Deal on Photoshop and Lightroom until December 31

[ohheckyeah]

Adobe is running a deal right now on Photoshop CC and Lightroom. You get both for $9.99 a month. You never have to buy a new version as it updates automatically. That price is only available for 2 more days.

I signed up even though I have Photoshop CS5 because it won't open RAW files from the Nikon D3200. I shoot in RAW format quite a bit. The version that is available right now is the equivalent of Photoshop CS6, I think.


http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html?promoid=GWQSR

[regnaD kciN]

1. Two things that should be noted...

1) You only "never have to buy a new version" if you keep paying the monthly subscription fee. If you ever stop, Photoshop CC -- the version you already have on your computer, not the next updated version -- will cease to operate for you, which might be a problem if you can't do any further work or even open files you already processed with it.

2) The $9.99/month figure is only for one year. After that, Adobe can increase the subscription price whenever they want. (For example, right now, the complete CC "Creative Suite" costs $50/month.) And, if you can no longer afford it after Adobe boosts the price...see #1 above.

In short, while this sounds like a good deal, it's probably wise to recall the old drug pusher's motto that "the first taste is always free." I'm not saying you should stick with CS6 (or earlier) but, once you use a new feature of Photoshop CC in your own files, you are "hooked" and will have to give Adobe whatever they decide on to keep getting your "fix" -- month in and month out, for as long as you keep processing your images.

[Stevenmarc]

2. Not really an issue for the people that need it.

This is much more than a price structure change and a periodic update, this is a workflow change. There's a reason why Adobe is the industry standard, more photographers are moving to a mobile workflow and the subscription model really is the only way to effectively handle this change. It's more than just automatic updates that you get with CC, it's the ability to shoot, work on a mobile device and have that work waiting for you on your computer and visa versa.

This brings up another point, do you need it? For a lot people that pick up a camera Photoshop is overkill and that's why Adobe makes Photoshop Elements which is available as a for purchase product and is geared to the non-professional user and if you want to up your post processing game you can add Lightroom which is also available as a non-subscription product.

As for getting hooked and having the price increased after the year is up, sure that's a possibility but Adobe is a market share driven company and they will price accordingly. I'm going to venture a guess that around October you'll start getting emails from Adobe to lock in your $9.99 for another year and as far as the $50 Complete CC is concerned, that's apples and oranges with the pricing of this product, it's a totally different user, one that needs access to the whole Adobe product line.

[ohheckyeah]

3. Yes, they can up the figure after a year...

and if they up it too much, I'll go back to using my Photoshop CS5 and use the Nikon software for the raw files.

This certainly isn't for everyone but I thought at that price it was worth sharing.

[regnaD kciN]

6. Which will be fine, as long as...

Last edited Wed Jan 1, 2014, 03:04 AM - Edit history (1)

...some of your editing during that year doesn't use CC-specific features that make the resulting files incompatible with CS5.

I guess you could make sure you save the RAW or DNG of the image before taking it into Photoshop and, if you bail on CC, take that image and try to recreate the processing moves in CS5, but that could be heavy going.

Personally, it's gotten to the point where virtually all processing I do is in LR anyway. I rarely use Photoshop at all, and have even been thinking of trying a setup where GIMP is my default image processor from LR.

P.S.: There's another concern, as mentioned on Michael Frye's website (www.michaelfrye.com). Currently, the deal comes with a permanent license for Lightroom 5, so you can keep using it even if you drop the subscription. However, Adobe has not guaranteed that this will remain forever. It is possible that they could introduce a "Lightroom 6" upgrade as part of the subscription that would stop working if you dropped your subscription. The problem is that, up to now, Lightroom catalogs (the database that handles your images) have not been backward-compatible. If this continued to be the case, and the scenario I projected took place, you'd be genuinely screwed, as you wouldn't be able to go back to an old version of Lightroom without essentially starting from scratch with every image in your collection. It is therefore recommended, if you do take this deal, that you don't automatically update the Lightroom portion of the subscription until you know for sure that the latest update will be available as a permanent license, or can be purchased (not rented) as a stand-alone product.

[groundloop]

4. I have a question about Lightroom and Photoshop Elements....

Right now I use Canon's free software, Digital Photo Professional, to make color balance adjustments, adjust brightness and contrast, crop, noise reduction, convert from RAW, etc. Then, for the photos I want to take further I use GIMP to do everything else (clone, heal, dodge/burn, sharpen, etc. etc. etc.).

From what I can find it sounds like Lightroom is somewhat similar to Digital Photo Pro and that Photoshop Elements would be similar to GIMP as far as where they fit into workflow. Is that correct?

[ohheckyeah]

5. I'll be honest....

I know nothing about GIMP or Digital Photo Professional. I used Photoshop Elements before I got Photoshop 6 and then later Photoshop CS5.

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. Yes

On the Mac, rarely mind you, I use Aperture.

I should add, I am an old fogey...and prefer to get the shot right the first time.

[groundloop]

8. Agree with getting it right in the camera..... I grew up with film

I still use my camera bag from when I had a Nikon SLR film camera, people ask me what those loops are for which are sewn into the lid.

As far as being able to edit photos, I must say that it is nice to be able to take power lines, phone poles etc. out of an otherwise great shot.

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. I edit photos when all I have is one shot

And the pesky light was on the wrong side, and I had no luxury of setting that up. (Like when driving by an accident and the photo will go to the paper)

[regnaD kciN]

10. I don't know about DPP...

...but one of the biggest capabilities of Lightroom is as a photo organizer as well as a processor. In addition to using it to keep track of your photos (and keywording/metadata tasks), it also allows you to create web galleries, slideshows, and even photo books. Does DPP do any of that as well?

[ohheckyeah]

11. I really like Adobe

Bridge better for photo organizer. Maybe it's just because I know it better than Lightroom. Bridge came with my Adobe Web Premium CS5.