While i agree with you, there are some legitimate complaints about Adobe's upgrade policy. Most obvious being the immediate cessation of support for a product once the new version is released. I'm not going to argue that Adobe should back-port the new Camera RAW features to CS5, but i do object to them stopping support for new cameras the moment they release a new version. I also object to being told that the solution to any problem is to upgrade. This is not getting something for free - this is getting an appropriate level of support on a $700 software package.
A thought occurs to me at this point - who would be interested in the ability to upgrade ACR separately to Photoshop? Treat it as a standalone package, if you like.
theSuede wrote:
Absolutely no-one is putting a gun to your head. And it's not like developing personnel and support staff comes cheap, nowadays. If it's a product you need / want /use - pay for it.
Why does EVERYONE expect to get everything for free now? On boards like this people nag and moan about the state of photography, "no-one wants to pay the prices I had in 2004" and so on, but they themselves just can't be bothered to pay for other people's work.
They are in no way FORCING you use a product upgrade they've spent thousands of qualified software development engineer hours on, and keep a rather large support staff for....Show more →
I'm not trying to defend Adobe but they give away a free DNG converter that will let you use any camera in any version of ACR. Doesn't that count for something?
Personally, I think Adobe software should be WAY better than it is given how much they charge.
Yes, having ACR as a totally separate package might be one solution!
That "should" be substantially cheaper than the whole PS package, and probably be a more appropriate sectioning of their products. Few people upgrade to the latest and greatest PS version just because they want "a new function" inside PS. The main reason for upgrading is the camera raw compatibility.
I do also agree that larger companies shouldn't just change upgrade policies overnight without giving an "appropriate" head notice - but hey, how do YOU handle your clients and your charging scheme when your company's own costs suddenly skyrocket and your board demands a better solvency?
The roundabout way to "not upgrade" would be to add a DNG step in your raw workflow - but that would double the amount of backup-space needed (assuming you keep the original raw file), and also increase the "shoes-off" to "send client confirmation email" time by at least one second per raw image you come home with.
Newer versions of ACR will be coincident with support for new cameras released around the time of CS6/LR4. Since I have a new D4 on order I anticipate that I will/must be an early adapter of CS6.
