New dekePod! Deke McClelland on Photoshop CS4: Buy or Die

September 23 marks the announcement of Adobe's Creative Suite 4. And that means a new version of the company's flagship image editor, Photoshop. Coming just 18 months after its predecessor, is Photoshop CS4 any good? Enter dekePod, Deke McClelland's irreverent and uncensored video series. Day and date with Adobe's announcement, Deke provides a third-party, impartial, and highly opinionated review of the new software. Titled "Photoshop CS4: Buy or Die," this episode promises to show you all facets of the program--complete with commentary--without interrupting your busy day. In just five minutes, you'll know whether you want to upgrade or not. We've got the entire dekePod transcript for you, too!

So watch the video, then read the transcript below! Then let us know why you can't wait to upgrade to CS4!

✯ Buy or Die: Photoshop CS4
Hi, I'm Deke. Welcome to dekePod, my series of once every other weekly videos on computer graphics and digital imaging. This is my chance to tell you what I really think about the state of future technology without some boss saying, "You can't talk about a product before it ships." Really? Like it's some kind of secret that Adobe upgrades every 18 months. Like everyone doesn't already know that Apple's next operating system will be called Tabby? . . . Oops.

Today, Adobe announced Creative Suite 4, the fourth in their line of Creative Suites. Which includes a lot of applications. I mean, one Creative Suite is like twelve, hundred programs. Who can keep up? But I know a few. Like there's this one -- it's a little obscure, but it's starting to catch on: Photoshop.

Today's episode: "Buy or Die: Photoshop CS4," in which I'll introduce you to the new program and its various new features. Mind you, I'm not going to show you how to use those features. You don't have the program so what good would it do you?

When the program ships, I'll have more educational training than you'll know what to do with. It's been occupying every waking minute for the last several months. Me? Have a nice Summer? Hell, I've holed up so long I can't even remember what sunlight looks like.

But for now, here's the idea: I'm going to show you what Photoshop CS4 has to offer. So that in five minutes -- just five minutes from right now -- you'll know whether you want to upgrade or not. Either you buy or it dies, simple as that.

And watch the whole thing. Because as usual, there are these marginally interesting features that Adobe thinks you want and then there are these unbelievably great ones that I know you really want.

The Adjustments Palette

Okay, so. What were formerly called "palettes," Adobe is now calling "panels." It's like saying, what were formerly pancakes, we're now calling porcupines. Would you pour syrup on a lightly buttered porcupine? Me neither. I'm sticking with pancakes, by which I mean, palettes.

Anyway, there are two new sweetly syrupy palettes. First, the Adjustments palette.
Its mission: To take newbies -- new users -- and move them from static adjustments to dynamic ones.

I love newbies. They're adorable, they don't even have quills. But the Adjustments palette doesn't help them. It takes these commands and moves them into this palette. So now we have to work here instead of here.

A relocation is not a feature!

Ah, but there is this one hidden option that justifies the Adjustments palette's existence, and then some. See this guy? Click on it. Drag, this way for more saturation, this way for less. Only available for a few adjustments. Hue/Sat. Black-and-White. Curves, baby. Sweetly syrupy Curves!

That thing? That's money.

The Masks Palette

This next feature. The Masks palette. I'll be devoting an entire dekePod to this next month. In the meantime, it lets you make layer and vector masks.

These three buttons. Static controls, give you access to features you already had. Yawn!

But go to Color Range and see this? Turn it on to limit the range of your color selections. Minor, but handy.

Not sexy. You want sexy.

These two controls here, totally dynamic. Change them any time you like. This first one in particular. Fuzzes edges on the fly. Even works on vectors.

Come on, dynamic mask blurs? Gotta admit, nothing wrong with that.

Dodge and Burn

Next? The dodge and burn tools. Dodge lightens, burn darkens.

No, the tools aren't new. Been part of Photoshop forever.

But so much better now. Before, paint with the dodge tool, it looked like you hit someone in the face with a fistful of pancake makeup. Burn tool smacked 'em with a porcupine. Instant melanoma.

Now, dodge does this. And this is burn. So much better.

These tools, they're actually useful now!

Satanic Imaging Magic

Okay, then there's this other stuff. Adobe calls it Advanced Compositing. I call it Magic. Honestly, I think some engineer thought, gee, this upgrade is looking a little light. Maybe it would help if I sold my soul to The Devil.

And I'm so glad he did. Because here's what we got:

First, take a bunch of photos at different focal lengths. See? Each one focuses on one area to the exclusion of all others.

Photoshop can automatically blend them all into one homogeneously focused composite. Amazing.

Then there's this. Please, just look at me for a moment. What I'm about to do, 100% for real. CS4, just doing its thing.

Choose this. And drag here. And this happens.

And it works for this. And this.

Holy mud-flapping crap!

Adobe bought this technology. They're a big company. They can buy anything they want. Still, they chose well. Clearly, they bought this from some dude who sold his soul.

Give it up for Satan.

Open GL

Oh, so that stuff's amazing. But, how often you gonna do it? Dinner parties, sure. But here's the stuff you're going to take advantage of, not every couple a days, but every couple a seconds.

Slow continuous zooms. Rotate the view. Get the hand tool and toss the image. Press a key and click and hold. Bird's eye! Who needs the Navigator palette?
They call it OpenGL support. I call it, the addiction. Once this smack enters your bloodstream, CS3 will be dead to you.

Oh, and every zoom level is a bicubically rendered thing of beauty.

Conclusion

I'm done, that's it. And I didn't even get to the Extended features. You a 3D artist with a background in cinematic medical imaging? Aw, you + Photoshop CS4 Extended = match made in heaven.

My verdict? What did you miss? Of course I would get it. I'm not ga ga over everything. (I never am.) But I love dragging those curves up and down. And every night, you know what I dream of? Salma Hayek and I tossing images with the hand tool.

So enough demo. Either you buy it or you diet, up to you. Wanna actually learn Photoshop CS4? I'll have you covered like you won't believe, the very day Photoshop releases. For videos, www.lynda.com/deke. For books with videos, deke.oreilly.com. And then, there's the one site, the site to find them, the site to bring them all and in the darkness bind them: deke.com.

And really simple instructions. Go to iTunes, search for dekePod, click Subscribe.
In the meantime, stay tuned. I've got many more satanic shortcuts to sell your eager soul, here at dekePod.

The End