Adobe Photoshop CS4 Review Software Review Prabhas Joshi prabhas@desdevpro.com http://www.desdevpro.com 16 Aug 2009 Reveiw Photoshop CS4 Photoshop has come of age, and having spent some 18 years in this industry, moved into adulthood: Photoshop Cs4- the 11th version of Adobe's venerable and industry-standard imaging application has arrived-with some new improvements over the old version. Sometimes I feel surprised that Adobe can still make large changes to this already great piece of software. I mean I love Cs3, but then Cs4 was still a refreshing change. System Requirents sw001_thumb.jpg First, some GOOD NEWS FOR WINDOWS USERS: Photoshop now includes a Windows only feature, is support for very large files thanks to running in 64-bit (with a 64-bit version of Windows). Mac users will have to wait for a future release for 64-bit power. Windows 1.8GHz or faster processor Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service Pack 2 or Windows Adobe Photoshop CS4Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise with Service Pack 1 (certified for 32-bit Windows XP and 32-bit and 64-bit Windows Vista) 512Mb of RAM (1Gb recommended) 1Gb of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on flash-based storage devices) 1,024x768 display (1,280x800 recommended) with 16-bit video card Some GPU-accelerated features require graphics support for Shader Model 3.0 and OpenGL 2.0 DVD-ROM drive QuickTime 7.2 software required for multimedia features Broadband Internet connection required for online services Mac PowerPC G5 or multicore Intel processor Mac OS X v10.4.11-10.5.4 512Mb of RAM (1Gb recommended) 2Gb of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on a volume that uses a case-sensitive file system or on flash-based storage devices) 1,024x768 display (1,280x800 recommended) with 16-bit video card Some GPU-accelerated features require graphics support for Shader Model 3.0 and OpenGL 2.0 DVD-ROM drive QuickTime 7.2 software required for multimedia features Broadband Internet connection required for online services New Features Let's now take a straight look as to why we should move from the Cs3 to cs4. Photoshop is a part of the creative suite by Adobe. The new Creative Suite is designed to meet different challenges such as effective collaborations between designers and developers, embracing new media, reinventing publishing and embracing the explosion of connected media. In fact Chad Seigel, Group Manager for Creative Suite said: "Adobe are trying to break barriers and integrate all products." sw001_img1.jpg The panel area has also changed and includes new quick access for common actions. Panels can viewed in a docked manner or floating as before, but the small sidebar with History, Settings, Type, and Layer Comps is gone. You'll now access these via the Window menu, or if you use them frequently, you can add them to the dock. sw001_img2.jpg The Adjustments panel moves many of the items formally accessed through Image > Adjustments into an easy to use panel [figure below]. Along with tools like Curves, Levels, Hue & Saturation, you also have presets. Choosing any of the options here adds an adjustment layer to your image with the appropriate control selected in the panel. Adjustments can be applied to the current layer or all layers below it. You can add new presets which will appear in the panel for future use.The preview window is in the tab instead of a new window that overlaps the image. This means your picture can be viewed in its entirety and as an added bonus tools such as curves can be adjusted directly on the image for localised amendments. The icons are simplified for efficient use meaning you can see what you want to do a lot faster than before. sw001_img3.jpg Another good feature for Tablet PC users: Rotating, Panning, Zooming If you use a graphics tablet, you're going to love this next feature. You can now rotate your canvas to any desired angle, making the use of a pen much easier when doing edits to your images. The rotate is non-destructive and very responsive, even with large files. Panning and zooming has been enhanced with smoother control over panning – you can now "flick" your images – click with the hand tool and push the document (this requires OpenGL). It will scroll automatically based on how aggressive the gesture is. Zooming has added a Pixel Grid to enable accurate editing at any magnification. sw001_img4.jpg Some really cool bells and whistles: Now I move on to some really good features which I like: 1] The Dodge/Burn tool has been improved so when you're adjusting the shadows, midtones or highlights the tool won't impose on the other two. When adjusting the saturation on the sponge tool it won't move out of acceptable gamma. 