Photoshop CS: a first look

Although Photoshop CS offers only a handful of new capabilities, they're important ones: nested layer sets, editable text on a path, support for non-square pixels, SWF export (in ImageReady) and variables for dynamic Web content (in ImageReady). Plus, we think these minor enhancements will deliver significant time savings for those who use the product for real, paying work.

Adobe claims it has improved integration between the two products, but ImageReady CS remains a separate product -- an irritating speed bump on the productivity treadmill. In addition, useful features such as conditional actions work only in ImageReady.

When it ships at the end of this year, almost every serious user will find at least one feature that justifies the upgrade, despite the steep £146.88 (inc. VAT) price. But shelling out £605.13 (inc. VAT) for a full copy may be a hard sell for users petitioning an IT department.

Story URL: http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/software/contentcreation/0,1000001068,39116761,00.htm

Thanks to Adobe's continued refinement of Photoshop, it looks like the program will retain its leadership position as the essential image-editing tool for graphics professionals.