Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I've given PS CS4 Extended an overall four star rating. The breakdown is five stars for its capabilities averaged with two stars for the user interface.
Most of the low ratings for this student edition have to do with problems getting the software registered, rather than with the product itself. Please read the student license carefully on Adobe's site. As I recall, you have to be an active full-time four year (or graduate) student at an approved institution that grants four year college degrees. Adobe is very protective of this $199 price. Getting a retailer to ship you this software is just the beginning of the process. You then have to contact Adobe directly for permission to use it. Adobe takes its role as gatekeeper very seriously and will follow up on your student credentials. The burden is on you to prove that you fully qualify as to each and every requirement. I suspect that some of the low ratings come from people who didn't quite meet the requirements for a student license, but thought they would squeak by. Surprise.
Be aware that Adobe also markets an academic edition of PS CS4 Extended for $299. I own the academic edition. Other than the price, what are the differences between the student and academic editions? Well, the first difference is that the license for the academic edition is far less restrictive. The second is that the install code comes printed on the inside packaging. You do not need to go through Adobe for any further permission to use the software.
My understanding is that the academic edition is available to students at any grade level from 10th grade high school on up, as well as to academic faculty and staff. However, I note that one reputable retailer of academic software states: "If you are a K-12 Student, a parent of such a student or a school employee then this version of Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended is the lowest Academic pricing available." So, it's possible that some retailers are more liberal than others. Remember, the retailer is the only gatekeeper you'll have to deal with because the only code you need comes with the disk.
The full price for PS CS4 Extended is over $900. $299 for the academic edition is still a good deal, even if it is $100 more than the cost of the student edition. Many people will qualify who wouldn't have qualified for the student edition. Don't cheat yourself by trying to cheat Adobe out of a student license, or by purchasing from a vendor with a price that's too good to be true.
Update 12/8/2009:
I would lower my rating to two stars if I could. The problem is that the program has ceased to work since I upgraded to Windows 7 Professional 64 bit. $299 is a lot of money to throw out the window, and Adobe is not being helpful. If interested, please see the review that I posted today under the retail edition of Photoshop CS4 Extended.
Update 3/9/2010:
The problem noted in my update of 12/8/2009 took me about three weeks to solve. The issue turned out to be very sophisticated. Fortunately, the issue is also very rare and unlikely to affect you. See my review under the retail edition of PS CS4 if interested. To summarize, I received no assistance from Adobe, whose technical support of this product is greatly lacking in relation to the cost. My rating remains at four stars due to the simple fact that there really isn't an alternative to Photoshop.
Update 4/12/2010:
Today is the so-called "launch date" for Photoshop CS5 Extended. Little new information has been provided except that the actual release to sales will be in mid-May. It appears that Adobe will continue to offer a free trial period beginning on the release to sales date. Anyone who is seriously considering purchase of CS4 should defer to mid-May. The best information I can find states that the current "Student Edition" will become the "Student and Teacher Edition," while the current "Academic Edition" will become the "Institutional Edition." Prices will apparently remain at $199 and $299 respectively, with eligibility requirements similar to the current products.
When Adobe released sneak previews of CS5's new content aware fill feature, it was immediately obvious to me that this might (finally!!) be the solution for the ghosting problem that ruins so many HDR images. Adobe's new preview of automatic ghost removal during HDR merge suggests that its content aware technology is being used for exactly that purpose. Therefore, I suggest holding off on the purchase of Photomatix or FDR Tools until you've had a chance to experiment with the PS CS5 trial. Similarly, I would hold off on the purchase of Mask Pro 4.0 from On One Software. If (and it's a very big if) CS5 has really leapfrogged over both Photomatix and Mask Pro 4.0 -- both of which I was planning to buy -- then this is going to be a fairly easy upgrade to justify. On the other hand, CS5 could turn out to be no big deal. Be sure to try before you buy.
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