Wondering about the PS + LR offer and what you're doing.

[Tati]

Just wondering what you all feel about the PS/LR offer that is supposed to expire on 31 December. Of course Adobe might extend it as long as they need, but say it's a sure thing this time.(I looked for a thread here on this, so if i missed it please delete this one).

I've gotta make a decision for myself. It's about 12.30 euros a month here in France. About 150 euros a year. That's not a bad price for the software. I do have problems with having nothing in hand even after years of paying in though.

Currently using CS6, the standard version of Photoshop, and LR 4.4. I'm tempted to try the CC subscription for a year and see how it goes. I'm also tempted to just use my copy of CS6 as long as possible, it does all I need, and just upgrade LR to v5. Adobe says they have no plans to make LR subscription only, but I don't trust them.

So, even staying with LR makes me uncomfortable. I keep thinking to buy Capture One Pro to replace LR. It's just I do like LR. Would hate to give it up.

Anyway. I'm just curious what others are feeling. Wonder what you guys are going to do. I'm thinking maybe Photoline down the road to replace photoshop if necessary. From what I've read it would do enough of what I need. I've bought Pixelmator but haven't used it enough to know if I like it.

Ok. I know this has been talked about a lot already. But seeing as the 'deadline' of 31 december is close (damn, I hate these gun to the head deadlines), thought I'd question the mood on it again.

thanks...

 

[FA Limited]

This offer keeps getting extend and extended further so maybe the rush is not as much as you may think. Initially it was a black friday deal, then dec 2nd and now dec 31st. adobe recently announced it actually hit its revenue target for their Q4 and lowering the price may be their way of doing it.

i tried capture one and it felt sooo slow, especially if you have a folder with lots of photos because it does not have a library system.

for me, lightroom 5 does not offer anything really that i needed over 4 and all my lenses and cameras are supported. and i am not a photoshop user. however, at the speed that lightroom is updated, it may be good value if you get version 5 now and 6 is released in the near future.

 

[Blooze]

I'm gonna stick with my copy of CS4. It does any major edits I need to do. I did pick up a hardcopy of LR 5 at Amazon on Cyber Monday pretty cheap. I've tried the LR trial for v4 and liked it for the brief week I used it (puter died), but have heard good things about v5 and at the price I got it at is was a no-brainer to try. I like the NIK plugin trials I've used so I'll probably get those for LR and call it good.

 

[willie_901]

Well I signed up when the photographers' package was announced.

I am already using and upgrading LR every year.

I was using PSE 9 for images that needed wholesale pixel replacement. I always knew my commercial work really needed Photoshop but the initial buy in was just too much money.

The monthly cost does is just part of doing business. I know that after the learning period is over I will save time on-site as well as back home... and the results will be better for some problematic scenes.

I really am not worried about price increases. Prices will gradually increase or even remain stable.

I realize the subscription model is unacceptable for many people for a variety of reasons. But it works for me.

 

[Pioneer]

I am not terribly interested in subscribing. I upgraded to CS6 about a year ago and am happy with that. Eventually I will need to make a decision but I am hoping that when that does happen there will be some better options out there.

 

[Dwig]

I've been trying to decide myself. After a lot of consideration, I've decided (well, sort of) to stick with my PS/CS4 for the bitmap editing and just keep updated LR.

 

[sevres_babylone]

I am likely to upgrade. I do believe will halt the "special" pricing at some point. In the past I had been generally upgrading every two upgrades, although I did go CS5 to CS6. I think the price isn't too bad. The original pricing was bad.

Against it: CS6 is doing fine for me. I'm really not likely to buy a new camera in the coming year that will require an update to ACR or LR. I will have to download Mavericks for my Mac, which while free, will ironically make my Acrobat 8 useless, and a new Acrobat or Acrobat subscription IS really expensive.

 

[Doug]

I think the CC alternative makes more sense for those who use the components frequently. I use LR frequently, so a subscription could be reasonable, but I use Photoshop and Illustrator so seldom I don't recall if I've used them in 2013 yet. I just can't see paying monthly subscription fees for something I use so little.

InDesign I use more often, so that presents a problem for future upgrades.

