a while.

Most of the big name comic artists are still using CS2, and most businesses/companies that use anything made by Adobe are still using CS3.

I'm happy with CS3, even after switching to CS4 and decided to go back to CS3.

 

[KmH]

I'm still kicking around with Elements 4.


I was thinking of getting the latest version of Elements, but ran across CS4 on EBay. There are numerous examples in the 300$ range. They claim 'brand new, not student version, not OEM', etc. They also state there is a product key.

Anybody know the true story behind them? If they are not a scam, I would be interested. The few ads I looked at said no return, will replace the disc if there is a problem.

To get a definitive answer contact Adobe.

The likely problem would be registering any of those with Adobe, not using them.

Without a registered copy of CS2, 3, 4, CS3 Extended, or CS4 Extended you would have to pay full retail ($700) rather than the upgrade price ($199) or any further versions like CS5 and whatever Adobe releases about 18 months from now.

 

[KmH]

It might just be brand new CD's, you might just be safer getting a new copy. CS4 I thought was under 200$ now, and if you are attending a college/university you get a student discount.

Adobe no longer sells CS4 on it's web site, and it was $700 retail.

The Student Edition of CS4 was actually CS4 Extended ($999, retail) and was $199 for qualifying higher education students and $299 for qualifying buyers at the lower grade levels, K-12.

The Student Editions of CS4 Extended are no longer available from Adobe, only Student Editions of CS5 Extended.

I see that Academicsuperstore.com is still offering CS4 Extended Student Editions for $199 but the CS5 Extended Student Editions are just $180.

 

[ScottWy]

Thanks, guys!

I don't see anything wrong with hunting up the CS2 or 3 version after hearing this.

I'm sorry, but one more question of you. Would either of these versions be compatable with a Nikon D700?

 

[AnneRiceBowl]

Not sure about that. However, I would suppose so. Hopefully, someone with the answer to your question will comment.

 

[Peano]

Thanks, guys!

I don't see anything wrong with hunting up the CS2 or 3 version after hearing this.

I'm sorry, but one more question of you. Would either of these versions be compatable with a Nikon D700?

CS3 -- more accurately, Camera Raw 4.5 -- will open D700 raw files. Photoshop versions before CS3 won't load ACR 4.5 and thus can't handle D700 raw files. But you could always convert the raw files to DNG and open those in earlier versions of ACR. Adobe offers a free DNG converter.

 

[ScottWy]

Thanks, Peano!

 

[magkelly]

There might be actual updates for CS3 and Camera Raw files as I recall on Adobe. I seem to remember seeing something to that effect even after CS4 came out, an update that made CS3 handle RAW more easily? You might want to check. Actually in some ways I liked CS3 better than CS4. I lost a lot of very basic plugs and the favorite way I always organized mine on the way from CS3 to CS4! Always the way it seems with Photoshop upgrades these days. You get a lot of cool new toys under the hood, but you lose some old favorite stuff too, sigh...