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Adobe CS5 FAQ

April 28, 2010 Jason6 Comments

Ever since Adobe announced the impending release of the latest Creative Suite 5, there have been many questions circulating in various online communities and outlets. Although I was not one of the beta testers, I’ve been following the developments rather closely, and have seen a lot of questions repeated over and over. Many of the answers to these questions I’ve put together from reading various reliable outlets, including Adobe web pages, reading content from Adobe folks blogs, and from the fountain of information available to me as a NAPP member (and if you’re not a NAPP member, you should consider becoming one – it’s probably one of the best deals out there, including educational materials, discounts, and a ton of other member benefits)!

So, without further ado – here’s the most common questions I’ve seen on Adobe Creative Suite 5:

1. I own ***** – can I upgrade to CS5?

Pick your product, it doesn’t really matter too much if it’s a single product upgrade (not part of a suite). If you want to upgrade to Photoshop, CS5, here’s the list of products that are eligible for the upgrade path to CS5, courtesy of Adobe (I added the product to my shopping cart, and got this list of eligible products and the pricing path (upsell versus an upgrade):

Photoshop Elements 6, 7, or 8 on Windows – (upsell = $599)
Photoshop Elements 4, 6, or 8 on Mac – (upsell = $599)
Photoshop CS4, CS3, or CS2 (Regular or Extended) – upgrade = $199

2. What if I purchased CS4 recently – do I have to pay for the upgrade to CS5 now too?

While there is no official “window” from Adobe, all indicators suggest that if you have recently purchased CS4, you may be able to get an upgrade. Some sites claim the window is between certain dates such as April 12th and August 10th, but I’ve not been able to verify this information independently so the site is not linked here

3. What about Lightroom – can I upgrade to Cs5 from that since it’s part of the Adobe Photoshop family?

No. Although there are similarities, Lightroom is a different software path than the Creative Suite, and you cannot upgrade from LR to CS5 anymore than you could upgrade a Dell to a Mac

4. Speaking of Macs, can I upgrade my Windows software to a Mac equivalent or vice versa?

Adobe does allow for this in what is called a “cross-grade”. You must sign a release that states you have destroyed the other media, and pay a small fee (I think it’s something like $20) to do this.

5. What about converting from one Suite of products to another, or converting to a single product?

While I don’t have the space to cover extensive details on the many options, and this is not official Adobe policy (I could not find anything specifically addressing all the possible conversions), I think it’s a safe assumption that you can downgrade from a more expensive suite to a lesser expensive suite or product, but not vice versa. So, say for instance you had the Master collection. It is likely that you could downgrade that to a web collection or a design premium. It is also likely that if you had a suite of products, you could downgrade to a single product within that suite. However, adding additional products to your existing ownership for free is not likely. As the old saying goes, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

6. Are there any discounts available?

Of course there are – and if you are an eligible member of any one of a number of communities, you are eligible for discounts on products from Adobe. The most common ones I know of include educational discounts, governmental agencies, and NAPP. The other question that usually arises from the “discount” one is whether you can apply multiple discounts, and the answer here is no…Adobe does restrict you to one discount per purchase, so if you are a NAPP member and also a teacher or college student, you cannot apply both discounts. Pick the one that gives you the best savings, and be happy to are eligible – many people are not.

7. So, where do I purchase CS5?

You can’t yet – the announcement that Adobe made was kind of a teaser, to build excitement and to sort of “ramp up” for the eventual release date. It’s all part of the marketing, hype, and advertising of upcoming products. Also, keep in mind that Adobe, like any other software developer, has approved channels for distribution. So, when it does become available, make sure you find a reseller in your area through their partner page.

8. When will it be available for purchase?

Well, you can pre-order it any time you want. But if you want an official release date, take a seat with everyone else outside of Adobe headquarters, because that information is not available (that I can find anyway). There are several indicators that suggest the release will be in early to mid-May based on their history (Adobe usually does product releases on about an 18 month cycle, or ever year and a half) with the Creative Suite of products.

9. What are the differences in all the packages?

Excellent question! This is the one that vexes a lot of people, but thankfully, Adobe has put together a comparision page that not only show syou the products that go into each package, but the retail cost of each. Rather than regurgitate all that information here in some confusing chart, simply bookmark this link: Adobe Product Comparison Chart

10. Are you going to upgrade?

Yes I am. I will probably not be an early adopter, primarily because I have a couple other purchases to make first (hardware, a lens, and some lighting gear), but the advancements in CS5 are probably among the most significant of any version in the last 7 years! I may also need to upgrade my computers to handle the processing requirements.

