I have some co-workers and friends that would NOT part with their "earlier" version of Photoshop even though they may miss out on many new features!! Seems there are those that actually "prefer" the older versions over the new?? One reason may be that they are used to the interface which apparently was given quite an overhaul just recently?? I started out with version 5 so I did not have the pleasure or displeasure of ever having to choose between versions, (I used Corel up until then), but I hear there was some extensive "re-learning" involved at the onset of version 5?? What are your views on this?? For that matter the same thing is apparently true for Adobe Illustrator; complete change in it's functionality and interface??

hmm, i don't notice much difference. To tell you the truth, there wasn't much "re-learning" involved in the newer version. The tools are a bit easier to use in fact. What extra stuff was there to learn? -Adam

I've been using it since version 3.0. I am a computer guy and I never hang on to old versions of anything when a newer version comes out. I never noticed much of a change in the tools or workings of Photoshop at all from one version to another, only the addition of more functionality. It's hard for me to imagine that anyone would hang on to version 4 when they could have features like the History Palette and brush, extremely valuable for photo restorations and touch-ups. Gromit

I agree, but I know of a few die-hards, hehe. Guess it's sometimes hard to adjust to change when your very busy, even if the software has so much MORE going for it?? ~3D ;-)

Change is always a little frightening, even for me. I think most of us feel that our comfort level is threatened, some of us absolutely rebel against it, even if that means tacit rejection. Those are generally the same folks who you always hear saying "We've always done it this way" when you suggest something new and different. Gromit

Well said!! You are so right! Do you know HOW many times I have heard this?? Hehe. But they are also the ones that whine about something not working right too?? Go figure, heh, heh ;-) I know quite a few that refuse to even use Poser 4 cause they find it too "different" from Poser 3 that they are used to!! ;-)

I think the program reached its peak in version 4, a lot of little things- like the erasure dosen't hardly work at all now, used to be much better when it erased to saved, and version 4 automatically open images full size. The pen tool set (in the palette) worked much better than it does now in the toolbox. No big deal, I teach Photoshop, you get used to the changes, but you do get a feeling they are just changing things to get people to buy the upgrade. I was asked if the schools Art department should buy the 5.5 upgrade (from 5), I said no, not unless they are teach something that needs Image Ready. Photoshop isn't unique in this, Fractal Paint reached it'e peak in version 2X, and this is coming from somebody that bought some of the upgrades- but I'll never buy another.

Hey, thanks for posting!! I must tell you that I am very, VERY impressed with your work, your CREATIONS!!!! I have been meaning to e-mail you but haven't had the opportunity as yet so I am glad to be able to tell you here! Very impressive!!! ;-) Now, getting back to Photoshop, I understand what your saying however, having never started working in Photoshop till version 5 but hearing an awful LOT about the earlier ones from co-workers and such, I'm not really sure if I would be very comfortable without all those newly added undo options??? That, coupled with a few other general improvements, is what made version 5 worth upgrading to for a lot of Artists. Now version 5.5 is a different story and I would tend to agree. ~3D ;-)

IIRC, Electronic Publishing actually recommended AGAINST upgrading from 4.whatever to 5.0 when it came out, because of some problems with color management. I've heard 5.5 fixed most of these though. I'm not a Photoshop person, myself (I use PSP), just a follower of the industry.

Thanks, 3D! Years ago I used a paint program (Colorix) that did't even have one level of undo, so I got used to saving a lot, so that part doesn't do a lot for me (I don't make mistakes (Ha!)), but it does come in handy for my students. The earliest version of Photoshop I can remember using was 2 (on a Mac), and I would say up to version 4 each one had worthwile improvements. I can no longer wrap my mind around how Photoshop want to do printer ink cailbrations, for example, and I still don't understand why the gamma factor on PCs seems to default to the Mac Gamma factor (but at least now they tell you that). Incidently, version 5 (and 5.5) installed on the school's Gateaway computers with the monitor profile so incorrect they were unuseable (I think maybe Gateway's fault), PS should default to RGB correction off, not on, to cover cases like this, as many users don't know where to adjust this or turn it off.

I agree that PhotoShop has become a lot more complicated (I started out on version 3.0.1), but for me I much prefer 5.5 to all of the previous versions. The history brush is actually the "erase to saved" now and if used correctly is every bit as good (I am assuming one takes "snapshots" at appropriate junctures and saves some of them if anything is really in doubt). Before color profiles came along in version 5.0, it was nothing to print something 3 - 5 times before I got the colors to match up to what was on the screen(NEC multi-sync monitor and Epson 6 color printer). Now the colors are right on, and only the brightness is a little off, so I sometimes have to print it twice. V5.5 even asked me if I wanted to use the color profile from 5.0 or start over! The new masking tools are nothing short of fabulous compared to what used to be available (yes, you could do some of what they do with the select color function, but by no means all of it and not nearly as easily). The background eraser (one of the new masking tools) even manages to preserve some of the transparency of the original -- very good for hair). They fall down a little when the background and foreground colors become substantially the same, but there are ways around that and one can always touch up with the history brush. I have a thread further back with the url for Deke McClellands' web site (he wrote most of the good books for PhotoShop) and there you can access a PDF file showing the new improvements for V5.5). Yes, nothing is perfect in this World, and an artist as good as Jim Burton is can make do with a lot less frills than I can, but my own opinion is that Version 5.5 is worth having. -Jim

I think that the transition from 4.0 to 5.0 was a worthwhile one, if only for the history pallete, the improved text and the layer effects. I admit I was mighty annoyed when they moved the transform stuff from the layer menu to the edit menu, but I am used to it now and don't think I could go back to using 4.0.