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Adobe Photoshop
CS4 Extended review-- Using Windows
XP Pro
Release Date: October, 2008
This is a review of some of the new additions to Photoshop CS4
Extended; not a full
review of the whole application.
I'm beginning to sound like a broken record.
But I say it again. It's hard to believe Adobe Photoshop could be improved but,
alas, it has.
A coup for Vista users is support for very
large files thanks to running in 64-bit. Mac users will have to wait for a future release
for 64-bit power. Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) supports 64-bit
processing, but it was Apple (not Adobe) that decided not to make the
infrastructure changes. |
This round, both Photoshop and Bridge have extremely
well-designed new interfaces and of course 'new' always
involves another learning curve and takes
some getting used to - but be patient and give it some time. I
think you'll grow to like it. We all ask ourselves if an upgrade
to any piece of software is worth the asking price but Adobe
consistently upgrades the features most of us are likely
to use and almost always tosses in some "new tools". That
usually forces me to "bite the bullet" and do the upgrade. Adobe didn't
let us down this time with the new content-aware scaling,
improved Dodge, Burn and Sponge tools, resizing brushes on the
fly, Clone Stamp and Healing Brush preview cursor, new
re-editable, density-controlled mask panel (yes 'panel' -- out
with palettes and in with panels), improved Photomerge
which includes 360° panoramas, selective editing in Camera Raw,
and the addition of Collections in Bridge - to name just a few. Also,
Photoshop now supports the standard Mac and Windows keyboard
shortcuts for switching between documents.
Let's get the negative (for me) out of the way first. I refer to
the Help files a lot and unfortunately (but not surprisingly)
they are now "on-line". It's no problem, of course, if you have
an Internet connection and there is an option to print out the
Help files in PDF format (a whopping 704 pages for Photoshop
and 94 pages for Bridge). But what to do if sitting on a sandy
beach on an island somewhere with no Internet connection. Okay!
I won't be picky. I downloaded the PDF files and have them saved
on my hard drive. At least I can now get some "help" on that
deserted island. You'll find the PDF's on the upper-right corner
of the Help page on the Web.
Let's start with CS4 Bridge since that's what most of us would
likely open first.
Bridge CS4
The first thing I noticed
(other than the aforementioned entirely new Interface) is Bridge's
performance and stability is much improved over the CS3
version. The new Bridge has four buttons
across the top of the Bridge window that allows you to change
between four workspaces
(see screenshot below):
1.
ESSENTIALS displays Favorites,
Folders, Filter, Collections, Content, Preview, Metadata and
Keywords Panels.
2. FILMSTRIP displays thumbnails in a
scrolling horizontal row (Content panel), as well as a preview
of currently selected items (Preview panel). This workspace as
well displays Favorites, Folders, Filter and Collections panels.
3. METADATA
displays the Content
panel in List view, along with the Metadata, Filter and
Favorites panels.
4. OUTPUT displays the Favorites, Folders, Content,
Preview, Output and Output Preview panels.
You can create custom-defined workspaces and save them, and
Adobe also includes these few additional predefined workspaces.
Four Window layouts, Essentials, Filmstrip, Metadata
and Output
From Desktop to Hawaii: the addition of a Path Bar |
The CS3 Favorites and Folders panes are still in CS4 but now
there is a very handy Path Bar
at the top of the window enabling navigation back up a
directory path - you will be surprised at how often you use
this new feature. (see screenshot above).
The new Collections
option (under
Essentials
and
Filmstrip) makes Bridge a
little more than a file browser. Now you can create virtual
albums within Bridge by simply dragging images into a
Collection
from ANY folder ANYWHERE on your hard drive. The optional Smart Collections
are automatically built based on image metadata.
There are now more interesting (and fun) previewing features with the new
Bridge. Select any image in Bridge, press the space bar and
the Bridge interface disappears to enable a full screen
preview
of the selected image. As per usual, zoom in and out with
the + and – keys.
If you'd like to have a closer look at a group of images,
select the images, then on the menu, click
View > Review Mode.
The Bridge interface once again goes into hiding and you'll
see a carousel view of your selected images. Click the
left/right arrows to rotate the carousel around as you view
each image. (see screenshot below). Click the X
(bottom right) to
close the window and return to Bridge.
Bridge's Review Mode |
Camera Raw Review
1. Selective Edits
The most
significant change to the new Camera Raw is the ability to perform selective
edits. With the new
Adjustment Brush, you can brush
(and alter)
adjustments onto your image,
affecting exposure, brightness, contrast, saturation, clarity,
sharpness, or colour tints. You're also able to change brush size and edge softness
plus manage the flow and density.
The new Graduated Filter tool applies the
edits through a gradient mask. It's ideal for adjusting the exposure
of large areas of your photo all the while having complete control
over the filter. You can use this tool when you want to darken,
lighten, and change contrast or color in a large part of the image.
Much like the Adjustment Brush, you can create more than one
gradient in your image. Simply click on the new button and draw
another.
In the before and after shots below, you can see the difference that a
graduated Exposure adjustment can make. Camera Raw has created a
very smooth transition between the original and affected areas.
Original
Graduated Filter smoothly
transitions the original and newly affected areas.
|
2. Post Crop Vignetting
Original with Post Crop Vignette |
After cropping: vignette remains intact |
The new Post Crop Vignetting sliders in the
Lens Correction
panel are designed for creative vignetting effects before
and/or after cropping. (This is different from Lens Vignette
which 'removes' camera lens vignetting). Adjust the
Amount (lighter or darker edges),
Midpoint (defines the spread), Roundness
(circular or square) and Feather (soft or
hard edge). Even if the crop is modified at any time, the
Post Crop Vignette will be updated as you originally
designed it.
Note:
Whether working with Bridge or Lightroom, your
photos are sharing the same raw processing engine making
integration between the two applications extremely easy. |
