PE6 has no "eye appeal"?

[Foxfire]

I am still batting around whether to bite the bullet and purchase CS3 or upgrade to PE6 from my current PE5 but have from time to time heard different complaints on the appearance of the PE6 as being awful! ie, the color scheme......... not to mention the supposed instability of the software which, I guess, could be attributed to individual computers involved; I guess, that since PE6 is @ i year or so old, some of the glitches in the software, if any, could have been worked out by Adobe and the newest produ:confused:ctions of the software could be more stable. Just a thought. I have watched some of the current videos from this site which were done using PE6 with the new appearance and even though it is darker, it didn't seem unappealing to me. Just want to hear some of others' opinions on the subject before I make my final decision.

Many thanks!!!

Dave

[Juergen D]

I guess, that since PE6 is @ i year or so old, some of the glitches in the software, if any, could have been worked out by Adobe and the newest produ:confused:ctions of the software could be more stable.
That would mean that they are producing an updated version. Adobe does not do that. Any and all fixes will be in the subsequent version, now 7.0, which I am patiently waiting for. Should not be too long...

Juergen

[Jeff Perry]

Foxfire, it would appear that when software is sold at a <$100 price point, Adobe doesn't spend a lot of R&D effort in trying to fix "minor" problems. If they released a product that had a severe problem that was not uncovered until after release, then maybe they would see fit to release a fix, otherwise, as Juergen said, we just sit and wait for the next major upgrade that may fix current problems but at the same time introduce us to brand new "bugs".

When the price point of the app is at $200-600 then Adobe will invest more post-release follow-up work on a product and make "point-releases", e.g., Lightroom 1.0 followed by 1.1 then 1.2, and 1.3 etc. Photoshop CS3 is the same way, currently at 10.0.1 (incidentally in my opinion every full Photoshop release since 7 (when I started with it) thru CS, CS2 and CS3 has been exceptionally stable when compared to PSE6, which again, in my opinion, is a lot more unstable/buggy then version 5. When someone pays $300 for a piece of software, they expect it to work consistently as advertised.

I personally like the dark interface, that is already incorporated into the latest version of Bridge that comes with CS3 (not sure about the version that comes with PSE6 for Mac), and also reminiscent of the Lightroom interface.

Don't expect it to go away completely in future versions, although Adobe may listen tot eh complaints and offer the ability to change the "skin" (color) in version 7. I also expect the legacy interface currently in CS3 to go by the wayside in CS4, again, perhaps with the ability to re-skin it.

I use both CS3 and PSE6 (as well as Lightroom). I do not use PSE6's Organizer module, in part because I use LR to handle my image management functions. Other reported problems with it give me no comfort. Search this forum for "Organizer" or "Catalog" and read the posts. In all fairness, I even posted a query asking people what experience they had and "Was Organizer worth it?" and got a lot of people who do in fact use it successfully and had a lot of good things to say about it.

Just one man's opinion, of course.

Jeff

[Ron_M]

I don't have any software glitches, but I don't like the interface color and I'm not able to run my PS actions with it. So I use PSE 5, (which will run the PS 7 actions), most of the time. If I want to use LAB mode I use my old PS7. I actually haven't found any benefit to upgrading to PSE 6.

[ChawnC]

I'm hardly qualified to comment on glitches and the like, but I happen to like the graphic interface.

I use Aperture, as well, and the Apple training manual for that program makes a case for having a very color neutral display in order to avoid becoming less sensitive to certain colors.

I work in a color neutral room with most of the display colors rendered down to grey. It took a little time for me to get used to it, but I really like working like that now. I do, in fact, seem to concentrate more on the image. Maybe it's psychological, dunno. PE6 isn't neutral grey, but it's dark tones also cause me to look at the images more carefully.

...Now if I only had that 30" monitor :) ...

[Ric Cisson]

Dave, PSE6 has been a very stable program in my experience. I have yet to have a lockup or crash and yet had none with PSE5, but had a number with 3 and 4. I think most of the problems with 6 have been related to the Organizer and in particular Windows Vista and Mac platforms, if you look at the number of threads and look at the O/S involved in each. I have remained with XP Pro SP2 with no experienced crash or lockup over the past year and more if you include PSE5 in the discussion.

