Which Photoshop is the 1 4 U -- POLL !!!

[Ash71360]

I have been using Photoshop since v5.0 but have have had my doubts and problems with the other versions... so i am doing a poll i wanna see which version of photoshop people like...

However, my poll has guidelines...
this poll is about how you, the customer, think of the PS suite...
Things like help full features and tutorials, and hints ... ARE part of the test but are not solely... i am looking for the Photoshop version that people found stable, user friendly, and nnice & easy to use !!!

since i have only been a member since Version 5.0 the poll will start from this version all the way to the current version i own which is CS2 .... HAPPY POLLING

[Redd]

Paint Shop Pro, Real Draw Pro

Photo Shop

[Ash71360]

i am purely a photoshop kinda-guy ... sorry

[lordsmurf]

Almost nothing have changed since Photoshop 5.5.
They added a new tool in 7, but it's not all that valuable ("heal" tool, like an auto-clone that never works as well as simply having good manual clone techniques). PS7 and above are more "pretty" and also take up more system resources, so I stay on PS6. "CS" is basically just PS8.

V5.0 is too old. You need to upgrade at least to 5.5 if not 6.

I started using Photoshop a decade ago, v2, v3, one of those.

Photoshop is the premiere raster imaging software.
Others are just wanna-be's.

[dipstick]

I've been using Photoshop since v5. In my opinion....... v6 is very good, v7 is better, vCS is even better still (but only if you have a fast PC w/lot's of RAM).

I'm currently using CS, It supports Camera Raw files from my Olympus. It also has numerous upgrades over v7, but it does bogg down my AMD XP 1700 w/768 MB RAM, if I edit 50 images at the same time. No such problems with v7 and under.

[Ash71360]

this is great ... this is exactly what i am looking for in my poll ... these sorts of comments are really excellent...

i am looking for the quarky things like cs is better only if you have a fast computer ... and so on

keep them coming people !!!

[mats.hogberg]

Gimp - I find $1000 a bit steep for stuff that I can do (maybe not as easy, but...) for free.

/Mats

[Ash71360]

Dick - (freakin call me names)
i find that if you can do it for free, unless you can do it with your own hand, then it is too good (and possibily illegal) to be true ...

Unless Mozilla have bought out ADOBE and then given their software away for free ... WHICH I HIGHLY DOUGHT WILL HAPPEN !!!

[mats.hogberg]

Huh?

/Mats

[Ash71360]

it was a joke calm down ... i was only messing ... GOD ... lol

[mats.hogberg]

I'm cool!

/Mats

[Ash71360]

hahaha ... i know

[guns1inger]

I used version 7.1 until recently. CS just didn't have enough to justify the upgrade on it's own (although the colour matching was nice). CS2 adds a couple more must haves and made the decision more palatable (OK, that and tax advise saying buy something soon). I have a feeling Photoshop is best in it's odd numbered releases. 6 wasn't great, but 7 was solid, CS was only OK, but CS2 is much more interesting.

Frankly, I have never seen the attraction to GIMP, other than the price. I find the layout ugly, the controls mostly unintuative, and every version I have tried has been buggy and unstable (I have tried probably 5 different releases over a two - two and half year period). Perhaps it is better under Linux than Windows ?

[Ash71360]

i can see what your saying ... i really like v5.0 but like yo said v6.0 was a little twitchy ... 7 was solid and CS2 is really good !!!

[mats.hogberg]

I find the layout ugly

Agree, but that's no decision point for a tool?!?

the controls mostly unintuative

So is PhotoShop, for a long time Gimp user

every version I have tried has been buggy and unstable

Slightly agree - and it is better under Linux.
But to a prosumer (at least not to me), the price difference is too much. I got PS Elements with a digital camera - And feel more at home with Gimp. And, if I can, I prefer free tools. The rest is made for profit. Period. Free tools are made for a variety of reasons - trying to make as much money as possible isn't one of them.

/Mats

[Ash71360]

i partly agree with that ... however free tools don't always have the tools and features that software that has been designed for profit ... ie photoshop, fireworks, etc...

but on the most part free tools are an excellent alternative to paying ... lol

[Shard92]

none I use Photo Plus ( serif software )

[vitualis]

Photoshop 7... is it only me or is Photoshop basically only competing with itself?

