hi guys,
im currently learning photoshop using mainly with total training for adobe ps cs2 .
thing is that today while version cs4 released , isnt it better for moving forward to cs4 or to stick with cs2 and wait till after ill finished to training ?
The best way to decide whether you should upgrade, especially if your a legitimate Adobe customer is to compare both Photoshop CS2 and Photoshop CS4, list CS4’s new features, and compare them to your needs, if doing your job with CS4’s new features would make your life easier, then upgrade. It’s all down to personal preference mate.
cs4 has great features. No way I’d ever go back to cs3 , much less cs2; PS cs4 has a 64 bit version, which is the one I use…there are no previous 64 bit adobe ps versions.
if you have a 64 bit system then having CS4 is nice if you have the extra RAM. If you’re simply going thru the training of PS with CS2 then I wouldn’t bother paying to upgrade unless your itching to get it.
I’ve been using CS4 for a couple months now I believe and while it has some nifty new tools I can’t say that there are many things you can do in CS4 that maybe you couldn’t do in CS2. Aside from a few new things, you’re just as well off sticking with CS2.
But at some point I’d say to definately upgrade to CS4 and start watching the CS4 tutorials. 
A lot of new opengl gpu stuff you won’t get to use in cs3 and earlier…but you need opengl 2.0+ capable video card.
so far, there is no chance i would recommend cs4 to anyone. my experiences:
too many crashes… plain and simple.
the tabbed interface never fully turns itself off (if desired).
In 64 bit mode, just opening the preferences panel causes a fatal crash, even with freshly cleared prefs file (i get it on 2 out of 3 machines)
open gl just does not work correctly with multiple video cards. adobes solution is ‘turn it off’.
64 bit mode is notably slower manipulating similar files
3d is a total joke. its just a advertising point. its like a light on the front of a vacuum. yes, its there, bit no it isn’t worth a damn.
shall i keep going?
>>so far, there is no chance i would recommend cs4 to anyone. my experiences:
too many crashes… plain and simple.
the tabbed interface never fully turns itself off (if desired).
In 64 bit mode, just opening the preferences panel causes a fatal crash, even with freshly cleared prefs file (i get it on 2 out of 3 machines)
open gl just does not work correctly with multiple video cards. adobes solution is ‘turn it off’.
64 bit mode is notably slower manipulating similar files
3d is a total joke. its just a advertising point. its like a light on the front of a vacuum. yes, its there, bit no it isn’t worth a damn.
shall i keep going?<<
I don’t know what’s wrong there. I have not crashed once yet, especially when clicking on tabs. I have a 1gb radeon video card and it does the job just fine without me needing triple sli or quadruple crossfire or whatever else sounds cool but causes problems. I’d never imagine using photoshop for any sort of 3d anyway…use a real 3d program.
Agreed. I have had a couple of times where PS crashed but it hasn’t been an issue. I just recently started playing around with the 3D features of PS and will check it out more later to see what it can do.
The only complaint I have about CS4 and it may be another issue causing it, but it does seem to run sluggish at times. No matter how big the file I’m working on is. I keep thinking it has something to do with the scratch disk settings because I think that’s when i noticed the slowdown when i originally adjusted it. But no matter what I do it doesn’t help the slowness.
I too have had issues with GPU being turned off by PhotoShop, even though I have the latest drivers for my 8800 Ge Force GTS NVidia graphics card.
I can still work in it, but it’s disconcerting to occassionally get that message when you open up CS4.
I am also running CS4 in a 64 bit system. I do crash it occasionally but not in CS4. No problems yet but it does get slow at times. But really prefer it over CS2 which I used for a while. I sometimes do painting in PhotoShop and I love the rotate canvas icon for that reason. I just wished they had that feature back in CS2. I do not remember if that feature is in CS3.
What? A Rotate Canvas Icon? What does that do then... I mean how does it help?
Oh I do so agree about the sucky interface, hang on, "windows XP classic theme hurray"? Does that mean I can get rid of the sucky interface and get back to normal?
HOW!?!!? (picks Baltasound up and shakes him) tell me, please!!!
