Adobe’s new version of Photoshop, Photoshop CC, is now available for download through its Creative Cloud subscription service. New features for photographers include a camera-shake-reduction filter, and improved Smart Sharpen and upsampling algorithms.
Adobe announced last month that new versions of Photoshop and other Creative Suite software would only be available via a Creative Cloud subscription. This provoked an outcry amongst some pro and amateur photographers who use only Lightroom and Photoshop, and for whom even a single-product Cloud subscription to Photoshop would be a very large price increase. There was also substantial criticism of the Creative Cloud’s “software-rental” model, where once you stop subscribing, you lose access to the software. (Note that Lightroom will continue to be available as a stand-alone perpetual-license product.)
Adobe has since indicated that while it is committed to the Cloud approach, it is working on a more tailored photographer offering. If you’re not sure if a Creative Cloud solution is for you, I would suggest waiting a month or two to see how this develops. Adobe has reassured customers that it will continue to sell Photoshop CS6 as a perpetual-license product, so there is no hurry to make a decision.
Adobe product manager Tom Hogarty demonstrated last month a Lightroom app in development for our mobile devices, and hinted that we may be able to access at least some part of our main Lightroom catalogs on these devices via the Cloud and Lightroom 5’s new smart previews. This shows us the potential of Adobe’s cloud offering. I’m optimistic that Adobe will come out with an offering that better balances price with value delivered.
For more on new features in Photoshop CC, pricing, and an FAQ, please visit my post from last month.
Adobe Response to Creative Cloud Community Feedback
Adobe TV: Julieanne Kost’s Photoshop CC Favorite New Features for Photographers
Adobe’s Creative Cloud Photoshop CC page
Thank you for standing up for the rights of Adobe Users. The company too should watch out long term in case of competition.
Thanks for the Photoshop CC update, Laura. I am an avid user of Lightroom–thanks to your excellent training modules! I appreciate your help in getting the most out of LR on my MAC. I’ve recently upgraded to LR5, based on your previews.
My comment here is related to my occasional use of Photoshop CS6 for photo adjustments that are beyond Lightroom’s abilities. While some of the new Photoshop CC features are also in Lightroom 5, there are still some photos that will require Photoshop. While I like the new features in Photoshop CC, the subscription cost is prohibitive, since I use LR5 most of the time. I have typically upgraded to each new Photoshop CS version every 2 years at $199 each, so I’m OK with a subscription price for Photoshop CC that is in the same yearly average ballpark. For the next month or so, the Photoshop CC only subscription for current Photoshop CS users is $9.99/month for the first year. After that it goes up. This is not acceptable. I would pay $9.99 monthly (even with a 2-year commitment) for Photoshop CC, but not more. I would not go with a subscription if the price increases a year from now. I will continue to use my Photoshop CS6, but if an attractive subscription option is proposed for long-term use–I’d make the switch to CC easily. Please keep in dialog with Adobe. With your voice representing the collective, our input may have a bigger impact on Adobe, I hope.
Regards,
Doug Lang
Hi Doug, you expressed this well — a lot of photographers that don’t use other Adobe apps in the CC offering are struggling with this. The good news is that Adobe has heard us, and they do want to address this. They are working to come up with a more attractive offering. We will have to wait and see how it balances price and value.