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Adobe Photoshop CS4 | 
| From: Adobe
Category: Software
List Price: $699.99
Buy New: $359.99
You Save: $340.00 (49%)
New (34) Used (1) from $858.11
Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 139
Format: Dvd-rom
Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows Xp
Media: DVD-ROM
Edition: Standard
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Operating System: Windows Vista
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.7 x 1.8
MPN: 65015634
Model: 65015634
UPC: 883919153551
EAN: 0883919153551
ASIN: B001EUBSL0
Release Date: October 31, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Take greater advantage of all that Adobe Photoshop CS4 software offers with a more intuitive user interface and features that put you in control | | • | Bring your vision to life with industry-leading tools that let you enhance images and create composites that help meet your highest standards | | • | Be more productive by taking advantage of smooth integration with other Adobe software and enhancements that leverage the power of today's faster graphics processors | | • | Access the unrivaled power of Adobe Photoshop CS4 software through a more intuitive user experience, greater editing freedom, and significant productivity enhancements | | • | Photoshop CS4 features new ways to make image adjustments and create masks, more powerful compositing, improved color correction, accelerated graphics handling, and enhanced raw image processing |
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| Customer Reviews:
 Not a bombshell for very poor Adobe SUPPORT November 27, 2008
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
I called Adobe before I purchased PS CS4 from Amazon.com. They told me that Amazon is not an authorized dealer so "we would not give support" and then he curtly transferred my phone call to their Customer Service. The Customer Service told me the opposite and apologised for the lie.
I purchased it from Amazon and it was delivered as demanded except for a slight glitch. I had to cancel my doctor's appointment to receive the product because Amazon insisted on my physical signature. I called Amazon which was someone in INDIA who said that "presently, our systems are down, call back in two hours". I had to reschedule my appointment which got postponed for 3 weeks because the doctor is very busy. Not a good thing for my heart problem.
OK, so I get the PS in my hands and installed on my XP machine, registered etc., works fine so far. When I tried to install it on my Vista machine (one licence allows two computers), I got some error message so I called Adobe. Briefly, Adobe support seemed to me to be somewhat primordial. The lady had to put me on hold four times to consult with her supervisor and came back to tell me to UNINSTALL ALL MY PROGRAMS FROM MY COMPUTER. That was that and I asked for second level but was told to call back to get "another technician".
The "error" I referred to above was a minor issue with 64 bit v the other. The program works just fine. Adobe gets ZERO for support and FIVE STARS FOR IGNORANCE AND ARROGANCE. It is no wonder that the pirates of Adobe are too numerous to count.
Since I do not need "Support" from level I types who know nothing worthwhile, I have purchased some advanced guides from Amazon. I am even not sure why I called Adobe since I have more than 15 years of experience with the PS and own several versions. If you are looking for any intellectual conversation with Adobe, good luck.
The program itself is basically what the two good posts above describe. I feel good that I bought it from Amazon. It is legit, has a valid SN, and it has everything as though you bought it from Adobe except that you pay much more at Adobe. The program is NOT worth $699.99. I would recommend buying from Amazon.com. the best price for a completely legit item.
Most powerful photo editor available November 15, 2008
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
Since this review is specifically for the full version of Photoshop CS4, I will not be comparing it to prior versions. I'll save that information for a separate review of the upgrade version. If you're looking at the full version of Photoshop, I assume that you're wondering whether it's worth your hard earned dollars to take the plunge for the first time into the world of major league photo editing programs. Make no mistake, Photoshop is indeed the top gun in the field, there is no finer product. Over the next several paragraphs, I'll try to cover it's key advantages and let you decide for yourself whether it's worth the rather hefty price Adobe demands to buy into the franchise or if it makes more sense to buy a competing product.
Adobe is in the enviable position of not only publishing Photoshop, but also it's biggest competitor, Adobe Photoshop Elements 7. While Elements cannot stand up to Photoshop feature for feature, it is nonetheless a powerful photo editor and one capable of producing excellent prints. For the majority of photos, I doubt anyone could tell the difference which program produced the results assuming a competent user was at the controls. Moreover, Elements sells for a just over 10% of Photoshop's price, a significant discount to say the least.
Which product is best for you depends on a number of factors. First, have you done any editing at all or is this your first attempt at image manipulation? Do you want to primarily adjust simple things like contrast, color saturation, and maybe get rid of red eye? These are things that Elements can handle just as well as Photoshop for a fraction of the price (it can do a lot more, but these are reasonable examples). Another question is how frequently you'll work with a program like this. The price tag for Photoshop is a big pill to swallow if you're going to edit family snapshots a couple of times a year.
The two main drawbacks to Elements are that it lacks some of the more powerful tools unique to CS4 and that some methods of achieving the same results will take more time. That's an important point, so I'll repeat it. For most of your photos, you can achieve virtually identical results in Elements... but it will take more time to do it. Determining how highly you value your own time, and how often you edit photos, could be a key factor in whether CS4 is worth buying.
Beyond the cost of your time, let's consider the problem photos that you may not be able to edit properly in Elements. Most often, if a shot doesn't turn out well I just ignore it and move on. I'm not a big fan of spending hours on every photo and a well-shot image requires very little editing. But some of those duds represent something that I particularly wanted or needed a print of. Perhaps a key landmark from my last vacation, or a visiting relative who I photographed and promised I'd send a print to. Whatever it is, when these shots come out poorly, you have to do whatever is possible to salvage it and this is where Photoshop CS4 most earns its keep.
