Adobe leaks Photoshop CS2 details

By Kasper Jade and Katie Marsal for AppleInsider
Published: 10:00 AM EST

Adobe, Inc. accidently leaked details of its next-generation Photoshop CS digital image editing package on the Internet this week, revealing plans to introduce the software next month along with Creative Suite 2.0.

Company-authored documents, obtained by AppleInsider, say the new version -- due to begin shipping this May -- will bring "a new level of power, precision and control to the digital photography experience."

Officially labeled "Adobe Photoshop CS2," the software will feature advanced tools for digital photographers and video professionals such as a new Spot Healing Brush for correcting blemishes, and Smart Objects that will allow users to scale and transform images and vector illustrations without losing image quality.

Filling requests from video professionals, Photoshop CS2 will reportedly add support for non-destructive editing and the creation and editing of 32-Bit High Dynamic Range (HDR) images. A new direct export feature will let users view FireWire Previews on a TV.

Photoshop CS2 will also pack new creativity tools such as Vanishing Point and Image Warping, documents say.

"Vanishing Point cuts tedious graphic and photo retouching tasks by allowing users to clone, paint and transform image objects while retaining visual perspective," Adobe said in a press release apparently scheduled for April 4th, 2005. Image Warping is described as a feature that will reinvent workflows, such as product packaging development, by making it easy to fold, stretch, pull, twist and wrap an image into shape by selecting an on-demand preset or dragging custom control points.

Likewise, Adobe plans to improved the speed of imaging workflows with the addition of new Camera Raw features and an overhaul to the Photoshop File Browser.

With the debut of Photoshop CS2, File Browser will be upgraded to Adobe Bridge, which will function as a hub for productivity and imagery, providing multi-view file browsing and smooth cross-product integration across the entire Creative Suite software product line. Adobe Bridge will also provide access to Adobe Stock Photos, a new stock photography service that the company will offer to users as a one-stop shopping service for high-quality, royalty-free images.

- Yippeeee!
Meanwhile, the new Camera Raw 3.0 workflow will support batch processing of raw files in the background and without forcing the user to launch the main Photoshop application. Additionally, the new version will allow settings for multiple raw files to be simultaneously modified, while new non-destructive cropping and straightening controls will allow raw files to be easily prepared for final output.

The new version of Photoshop will also add task-based menu presets, equipping users with tools to create their own custom presets, highlight favorite items and define eventbased scripts that execute automatically when triggered by actions.

According to documents, Adobe Photoshop CS2 will begin shipping in May to customers in the United States and Canada for an estimated street price of US$599; international versions are slated for late May and early June and icenses for users of any previous version of Photoshop will cost US$149.

Photoshop CS2 will also be bundled as part of Adobe Creative Suite 2.0, also slated to ship around the same time. The software suite will support Mac OS X version 10.2.8 through 10.3.8, Microsoft Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4 or Windows XP with Service Pack 1 or 2.

An official announcement of Creative Suite 2.0 and Photoshop CS 2.0 was previously scheduled for April 4th, 2005.

Man... I can't wait to see the changes!!!

--- Gregg

I'm still trying to get used to CS1!!!



LOL

Yeah... I've been using Photoshop for what seems like eons now (I am a graphic & web designer and started with using photoshop with version 2) I haven't updated all the time, but I LOVE this program!

--- Gregg

That stuff is too advanced for me!

I'm imagining that someday camera sensors will also capture 'depth' (so each image will have 3D data), so in Photoshop CS7 you'll be able to edit an extra layer that allows you to manipulate or isolate certain segments of yiour 3D image. ie. imagine if you can blur the entire background without having to select any objects in the foreground because the depth layer allows you to choose the depth value that you want to edit? crazy? maybe, but that's my prediction. Kinda like working with a 3D program with images you took with your Canon 50D.

It's here!

Check it out!

Looks like a few cool features, definitely the vanishing point thingy looks very sweet, but beyond that, doesn't look as groundbreaking as past versions.

Either way, this might be the first version I purchase.

Grrrr.....

I JUST bought CS less than a month ago!

Stacy, that sucks! I feel the same way for all the people who are buying Macs right now, since the new OSX should be out in a few weeks.

So has anyone bought this thing yet? Is it worth the upgrade? As much as I want to stay on the "cutting edge" I'm pretty happy with Photoshop CS1. Unless there is a real advantage to upgrading I may just stay here....

I just upgraded from 7.0 to CS2. I used "Bridge"--the new File Browser to put together a slideshow for a wedding this weekend and found it to be super-slow! It took forever to load the thumbnails and loaded the RAW along with the .jpg. I couldn't figure out a way for it to only load the .jpgs. So I was kinda disappointed. Is anyone else out there having a similar experience? I just figured since it was an "upgrade" that it would be better. But I think I'm going to have to go back to using 7.0 for the speed factor.

Huh...that's really weird...I just tested mine and the first time I tried it was super slow and taking 8 seconds just to open a file and rotate it! Then I turned up the RAM alotment a little bit and it seems to be opening files a lot faster now! Between 2 and 3 seconds just like PS 7.

See if that helps.

Check with Adobe. I think they have a policy for a free upgrade if you purchased within the last 30 or 90 days (Can't remember)

Chris,

I've only been using CS2 now for about 2 weeks and I can't imagine having to go back to CS1 or heaven forbid PS7. It's that great (for photographers at least) Get the Trial and see for yourself. It ROCKS!

Mine seems to work fine. How much memory do you have in your Mac and how much is given to CS2?

Photoshop>Preferences>Memory & Image Cache...

I have mine set at 70% running on a Dual 1Ghz G4 with 2GB of Ram.

DJ, how do "turn up the RAM alotment"? Because our laptop running CS2 is also running slow....

On a Mac:
Photoshop -> Preferences -> Memory & Image Cache

...it's similar on a PC but I think you might go through the "File" dropdown instead of "Photoshop"

Thanks!!

I'm retarded--see below

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Mine seems to work fine. How much memory do you have in your Mac and how much is given to CS2?

Photoshop>Preferences>Memory & Image Cache...

I have mine set at 70% running on a Dual 1Ghz G4 with 2GB of Ram.
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My desktop is a 1GHz PowerPC G4. Under that is says 1MB L3 cache and 768 MB DDR SDRAM. I'm bad about this computer stuff. Is that what you need to know? Also, in Photoshop (thanks for letting me know where to look by the way ) it says available RAM 733MB running at 70%. My laptop is a 1.5 GHz PowerPC G4 with 512 MB DDR SDRAM and Photoshop says available RAM 487MB running at 70%. Any help you could give would be GREATLY appreciated!

Do you think I need to get more RAM somehow?

The speed issue on your desktop machine is most likely your processor and to a lesser extent, your RAM. RAM is definitely the first place to look to speed your machine up (and also one of the cheapest ways). Adding another 512 MB or 1GB (if you can) will probably make the biggest difference.

Your laptop has a faster processor, but less RAM. This, plus the fact that you may have a slower hard drive on your laptop, will make the two machines fairly comparable. Again, adding more RAM will give you the biggest boost.

In terms of allocating more of a % for Photoshop to use, keep in mind that the other applications that you have running in the background (the OS at a bare minimum) will need to use a chunk of that memory as well. So, you can up the % to 85 or 90%, but I think the other programs will fight for their share if they aren't getting it. So, if you run an email program and Photoshop at the same time, you are dealing with RAM for the OS + email + Photoshop. If the first two require 200 MB (guessing -- I have no idea here) to run and you have 733 total to work with, the most (I think) you can set PS to use without causing problems would be ~73%.

I hope that helps!