Adobe CS6 Photoshop & Premiere Pro

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josejones

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I need to get Adobe CS6 Photoshop & Premiere Pro but, money is an issue. I'm trying to figure out the cheapest way to buy CS6 Photoshop & Premiere Pro.

Did the trial version of CS & Elements - Elements is just a basic version - we need CS.

We have a small publishing business that creates books - we make our own book covers, images that are in the books as well as videos for DVD's and book descriptions etc. We also run our own websites.

I hear one can take a CS6 training course and get a discount on Adobe CS? What all does that include and how much?
http://helpx.adobe.com/learning.html?promoid=KAUDK

Then, Adobe has this $49 per month and another $75 per month thing. It's like rent to own but, you never really quite own it; you apparently always have to make payments - FOREVER it seems. If you stop, you lose access.

Any suggestions? Or is there another choice as good if not better than CS6?
 
The classroom training is not inexpensive. The Premiere Pro beginner's class, here in NC, is $695. I didn't see anything about a discount on software. The plus of using the subscription is the updates to new versions when they come out. If you purchase outright then you "own" that version and pay for the upgrade when it is released if you decide to upgrade. I purchased my copy when I was teaching and got an educator discount. Unfortunately I am no longer teaching and cannot purchase at a discount. If you were a student you could get a discounted price but to get that price you must prove you are a student. As far as alternatives for the PC there is Sony Vegas and Avid Media Composer. Avid has a steep learning curve and is not the easiest to learn. An alternative to Premiere Elements is Corel VideoStudio Pro X5 and Corel has a good Photoshop alternative in PaintShop Pro X5.
 
That is a good question. There are sites that advertise Premiere and Photoshop for as much as $300 less than most retailers but I'm not quite sure they are legitimate. As for the reviews of those companies, though usually positive, I'm not quite sure I trust those reviews as I suspect they are fake. Two of the best prices I have seen for Premiere Pro CS6 come from http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=850389&Q=&is=REG&A=details and http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-65172001-Premiere-Pro-CS6/dp/B007PWS8D2. The suggested retail is $799. The best prices, without an extensive search, for Photoshop Extended also comes from the two sites listed above. Both together range from $1,542 to $1,640. The CS6 Production Premium (which includes far more than Premiere and Photoshop) ranges from $1,428 to $1,599. Rather than buy them individually the better deal is the CS6 Production Premium bundel. You might be able to find it cheaper but beware of sites that promise ultra low prices.
 

calmstateofmind

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If you're looking for just PS and Premiere and are planning to use them for at least a year, I'd go ahead and sign up for the one year, $40/month subscription ($20 a month for each app). That'll give you access to both PS and Premiere, plus 20GB of free storage. I have a few buddies who do this and they're pretty happy with it.

Since it's a one year commitment though, there is a cancellation fee if you decide to opt out early; half the remaining amount (which isn't too bad, I guess). Financially speaking, that's only $480 a year for both apps, which is roughly 70% the cost of PS alone. As well, if you want to add more apps down the road or upgrade to the full creative suite subscription you have that flexibility, plus they'll issue you a partial refund. And if it's for a business you should be able to write it off on taxes. :D

If you're a little cash strapped and are comfortable taking it one step at a time, this would definitely be the route to go, IMO. Hope this helps!
 

josejones

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That's right, I read reviews at Amazon and the comments saying that they accidentally bought pirated Adobe so, when they tried to register or whatever Adobe wouldn't accept it and they were out all that money. I'm afraid to purchase software from Amazon for that reason.

Adobe did a great thing with their $150 Adobe Elements 11 package, but it's just basics and we need CS6
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832505197

I was considering buying straight from Adobe:

Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 $800
http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere.html

Adobe Photoshop CS6 $700 (PS Extended for $1,000)
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html

Adobe CS6 Buying guide with prices
http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/buying-guide.html

When I chat with an agent they really push the new Adobe Creative Cloud
http://www.adobe.com/products/creativecloud.html

The agents also try to rush you into buying and I feel like I'm chatting with someone from India too.
 

josejones

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Yeah, it's hard to argue with $40 or $49 a month compared to $1,500 or more like $2,600 for the Master Suite. When I asked the agent about the contract and any cancellation fees they never would tell me. I asked that specific question and they'd always try to get around it - just to get a sale it seems. They're always like, "I'll stand by to help you purchase" after almost every question. I don't like that at all.

https://creative.adobe.com/plans

http://www.adobe.com/products/creativecloud.html
 

calmstateofmind

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Well from a sales perspective that makes sense because they don't want you to be thinking about canceling, and would rather offer help than just a single answer and that be that.

Q: How do I cancel my one year membership?