P.S. I can’t find this “Rotate Canvas Icon” - where is it?
Ooops! Terribly sorry. It is actually called “Rotate View” and it is group with the “Move” icon. (Above the magnifier tool.) You can also activate it by pressing “R”. And for me it DOES help. When I did artwork the old school way on paper. (Still do!) I got into the habit of spinning my paper to the right angle to get the best strokes down. With my Wacom Intuos 3 I carried this habit into the computer. Maybe not many people use this method of doing art but I do.
I also use Art Rage 2 for illustration work and I found it ironic that a humble $25 paint program has this feature (In that program it is called Rotate Canvas) but CS2 never did. Occasionally I see the same question asking how to rotate view in various forums on CG painting so I am not alone.
Quick correction.
“Move Tool” I actually meant “Hand Tool” in PhotoShop CS4.
Final note, my main goal is to replicate inking on a project like it was done on kid finish bristol board with india ink and a Windsor Newton sable brush. I was able to do just that with Art Rage 2. I plan on doing the same with CS4.
Aha! Now I’ve got it.
…
…
Yeah, pretty handy. I like that.
Er… what’s “kid finish bristol board”?
Yah!
I was hoping not to detract from the original thread so I will try make this lean more toward the “CS4 switch” subject matter.
First off all, “kid finish” is the old school cartoonist terminology of referring to “rough finish” Bristol board as oppose to “smooth finish” Bristol board. Notice at the art supply store that there are two types of Bristol boards. In the Pre-CG days a cartoonist who wants to ink with ink and brush has better control if the surface has a “rougher surface” or “more tooth” (another Pre-CG term). Giving the brush just enough resistance to control the ink line. All you old school inkers will know what I am talking about.
(Now back to the original thread) Even though CS4 is not perfect, this version seems to be getting more suited for the CG illustrator (like the rotate tool) so personally I would recommmend getting CS4 if you intend to do some hard core artwork. With the right custom brushes you can make great ink lines in CS4.
On the CS4 switch, it was a good idea for me because until now I’ve only owned Corel PaintShopProPhotoX2, and although I’ve used PhotoShop CS2 for the longest, that was at college and again here at university, not my own copy. So now having my own copy on my own PC is a great advantage, even if that is CS4, which I’m having problems coming to terms with as it behaves so differently -annoyingly - than CS2 did.
I am using it just now to a) create a photoshop coloured version of a woman character for an animation, and then
b) using it to CG-ise a hand painted version of the same woman character as I thought the PhotoSHop filled version unsuited to the theme - and to the background’s colour scheme, painted looks better.
So I’m using CS4 to get each hand-painted frame into the PC (and removing the background of the white paper around the figure) - which I’ll then transport to Affter Effects CS4 - I got the Production Suite, and I’m finding that in After Effects - if I go back and adjust the image in PhotoShop, the AE import adjusts automatically, which is very handy.
I don’t know it that happened in CS2 or CS3 as well?
Oh, thanks for the info about the types of bristol board… if I could afford it, it sounds like something I could use right now.
I’m in a limbo of having tried SAI and can’t do without canvas antialiasing but can’t use SAI because of a bug most people probably wouldn’t find and in CS4 undo’s take a full 6 or so seconds! x/ for like a single recent stroke. it’s istant in cs2 
anyone else experiencing this?
erik, i have no such problems here. the delay might be a result of a poor scratch disk or setup.
but…
i’m finding CS4 to be the worst PS release ever. sure the features like canvas rotation, canvas tabs etc are very nice but not worth the problems.
the huge amount of bugs makes CS4 unusable for working. things like random crashes, tablet problems, GL problems, selection bugs etc etc makes CS4 less useable then PS 2.0
waiting impatiently for proper updates
I haven’t encountered tablet problems… unless the crashes are only when I’m using the tablet… I can’t remember, but I think (so far) that my crashes are to do with GL problems, no selection bugs… yet. Sometimes the open GL drawing dies when I first open the prog, and sometimes halfway through something, and sometimes not at all… weird!