With all of these, one aspect I keep in mind is continued access to the files they've been used to create. If you put a lot of effort into a creative file, losing the ability to edit it in future is hard to take.

Seems the same sort of thing is happening with Microsoft office too. I really need Excel (and I use it often) as it has windowing options I've not found on other spreadsheet programs. I don't look forward to paying subscription fees on Office primarily to still use Excel.

Anyway, regarding Adobe, I'll keep using my CS components as long as they continue to work, and I could dedicate an older computer to running them on an older OS, even. And I'll continue with LR and upgrade it as long as it is still an independent application. I had a hard time transitioning from CaptureOne, and wouldn't like going back...

 

[ColSebastianMoran]

Bought the $9.95/mo deal. I have some concerns, but these are great products, and if this is the way Adobe wants to work, I'll go along.

But, I will keep my previously paid copies of Photoshop and Lightroom, just in case.

 

[Tati]

Bought the $9.95/mo deal. I have some concerns, but these are great products, and if this is the way Adobe wants to work, I'll go along.

But, I will keep my previously paid copies of Photoshop and Lightroom, just in case.

I feel the same, they are great products. And maybe I'll do like you, try for a year, two, see how it goes. Make sure all my important files are tif and can be opened by other software.

Telling myself all the while I can fall back on CS6 that I've got in hand and whatever version of LR is current at the time. I don't know. But I'll decide by the end of the week and live with that decision.

Still, I see Capture One 7 is on sale. Tempting.

And someone mentioned Indesign and Illustrator. I used those programs extensively years ago as I designed book covers and other graphics. That's where I started using Photoshop, in the early 90's, designing book covers. But I stopped upgrading these at CS3. Decided I just didn't use 'em enough anymore to justify the upgrades. Had Adobe kept on with upgrades every three versions I probably would have upgraded. Do we both lose?

Thanks for all your input so far. I see we all have our individual needs. Sometimes I wonder what Adobe, the company, will look like in five years; If this subscription idea sticks, if it doesn't...

 

[Tati]

This offer keeps getting extend and extended further so maybe the rush is not as much as you may think. Initially it was a black friday deal, then dec 2nd and now dec 31st. adobe recently announced it actually hit its revenue target for their Q4 and lowering the price may be their way of doing it.

i tried capture one and it felt sooo slow, especially if you have a folder with lots of photos because it does not have a library system.

for me, lightroom 5 does not offer anything really that i needed over 4 and all my lenses and cameras are supported. and i am not a photoshop user. however, at the speed that lightroom is updated, it may be good value if you get version 5 now and 6 is released in the near future.

just one thing...Capture One 7 now does have a catalog available, but it is very basic compared to LR...one reason I so far have not bought the program...especially the keyword function, which I was told they are working on...I use that a lot in Lightroom to help organize collections...

 

[biomed]

I use LR5/CS6 and am not really interested in CC. If I were a professional I would probably consider the subscription route.

 

[tajart]

PS/LR offer

PS/LR offer

I recently upgraded my software programs (CS6 and C1-7) and use each for different things in my working method.

As I understand it, there is one special offer for photographers, PS & LR, a cloud based subscription that provides ongoing upgrades for as long as one remains actively subscribed.

There is another special offer for the Creative Cloud that offers access to the entire suite of Adobe products, with special introductory pricing for the first year.

I plan on subscribing to the PS/LR offer which seems to make economic sense when one considers the cost of upgrading the suite every 2 or 3 years. I can always revert back to my current software, assuming one would lose access to programs one accesses from the cloud.

 

[OurManInTangier]

I recently upgraded my software programs (CS6 and C1-7) and use each for different things in my working method.

As I understand it, there is one special offer for photographers, PS & LR, a cloud based subscription that provides ongoing upgrades for as long as one remains actively subscribed.

There is another special offer for the Creative Cloud that offers access to the entire suite of Adobe products, with special introductory pricing for the first year.

I plan on subscribing to the PS/LR offer which seems to make economic sense when one considers the cost of upgrading the suite every 2 or 3 years. I can always revert back to my current software, assuming one would lose access to programs one accesses from the cloud.

This is pretty much my thinking too.