To cancel a one-year membership, you can either go online to the Account page on www.creativecloud.com or contact Adobe Customer Service. If you cancel your membership before meeting the 12-month commitment date, you will be charged 50% of the remaining amount left on your contract.

http://www.adobe.com/products/creativecloud/faq.html#account-management

The account would also be set up as auto renew (as most subscriptions seem to be these days), so be mindful of that as well. And like kenrivers stated, you'll also be able to stay up-to-date with the latest versions and not have pay several hundred to upgrade if you ever wanted to.
 

josejones

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I organized a new system for our small business to make full use of CS6 or whatever:

CPU: Ivy Bridge i7 3770
MB: Gigabyte z77 UD5
RAM: Mushkin 8g DDR3 1600
SSD: Mushkin Enhanced Chronos Deluxe DX 240g
HD: 1T WD Black
PSU: Seasonic X-750w
OS: Windows 7 Prof, 64-bit

I didn't get a GPU because what I was considering wasn't available at the time I put this new system together over summer. So, we're using the Intel HD4000 integrated graphics. We've always had to use integrated graphics so, I have minimal experience with GPU's and not sure what would be best for us as far as the NVidia "Mercury Engine" thing vs. OpenGL so, I don't know which way Adobe is going ... will they continue pushing the Mercury Engine or stop that and just go with OpenGL? Which will stick around longer in the end? Or is the Intel HD4000 enough?

Adobe Mercury Graphics Engine
http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/mercury-graphics-engine.html

Tested video cards for Photoshop CS6
http://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/photoshop-cs6-gpu-faq.html#Tested%20video%20cards%20for%20Photoshop%20CS6
 

bambiboom

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josejones,

I sympathise with your situation. I used Corel graphics suites from 1993, but in 2010 when I bought a Dell Precision T5400, I wanted to use Adobe CS- and Premiere was an application I especially wanted to have. However, this was tremendously expensive- ($2,400?)- and I bought Corel Technical Designer X-5 to have some 3D capability, but which still cost over $900- and no video editing.

However, CS still beckoned and in 2012, as I planned to do industrial design and architectural animations combined with live action, I decided Premiere would be useful and to design a website, Dreamweaver. Also, Photoshop and Illustrator are almost standard and I felt I should change from Corel PhotoPaint.

Still, the price was a problem, so I did a careful search of past CS features and determined that CS4 would have all the programs, features, and probably far more capabilities than I would use. I then shopped on Ebahhh a long while until I found a good price- 1/4 of new- on a used full version of CS4 that I was certain could be relicensed- it was uninstalled and deactivated at Adobe. Not long after, I found that the Quadro FX 4800 was optimized for CS4 - partnered drivers-and then changed a GTX 285 for a FX 4800. And very happy I am with both.

In summary, if you find that an earlier version of CS or the two applications of interest will provide all the capabilities you need, then check on Adobe license transfer policies- which may have become stricter, find a seller you can trust with a non-academic non-upgrade, full version in a box with the numbers and a guarantee from the seller of uninstalled / deactivated status. Adobe is not excited that people recycle their software and don't make it easy, but it may be worth your time as it was mine at about a $500/hr savings. For example, checking completed listings on Ebahh, a CS5.5 Premium (no Premiere) was sold on Feb 7 for $400 and the buyer gave the seller a positive feedback.

Of course, this approach is more fuss and has a potential serious risk, but it can work. Just a thought.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

[Dell Precision T5400 > 2X Xeon 4-core X5460 @ 3.16GHz, 16GB DDR2-667, Quadro FX 4800, WD RE4 / Segt Brcda > Windows 7 Ultimate 64 > AutoCad, Revit, Solidworks, CS4 MC, Corel Technical Designer, Sketchup Pro, WP Office, MS Office ]
 

Una Tao

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I highly recommend Wondershare Video Editor for you to make and edit video, check the reviews from windowsclub, which is one of the best Windows review and news site:http://www.thewindowsclub.com/wondershare-video-editor-review. With it, you can make and edit your videos easily with over 300 effects and basic tools and can burn to dvd directly, the price is as low as $39.99, you can even get lower price if you search giveaway page from other third-party blog. CS is great too, which emphasizes in prefessional photographers, you may need to be trained to use it smoothly like you mentioned. For this software, you can use it even without guide. Clean and easy to use, that's what i feel.

 

Hawkeye22

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If you haven't purchased this yet, here is some news. Adobe will no longer develop CS6.

The company has no plans to release any new versions of Creative Suite going forward, but Adobe will ensure that every CS6 application will run on the next version of OS X and Windows. It will also provide the usual bug fixes and security patches, but it won’t add any new features to the tools.

http://techcrunch.com/2013/05/06/adobe-goes-all-in-with-subscription-based-creative-cloud-will-stop-selling-regular-cs-licenses-shrink-wrapped-boxes/
 
Hawkeye22 is correct. Adobe has moved to a subscription based model. Premiere and other Adobe products won't have the CS# but instead will have CC (Creative Cloud). This ties you to a monthly subscription. Another alternative to Premiere to consider is Lightworks - http://www.lwks.com/ - the Pro upgrade is $60 per year. There is a free version available but it lacks several codecs that are included in the Pro version.
 

Paul Raver

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I hear you i spend a whopping 795eu to get my version of PS CS6.
Only way i know is to be a student or teacher that includes using photoshop.
So your graphics design classes, the education version is the regular version but at almost half the price.

As far as a GPU goes most basic GT models will do, what PS loves is RAM.
I put 16GB 1600mhz ram in there, might go 24gb or even 32gb.
But the basic GPU would be a waste, PS has a GPU accelerated support.
 
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