Thursday, February 28, 2008
Adobe Photoshop CS3
By Brian K. Duck, Product Review Editor
Introduction
For years, creative professionals such as designers, photographers, and prepress specialists have relied on Adobe Photoshop software to help turn imagination into powerful imagery. But Photoshop has also become the digital imaging standard for a wide array of other professionalsincluding people working with motion graphics for film and television; 2D and 3D design imagery in manufacturing, architecture, and engineering; and medical and scientific professionals dealing with specialized images. To best meet the diverse needs of all these professionals and more, Adobe now presents a choice of two versions of the software Photoshop CS3, and Photoshop CS3 Extended.
Both new versions help increase your productivity with streamlined workflows for every imaging task, getting you from start to finish faster. New palette management maximizes your workspace, and additional preset capabilities let you store even more of your favorite settings for reuse. The unrivaled editing power of Photoshop is enhanced with new live, re- editable filters; improved color-correction features including better brightness, contrast, and monochrome conversion; cloning and healing preview overlays; and improved perspective-based editing. And breakthrough compositing stems from new features that automatically align and blend multiple image layers, automated selection tools, and more.
Photoshop CS3 Extended builds on top of the digital imaging standard, by starting with all of the new features and enhancements in Photoshop CS3, and adding specialized features and tools designed especially for professionals in film and television, manufacturing, architecture and engineering, and medicine and science. New 3D and motion support includes time-based cloning and healing on new video layers; 3D model visualization and texture editing; and export of 3D models from 2D images. And comprehensive image analysis comes from new 2D and 3D measurement tools, and support for DICOM images and MATLAB processing routines.
What’s New in Photoshop CS3 covers the features and enhancements that are common to both new versions of Photoshop, including:
Increased productivity and streamlined workflows—Photoshop CS3 comes with a wide array of new features and improvements to existing ones, but if there’s one thing you will notice immediately, it is this: Compared to previous versions of the software, Photoshop CS3 is just faster. As of December 1, 2006, beta versions of Photoshop CS3 are performing 40% faster than Photoshop CS2 on Intel-based Macs. The new Photoshop also gets you there faster with streamlined workflows stemming from new preset capabilities, redesigned palette management, and compatibility with the newest systems—including native Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) on PowerPC and Intel processors, and Microsoft® Windows® Vista™.
Unrivaled editing—How do you improve on the kind of editing power and performance that are the professional standard in digital imaging? By going the extra mile in protecting the ultimate quality every step of the way, and by making even more of the features professionals rely upon live and re-editable. With Photoshop CS3, you can now apply, adjust, add, and remove filters at will, without starting over. Enhancements to color correction include easier, more powerful monochrome conversion, an improved Curves adjustment, and cloning and healing tools that now feature preview overlays and multiple source points.
Breakthrough compositing—Whether it’s a peak-to-shore panorama or creating that one perfect shot from a series of images, Photoshop CS3 makes compositing faster, easier, and better. Speed compositing by automatically aligning and blending layers. Make an image selection with one stroke of a brush. Perfect any selection edge in a easy-to-use, intuitive dialog box.
Top new and enhanced features in Adobe Photoshop CS3
Nondestructive Smart Filters.
Smart Filters are simply Photoshop filters that are applied nondestructively, and remain live and re-editable. That gives you the flexibility to experiment with different filters and settings, without having to back up and start over with the original image. You can edit the Smart Filter mask to precisely adjust the filter’s effects on different areas of the image, and because Smart Filters are applied within the context of Smart Object layers, your designs are accelerated by now being able to scale, transform, and filter your images in an efficient, nondestructive workflow.
Quick Selection tool
Photoshop has always been distinguished by its powerful selection tools, which enable you to target editing and enhancements to precise areas of an image. Photoshop CS3 slashes the time necessary to choose image areas with the new Quick Selection tool. Now, instead of painstakingly outlining the image region you need to work on, you can simply paint the general area with the Quick Selection tool. Photoshop CS3 watches as you paint, and analyzes the image to complete the selection automatically. Expanding or contracting the selection is as simple as holding down modifer keys. And the Quick Selection tool can be used in conjunction with all of the other powerful selection tools in Photoshop. Whether it’s simple or complicated image selections, or image area extraction for advanced compositing, the new Quick Selection tool is a real time saver.