I use both LR and PS for my editing/processing purposes so simply on a costing basis this 'rental' system makes some sense for my business. The purchase of an upgraded PS package every two or three years, an even faster upgrade cycle on LR and a plethora of redundant discs ( I'm old school and like a disc rather than a download😛,) make it seem an attractive proposition.

The concern is, as it always is, the future and whether support is continued, files are always accessible etc. I will of course keep my current purchased copies of LR5 and PS6 - I think I have an old copy of Capture One v.3 somewhere too so I'm good if it all goes to crap.🙂

If I couldn't put the costs through the business and didn't want to keep upgraded this would probably have come across to me as 'a bit of a scam,' or simply a money grabbing exercise by a greedy corporation, at least on first inspection. Finer details and future access aside (e.g. time will tell) I think this should work very well for a great many people, though as usual...not all.

 

[Tati]

an update:

http://blogs.adobe.com/photoshopdot...o-feb-28-for-photoshop-cs3-cs6-customers.html

 

[sevres_babylone]

So, aside from having two extra months to get on board, (a $20 saving if you don't need the new features now), there is no benefit or better deal for people who have forked over hundreds of dollars to Adobe over the years. The offer I had received in October spoke of renewals at the current price (i.e. $9.99/mo), but when I went to take advantage (the offer had said it was valid to December 31, although there was a small-print caveat), the conditions speak of renewal at the "then current price." Wasted a half-hour plus in Adobe chat, with the Adobe chatter finally saying she had no information about renewals after the one year. I'm likely to take the plunge when I have to, but I'm also trying to decide what to do about Acrobat where I'm about 3 editions behind, where disks are no longer available from Adobe, and where Adobe is going subscription-only. I just don't trust Adobe to hold the price on their subscriptions. (Fortunately, there are still disk versions of Acrobat available through resellers, but pretty pricey.)

 

[willie_901]

But I never owned or used PS before this deal. So for my commercial work, signing up was a no brainer.

As far as predicting the future, Adobe will not take steps that significantly erodes their cash flow. People such as myself would leave in droves if they price-gouge in a year. But guessing what Adobe may do is pointless as optimists and pessimists are perpetually divided on predictions.

If CC prices slowly increase, then these costs will be passed on to clients.

 

[Tati]

So, aside from having two extra months to get on board, (a $20 saving if you don't need the new features now), there is no benefit or better deal for people who have forked over hundreds of dollars to Adobe over the years. The offer I had received in October spoke of renewals at the current price (i.e. $9.99/mo), but when I went to take advantage (the offer had said it was valid to December 31, although there was a small-print caveat), the conditions speak of renewal at the "then current price." Wasted a half-hour plus in Adobe chat, with the Adobe chatter finally saying she had no information about renewals after the one year. I'm likely to take the plunge when I have to, but I'm also trying to decide what to do about Acrobat where I'm about 3 editions behind, where disks are no longer available from Adobe, and where Adobe is going subscription-only. I just don't trust Adobe to hold the price on their subscriptions. (Fortunately, there are still disk versions of Acrobat available through resellers, but pretty pricey.)

I've found customer service, in general, really bad at Adobe. That's a problem now, I think, because more than ever they are selling a service and not a product. Still, they seem oblivious to the need to get qualified people answering the phones, the chat stuff, email. Each time I contact adobe with any questions demanding a straight answer I get robot responses that never respond to me directly. They work from scripts. Always sounds like India.

For sure the price will not remain at 10 a month. They are in it to make money. If this new regime stays in power at adobe the prices will surely rise. How much, how soon, nobody knows. I still keep thinking this might be a temporary situation at adobe. The idea of subscription, the terrible communication to customers, the confusing language, could all go away if the money isn't coming in the way shareholders want.

I feel for the people who created the software, for the workers. I'd bet many don't like what's happening. The software is so good. I hope these executives aren't in the process of tearing down years of work. But it feels like this is the case.

 

[kxl]

For personal use, I only use Photoshop extensively, not the other modules, so CS5 works for me.

My workflow now includes converting the newer RAW files (unsupported by CS5-ACR) to DNG, and then go from there. It works well for me.