I cannot speak of the Organizer problems because I do not use the Organizer, except for instructional purposes, instead use LR to catalog and organizer. I never liked the Organizer in 4 or 5 and as soon as LR came out and my comfort factor gained confidence with LR, I closed the chapter on the Organizer and moved to import through LR only, and edit as required in PSE or PSCS.

As for the workspace background color, I personally applaud Adobe for the switch. I have no problems navigating around 6, can read every menu item, and too, importing from LR to PSE6 for editing is a wonderful transition since LR is very similar. I also work within LR/PSE/CS3 in very dimmed light, and usually no light at all except for my Solux when printing. A preferred habit developed over the years of darkroom experience. I wear bi-focals and as opposed to those who complain about PSE6, earlier versions and even CS3 because they were so bright in comparison to 6, I had a hard time first of all with my eyes adjusting as I color corrected, and secondly my eyes tired rapidly because of the former background...and at my age I need all the help I can with my eyes. The current background scheme is so wonderful, my eyes to not get tired as easily anymore and going from LR to PSE and back is now such a pleasure if only because my eyes are not having to readjust to the brightness as much.

However, everyone has an opinion, and I may be the exception. I for one greatly appreciate the engineers at Adobe for the background scheme and I hope it continues and finds its way into CS4 as well.

[Michel B]

I agree with Ric's comments. I've never had big problems with the editor in PSE6, and none related to stability. It's interesting to have a look at statistics of the complaints about version 6.
- I'll start with the organizer where you can find real stability problems. To be honest, I had many crashes or loss of catalog data... but I had the same problems with the trial version of LR and ACDsee Pro 2, which are also good organizing programs. This proves I am the main organizing problem... now, things go much better and the organizer has become a must in my workflow. Anyway, even if there is still much to do to improve its stability (backups are a must), the power is there and the integration, though not perfect (raw editing) is much better than with other softwares.
- Ric has covered the color scheme: Adobe should have an option to choose what is more convenient for you. Dark for serious photographers, bright for amateurs with uncalibrated screens in clear rooms. In the dark interface, they must make a few palettes more readable (brushes...)
- Most of the complaints about the editor were from the changes in the interface. You are used to find items in a place, they are changed. The interface has been changed to be more oriented toward new users and scrapbooking and the like: old users (like me) don't like that at all. And there is no satisfying tutorials to help old users find their way in the new interface (palette bin...)
- Advanced users were angry at first because they didn't know how to reinstall their actions in PSE6. Now this is solved, but you can understand the frustration when PSE6 came out.
- For raw development, the new version of ACR and its integration with PSE6 is excellent. A better integration with the organizer is to be expected in the next versions.

[CarolLHB]

Hi Dave-

I've been using 6 on a Mac since the minute it came out-I've had no problems with it, except for one minor issue, which was caused by the computer-no crashes, shut downs etc.

I love the interface, I think for me the gray does what it was intended to do-focus on the photo. iPhoto has a gray choice, which I also use.

I use iPhoto exclusively, so I can't speak to the Organizer at all. A friend of mine who uses a PC decided to overcome her fear of it, and once she figured it out she loves it.

As to the choice of PSE v CS3-that's just a matter of choice-so far I have found that Elements is plenty for me, but once in a while...:rolleyes: I think about upgrading just for that little extra. For the money, and especially as Elements keeps going one step further in features, you can't beat it.

Just my two cents:)

[Chuck S.]

In the dark interface, they must make a few palettes more readable (brushes...)


Michel hit the nail on the head with this one. I like the dark background, but not the lack of contrast between the background and the text/icons for various tools. Sloppy job of implementation on Adobe's part. Perhaps they'll improve that aspect in future versions.

[Foxfire]

Thank you all for your really detailed and insightful comments. Even though all these programs have and will have bugs from time to time, I guess there are usually ways to work around them and I am especially thankful for this website and community sites like this to help eachother "out of the woods" from time to time. Have a Great Day, all!!!