CS3 > CS4 upgrade worth it?

[TassieSnapper]

Righteo guys, I have been using CS3 for a while now. (As well as lightroom)

Can someone give me the run down if it is worth upgrading to cs4?

[ricktas]

CS4 is good, some of the features like one click to access levels adjustments etc are great, but for actual processing, I have not noticed a lot of difference. I think they have finally spent some time making it easier to access menu items and reduce clicks etc, which can be a boon if you do a lot of editing with layers, curves etc. But ultimately, the image result at the end is no better than CS3 produces.

[Big Pix]

Don't do it yet as CS5 will be much better and due for release around April, if you believe the web

I upgraded to CS4 and went back to CS3.......

[MattW]

I would also wait for CS5 as CS4 isn't much of a step up from CS3. (Although I just use it for very simple tasks)

[Xenedis]

Can someone give me the run down if it is worth upgrading to cs4?

It really depends how you use it, and whether the additional features of CS4 are necessary or desirable for you.

For me Photoshop of any version is far more powerful than my ability to use it.

I upgraded to CS4 because I moved from Windows to Mac during the middle of this year. Otherwise I'd be more than happy with CS3, and when I moved to CS4, I didn't noticed much of a difference, as I'm almost certainly not tapping into the goodness it offers, nor terribly observant as to the differences.

I think the curves window is integrated into the dock/panel in CS4, which is handy and avoids having another window floating around; but beyond that I am not aware of the differences.

[Cris]

Hi
After lots of deliberation I upgraded mainly for the extra features in raw, and the clone stamp tool is just so much easier to use now it shows you the result before you click.

[ricktas]

Generally I skip a version, I don't usually upgrade after each release, tending to leapfrog over one version. However, I got a deal on CS4 that made me decide to get that one. The joys of owning AP:D

[Xenedis]

the clone stamp tool is just so much easier to use now it shows you the result before you click.

Ah yes, that's another improvement CS4 has over CS3.

[TassieSnapper]

Thanks for the responses guys,

Ha ha but it seems im going to update to cs4.

Cs3 does not support the latest camera raw (5.6), only 4.6 or something.

Camera raw 4.6 or whatever does not support 5d mkII files.

So unless i convert all of my files to DNG I wont be able to use them in Cs3.

Crazy Huh.

[Xenedis]

Ah, yes, one significant thing is that ACR with CS3 does not support the new cameras.

The 5D Mark II is definitely not supported, and the 7D would also not be supported.

A solution is to use Canon's RAW converter, but I never have.

[dmdigital]

I'm in the same boat regarding ACR. I have CS3 but of course can't upgrade to the latest ACR for the D3s files. As I use Aperture and Apple has released the new DCR version I'm OK there and I've now upgrade my Capture NX to NX2.

Like others have said I think CS5 is only a few months away and it would be better to wait. About the only benefit I can see for CS4 is I believe it has an even better photo merge than CS3 did.

[IanB]

I tried CS4 and couldn't see the $1000++ benefit in having it. CS3+LR does what I want ;)

[TOM]

i recently upgraded and I find CS4 to be a step up. I do alot of spotting, and the new preview inside the cursor is a large improvement, and this alone is enough for me.