Adobe Photoshop CS4

Amazon gave me the best price on this professional software. After I placed my order but prior to delievery the price fell and Amazon refunded me the diffenece. Class act all the way. The software installed very simply and easily. The included tutorial DVD was very helpfull. My only complaint is that it adds an item to my system startup. This is extremely minor. I purchased an add on program from OnOne called Plug-in Suite 4.5 which greatly enchances editing in Photoshop and recommend that as well.

CS4 is my first purchase of the full version of Photoshop. I have used Paint Shop Pro since version 5, and I have used Photoshop Elements 6 for about 15 months. I have long avoided purchasing the full version of Photoshop, not because I didn't want it, but for two reasons: the price, and the proliferation of negative reviews, especially the reviews that describe installation nightmares. Two things convinced me to finally buy it: a generous coupon from Amazon, and some reviews that describe preliminary steps to avoid problems before and after installation, such as going to the website of the video card and downloading the latest drivers. My installation succeeded without a hitch. It is not my intention to indicate that those reviews about installation problems are invalid, only that my own experience was the opposite.

I was already very familiar with using selections, layers and masks, so all I have seen and heard about a 'steep learning curve' has seemed exaggerated to me. I'm having an absolute blast discovering all the convenience designed into Photoshop CS4: the non-destructive adjustment layers; Camera Raw plug-in; the quick and accurate zooming tools; the amazing preview options; Bridge and its organization capabilities. On and on I could go. I remember one review that indicated that distinguishing a Photoshop edited photo from the same photo edited by less expensive software might prove difficult or impossible. I have worked with those less expensive softwares long enough to know better than to deny the truth of that assertion. But, I believe there is much to be said about how you get there, and how much time consumption and frustration can be eliminated by learning Photoshop and availing yourself of the editing convenience designed into it. Editing that is tedious in less expensive software is downright fun in Photoshop! The reviewer also mentioned that the most difficult to edit photos, the ones where detail has to be brought out from too much shadow or too much brightness, are the ones where Photoshop has no peer. He is spot on with that assertion.

Those who assert that Photoshop is best left to the pros are consummately wrong. Serious hobbyists will find just as much satisfaction, and perhaps even more, since hobbies don't involve meeting professional deadlines and such. There is much to learn in Photoshop, but the learning is easy and fun. Resources are everywhere, many of them free.

I do very much disagree with those who trash the interface of CS4. I believe it is deliberately designed to not compete with the photo being edited. I find it to be a paragon of economy and utility: invisible when I'm concentrating on my work, yet available to quickly provide accurate tools and a convenient editing and/or reviewing environment once I decide what I'm going to do next. If editing in an interface replete with gaudy eye candy is your wont, Photoshop is not for you.

I will close with my own little disclaimer: I'm not paid by Amazon, Adobe or anyone else for my thoughts. I'm retired from all employment, and digital photography is my favorite hobby and pastime. I do it for myself, my family and my friends. I've wondered about Photoshop and wanted to try it for a long time. Thanks to the generosity of Amazon, I now own Photoshop CS4! Thanks to Adobe, I am now a true believer! I repeat, I'm having an absolute blast!

I purchased the extended version of CS4 from a software dealer who professed a great deal and told me over the phone it was the real deal. I was gullable, and I purchased it. When I recieved it, it looked like the real thing, yet when I attempted to load it, it kept coming up that the serial number was invalid. When I contacted Adobe, they said they could sell me a serial number that would activate the software, but it would cost me $599.00 dollars.
Of course the seller will not respond to me now, and Adobe is almost impossible to deal with. So, I have what appears to be a trail copy of Adobe that cost me several hundred dollars, and it won't work!
By the way, do not deal with AAA Hardware Solutions!

Despite the high price, despite the steep learning curve and non-intuitive interface, there is no other photo editing product that I have used that equals this one. Nothing will do a better job of making an ordinary photo extraordinary. That being said, for regular consumer use I would say Jasc PaintShop Pro with its much cheaper price tag would be fine. Outside of professional use, you have to be photo-crazy like I am to go this high end.

The product may be okay, but the seller furnished me with an invalid registration number, probably because the product was pirated, and therefore the product will not work! I am trying to resolve with the seller Software Central Direct, but as yet no response from them and it has been over 72 hours since I contacted them. I think Amazon should do a better job of assuring that they deal with reputable software suppliers.