Adobe Creative Suite 5 (CS5) Review

Adobe Creative Suite is a collection of graphic design, video and web editing programs by Adobe Systems. The first edition was released in 2003 followed by versions 2 through 4. Though perhaps not familiar with the name Creative Suite, most of us are familiar with at least some of Adobe's famous programs: Adobe Acrobat with its PDF (Portable Document File) format, Adobe Photoshop famous for its use by photographers and people who enjoy editing their heads onto other people's bodies, and many others bearing the Adobe name. Now Adobe Creative Suite 5 is coming onto the scene. Let's see how it differs from its predecessors and if its worth buying.

Compared to Adobe 4

The short answer is everything looks nice and new. As far as new features, there aren't a huge number for every single application, but the changes that have been made are good choices. Adobe Photoshop, for example, features a new Content-Aware FIll which allows it to fill in areas based on the pixels that surround it. Most people agree that if you are happy with Adobe 4, however, there is no real pressing need to switch over. Generally, Adobe users wait for every other new product to spend the money. Therefore, if you are still using Adobe 3 then it is time to upgrade. Adobe 5 is designed for use with Windows Vista and Windows 7 as well, which makes a big difference.

Who is it for really?

A huge collection of programs like Adobe Creative Suite is not really for the open public. While one may want to pick out the new Adobe Illustrator or Adobe After Effects, the people who Adobe are really marketing to are those in the design, web, and publishing fields. In these media based areas, an investment in programs which will enable you to create new media in a wide variety of formats. Particularly in the publishing industry today where even books are being created on computers, sent completely formatted to the printers or to the Kindles and iPads, the ability to create content with the most versatile software is important. One of the most exciting new features of Creative Suites is their use of online services and applications. These allow for the absolute newest developments to be accessible online. In a world that continues to speed up, Adobe is doing what they can to stay at the very cutting edge of design software.

Adobe has discovered that businesses will pay to get a large number of programs at a price that, though expensive, is much cheaper than individual programs would have cost for both consumer and producer. Adobe Creative Suite 5 Design Premium costs $1,899, Web Premium costs $1,799, Production Premium costs $1,699, and Master Collection Costs $2,599. Of course individual programs can be purchased for much cheaper.

Sources: http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/?sdid=FNIFN&, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Creative_Suite