That’s it – the top ten questions I’ve seen (and been asked) about Creative Suite 5! Got your own questions? I may not have the answers, but I can either give you my best guess, or pass the question on to someone who may know the answer, so feel free to sound off in the comments. Also, if I got anything wrong, or if you can shed additional light, all contributions are welcome!

Happy shooting all and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

Welcome to the neighborhood!

April 27, 2010 JasonLeave a comment

Not sure if you all remember when we moved a while back, and our first day in, the next door neighbors called Animal Control because our dog was following us in and out of the house as we unloaded. It took some talking, negotiating and convincing, but we did finagle a deal so that the dog wouldn’t be hauled off to doggie jail. It was not the kind of welcome we were looking for. Suffice to say, the lack of any real friendly neighbors or sense of community was kind of a motivating factor in our desire to find new digs.

So, when we found this place, the reception we would get was one thing we were a little curious about. Moving day was Friday. Saturday we re-assembled furniture (beds, sofas, TV’s, half the computer setup, etc.) and Sunday we started unpacking boxes. In the midst of our unpacking, our agent stopped by with a card, a planter of tulips, and a welcome mat (very generous given her commission on both properties). Well, maybe not the best “thanks for your business” gift relative to monies spent, but still a nice gesture. When we did finally meet our next door neighbor, this was the welcome we got:

And they say a sense of community is disappearing! We’ll be hard-pressed to move again…

Here's Your Sign…

April 26, 2010 Jason14 Comments

Anyone know that song? It’s done up by a comedian Bill Engvall, where people would ask him silly questions and he’d hand them a silly sign so you know not to ask them anything. It’s a funny bit, but one really has stuck out in my mind over the course of the weekend. His family is in the process of packing up to move, moving van in the driveway and as they load things up, the neighbor comes over and asks:

“You movin’?”

His response (which still cracks me up), was “Nope! We pack things up once or twice a month – just to see how many boxes it takes!”

As the last box was unloaded into our new garage this weekend, I literally knew how many boxes it takes! (A lot!) Here’s what we saw as we began to tackle the task of unpacking:

So, what do you think? How many boxes did you think it takes? Can you count them all? Post your best guess in the comments – the person guessing closest to the actual number will win something fun (without going over of course – kinda like The Price is Right)! Post your best guess by the end of the week to be entered in this unofficial “contest”!

Update: It took us longer to settle the dust on unpacking, but it’s pretty much done now and the box count has been officially determined. The total was at 116! Congrats to Myles for his closest guess of 87! Send me an email to claim your prize! 🙂

Off the Grid…

April 23, 2010 Jason1 Comment

The moment of truth is at hand – the computers, the laptop, the Drobo (yikes!), all of it is getting turned off today. That means for roughly the next 24 hours, you will not be able to reach me anywhere! Not on Twitter, not on the blog, my podcast, via Flickr contests, iTunes apps – nowhere! (Except maybe work! 🙂 )

Don’t get me wrong – you can still call, email, leave comments, post to Flickr and all of that, I just won’t be able to read it! The good news is that our service will be reconnected at the new place Saturday morning. Can we do it? Can we go without being seamlessly connected for 24 hours? It’s do or die! Hope to see you on the flip side! Happy shooting all and have a good weekend!

What's New in iTunes?

April 22, 2010 Jason4 Comments

With all the buzz and news wrangling to get the latest info on the iPad and iBookstore, people should keep in mind that there is still a HUGE following on iTunes for everything from music to applications, and then, there’s one other thing…oh yeah, podcasts!

Funny that podcasts is mentioned today, because a new one is due out shortly here – and what better way to grab the latest podcast in your very own LDP iTunes App! Yep, in an effort to let you grab the shows in any way that suits your needs, there is now also a dedicated iTunes App for those that enjoy the show. In addition to the normal show content, additional features will be available like digital downloads, calendar themes, and other sorts of fun content. Other easy one-touch options also include:

Email the show direct from your iPhone or iTouch
Visit the website
Follow on Twitter
Call the Show for free (you can call from a landline too at: 866-809-8663)

Check it out when you have a minute here:

Learning Digital Photography iTunes Application

I also have a coupon or two, so if you are interested in downloading the app – who knows, maybe some lucky commenter (completely at random of course, say between now and the end of April made on this specific post) will get a copy of the app on the house! (hint hint…! 🙂 )

The Ides of April

April 21, 2010 Jason2 Comments

Well, it’s not really the ides of April, more the Ides of Closing. Yup, us nomads are at it again – we just can’t seem to settle down. Our cross-country move into an apartment for 6 months, then another move into our current house for two years was not enough. Nope, we got the itch again. Funny how the moving itch is coincidentally happening within a week of our seven year anniversary. Isn’t that supposed to be the itch? Oh well, I’ll take this itch over the alternative. So, with this being closing date and all, I’ve clearly got a lot on the plate today and throughout the remainder of the week.

