Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Camera Raw 8.5 and DNG Converter 8.5 Now Available

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Photoshop CC

Along with Lightroom 5.5, Adobe has released Camera Raw 8.5 for Photoshop CC and Photoshop CS6. A final version of the free DNG Converter 8.5 is also available for those using older versions of Photoshop.

While Camera Raw 8.5 provides several new features, they are only available to Photoshop CC users. Those using Photoshop CS6, however, do get the new camera support provided in Camera Raw 8.5.

Camera Raw 8.5 includes several new features for Photoshop CC users and include the following: [Read more…]

 

Adobe CC and CS6 Compatibility with OS X Mavericks

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Apple OS X Mavericks

Apple released OS X Mavericks yesterday. I’m not going to cover all of the new features. It’s free though and there are several things I do like (e.g., tabbed Finder, and Menu Bar/Dock available on all screens); however, one of the first things photographers want to know before upgrading to a new OS is whether there are compatibility issues with photo editing software.

I’ve used Lightroom 5 in OS X Mavericks and have no problems at all with it thus far. Additionally, Adobe released a statement regarding its CC and CS6 apps. In short, everything should work fine (except After Effects requires an update). The full statement is below. [Read more…]

More Proof Adobe is Going to Offer Lower Priced Photoshop

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Creative Cloud

A couple of days ago, evidence surfaced that Adobe is considering offering Photoshop CC at a price of $9.99/mo and also providing permanent CS6 licenses to customers who make a 3-year commitment to Creative Cloud for $29.99/mo. Additional support for these moves was suggested in today’s 2Q earnings call for shareholders. [Read more…]

Camera Raw 8.1 Release Candidate for Photoshop CS6 Now Available

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Photoshop-CS6

Adobe just announced a release candidate for Camera Raw 8.1, which is now available in Adobe Labs. This is the first departure from Camera Raw 7.x for CS6 users. With the recent Adobe Photoshop CC changes taking place, CS6 customers will continue to get new updates for raw file support; however, the killer new features that are part of Camera Raw in Photoshop CC will not make it over to CS6 customers.

Camera Raw 8.1 includes support for HiDPI capable displays (e.g., MacBook Pro Retina) and offers support for the following cameras:

* denotes preliminary support

Remember, this is a release candidate, which means it has been pretty well tested and Adobe thinks it is ready for full release; however, it’s recommended that you keep production work to prior versions until the official release drops.  Expect that to come soon though.  Release candidates mean that the final versions are just around the corner.

Adobe Creative Cloud and the Death of Boxed Software

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Adobe Creative Cloud

What a week it has been.

Many pro and amateur photographers, along with many other creative pros and enthusiasts, woke up Monday morning looking forward to what might come out of the Adobe MAX conference as the latest Adobe products were set to be unveiled.

Adobe teased us for several weeks leading up to Adobe MAX, including an impressive showing of new video products at NAB 2013. Many of us were nearly on pins and needles with anticipation based on what we had seen thus far.

I mean, this stuff just keeps better and better.

And Then… The Hammer Dropped.

Adobe killed perpetual licenses of almost all of its creative software. Creative Cloud is the future. The only future.

Sure, you can still buy CS6 licenses, and you will own those in perpetuity. Although, you won’t get the whiz-bang new features for CS6. Ever.

Deep down, most of us knew this was coming. However, I don’t think many of us guessed it would happen this year. I sure didn’t. [Read more…]

Adobe Unveils Photoshop CC, Kills Future Creative Suite Products

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Photoshop CC

Adobe announced today that the new Photoshop CC is coming for Creative Cloud members in June. Alongside, the announcement of Photoshop CC and other Creative Cloud applications, Adobe stated that it would continue to sale CS6 and offer support; however, Adobe has no plans for future releases of Creative Suite or other CS products.

That’s really going to stir the pot. [Read more…]

FxFactory PRO v4 Video Effects Plug-in Review

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FxFactory PRO v4

FxFactory PRO v4 is a plug-in for popular NLE editors like Final Cut Pro X, FCP 7 and Premiere Pro CS6. I have been using FxFactory PRO v4 for a few months now in both FCP X and Premier Pro CS6. While it also works in After Effects and Motion, my use has been limited to NLEs.

FxFactory PRO v4 uses the FxFactory plug-in manager for installation and updates. I have used several plug-ins with FxFactory and find it to be one of the easiest installation processes to use with NLE plug-ins. [Read more…]

Photoshop 13.0.4 and 13.1.2 Update Fixes “Trial Screen” Error

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Earlier this week, I tried to open Photoshop CS6 and received a message that I could continue with a free trial or put in my serial number. Even though I had been using Premiere Pro CS6 all day and they are both part of the same Creative Cloud subscription, Photoshop just wouldn’t open for me. After two hours of troubleshooting and a call to Adobe customer support, I was finally able to use Photoshop again.

As it turns out, this was a bug and an update is available to fix this problem for both Creative Cloud users and boxed-copy users with serial numbers. Details from Adobe on the update below. [Read more…]

Photoshop CS6 Exclusive Updates for Creative Cloud Users & Expands Creative Cloud Subscriptions for Teams

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While all users received the Photoshop CS6 update adding Retina Display support, Adobe has added several new features to Photoshop CS6 for Creative Cloud users.

Several Photoshop users who bought CS6 at retail rather than the Creative Cloud subscription are rather upset about missing out on the new features. While I can understand the frustration, one of the big bullet points from Adobe when Creative Cloud launched was that it would be able to roll out new features faster to Creative Cloud users rather than way for full version releases as it previously has done.

Adobe Creative Cloud members will have access to application upgrades, including new CS point-product features, before they are launched as part of major CS updates, as well as inventive new products and services as they emerge. –Creative Cloud Announcement

Given what appears to be an initial success with Creative Cloud subscriptions, it looks like we’re in for more software subscriptions until retail boxes of Photoshop are a thing of the past. I’m not sure yet if this is a good or a bad thing. In the interest of full disclosure, I’m a Creative Cloud subscriber and really have no bad things to say about the experience thus far. What are your thoughts on Creative Cloud and the differences between updates with the boxed version?

In addition to the new features in Photoshop, Adobe announced that Creative Cloud for teams is now available for entities needing to license multiple seats. The price is $70/mo per user and includes several upgrades over individual subscriptions, including a bump from 20GB to 100GB of cloud storage per user.

Check out the video below from Julieanne Kost showing off some of the new key features from Photoshop CS6 13.1: [Read more…]