Refine Edge
The final touch to any image selection, the new Refine Edge feature is the simple, flexible way to modify the edge of a selection before you begin editing the area. With one-click access from the Options bar, or from the Select menu, Refine Edge lets you precisely smooth, feather, contract, or expand the current selection, with simple slider controls, in a single, intuitive dialog box.
Automatic layer alignment and blending
Automatic alignment and blending of image layers makes it especially easy to create advanced image composites—for example, combining the best parts of multiple images of the same scene into one “best” image. Now you can simply place multiple, related images on separate layers in one document, and then let Photoshop CS3 analyze the contents, moving and rotating the layers so they overlap as precisely as possible. Use the masking tools to reveal the areas you need from different layers to finalize the elements of the composite image. Then use automatic layer blending to seamlessly blend the color and shading into the final image. You could achieve the same highest-quality results in earlier versions of Photoshop, but the new automatic layer alignment and blending features get you there faster, with less work.
Streamlined interface
Photoshop CS3 maximizes your work area and creative time, by minimizing the effort of arranging your workspace. The Tools palette now appears in a spacesaving, single-column arrangement, with other palettes arranged in convenient, self-adjusting docks that can be widened to full size, narrowed to icons, or collapsed completely with the Tab key. When hidden, moving your mouse to the edge of the screen automatically reveals the palette dock. Then Photoshop hides the dock again when you move back to the image. Store your favorite workspaces as presets, and call them up instantly in the new Workspace button menu on the Options bar. You can also choose from a wide range of included presets, designed for a variety of specialized tasks. It all adds up to keeping the tools you need at your fingertips, but never in your way.
Next-generation Adobe Camera Raw
Photoshop CS3 features the latest version of the revolutionary Camera Raw, which processes raw data nondestructively from your compatible digital camera for superior photographic results. Photoshop CS3 also allows you the flexibility of applying the editing power of Camera Raw to JPEG and TIFF files as well as raw formats.
A component of Adobe Creative Suite 3
Adobe Photoshop CS3 is the image-editing component of Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Standard. Photoshop CS3 integrates tightly with other components of Design Standard— Adobe InDesign® CS3, Adobe Illustrator® CS3, and Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional—to deliver a comprehensive solution for design and print production. From a streamlined new interface to dozens of new and enhanced features that help you work faster and smarter, Design Standard speeds your way from design concept to high-end printed output. Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Standard will be available for the U.S. estimated street price of US$1199. If you’re a licensed owner of Adobe Photoshop 7.0, CS, CS2, or CS3, you’re eligible to upgrade to Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Standard for the U.S. estimated street price of US$899 (U.S.). For more details on pricing, see “Availability and Pricing” below.
Availability and pricing
In the United States and Canada, Adobe Photoshop CS3 for Mac OS X version 10.4.8 on Intelbased or PowerPC-based systems and for Windows XP and Windows Vista is expected to ship in the second quarter of 2007. Adobe Photoshop CS3 will be available in North America starting in Q2 2007 for an estimated street price of US$649, directly from Adobe or through Adobe Authorized Resellers. To order directly from Adobe, visit the Adobe Store at http://www.adobe.com, or call 1-888-724-4507. Licensed owners of Photoshop CS2, Photoshop CS, or Photoshop 7.x can upgrade to Adobe Photoshop CS3 for US$199. Licensed owners of Photoshop CS2, Photoshop CS, or Photoshop 7.x are also eligible for special upgrade pricing to certain editions of Adobe Creative Suite 3. A complete description of upgrade eligibility and pricing is available in the Pricing Overview document. Estimated street prices do not include taxes, shipping, handling, or other related expenses. Information on pricing and support policies outside of North America and for Education customers will be available separately. Different pricing may apply for Education customers and in other regions.
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Brian Duck on 02/28 at 09:34 PM
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