Photoshop: My favorite Photoshop CS4 new features

[Doug Nelson]

Photoshop CS4 has been completely revamped, the biggest change since the CS series began. After using it for several months, I've come up with a list of my own favorite features:

Improved Wacom support for Windows users:
If you're a Windows user and a Wacom user, this alone is worth the upgrade. Drawing feels much more natural, and pressure support is more linear. You can do some incredibly delicate stuff with pressure alone, now. It finally feels like painting with a brush to me (it felt artificial before). Mac users have had this all along, I only recently had it explained to me by an Adobe engineer how Windows users had been disadvantaged up to now.

OpenGL support:
This will require a newer graphics card, and you'll want one with as much RAM as possible, but the new OpenGL support allows many cool things. One of my favorites is work area rotation. You can turn the entire document, just like if it was a piece of paper. OpenGL also speeds up a lot of screen events, so everything seems much snappier. And it allows a much improved 3D toolset without bogging down the CPU.

3D Painting:
Speaking of OpenGL and 3D tools, the 3D toolset is much improved, with direct object painting and many other improvements (I didn't get much chance to use this for technical reasons, but I've seem some stuff others did and it's amazing).

Content-aware scaling:
Call it "seam carving" or whatever, it's very cool. Draw a channel to protect areas you don't want scaled, then drag a corner just like any other transform. Your image will scale with detail areas protected.

Adjustments panel:
For Adjustment layers, no more popup dialogs, they get their own panel.

Masks panel:
Layer masks, both pixel and vector, get their own panel which combines Refine Edge. Vector masks get feathering now, too!

Colorblind preview:
My brother is colorblind, as are 10% of the male population, and now I can make sure he can enjoy my images, too. Very practical for design work, as well (make sure everyone can see your circles and arrows)

Adobe Camera Raw adjustment brush:
Just like Lightroom 2, Adobe Camera Raw can now make local brushed adjustments

Extensions and Pixel Bender:
Two new ways for non-developers to add entirely new features to Photoshop CS4. Adobe is setting up a community for users to share Photoshop Extensions and Pixel Bender filters, so you'll have thousands of new features that won't work with older versions of Photoshop.

Tons of other new features, these are just my favorites. By this time tomorrow you'll be deluged with demos and presentations about all the improvements. Sign up for the official presentation here.

As I do every new release, I'll be happy to answer any specific questions you may have about Photoshop CS4.

[DiamondsDr47]

Is there anything new about calculations and apply image?

[Doug Nelson]

No on both of those.

[CJ Swartz]

From NAPP -- for non-members use also for a limited time
Learn more about the best creative association on the planet:

http://www.photoshopuser.com/cs4/

[Vernon]

That is just too cool! No more adjustment windows covering half your work and being able to preview cloning!
All I can see is, it's been a long time coming.

Oh, oh! painting vibrancy? painting with tints, (instead of plain dodge and burn)?
Brilliant, can hardly wait!

[Doug Nelson]

Here's a pretty good video that mentions some new Photoshop CS4 features I forgot. But even Deke forgot to mention that you can now resize brushes by alt-right-dragging

http://www.deke.com/content/photoshop-cs4-buy-or-die

John Nack (product manager for Photoshop) has a pretty comprehensive listing of Photoshop usability tweaks (no big new features in this list, just the little things)

http://blogs.adobe.com/jnack/2008/09...e_details.html

[saberlancer]

I like the rotate canvas feature but wonder how smooth will it be with a 128mb/or even 256mb graphic card and big multi-layered files..

wonder when will demo be out..

[Doug Nelson]

Smooth as glass no matter the size of the image, but you'll need an OpenGL card to use it at all. Photoshop CS4 will work great without such a card, but a few new options, including the canvas rotate, will be grayed out.

[cricket1961]

SaberLancer

It runs quite nicely on my 1+ gig files with many many layers. Something to see when a massive file turns in realtime!

My favorites have been the brush resizing/softening, the flicking of the image to get around, the vastly improved color range, the new adjustment panel, greatly improved transform/warp on a smart object, the new zoom in/out feature.
The birds eye view just rocks the house also!
I almost forgot the "quick switch" tool keys make things work a little smoother for the workflow.
There are of course many many more, but these are the things that stick out most.

After using it for so long I don't enjoy going back to my non-ogl mac at home to do any work. Time for a video upgrade.


Chris

[saberlancer]

>It runs quite nicely on my 1+ gig files with many many layers. Something to see when a massive file turns in realtime!

Thks Chris & Doug,
I reckon u guys using either 128/256mb card...which means no real excuse for me to get a 512mb then...lol

[Doug Nelson]

I actually have a 512mb card (nvidia quadro fx1700)

[Doug Nelson]

Here's some Nvidia propaganda (ie: it's true, and Nvidia has an acknowledged edge in OpenGL, but ATI probably has comparable models)
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquir...sh-light-adobe

[Vejitatoja]

Is brush size limit (600) in liquify improved?

[Vejitatoja]

http://www.photoshopuser.com/?page=c...previewbrushes
wow, this preview for cloning will make a really great difference for cloning hair and other stuff that needs precision.

[DiamondsDr47]

I think Chris mentioned it's fixed, also he have tutorial for this case.

[Markzebra]

Chris - do the adjusment layers stay attached to the palette now instead of popping up in separate dialogs? I used to like that. Not sure I've got room for another palette clogging up my work area.

[saberlancer]

Originally Posted by Doug Nelson

I actually have a 512mb card (nvidia quadro fx1700)

Oh no..."Smooth as glass no matter the size of the image"...now I wonder if a 256mb card will suffice..lol

[jam1212]

Out of curiosity, are those who currently have CS4 using the Beta, or are they part of some sort of pre-release group?

[DiamondsDr47]

Any comments on Photomerge improvements?

[Doug Nelson]

Photomerge as a separate dialog is pretty much obsolete, since you can now blend layers automatically, including based on sharpest focus. I'm not big on panoramas, but other users reported Photomerge quality improvements, esp. for 32bit. There's a new Spherical option.

[DiamondsDr47]

Thanks Doug, me neither, i do it manually most of the time(thanks to difference blending mode). Well in two weeks i guess i'll be able to give it a try