Adobe Configurator is not included on the CD with Photoshop CS4, but you can download it for free directly from
Adobe Labs. What is Adobe Configurator?
It is a free utility that allows anyone to create new tool panels for use inside Photoshop CS4. Using this utility you'll
be able to quickly drag and drop your favorite menu items, tools, actions, scripts, and other items into customized
panels. These panels make use of Photoshop CS4's support for Flash, allowing users to actually include audio, video, photos,
video's, and flash files directly into a panel. Once finished you export the panel for use in Photoshop CS4.
This could ultimately be a great way to learn Photoshop. Imagine being able to download panels from the web that include
video tutorials and all the tools needed for that particular tutorial.
Camera RAW 5.x
Improved RAW Processing
Camera RAW 5.0 is a plug-in included with Photoshop CS4 that allows users to edit / retouch photographs in their camera's native
RAW format. All edits are non-destructive, which means you're never actually touching the original RAW image. As of this writing
(February 2, 2009) Adobe has updated Camera RAW to
version 5.2, adding support for more
recent RAW camera formats (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Powershot G10, Panasonic DMC-G1, and more).
Adobe Camera RAW 5.x provides users of Photoshop CS4 with many of the new editing features that were introduced in Adobe's Lightroom 2.0.
These features include the new adjustment brush, graduated filter, and target adjustment tool. These tools make it easy to enhance a
photo either before bring it into Photoshop for further manipulation or instead of bringing into Photoshop. I have created a video
demonstration / tutorial showing you these new image enhancement tools found in Camera RAW 5.2.
Adobe added so many features and enhanced others that it once again decided to offer CS4 in two versions, a standard
version and an extended version. The extended version offers 3D, 3D object animation, video and animation
design features, as well as support for DICCOM images for the medical industry and MATLAB (mathematical)
processing routines.
As video will soon be a standard feature in digital SLR's, it's nice to see that Adobe Photoshop is allowing photographers to get their
feet wet with video editing without having to learn an entirely new program. First introduced in Photoshop CS3, video editing
capabilities in Adobe Photoshop CS4 are surprisingly robust for a program designed for photographers. Video clips can either be opened
as an individual file or as a new layer in an already opened file. Clips can be trimmed, enhanced using adjustment layers and masks,
and even cloned frame-by-frame to add or remove objects from a scene (time consuming, but possible). You can even convert a video layer to
a 3D layer to wrap it around a 3D object or to rotate and/or pivot it around in a 3D space. In the layers panel a thumbnail will
be shown that represents the video layer. This thumbnail will have a tiny filmstrip icon to let you know that it is indeed a video layer
and not a photo layer.
To change the Photoshop layout to better facilitate video editing, change the workspace to "Video" (Photo on right). This will bring the animation timeline
into view at the bottom of the screen. When you work with a video layer, the animation palette changes to a timeline palette. Video controls
are located below the timeline (Play, Previous Frame, Next Frame, Enable Audio Playback, Onion Skin, and timeline zoom controls). You can also
glide back and forth through your video using the timeline indicator, a little blue arrow located just above the timeline. Adobe Photoshop CS4
Extended adds audio playback and onion skin abilities, which were not available in Photoshop CS3 Extended.
Animation / Video Timeline
Below is a demonstration / tutorial of what you can do with video inside Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended. Keep in mind that Adobe Photoshop CS4 integrates
and communicates with the other Creative Suite CS4 applications, making it easy to move images and video from Photoshop directly into Adobe After Effects
and Adobe Premiere Pro for more powerful and enhanced video editing capabilities.
Bringing back Photoshop's Contact Sheet and Picture Package
In Adobe's attempt to enhanced Photoshop CS4 and its functionality, Adobe also removed Contact Sheet and Picture Package from Photoshop CS4
and replaced them with 'similar' but not identical functionality within Adobe Bridge. For those interested in bringing back these functions
to CS4 you can copy over these plugs-ins from CS2/CS3 (ContactSheetll.8LI / Webcontactsheetll.8LI) into the Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS4\Plug-Ins\Automate\
folder. Photoshop CS4 also does away with the EXTRACT tool though personally I was never able to get it to work in situations where I really needed it.
The new masking features easily make up for the lack of an extract tool and have already proven more effective for the sort of image manipulation that
I do.
Adobe Photoshop CS4 Review Summary
With the release of Adobe Photoshop CS4, Adobe has finally started to move toward making Photoshop simpler to use. They have overhauled the interface
to bring forward a lot of the controls and features that used to be buried either behind icons or within menus. You can now keep
all open image windows and panels grouped together within the boundaries of the application, so that when you minimize Photoshop all its
windows and panels will hide along with it. You can also switch the interface back to the floating windows layout if you prefer. Personally,
I much prefer the new "keep it all together" layout. Photoshop CS4 also provides a new tabbed interface that makes it easy to
work with multiple files. You can easily switch from one open image to another just by using the tab at the top of the each window.