2] One part of the existing features that's been improved upon is the clone tool. When your area is selected by stamping on it, a preview of the selected area will show on your brush. Meaning if you're cloning small detail items or subjects such as bricks, this allows you to line them up easier. 3] Compositing: Auto-Align has been enhanced, and the spherical alignment mode lets you create 360-degree panoramas. Auto-Blend smooth blends color and shading and depth of field correction with both vignette and lens distortion controls has been improved over the previous version. 4] Seam Carving : Hidden away under Edit > Content Aware Scale lies a new and very powerful tool. Content Aware Scaling lets you resize an image without changing critical visual components, like people and buildings. 5] Printing The new print engine in Photoshop CS4 has much better integration with most popular printers from Epson, Canon, and HP and should make color management issues much less common than before. Photoshop CS4 also supports 16-bit printing on Mac OSX 10.5 and later, and now has better soft-proofing preview in the print dialog with the ability to preview out of gamut areas. sw001_img9.jpg 6] Camera Raw If you've used Lightroom 2.0, you already know that the raw conversion have greatly improved and the new tools are very useful. Camera Raw 5.0, part of Photoshop CS4, brings the same tool set and quality to Photoshop and Bridge. RAW processing has been extended and improved on yet again. localised adjustments can be made such as exposure compensation, contrast and saturation. It handles all the main brands but when I tried to import a Sigma .x3f file, it couldn't recognise it. Nor could it recognise the newest RAW file from Panasonic that I tried to import from the Lumix DMC-LX3. Updates will no doubt be available for the Panasonic but the Sigma is a relatively old model compared to the program. sw001_img6_1.jpg 7] An improved blend layer mode has been added and is a useful tool for techniques such as focus stacking. The program will adjust the exposure and colour automatically so there's no need to mess about first sw001_img7_1.jpg sw001_img7_2.jpg The original image has a small focus area Taking various images with adjusted focus points allows them to be blended. The images have to be loaded in as layers and highlighted. Once that is done, go Edit>Auto blend layers and the images will be composited together. This can take some time so be patient. 8] Awesome 3d support: Photoshop CS4 Extended also features 3D support. Two dimensional images can be changed to 3D by giving them x, y and z co-ordinates and these images can also be wrapped around imported 3D images. Photoshop CS4 also works in conjunction with Google 3D warehouse where thousands of 3D images are available to import. Merging a 2D image onto a 3D image is very easy with the only command being the Merge button. The 2D layer will then acquire all the 3D attributes such as decay detail, colour and reflections. The 3D image can be manipulated as well and you can also enjoy features such as creating cut-outs, adding detail or changing colours to the interior of the cut-out. sw001_img8.jpg Positives and Negatives Lets have a look at the plus and minus points once again: Plus points New Adjustments window Use dodge/burn without affecting other areas Auto blend feature improved Content aware cropping Pixel grid for editing individual pixels Minus points Can be slow in areas Quick tools from image window have been removed Pricing Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended costs around £887 or about £323 as an upgrade. Look here for more details. Adobe Photoshop CS4 Standard costs around £570 or about £163 as an upgrade. Look here for more details. Conclusion Photoshop CS4, along with Bridge CS4, is a solid upgrade to one of the most popular image editing programs. With a good mix of new features and improvements to old favorites, this is a worthwhile upgrade. If you skipped CS3, now is the time to move forward. In particular, the improved raw processing, and the new adjustment panel are a key part of my workflow when in Photoshop. Tighter integration with Lightroom 2.0 is a welcome addition, and the ability to perform better soft-proofing in the Print dialog is also helpful. It's still a big and complex program that probably does more than most of us will ever need. Only you can decide if Photoshop CS4 is the right option for you, but it's certainly not a program you'll ever outgrow! Here is how I rate this software: Features : 9/10 Ease of Use : 7/10 Value for Money : 8/10