Believe it or not though, I’ve got a couple really good posts lined up over the next few days (amazing what happens to your content when you plan ahead, eh? 🙂 ) For today, I am bringing back the “Shout outs” theme from the previous months Flickr Group contributions. These are just a sampling from the entire month of March to the group pool, and have nothing to do with the contests. Just some images that I thought deserved a little recognition…so, without further ado, here’s that random sampling. Thanks to all who have so generously shared their images and who continue to do so – it’s awesome to enjoy all the talent that is out there!

I think I got the order right, but if I cross-referenced these wrong after download, please let me know. Honors this month go respectively to the following people:

Grey Hamster
Josh Cohen
KaleidoscopePhotos
karensk7
KBTImages
NZSnapper
Sue90ca
and whalenmdw

Thanks to them especially for their creative, inspiring and thoughtful contributions! Everyone’s were really great so it was even hard to narrow it down to a select few here too. Keep on sharing and next month, we’ll see which ones end up on the blog. Stop over to their respective Flickr threads and give them some praise for their excellent work!

Speaking of months – don’t forget there’s not much time left in April to enter the Balance themed contest to win an Expo Disc from the generous folks over at Expo Imaging! Entries are taken until midnight April 30th, MDT (GMT-7). Good luck and don’t forget to enter your images in the thread here.

Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here tomorrow for more news and updates from the LDP/CB corner of the photo world! 🙂

*****

News Flash: There’s something new abuzz in the iTunes store!

Must Read – Rangefinder Magazine

April 20, 2010 Jason6 Comments

We all have our periodicals that we subscribe to, and while differences of opinion abound about which ones are the “best” ones out there, there is always good content available. One that I subscribe to is “Rangefinder Magazine”, which has great reads on up and coming artists, good food for thought, and other items of interest on a regular basis. Their most recent issue (April 2010), had an article that also boils down well for blog posting, so today, a nod goes out to Rangefinder magazine, particularly Alice B. Miller for the article:

Marketing Mojo:

12 Ways to Land Your Next Magazine Assignment

Here she looks at things to do and not to do when trying to stay current in the ever-demanding world of “publish or perish” in periodicals and online print circles. The entire article I would classify as a “must read”, but for here, the bullet points suffice. Enjoy!

Stay Current on World Events
Pursue Your Own Projects
Don’t become a prisoner of your style
Look the Other Way
Let the Freedom Begin
Stay Positive in Slow TImes
Stay Fresh, New, Vital
Shake off the Doldrums
Focus on Stories Close to You
Learn How Editors Want Material Submitted
Be Interactive and Engaging With Clients
Plan Ahead

As you can tell, there’s more here than just the bullet points, and thankfully, Rangefinder also keeps current issues available online for easy viewing, so head on over there to enjoy the full length article. Surely though, there’s more content out there that others know about too, so feel free to share links to either your own work, or other articles of interest in the comments. What magazines do you like? Any particularly useful articles? Sound off to spread the word! Thanks for stopping in and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

The Perils of Polarizers

April 19, 2010 Jason2 Comments

Happy Monday all! My apologies at the absence on Friday – it seems some gremlins absconded with all my time on Thursday, so in the absence of any halfway decent content, decided to make it a legitimate “no blog” day heading into the weekend. But, a new week is here, and I’ve got a cool topic to cover briefly with you…that being:

Polarizing Filters

Polarizing filters can be a godsend – they can really bring out blues in a sky, or minimize reflections in windows, and can really help to improve the quality of your work. At the same time, polarizers can also be very tricky to use. On my recent trip to Arizona (I shot a weekend with Rich Charpentier of The Airstream Chronicles), there were many opportunities to bring out the gorgeous blue sky, and contrast it with the amazing colors in the orange rocks that the American Southwest is known for.

The problem with polarizers is that the blue that is brought out is not a consistent blue – it usually gets stronger as you move toward the light source. So, when you go to stitch things together, the results can be less than satisfactory with evident banding and shifts on hue of the blue skies. Take a look at the example below to see what I am talking about regarding the banding…

See how the sky has blues that aren’t consistent? It’s because I did not rotate the filter to accommodate the shift in blues as I shot across the scene.

Another problem is kind of hinted at above – what if you have a sky where you want the blue to pop, but the foreground includes a water reflection that is an integral part of your composition? The answer here is to expose both with, and without the polarizing effect, and then blend together the two shots later in post production. Masking off parts of images is much easier to deal with than the polarizing effect in the sky, but it’s a pitfall of panorama photography to be aware of.

