What Makes Photoshop So Expensive?

[Guest]

Why does the upcoming Adobe Photoshop CS5 cost $600? We tested out its features to find out what you’re paying for.

What Makes Photoshop So Expensive? : Read more

 

[mitch074]

Nice. Photoshop sure is quite the package.

However, I wonder why, along with all the tools you cite, there is no mention made of the Gimp...? After all, it is available on Windows, Mac and Linux, it doesn't cost a dime, and it also includes:
- HDR effects (in script-fu): Tone Mapping and Exposure Blend
- painting effects (programmable brushes)
- GEGL (yes, 3D in Gimp)
- lens correction

Now, all of these aren't as advanced nor are they as easy to use as the Photoshop versions, but they are here and they work. For free.

 

[marybranscombe]

Mitch - to fit in as much information about Photoshop CS5, I only had room to mention a tiny fraction of all the image editing tools out there I'm quite a fan of Paint.Net and Irfanview, personally...

 

[cruelacid]

The Gimp also had content aware fill years ago in a plugin called Resynthesizer.

http://www.logarithmic.net/pfh/resynthesizer

 

[mitch074]

Paint.NET, iPhoto, WL Photo Gallery are not exactly professional-grade applications - while the Gimp (with colour profile management capabilities, layers-based approach, programmable filters, vector graphics capabilities, advanced stylus management, etc.) is, actually, used by some professionals... And a direct competitor to Photoshop.

Thus why I found its absence (Paint.NET isn't quite there yet, it does have the merit of being free for use -but not open source- ) a bit surprising.

 

[Traciatim]

"Digital SLRs let you save files not just as JPEGs but in a RAW . . . "

So does my point and shoot from 2002 . . . and (I believe all new) Interchangeable Lens Digital Cameras, and lots of point and shoots available today. You could have just said "Many Digital Cameras" rather than implying that Digital SLRs do something that other cameras don't, which is not true.

 

[marybranscombe]

Traciatim - true, but 1) the CS5 emphasis is very much on the DSLRs judging by the minimal list of cameras covered by the cusotm lens correction (and Adobe refers to only 275 cameras whose RAW formats are supported) and 2) my feeling is usually that point and shoot cameras with small lenses and sensors tend to need the in-camera processing to deliver good images

 

[cadder]

Photoshop is the ultimate consumer image editing tool. There are lesser tools sold by Adobe that will do for most people with digital cameras, and they are a lot less expensive- Photoshop Elements and Photoshop Lightroom. Of course Gimp and Irfanview are much cheaper options than that for the average person too.

 

[anthropophaginian]

If it was for sale for half-price $300, I doubt sales would double. The same universities and design companies would buy it, but it would still be out of many consumers' price range. At this price range, with spreading of costs the time saved and final quality of the product will justify the price.

...Also you're paying for the ostentatious value.

 

[punditguy]

Student discount FTW! Adobe Creative Suite Design Standard, $299 at Amazon. Won't be available until June 30, though...

 

[Tomsguiderachel]

[citation][nom]Traciatim[/nom]"Digital SLRs let you save files not just as JPEGs but in a RAW . . . " So does my point and shoot from 2002 . . . and (I believe all new) Interchangeable Lens Digital Cameras, and lots of point and shoots available today. You could have just said "Many Digital Cameras" rather than implying that Digital SLRs do something that other cameras don't, which is not true.[/citation]
I would argue that most point and shoots today do not offer RAW. And, most interchangeable lens cameras ARE DSLRs (not all).

 

[mitch074]

@Smochina: what RAW format are you speaking of? If memory serves me (I haven't done photography for a while, I "only" use a tablet and do touch up), there's almost a RAW format per camera...

OK, let's take 'a' generic, 32-bit per pixel, uncompressed RAW format: for a 6 Mpixel camera, that means 24 Mb per image. Times 500, that represents... 12 Gb of RAM required to open the images! Yikes!

You would have to use the 64-bit version of the Gimp on a rig with 16 Gb of RAM for it to behave properly, as it doesn't implement its own memory manager: it relies upon the OS for that.

 

[abdussamad]

We get photoshop free in my country. Piracy rocks!

 

[Guest]

The ruler trick has worked in Photoshop for as long as I remember, but it was obfuscated a little bit - there was no Straighten button, but if you draw a ruler along what should be a straight edge, then go to Image -> Image Rotation -> Arbitrary..., the ruler's angle will automatically be applied. Just click OK and your image is straightened. Works back at least as far as Photoshop 7.

The only new thing there is the "Straighten" button that saves you a few clicks.

 

[tommychan]

I hope the "Content-Aware Fill" feature can remove clothing

 

[idisarmu]

[citation][nom]tommychan[/nom]I hope the "Content-Aware Fill" feature can remove clothing[/citation]

lol, no pictures on facebook are safe.

[citation][nom]Abdussamad[/nom]We get photoshop free in my country. Piracy rocks![/citation]

You sir, are a thief.

 

[proxy711]

People pay for Photoshop?

 

[JohnnyLucky]

A company I worked for a few years ago normally used Adobe Photshop. Tereduce costs the company switched to GIMP. The learning curve was steep but eventually the employees got used to the application.

 

[Guest]

Corel Photo Psint as part of Corel Draw Suite is better in terms of cost and features. Adobe is nothing but bloated and overpriced software.

 

[ksampanna]

@ Viewer: You are comparing apples & oranges. Corel is a vector image creation program used widely in graphic designing. Whereas Photoshop is an image editing software which is the industrial standard. Instead of vectors, it uses bitmaps.
Try editing an image in Corel by its histogram. You won't be able to, coz it doesn't exist in Corel! Also you' have to tear your hair apart if you try creating a high quality bitmap in Corel.
The usage for both is different.