As for the GIMP, I can't stand it's UI. I would rather pay a nominal amount for a cheaper image editor (e.g., PSP -- of which older versions are released free in some computer magazines) rather than use the GIMP.

Regards.

[Faustus]

Voted Paintshop Pro 5. Anything above that bugs the crap out of me with interface changes.

Of course I suck at image editing in general so take from that what you will.

[waheed]

Im also a user of Paintshop Pro.

[guns1inger]

mats.hogberg - aesthetics aside, I find the Gimp layout impeeds workflow (hence the unintuative comment)

I used to use PSP, probably up to version 5 or 6. It was great for small work that needed to be done quickly as it's footprint was mych smaller than photoshop's. It started fast and did the job. From version 7 onwards it bloated and slowed down. The feature list grew enormously to compete with photoshop, but it's implementation of layers is clunky and crude. Even version 9 hasn't smoothed these problems out. What PSP does have over PS is a nice range of preset fixes for digital photography. While these are no match for doing it manually, they are more than adequate for most amateur users. That and the price make it a legitimate competitor to elements in that price range. But no substitute for PS.

[Forum Troll]

I still use 6.0.1. It's the one I first learned, so I stayed with it.

[Ash71360]

keep it but you might wanna upgrade to a newer one ... but keep the old until you feal comfortable with the new ... only a suggestion !

[burnman99]

Gimp - I find $1000 a bit steep for stuff that I can do (maybe not as easy, but...) for free.

/Mats

Totally agree with Mats. The Gimp in it's latest incarnation is Extremely powerful, has a good interface (love the docking thing) and is FREE! I own PSP 7 but no longer bother to install it, although i love it's customizable tool bars. ..The Gimp however now has a batch convert plugin, a redeye plugin and a text to path plugin! Plus it allows you to do animation. Not too shabby for open source software!!!

Rog

[Conquest10]

Photoshop 7... is it only me or is Photoshop basically only competing with itself?

Yes it is. Pros use Photoshop and only Photoshop for image editing.

I use CS. There are differences. Raw files can be opened. Yes I know Capture1 is a superior program but at the moment Photoshop works much better in the workflow. Shadow/Highlight tool is good for inexperienced people (it actually works pretty damn good sometimes). The heal tool is great for me when working on a lot of images. It is much quicker than the clone tool (which you then have to clean up after). There are times when it goes freaky on you but thats what selections are for.

The thing that has me baffled in CS2 is that you can no longer link layers the same way. Don't know how its done but it will most likely be bugging the hell out of me when I try it.

[ofbarea]

Totally agree with Mats. The Gimp in it's latest incarnation is Extremely powerful, has a good interface (love the docking thing) and is FREE! I own PSP 7 but no longer bother to install it, although i love it's customizable tool bars. ..The Gimp however now has a batch convert plugin, a redeye plugin and a text to path plugin! Plus it allows you to do animation. Not too shabby for open source software!!!

I have Photo Shop 5.5 but I just moved to Windows GIMP 2.2.8.

[thecoalman]

Can any of the above make this in 20 seconds. Just curious but I'm pretty sure I know what the answer is.

[madvideos]

Photoshop 7 is the best IMHO... I mainly use PSCS2 but it is SLOW and uses way too much resources, I am an advanced user of Photoshop and would NEVER use another image editing ap!! 7 is my choice when I need a quicky, CS2 when I am working on a serious project.

[madvideos]

if you are good with the filters and layers and curves, you don't need PSCS2!! A good artist can still work with 5!

[madvideos]

oh.. and stay away from Plug-ins. That is my advice. Learn to really use Photoshop.
My recommendations are:
Advanced Photoshop artistry http://www.vtccanada.com/can/titles/advanced-photoshop-artistry.html
Bert Monroy Training, Fotorealism is the best!!! http://www.bertmonroy.com/
These two will get you deep and addicted to Photoshop, don't just crop and cut.. learn to really do some cool stuff!!!

Deke McClelland also has some really killah books and video tutorials.