Photoshop CS3 was released a few months ago and some of you may still be using CS2. Should you spend the extra money on upgrading to CS3? My answer is, It depends.
CS3's new RAW converter is powerful, but it is basically the same as Adobe Lightroom, so if you have Lightroom I don't think you really need CS3's RAW converter. CS3 'talks' to Lightroom and viseversa more seamlessly than does CS2, but they both do - like upgrading Bridge as Lightroom makes changes, but again, is that convenience worth the money. Lightroom's RAW converter has several more features than does CS2's, including a Target Adjustment Tool, and split screens for comparisons, so I believe Lightroom has the edge there.
CS3 has a new B&W conversion feature in the Adjustment Layers, Smart Objects - for referring back to the RAW file while in Photoshop, and Smart Filters - which I think have limited value since there is only one mask available for any or all the Smart Filtes, and a new Curves adjustment (in RAW) that is nifty. The neatest new tool is a Quick Selection Tool that acts something like a Magic Wand and Magnetic Lasso, making fairly incredible selections quite quickly.
However, you WILL need CS3 if you intend to use Photoshop with any new cameras that are introduced that have a different RAW converter. My Mark IIIs can't be read with CS2's RAW converter, so if I planned on doing anything in Photoshop I'm forced into getting CS3. Of course, I could work around this by first using Lightroom, converting to a TIFF and then opening, and working, in CS2, and if you love Lightroom that could be the answer.
Lightroom's keywording feature is still faster, but CS2 or CS3's Bridge is still a great way to move files if you don't want to use a one-big-batch approach that Lightroom encourages, which is counter to the workflow we use and teach. Lightroom will work with our workflow, however, so that isn't a problem.
Keywording has gotten better with CS3, and it now incorporates a Parent-Child-Grandchild-Great Grandchild type system where Keywords can be subsetted down. For example, a Keyword sequence could start as:
Animals (Parent)
Mammals Birds Reptiles (Child)
Turtles Lizards Snakes (GrandChild)
Rattlesnakes Copperheads Pythons Boas Garters Water (Great Grand
Children) so that a phylogenetic tree could be incorporated with
a classification keywording, or you could do the same with Behaviors,
and subset and subset those again, as your needs require.
CS3 is sufficiently close to CS2 in its operation that you could upgrade to CS3 without difficulty and use it without any training, using only the tools and work flow procedures you used in CS2. So there's not a huge unfamiliar learning curve. For the new options, you'll need a book, their Help menu, or one of our courses -- we're teaching CS3 as part of a Digital Complete Nature Photo Courses and our Photoshop courses.
Framing
with a Telephoto Against a Desert Sunrise
Adobe
Photoshop LIGHTROOM
Workflow
and Workload - You Can Keep Ahead
Bring
along a Point N Shoot
Backing Up Your
Digital Files - you'll need more than you think
Action
Wildlife Photography Camera Settings
HELICON FOCUS
Filter maximizing depth of field digitally
Capture 1's Most
Useful Features
DIGITAL
Photographing scenes with extreme exposure values
Effective
Cloning in Adobe CS2
Watch Your Backgrounds
- The potential of composites or shooting in RAW format
DIGITAL
-Shoot for the Future
DIGITAL-Shoot
for the Future, Part II
The
Helicon Focus Filter Revisited
The
Songs of Insects - a super book on katydids, cicadas,
and grasshoppers
A
Great Insect Field Guide
Action
Wildlife Photography Camera Settings
The
Pond-A Must-See shooting Location in southern Arizona
Don't
take in baby wild animals
Seize the Moment!
Take a
Workshop First
Luck, what is it?
At the Pulse of
Life by Fritz Polking
Carry-on
Luggage for small commuter flights
New
Lens Covers for Long Lenses
The
Best All-Around Lens
Keep Your Head Up
Save Your Equipment from Crashing!
The L-Bracket,
the ultimate camera bumper
Visual
Echos Tele-Flash for the 580EX Flash
Testing
your Flash's Aim
The Ultimate
Flash Bracket
Using
TTL flash with Hummingbirds
Specular
highlights and the flashing frog
Geared Focusing Rail for
Macro Work
Shooting
in Inclement Weather
Low
level tripod work
Sighting in a very, very long
lens
Padding
Your WimberleyTripod Head
Using The Wimberley Gimbal
head with a camera body
Wimberley 400
and 600mm IS plate
How
do we protect our gear from dust, and carry our gear when on safari
How do you
shoot the Moon?
If
you see it, it's too late -- a lesson in anticipation
Protecting
your long lens from SAND, the pleasures of beach photography
Maximum
Depth of Field and Hyperfocal Distance - they're not the same
thing!
A
great depth of field guide
Carry Your Gear!
Custom Function 4-1 for
Nikon and Canon shooters
Sigma's 120-300 f2.8 APO
zoom telephoto lens
A Car Tip that
could Save Your Life
A Great Website for Information
- the Singapore Nature Photography Society
Airline Carry-On
Luggage -Let your concerns be heard!
Ask Questions Before You Go
Liquids
in your Levels - TSA Warnings!
Disconnect
-- travel precautions
Photograph America
Newsletter
Obey
the Rules
Wildlife
Portraiture
Drying out boots
with newspaper
Removing Cactus
Spines
The
Ti Chi Stalk
Photographing
Critically Endangered Sites
The Sibley Bird
Guides