Photoshop CS6 public beta

[Schewe]

Adobe has posted a download for the Photoshop CS6 public beta HERE.

[bill t.]

Well it's about damned time we had the itty-bitty, tilted-lens, miniature city effect right there in PS!  And video editing, say what?

OK, new interface to learn, doggone it I'm too old for that!

[Schewe]

OK, new interface to learn, doggone it I'm too old for that!

Not for nothing, but the CS6 UI is NOT based on Aperture (really, it's Lightroom envy, pure and simple (really, a of of Mac sites are implicating Aperture but they have no friggin' clue)...seriously, LR has literally ZERO to NOTHING to do with Aperture.

[bill t.]

Well it looks like this is mainly a paradigm-shift version, more than a feature-added version.  Under-the-hood stuff.  Will be interesting to see how much faster it really is.

Don't give a hoot about Aperture.  But hose darned easy to use Lightroom controls have been making PS look a little shopworn, IMHO.  Wouldn't mind a little tune up in that department.  OK, maybe I'll download the Beta.

[Steve Weldon]

I noticed that in CS6 x64, the Nik plugins install manager picks up CS6 x32 and CS6 x64, and installs them both.  However, when you pull up an image in CS6 x64 with the Nik plugins installed the image will not display on the workspace.  It displays in the Navigator and the plugins themselves, but not the workspace.

I realize Nik is probably not certifying their products with CS6 yet, but all my other plugins worked so I thought I'd try.  I'm currently reviewing the Nik suite of programs for Nik and have sent in a query.. but if anyone else notices they're not getting an image displayed on the workspace and they have a Nik plugin installed.. this post might save you a few minutes of trouble shooting.   I'll post Nik's response.

[Ben Rubinstein]

Is bridge 64bit yet?

[Schewe]

Is bridge 64bit yet?

Yeah, I think so...did you try installing in a 64-bit OS?

[john beardsworth]

It is 64 bit, Jeff. I'm not sure there are any other changes though!

[Ellis Vener]

Hi Jeff,
While I now do my capture and output sharpening in Lr4 I  really appreciate what the Creative Sharpening tools in PhotoKit Sharpener can do for an image. Does PixelGenius have a timeline for updating PK Sharpener or will the current version work?

[bjanes]

Yeah, I think so...did you try installing in a 64-bit OS?

I installed the PSCS6 beta on my Win7 64 bit system, and bridge is installed in the 64 bit Program Files directory [rather than the 32 bit Program Files (x86) directory] and is marked as 64 bit. On opening a Nikon NEF raw file in ACR 7, I was immediately impressed on how much faster the rendering was as compared to PSCS5, although I realize that this is likely not related to Bridge operating in 64 bit mode. The new version appears promising.

Regards,

Bill

[alfin]

PSCS6 & ACR 7 cannot open 5DMk3 or D800 raw-files.  Works fine in ACR 6.7

[walter.sk]

I'm interested in trying the beta, but have one big question:  Past PS betas have lead to problems with using the pre-beta version of PS, and when uninstalling the beta, having to reinstall the earlier PS.  Anybody run into such problems with CS6 beta?

[Joe S]

Hi Jeff,
While I now do my capture and output sharpening in Lr4 I  really appreciate what the Creative Sharpening tools in PhotoKit Sharpener can do for an image. Does PixelGenius have a timeline for updating PK Sharpener or will the current version work?

The website says it is compatable.   I loaded it and it appears to be fine generally but auto edge capture sharpener seems to have a problem.

[Schewe]

Does PixelGenius have a timeline for updating PK Sharpener or will the current version work?

We've already posted updates for CS6, see the Support page for info. Note, we're not "officially" supporting CS6 till the final shipping version comes out...

[Colorwave]

I wish they'd hurry up and update Configurator.  My custom button panel I built with it sure stands out, now that the rest of the interface had the lights dimmed.  Gotta like the new speed, though.  Very zippy.

[Ellis Vener]

We've already posted updates for CS6, see the Support page for info. Note, we're not "officially" supporting CS6 till the final shipping version comes out...

Thank you Jeff & Joe. Installed and running.

[digitaldog]

Interesting how little discussion there has been here and on most of the photo centric sites on Photoshop 6. It seems Lightroom gets 100X+ more attention these days and that makes sense. But I am surprised after watching Photoshop announcements for decades.

[Alan Goldhammer]

Interesting how little discussion there has been here and on most of the photo centric sites on Photoshop 6. It seems Lightroom gets 100X+ more attention these days and that makes sense. But I am surprised after watching Photoshop announcements for decades.

I guess the question is whether PS6 offers anything new and improved beyond 5.  With the dramatic changes to LR, I suspect a lot of users will rethink what used to be an automatic upgrade to PS.  I certainly find myself using PS less and less these days and will probably stay with 5 going forward.

[Chris_Brown]

Interesting how little discussion there has been here and on most of the photo centric sites on Photoshop 6. It seems Lightroom gets 100X+ more attention these days and that makes sense. But I am surprised after watching Photoshop announcements for decades.

Yeah, my guess is that there are many casual users who feel the adjustments that LR offers negates any further image enhancement in PS. In addition, professionals who want to spend most of their time in the studio or on location probably out-source their post-production (or let the client deal with retouching). Both these market phenomena keep PS in the hands of fewer, highly skilled users.

As for myself, I was an early adopter for years (a original member of the Mine Sweepers Club) and found myself battling bugs from either a newly installed program, the OS, or both. I don't miss those days.

[Raw shooter]

I agree about the lack of chatter about CS6.  I have been using quite a bit over the past 24 hours and flat love it.  I would say the video is the best new feature for my workflow.  Simple but lots of easy production tools that it may replace other video software and Photoshop CS6 may become a single product for everything. 
Camera Raw is clearly much improved - like the Lightroom 4 users have been raving.  The Whites slider, yes.  All the starting positions being centered is great, as is negative edits with Black.  Really a great upgrade all around.
Bridge appears more the same as CS5, although I do appreciate the 64 bit upgrade.  Maybe more there, just haven't found it yet.

So I give CS6 an A+ for my work.  Camera Raw and video are everyday work in my world.  The CS6 beta is now my working machine - can't live without the upgrades now!