Adobe CS2 v. CS3

My main need is video editing software. My main considerations are Vegas, Pinnacle, Premiere, and Premiere Elements. In regards to Premiere, I've messed with the latest Elements and it's alright. In college I used a lot of Avid in classes and a pirated copy of Premiere outside of class, so that's what I'm used to. Elements seemed to have a surprising amount of features but was awkward to work in. However, full blown Premiere is so expensive and I hate the pricing structure of individual programs compared to packages offered. If you ever want more than one of their products, you may as well shell out for the package. So, I'm looking at Premium Production which comes with Photoshop, Premiere, Encore, Flash, After Effects, and whatever the audio one is called. Unlike the video editing software, I don't need any of these at the moment. I could in the future, and presently, I would definitely use them if I had them. Especially, Photoshop since I've never gotten too used to or good with GIMP. However, I can do without the others.

Anyway, I can get CS2 way cheaper than the current version, CS3. Is anyone experienced enough to say I'll really be missing out by going with the older (and cheaper) version? I'm a moderate user of all of these programs (except After Effects. I've never touched it) and I want to know if I would notice any difference in how I use it. Kinda like Microsoft Office where they keep releasing new versions and I haven't really noticed.

I'm not familiar with the differences between CS2 and CS3 for Premiere, but they're not significant in Photoshop.

Be careful in buying old versions of Adobe software, even if it's "new". I purchased a shrinkwrapped copy of Photoshop CS2 from Amazon Marketplace and didn't realize it was a knock-off for a few weeks.

If you're eligible, definitely look at buying an Educational license - it's something like 60% the full price and you're still able to use the software for commercial purposes.

I would say for certian that CS3 has many advantages over CS2 especially if you are looking to do creative work.

The changes to After FX are probably the biggest thing.

Also when I spoke with the adobe reps at NAB they explained the increase in intergration between their programs. Basically making working between Photoshop,premiere,after FX, etc... seemless. So when you make a change in one it imediatly shows up on the others.

if you are specifiaclly looking at Premiere a few new features include...

- Time remapping
- Time warp
- Adobe SoundBooth
- Replace Clip Editing

And there is a bunch of features that have been enhanced.

Heres a pdf with the breakdown-

http://wwwimages.adobe.com/www.adobe...

InigoMantoya wrote:

Also when I spoke with the adobe reps at NAB they explained the increase in intergration between their programs. Basically making working between Photoshop,premiere,after FX, etc... seemless. So when you make a change in one it imediatly shows up on the others.

I haven't used CS3 so I can't speak to any improvements in this department, but the cross-app integration already works fairly well in CS2, especially in Premiere.

Stick with CS2.

CS3 is buggy yet workable. I haven't tried much of anything in Premiere CS3 but Illustrator, Photoshop and After FX have bugs and are less stable.

Again, I can't comment much on CS3 one way or another, but I use Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere and After Effects C2 pretty regularly and they are rock solid.

I can't speak to the programs you use because I'm a print graphic designer. All my hands-on have been with Photoshop, Indesign and Illustrator. However, I can say with certainty that the new toys in CS3 in the programs I use were worth the upgrade price.

For the Adobe programs I use (Indesign and Photoshop mostly) the changes between CS2 and CS3 are mostly cosmetic (interface changes).

Make sure to check with your school if they have a CLP or TLP program with Adobe which would give additional discounts to the educ prices in retail. If not let them check with their software reseller, because any school can get a TLP contract for any volume (for 5-10% extra discount)! Through volume licensing CS2 is not available any longer though. It surprises me you're even able to find a CS2 version in retail now, so be very careful for piracy.

Anodyne wrote:

If you're eligible, definitely look at buying an Educational license - it's something like 60% the full price and you're still able to use the software for commercial purposes.

Good news. I do qualify but my co-worker in charge of software purchases for my university said it can't be used for commercial use. I actually couldn't find that in the license or on the adobe site, though.

McChuck wrote:

Good news. I do qualify but my co-worker in charge of software purchases for my university said it can't be used for commercial use. I actually couldn't find that in the license or on the adobe site, though.

The educational licence is not supposed to be used for commercial use

You can't purchase educational software direct from Adobe. You have to buy it from the school store or (I believe) an online source that will take your school ID #

No biggie. I asked more for curiosity's sake because I thought it couldn't be but then anodyne said it could. Skimming the license I found nothing, so I wasn't sure.

CS3 has the Quick Selection tool, and CS2 doesn't. You'd only get me to go back to CS2 by using threats of physical violence, based on that one single change.

Think of the "Quick Selection" tool as being "Just like the magic wand, only it isn't a completely useless piece of crap."

peterb wrote:

CS3 has the Quick Selection tool, and CS2 doesn't. You'd only get me to go back to CS2 by using threats of physical violence, based on that one single change.

Think of the "Quick Selection" tool as being "Just like the magic wand, only it isn't a completely useless piece of crap."

Yeah, actually, that Quick Selection tool is a revelation. That's probably worth the price for CS3 right there.

McChuck wrote:
Anodyne wrote:

If you're eligible, definitely look at buying an Educational license - it's something like 60% the full price and you're still able to use the software for commercial purposes.

Good news. I do qualify but my co-worker in charge of software purchases for my university said it can't be used for commercial use. I actually couldn't find that in the license or on the adobe site, though.

I know the educational version of Photoshop can be used commercially, anyway - I looked through the license as well (it says nothing) and talked to a rep to confirm. Maybe he was a misinformed jerk, I don't know, but that seems to be the general consensus on message boards and so on (for what that's worth). I don't know if it applies to their other products. I was surprised too, it's standard to have a "no commercial use" clause for educational versions of software. The big difference in licensing is that you're not allowed to transfer the license to anyone else as you can with the "normal" version.

edit:

[url wrote:

http://www.planetmicro.com/adobe_box...
Good News! Adobe Education software (any title!) can be used to produce commercial/professional paid-for work when they leave school, or even while they are in school. In this regard, Adobe does not limit how the student software is used. So students can use it to learn, and to make money!
(Of course, students must agree to the terms of the End User Licensing Agreement - which happens during installation - just as every software customer must do.)

What I want to know is why haven't they integrated Freehand into Illustrator more? It's rediculous trying to typeset in Illustrator--the font navigation is TERRIBLE (at least as of cs2), though the layers are nice. As for Photoshop, Im still using the old CS version--but I'm thinking of looking into Gimp as well, assuming the export options are the same. Does Gimp have actions and history like Photoshop?

dejanzie wrote:

For the Adobe programs I use (Indesign and Photoshop mostly) the changes between CS2 and CS3 are mostly cosmetic (interface changes).

Just so the original poster is clear on this. Dejanzie's statement is only accurate in the sense that given the large number of bells and whistles already available in these programs, the majority of functionality is the same. However, the changes that were made (and I don't mean interface) are VERY helpful. In my workflow at least, the changes were not merely cosmetic. The Quick Selection tool, the way Indesign works with object effects, the Color palette functionality in Illustrator... all these things and more go to making CS3 THE series to use for professionals. Don't believe for a second that it's just a fresh coat of paint.