Again, just a faster way of doing things.
My experience using Photoshop CS4 Extended over the past 8 weeks has been mostly positive. Photoshop was crashing quite a bit initially until
I updated my PC's NVIDIA video driver, a suggestion I found in a Technote
on the Adobe web site. Photoshop will still crash every now and then - usually when doing something simple such as turning on/off a layer - yet handles more
processor and memory intensive tasks (video editing, 3D enhancements) without a problem. I also get 'out of memory' alerts when multi-tasking with multiple browser
windows and applications, but that is more a function of the 32-bit OS than with Photoshop itself.
Make no mistake - Adobe Photoshop CS4 is a big, power hungry application - but despite its size Adobe has added new functionality, more specifically,
support for GPU accelerators which make working with BIG images a breeze. Most of my testing was done using 21-Megapixel RAW files shot with the
new full-frame Cannon EOS 5D Mark II. These are 24-34MB files (before opening them in Photoshop) and expand to 120MB when opened. The ability to
smoothly zoom and pan around an image, add layers, effects, and filters, without bogging down makes CS4 a pleasure to use.
Other nice touches that make Photoshop faster for the end user are the new spring-loaded shortcut keys which will toggle the appropriate tool when you hold down
the shortcut key combination - and will return you to the previous tool as soon as you release the keys. This a a great time saver for those of us who would rather hold
down a key to jump to another tool instead of moving the mouse back and forth. For example, if you're working on an image and need to quickly clone out a part of the
image just hold down the "s" key and you'll be in clone mode. Release the "s" key and you're back using whatever tool you were using prior.
If you already own Adobe Photoshop CS2 or CS3 the upgrade price of $199 (CS4) or $349 (CS4 Extended) is worth the price if you are working with larger sized
images and want to make use of some of the new OpenGL speed enhancements, tool enhancements, new adjustment panel, video editing (CS4 Extended) or 3D capabilities (CS4
Extended). The full retail price of $699 (CS4) and $999 (CS4 Extended) is a bit harder to swallow, especially at a time when the economy is in such turmoil. However,
if you make a living with Photography, you already know that there is no better software out there for photo editing - and once you take the plunge - you'll soon forget
about the initial expense and can start focusing on creating images that will help you to recoup this investment. Adobe Photoshop CS4 includes Camera Raw 5
and Adobe Bridge, both of which have been greatly enhanced to offer additional image editing and image management capabilities. Most likely, you'll find yourself using
Photoshop less and less for tone and color control, instead opting to use Camera RAW 5 thanks to its non-destructive local adjustment capabilities and ability to
work with an ever growing list of camera RAW formats.
If Photoshop is high on your list of purchases you might want to consider purchasing one of Adobe Creative Suite CS4 editions. Four of the six Creative Suite options
include Photoshop CS4 Extended along with software for creating and managing professional level web sites, illustrations, marketing materials, producing videos and editing
audio. While Adobe Creative Suites will cost you more, you'll end up saving up to 60% on the suite of software. For example, Adobe's Creative Suite Production Premium
sells for $1699 but includes $4300 in Adobe software: Photoshop CS4 Extended ($999), Adobe Premiere® Pro CS4 ($799), Adobe Flash®
CS4 Professional ($699), Adobe After Effects® CS4 ($999), Adobe Illustrator® CS4 ($599), as well as Adobe Soundbooth® CS4 ($199), Adobe OnLocation™ CS4, and
Adobe Encore® CS4. Just the first three applications alone (Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and Flash CS4 Professional) are valued at $2500, not including Adobe After Effects,
Illustrator, and Soundbooth which add $1800 more value to the package.
Educational Discounts
Another way to save money is with Adobe's generous educational discounts. If you're a student (part-time or full-time), teacher, or even have a
child in college you are most likely eligible for an education discount, which can save you an additional $1100. For example,
Academic Superstore, an authorized Apple educational
reseller has Adobe Photoshop CS4 Production Premium for only $598.95 - compared to $1699. Want to get the entire Adobe Master Collection? The Educational price is just $998.95
instead of $2499, a savings of $1500.
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To change the Photoshop layout to better facilitate video editing, change the workspace to "Video" (Photo on right). This will bring the animation timeline
into view at the bottom of the screen. When you work with a video layer, the animation palette changes to a timeline palette. Video controls
are located below the timeline (Play, Previous Frame, Next Frame, Enable Audio Playback, Onion Skin, and timeline zoom controls). You can also
glide back and forth through your video using the timeline indicator, a little blue arrow located just above the timeline. Adobe Photoshop CS4
Extended adds audio playback and onion skin abilities, which were not available in Photoshop CS3 Extended.