As it happened, later on that day I was capturing another scene where there was no sky, so it was a non-issue. Here, the key is to remember to spin your filter so that the reflection does reveal itself, otherwise you will think you are doing something severely wrong when you can see the reflection with your eye, but not through the lens. I probably spent a good five minutes trying to change the angle of view before I realized it was just a quick spin of the filter to reveal the reflection below me…

As, as you can see, there are benefits to polarizers and there are also downsides to consider as well. When used correctly, they can really add to the character of an image. For those looking at specific recommendations, here are the ones in my gear bag:

But enough about my thoughts on polarizing filters – what about you? Do you think they are legitimate tools to alter a scene? What about reproducing the effect in post production? Which ones do you use? Do you have a favorite or do you prefer all photography “au naturale”? Sound off in the comments or via email!

Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow for more photography goodness!

Thank goodness for the blog!

April 15, 2010 Jason8 Comments

Ever have one of those days where you know that you are doing something wrong with your gear – but for some reason it’s just not clicking (so to speak)? I had just such a day recently. I still have the DIY-style radio triggers from Cactus I bought last year (still have not upgraded to the Cybersyncs), and I was trying to light something off camera for a macro shot with this little solution. Try as I might, I could not get the transmitter to fire my 580 when on camera. For the life of me, if I tried one setup, I tried at least several dozen, all to no avail! Finally, in frustration, I tossed the whole thing aside.

Then today, I was considering some advice on blog content to help “promote” archived content. One such technique is to do a theme of “a year ago today…” and reference a post from that same day last year. Well, last year today I did a neat little write-up on…yup, these little Cactus triggers. Lo and behold, the one combination of cables, wires and gadgets I did not try was the one I demonstrated nearly a year ago to the day that does work with these guys. Oh the joys of camera gadgetry! With all the gear and gadgets we own, it’s really amazing that we are able to keep this stuff in our heads as we do. Well, mine must have sprung a leak, because I ended up reading my own blog on how to configure my own gear! Well, thank goodness for the blog, eh?

In honor of finally figuring out (from my own writing no less) how to create the shot I was trying to get, and in kind of a rebirth of the “What’s This?” series from last year, here’s that shot for you today. The first person to guess what this is – wins!

I’ll give everyone a hint – it has to do with photography! 🙂 Oh, and as an aside, I am loving the noise reduction in LR3 Beta 2! I was at ISO 100, but some noise still creeped in – nothing LR3B2 couldn’t cure rather quickly!

Also, in light of it being “tax day” here in the states, to lighten your mood, here’s a laugh from WTD (I’ve not posted one of their cartoons in a while – though I do keep visiting every day!)

Cameras at Ten Paces…

April 14, 2010 Jason4 Comments

If you think about it, cameras often share terminology with them…we go out to “shoot”. We aim, we fire, and our shutter release is often analogous to a trigger not only in what it does, but in the proper technique (slow and steady as you exhale). So, when I read recently about a camera holster, it kind of made sense. The entire system seems kind of cool, and they claim it’s designed for “even the heaviest of professional grade camera gear”. In a line of work where gear is often just off-the-charts expensive, I was surprised to find the Spider Holster system in its entirety happily priced at just a tad bit over $100 ($109.99 plus shipping).

They’ve got some interesting videos and product shots on YouTube and their website, so it might be something worth considering if you are interested in eschewing the traditional camera bags, shoulder straps, neck straps, and other more typical carrying scenarios. What I liked is that it takes the pin that attaches it to your belt and moves it off center so you can easily and comfortably rotate between shooting in portrait or landscape mode. It also looks cool that the setup allows for use of just a regular belt that you would normally already have (although they do recommend that you use their belt for the heavier gear…) Here’s a few of their product demos embedded here…

It does have almost a cowboy look and feel to it, and for the street photographer or serious photo walker it could be very useful, regardless of whether you feel like John Wayne or Dirty Harry. Consider it a lightweight approach also if you are out scouting new locations to shoot. Another feature that I like is that it also seems pretty able to keep your gear from falling from looking at the other videos of people running with the belt, going up and down stairs, and even snowboarding with it.

All in all, it seems kinda cool, and I’d say it’d be something to look into as the summer months approach if you want to be “light and mobile”. (This would have been very handy when in White Pocket, AZ). Their company website is at www.spiderholster.com if you are interested in learning more about them. The only question that really remains to be asked on this gear is:

Do ya feel lucky?

(Okay, lame, but it just had to be said! Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!)