PHOTOSHOP CS, CS2 or CS3?

Discuss which third party applications you use to help create your slide shows using ProShow Producer. This is not a forum to promote other slide show software programs.
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PHOTOSHOP CS, CS2 or CS3?

Postby amazingmary » Fri Oct 19, 2007 1:16 pm

I currently use Photoshop elements 5 and love it but it doesn't support action and I would really love to be able to do the puzzles and cubes, etc in my photoshows- I know the better programs of Photoshop support action but don't know if all three versions do support action and don't know the learning curve coming from PS elements to one of the CS programs. Does anyone know first if all the CS supports action? and Secondly does have anyone have opinions regarding which CS to get- should I get CS first (if it is available anywhere) and work up to CS3? Anyone's help is greatly appreciated- THANKS! :)
Amazing Mary

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Postby nannybear » Fri Oct 19, 2007 1:28 pm

Mary when you saw action. Do you mean photoshop actions? or animation? All photoshops can do actions. I know that CS2 comes with Image Ready. http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/photos ... shani2.htm

It is a steep learning curve to master but with the help of forums like above, here and digital juice there is lots of help! Let us know what you decide. Cheers Jan
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Photoshop CS, CS2 or CS3?

Postby amazingmary » Fri Oct 19, 2007 3:30 pm

Thanks for your reply- yes, I was referring to actions able to be done in photoshop - like for puzzles and photoblocks, etc.
In my current version of Photoshop elements 5 I don't believe I have the option of actions - I've been told I would have to get one of the CS versions of Photoshop. If you know actions I can do with my current version that would be grand and I would save money but I've looked at instructions books and tuturials they all point to CS versions. Thanks for your help!
Amazing Mary

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Postby BarbaraC » Fri Oct 19, 2007 3:42 pm

All three versions of CS are powerful, so you'd do well getting any one of them. I don't think the learning curve is any different from one to the other, each version refining the previous one and each adding maybe an extra tool or two, but I think you'd have a learning advantage because of already using Elements.

I'll be darned, but I thought Elements supported Actions. I can't imagine life without them.

Barbara

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Photoshop CS, CS2 or CS3?

Postby amazingmary » Fri Oct 19, 2007 4:28 pm

Thanks again for your reply- I have Photoshop elements 5.0 and no Imageready- :(
and I checked and Adobe doesn't sell ImagerReady by itself anymore- it is bundled with the CS products - so looks like if I want some action I will have to take action and dive into CS2 or CS3 - the great thing is learning Elements hasn't been that hard with so many people helping everywhere and the great video tuturials (better than just reading sometimes) so I'm hoping I can get a handle on the new software as I put in the time to learn it- as with anything the more ya use it the more use you get out of it because ya learn a lot more... thanks again
Amazing Mary

mrcracked

Postby mrcracked » Fri Oct 19, 2007 4:51 pm

i am not sure why you need actions, unless it is something you are buying from a third party. actions are only a set of instructions recorded in photoshop that can be played back to speed up your work. they do not add any new features as far as i know. when you run an action on a batch of files it does save huge quantities of time.

as far as making puzzle pieces and cubes; i would think that someone could just list the steps for you. then you can do them on your own in elements. when i was first learning photoshop i read an article by the manager of a graphics design house. the author said that while they enjoy the speed of filters, they prefer their artists know how to do it without filters also. it made them better designers. i think the same may apply to you. learning how things work often makes you a stronger artist/designer.

if you have your heart set on purchasing a full version of photoshop i think you would probably do best to try an upgrade path from your version of elements to version cs3 standard. with every wacom tablet i have purchased i get a bundled version of elements and it comes with a little slip that allows me to upgrade to the full version of photoshop for something like $250. maybe someone in this group has one of those offers if you do not have access to one. mine expired in 2006 so they would be of no use; otherwise i would give you mine. there may be other offers out there if you search.

although i could use photoshop without all the new things that version cs3 has, i would not be happy about doing it.

Mark

oh! i almost forgot: image ready is not included with photoshop cs3. if you want that particular program also you would have to buy a version of cs or cs2.

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Postby DickK » Fri Oct 19, 2007 5:14 pm

As Mark says, you need to be careful to not assume that PhotoShop is going to do these things for you. Yes, actions (scripts in other product languages) will automate many things -- but someone had to create this actions in the first place. Some of them are, in fact, usable in PSE tho' you can't create them. And yes, there are many things that PhotoShop versions can do that PSE can do but don't underestimate what PSE can do--it's a lot!

Before you leap, I suggest you look carefully and you might want to look at the material here:

http://graphicssoft.about.com/cs/photos ... ompare.htm

Dick
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Photoshop CS, CS2 or CS3?

Postby amazingmary » Fri Oct 19, 2007 5:29 pm

Thanks everyone for your knowledge and links- I will surely check everything out and read a lot more before making the leap-
Amazing Mary

mrcracked

Postby mrcracked » Sat Oct 20, 2007 12:07 am

i am not trying to intentionally add confusion to the mix, but actions and scripting are not the same thing. actions are a recording of steps made after you press a record button in the actions panel of photoshop. when you are done recording; you simply have to press play and your steps are played back. scripting is typing out a set of instructions in a special coding language and applying it to photoshop. here is an example link:

http://www.kirupa.com/motiongraphics/ps_scripting.htm

i have never attempted scripting in photoshop in my life although i saw some power users do it at NAB one year. it is pretty amazing. there are things in photoshop you can only do through scripting, but i have not run into any myself yet. i do use actions all the time.

i think the confusion comes from the fact that many advanced programs offer some form of scripting. i use lightwave and flash and they have a scripting language. i have used those, but not to any great extent. flash's scripting language is called actionscript which i can see would lead one to think of a connection. actionscript was named by macromedia; the company that created flash before adobe bought them. actionscript has nothing to do with photoshop or it's actions.

mark

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Postby Camlork » Sat Oct 20, 2007 1:18 am

Think you'll find it is possible to use Actions with Elements. It works with ver4 so presumably should be OK with 5. Take a look at:

http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/pselem ... ctions.htm

You'll also find some free actions to try. There is also an excellent selection of free actions including puzzles and cubes at:

http://panosfx.com/index.php?option=com ... e&Itemid=1

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Photoshop CS, CS2 or CS3?

Postby amazingmary » Sat Oct 20, 2007 9:41 am

Camlork! Thanks so much!
I've been looking exactly for this on about.com and couldn't find it.... INow that I have this I'm going to give it a try and will let you know the outcome...

:D :D
Amazing Mary

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