Opinion: For the CS3 version, Adobe should bundle profile generation and editing, make the retouching tools more interactive and ditch activation.Photoshop CS2 has now been now out for a while, and, looking forward, I guess Adobe is finalizing the feature list for the CS3 version. This might be the last point in time to make our requests for the new songs we want to see on Adobe's next playlist.
I'd like to solicit feature requests from readers, concerning just Photoshop, the Raw converter and the Bridge. I will print a selection in a coming column. These apps represent what photographers use most in the Creative Suite.
My impression of CS2 is that the core technology has been beefed up, but the feature set has not really been increased much from CS, and even from PS7. Photoshop is now able to manipulate huge files without a hiccup, everything works in 16 bits, but it essentially still has the same feature set as three years ago.
Now for my own take on the transition to CS3, here are four things I would like to see, and one I would like removed.
1. Bundled ICC profile generation and editing.
2. More interactive retouching tools.
3. Better noise reduction.
4. A full featured Web Gallery tool.
5. I would like to see product activation removed.
Except for Item No. 2, the above features could be fairly quickly Implemented through acquisition of existing technology. Item No. 5 would be a no-brainer to implement.
1. Integrated ICC profile generation and editing. if every user should be color-managed, why not go all the way and add the software tools for making print and camera profiles to PS?
The current situation, where profiles are supported, but the software cannot create them is ultimately absurd. ICC profile adoption is slowed by the difficulty and expense of purchasing solutions for profile generation.
Profile generation integrated in PS would also have the benefit of substantially growing a plug-and-play spectrophotometer industry, resulting in added revenue for the hardware manufacturers.
Do I really expect this to happen? In the long run, yes. PhotoRetouch Pro by Binuscan already includes profiling tools. But I believe Adobe will take at least another two revs to do this. Think of integrated profiling as the same as exposure meters finally getting built into cameras back in the 1960s.
Color management is a three-player game. Click here to read more.
2. More interactive retouching tools: I've been grouchy about the PS user interface for a long time. Any interface can be improved, but PS really needs a makeover. In my case, I seem to spend lots of time at tasks like selective sharpening or unfocus that require a multi-stage technique.
I would like to be able to "paint on" any operator or filter locally, without needing to create a layer or a state. For instance, set the parameters and pick up a "smart sharpen" brush and apply it to the eyes of the model. Pick up a blur tool and use it to smooth the skin. Pick a "saturate" brush and locally enhance lipstick color.
The PhotoRetouch application mentioned above has had similar features for a number of years. Readers can download a free simplified demo version from the Binuscan site to see how this works.
While this added interactivity is certainly not the only way in which the PS interface could be improved, it would supply a nice evolution. When do I expect it to be implemented in PS? Never. But I'd love to be proven wrong.
3. Better Noise Reduction. The NeatImage plug-in has been getting rave reviews, and some other products such as Noise Ninja and Grain Surgery have a devoted following. Adobe should buy the wheel instead of trying to reinvent it.
I think, I hope, this will happen in CS3, because it's comparatively easy to do, for Adobe. Just write one check, hire the plug-in authors and give them some stock options, and include the plug-in on the distribution disks.
Noise reduction software keeps older cameras young. Click here to read more.
4. A full-featured WebGallery tool. While Adobe has or will soon have a variety of HTML authoring tools—GoLive and, once the Macromedia deal goes through, DreamWeaver and Flash —photographers need some simple yet effective tool to get their work displayed on the Web.
There are already zillions of applications for creating sophisticated Web galleries and sites dedicated to displaying photographs. A beautiful piece of Mac commercial software is Shutterbug, and some of the best-of-breed open-source programs are Gallery and Jalbum.
I would like to see Adobe release something nice on the lines of Shutterbug soon, and for it to be part of Photoshop, rather than buried in the complex specialist Web authoring tools such as GoLive and Dreamweaver. Will it happen? Wait and See. Amateurs and prosumers clearly expect a Web page generator to be part of Elements, and the corresponding tool might work its way into one of the next Photoshop releases.
5. Getting Rid of Activation. Activation is a feature we all love to hate. It's horrid. Getting rid of it would result in support manpower being freed up for other customer-service related tasks. Will it happen? Never. And this frightens me, in a way: Whatever happened to the saying that the customer is always right?
What do you want to see in Photoshop CS3? Please write and tell me.
Edmund Ronald has a Ph.D. in applied mathematics, and he is currently on a sabbatical as a photographer in Paris.
Edmund Ronald's blog can be found at www.monitor-calibration.net.
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