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Adobe Photoshop CS5

Don Libby

Well-known member
I've been working with CS5 and the 15 day demo of VIVEZA 2 for a week now since returning from Moab. First off I'm one of those weird photographer that run a PC (I can think of one other slightly weird guy - Ken maybe that's why we get along so well). I've now loaded CS5 on both my large studio computer as well as the large laptop; additionally I've loaded the free 15-day trial on the studio computer and after the first hour or two decided to buy the program. All in all I've now processed several gigs of images using both programs with no problems.

Both computers are running in 64bit mode and so far I only have the 15-day trial loaded on the larger studio computer a Dell 690 quad core with 24 GB RAM. I'm also using dual video cards with a total of 4 monitors hooked up (yeah it kind of looks like a star wars thing). All this might appear to be excessive however I am a landscape photographer that routinely works with multiple gig image files.

So far no major problems. I haven't had any freezes and when I loaded VIVEZA 2 it showed up immediately in both CS4 and CS5 (both 64 bit). The program works well and plays well with CS5 on my machine.

The only slight problem I have which isn't the fault of either software program is a small bottleneck in response time since I upgraded my main working monitor to a Dell 3008WFP. I replaced one graphics card with a Nvida 295 which works well however I think I'm encountering a conflict between the 295 and the older 285 so I'm replacing the 285 so both cards are the same.

I'm still running VISTA 64bit on the large computer but intent to upgrade to Win 7 next month; I upgraded the laptop (Dell M6400) from VISTA 64 to Win 7 (64) shortly before I installed CS5 and feel it is now running faster and appears to be very stable (although I never had a problem before).

I don't run LR as I just never have liked it that much which is I guess a personal preference.

And before I forget to add - during this week of processing I've also occasionally been running C1 at the same time as CS5 without any hiccups. I just finished processing images for my latest blog entry on Arches National Park.

The best new tool in the CS5 kit has got to be hands down the content awareness tool for cleaning and just about anything else. There's more to CS5 and I know I've only scratched the surface of this upgrade.

Don
 

ustein

Contributing Editor
>The best new tool in the CS5 kit has got to be hands down the content awareness tool for cleaning and just about anything else.

+1
 
I've had exactly zero problems with CS5 -- W7-64, relatively fresh OS install. I had CS4 on there before. All of my plugins(Topaz DeNoise, Photomatix, PTLens, etc.) work fine, though some only work in 32-bit mode.
 

scatesmd

Workshop Member
I've had exactly zero problems with CS5 -- W7-64, relatively fresh OS install. I had CS4 on there before. All of my plugins(Topaz DeNoise, Photomatix, PTLens, etc.) work fine, though some only work in 32-bit mode.
I started having crashes and seize-ups again with CS5. Never got to the point of trying a plugin. This was install attempt number 8.

This is what I ended up trying and it didn't crash in the first 10 min I've been able to test so far...

I had to fully uninstall the old versions with 3rd party software. I uninstalled with revo-unistaller in advanced mode-it found over 18,000 entries in the registry left behind after the std uninstall! There were over 5 GB of this stuff.

I then ran the cleaner script. Then CCleaner, then Advanced System Care, then the CCleaner registry cleaner which, even after the above, found yet another 450 registry entries for CS5.

I then downloaded the trial version instead of using the disk. It still kept telling me that I had a pending restart, so I eventually ignored it and proceeded. I was told it then finished the install without error and I'm testing it now.

I had no idea the uninstaller could leave so much left behind! I'm in conversations now with Adobe, as the CS5 upgrade key won't work on the trial version and needs a different type of activation.

It's been a full 3-day job so far, but at least I think I know what to do if it crashes again. None of the above headaches add in the fact I had to rebuild
the mirrored array after the full OS crashes.

Thanks, steve
 

RomanJohnston

New member
Has anyone played with the HDR tool (not full HDR conversion) but the tool over where shadow and highlight tool is located?

Good: If used very lightly, can add a significant pop to the microcontrast in the shot. (not be careful with the Detail slider...it can really mess with your sharpening routine)

Bad- I really wish it could be done as a layer so I can use layer masks and throttle down the effect if need be. As of now I have to save the file, then edit. Re-import the file as a layer then play with it.

Its a pretty cool tool. A bit of a sledgehammer (kinda like LAB color space is) so finesse is the word of the day with this tool. (that is if you like realistic results) but you will be supprised at the light you can put back into a little bit of a dull file.

Roman
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
You mean the HDR toning tool?

I agree that it's stupid not to allow it to run as an adjustment layer or smart object. But it can be cluge-run as a layer: First save your current layered working file, then flatten it and save it as something like HDR_Imagename. Now you can run the HDR toning tool on that flattened and renamed image. Now reopen the original image and shift+drag and drop the HDR version on top of it. Presto, you have an HDR-Toned layer on top of your original stack.
 

RomanJohnston

New member
Yep, Thats exactly what I do with it. in my in work folder, I have an HDR Holding Cell folder. I run an HDR Toning tool to the shot. Save it. Click back to before HDR toning was applied and drag it back over the top of the shot.

Is there a way to do it with smart layers? (never played with that)
...hope I am saying it right.
Roman
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
You can convert any individual layer to a smart object, but in this case there isn't any point since there are no adjustments we can get back to. Best practice would probably be to create a set of desired adjustments for the HDR image itself, then save that as a collective smart object. (Or alternatively placing that layers adjustments as clipping layer adjustments over the HDR layer.) Now when you drag that new HDR smart object on top of your original, all the dedicated adjustment layers are bundled up inside the smart object. Now you can open and tweak those (the re-save methodology is a bit convoluted, but you'll get it) as you dial down opacity for fine-tuning overall effect.
 

Jack

Sr. Administrator
Staff member
Thanks Jack...will give that a try and see if there is any benifit to it.

Roman
IME the benefit is limited. Personally I prefer the clipping-path-adjustment-layer method, as all stacks remain open at all times, and it's pretty clear which layers are affecting what.
 

RomanJohnston

New member
Wondering when they will fix the rulers that dont expand and contract with the pictures when resizing the view.

They have known about it since the beta.

Roman
 

robsteve

Subscriber
Absolutely agree Robert! Also note the fact that CS5 can use up to 64 Gigs of your memory is a significant performance plus --- combine these two features alone, and it's easily worth $200 for me. And that's $200 for probably 2 years of performance boost until CS6 comes out ;)
I have only been upgrading every second edition so, I am getting it half price. Plus with the weakness of the US dollar against the Canadian Dollar, I am getting it another #0% cheaper in CAD terms compared to my last upgrade.

I am also very aware of the value of a dollar, still using my DMR and M8 even though they are old technology.

Robert
 
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