What do you think about the Photoshop Subscription Option ($20/ month) vs. buying the Program and later upgrades ?
The way I see it it's a wash in terms of cost if one intends to stay up-to-date on the current version - a subscription would give one the option to discontinue in case I would find that I use PS less than expected ... up to this point I am pretty happy with LR4 but I would have fun trying out PS, I am sure.
You can try Photoshop for 30 days for free under either the Creative Cloud or Electronic Download methods.
Regarding the Creative Cloud subscription, you just need to run the numbers and see if they make sense for you. Just be careful with the "buy and upgrade" vs. Creative Cloud comparison because that only comes close to being a valid comparison if:
- you ALWAYS upgrade on time and plan to do that for the long-term.
- Adobe continues to release upgrades that provide you with value.
The thing that is obvious but I think some folks don't really consider is that with the subscription model you have absolutely nothing once you stop paying. You need to think of it as a service, not a product.
It used to be that if you kept your eyes open, you could spot PS at a discount at certain times of the year or find a discount coupon with a camera purchase. I suspect though, that those offers will occur less now that Adobe is pushing the subscription model so hard.
Since you have a son in school, you might want to look into the education discount. That also can provide a significant discount if you qualify.
OK just doing the figures from the UK web site @ UK prices i seems a pretty poor deal the longer you go on.
IE
the full version of CS6 (not extended) = £660
the subscription comes in 2 choices
Month to month £27
1 year contract £17.50 per month
now assume a 2 year upgrade cycle for CS6 and the month to month cost comes out about the same as buying the software .
if you contract for 2 years (2 1 yr contracts) you are up on the deal by about £240
BUT we have to factor in the upgrade path as its pretty pointless doing this of 1 version cycle.
so the upgrade cost at the moment is about £190
so if your doing things on the month to month and go for the whole of the CS7's 2 years you now way way down on the deal.
the per year contract still leaves you a little bit up (about £50) after those 4 years , but then another version cycle (cs8) will then leave you way down as well
BUT . and here's the deal breaker for me
with either of the pay monthly methods you are at the mercy of Adobe. they could turn round at the end of one of your year contracts and say "we are repricing the contract and putting it up to £50 per month" (ok thats extreme but it could go up) . and what is your choice ? you either pay up or walk away. if you walk away you have no software (and i doubt you will get a break from adobe on the upgrade price ) .
of course they could also say "we doubled the cost of CS7 and its now £1200 , and the we are not doing upgrade prices" (again extreme but this IS ADOBE we are talking about ).
well you have the same choices to either upgrade or walk away , but this time you still have CS6 to play with .
OF course if the upgrade cycle from CS6-CS7-CS8-CS9 is much faster than 2 years it tips it in favour of the monthly option..
Ive not worked out the costs on the Full cloud version with all the other software . but my guess is it could amount to the same outcome of costing more the longer you go on (and at £50 min per month youd have to use ALL the software alot to justify things).
Thank you for your feedback! I am currently looking into the suggested options including the possible student discount my kids might be eligible for.
I agree with Ian's line of thought too ... when bringing up the issue of future availability and cost Adobe reacted with not literally "Whatever ... anything goes. Who knows". That came from a labored, dreadful call with their Indian call center. In general though, the thought of renting the software is still not an entirely bad idea under suitable circumstances.
No arithmetic is necessary. The very fact that a subscription model is created and pushed automatically means that the subscription model will cost photographers more in the long run.
One factor that might affect some people is that apparently Adobe is going to be doing more incremental upgrades and push out new features in the the subscription environment, and then "wait" to get those same things out to the ownership people in later versions or releases. I was not at all happy to hear that, but still will stay with owning.
Savas K wrote:
No arithmetic is necessary. The very fact that a subscription model is created and pushed automatically means that the subscription model will cost photographers more in the long run.
That was a nice answer. The improvements between PS versions are getting less significant with each new version, and so many of us are deferring upgrading. Another factor is that the high initial cost was scaring away potential new customers. These factors were starting to impact revenue, so Adobe decided to create a subscription model. This has little to do with helping photographers and much to do with stabilizing and improving revenue. I'm sticking with CS6 as long as I can. The only reason I upgraded from CS4 was for new camera support.
I upgrade my LR version to the latest version as soon it is released. This gives me the support for the new camera's etc. My photoshop version usually is a couple of versions old (cs4).
hongkietan wrote:
I upgrade my LR version to the latest version as soon it is released. This gives me the support for the new camera's etc. My photoshop version usually is a couple of versions old (cs4).
I see it a bit like buying or leasing a car. I bought my car, and I bought photoshop. I've had Photoshop CS2, CS4, and CS6. Since I skip versions, I would come out ahead.
Ben Horne wrote:
I see it a bit like buying or leasing a car. I bought my car, and I bought photoshop. I've had Photoshop CS2, CS4, and CS6. Since I skip versions, I would come out ahead.
Unfortunately Adobes new restrictions mean that you won't be getting the upgrade price break if you skip a version .
That's a bit like buying your car and then going back to the dealer 2years later to get a new one and getting ZERO part exchange for your old one .
Ok with a car you can sell it , but so easy with software .
leftcoastlefty wrote:
That was a nice answer. The improvements between PS versions are getting less significant with each new version, and so many of us are deferring upgrading. Another factor is that the high initial cost was scaring away potential new customers. These factors were starting to impact revenue, so Adobe decided to create a subscription model. This has little to do with helping photographers and much to do with stabilizing and improving revenue. I'm sticking with CS6 as long as I can. The only reason I upgraded from CS4 was for new camera support.
I thought there is no upgrade path from CS4 to CS6?
I normally purchase every second or third release. I get every LR real ease so far because its my main editor/database but PS I get the pc/Mac OS version online since I use both.
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