I won't go through all the features available in CS4, you can scan the product description in this product listing for that, or go to Adobe's web site. But they've included tools to deal with just about any situation imaginable, allowing you to do anything from reclaiming blown highlights in RAW files to stitching panoramic shots together from multiple images, to merging several shots into one to increase depth of field. About the only photo that can't be enhanced/saved is one where you failed to get a remotely correct exposure or one that suffers from motion blur. Neither Elements nor any other competing product can do anything like the heavy lifting available in CS4.
In summary, if you are serious about editing and printing top-notch photos, then you need to use Photoshop CS4. If you don't, you're spending more time than you should and leaving unfulfilled potential in your images. If you are a casual or occasional shooter, than you'll do well to stick with the less extensive products like Elements. It's cheaper, at least somewhat easier to use, and capable of generating quality work. If you end up frustrated with Elements and wishing you could do more, then you'll know it's time to reconsider moving up to CS4.
Finally, for those who can't get past the hefty price, here is a little tip. If you buy an older version of Photoshop, it can often be had for a fraction of the current version. In turn, this will allow you to buy the upgrade version of Photoshop for less than one-third the price of the full version. This is legal and does not violate the Adobe license agreement in any way. All you need is a valid license for a full version of Photoshop CS, CS2, or CS3 and you can purchase the upgrade with a combined cost well under the full version of CS4. If you attempt this, I strongly recommend buying from a reputable dealer to make sure you get a valid license. For example, if you buy at a certain well-known auction site, make sure the seller has a high feedback rating.
Great program upgrades; ugly user interface November 10, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
** UPDATE VIDEO CARD DRIVER:
Right off the bat I had a problem with my brush cursor only showing 1/4, 1/2, and even sometimes only a 1/5 of the cursor when I zoomed in. Found out from Adobe that I needed to install the latest video card driver. I had done this only a few weeks before the program was installed, but went to the EVGA site and re-downloaded the driver and re-installed it. It fixed the cursor problem upon restart. No mater what, go to your video card's website and download the latest driver, even if you think yours is updated.
** GPU and OpenGL Features and Limitations in Photoshop CS4:
Upon start-up, PS asks if you want to go to this website to review the tasks CS4 asks of the video card. I HIGHLY recommend you review it:
http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=kb404898
Very smart in how they are now tasking the video card to offload some of the processing from the CPU. If you turn off the GPU processing support (edit > preferences > performance) you will notice a small drop in performance. Read the list on the website above and you will see why you need a good fast Video card.
** 3D FEATURE NOW ADDED TO PS!:
We now have a powerful 3D rendering feature, just like Illustrator does. (But, not so powerful if you video card is lagging behind.) Turn off GPU processing, and use a weak CPU and you will find yourself making coffee during 3D rendering.
** WORKS WITH CS3:
I have both CS3 and CS4 installed at the same time. No problems using both, only you can't use them at the same time.
** NEW USER INTERFACE... UGLY:
I don't know how picked the font for the UI in CS4, but they should never be in charge of that part again. Horrible chunky font used throughout the interface. Why change from CS3? And the pallets are squared off. CS2's pallets were so nice; why change?
** Tabs and Arrange Documents:
Kind of like Dreamweaver, PS now has a tabs layout where you can see all of your open projects. So, no more hidden windows behind your project, for they are all lined up along the top of the workspace.
Arrange Documents feature: You can now quickly arrange your open projects with the click of a button at the top menu. It even has "Match Zoom", "Match Location" and "Match Zoom and Location". Cool.
** SMOOTHER:
Zooming in and out (Ctrl-/+), moving the workspace (Spacebar+click) and menus opening and closing are all smooth. Almost like a Flash-menu in the way it works.
** NO FILTER UPDATES / ADDITIONS:
As another user mentioned, we see no real additions in the bundled filter category.
** SMALL DETAILS:
Some of the small things I noticed so far:
1) PS now allows you to select "Zoom Clicked Point to Center" much the same way InDesign does automatically. Nice!
2) you can 'flick' the workspace around (called "Flick Panning"). In CS3, the workspace moved, but it certainly didn't slide to a stop as if it were floating on an air hockey table. (just a cool thing, but not a program improvement.)
3) you can assign colors to the menu options. So, now your "Save as" menu item can be green or red, and so on, if you want. You can assign a color to any and every menu item, even remove some from the list.
4) the Tools pallet stacks more items under one button (i.e. Crop and Slice tools are under the same button.) This is to accommodate the new 3D buttons on the Tools pallet.
5) I notice more changes in the "image" drop-menu than others. The 'auto' controls have moved, and some are now in the pop-up window (i.e. "auto levels" is now in the "levels" pop-up window. We now have "auto tone", "auto contrast" and "auto color" one level up from where they were before.
6) They moved the one button I used the most, Screen Mode (F), from the Tools pallet to the top. Oh well, "F, F" it is, until I get used to the new button placement.
I don't notice it taking up any more memory at idle that the CS3 edition did. It also doesn't seem to have the dreaded memory leak that plagued CS3's Photoshop. If it does, I don't notice it.
I'll keep updating this as things arise. Overall, the program works well, and has yet to crash on me.
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