Adobe Photoshop

CNET Editors' review

by: CNET Staff on November 08, 2008

Photoshop is the professional standard in digital imaging, with an endless selection of drawing tools, filters, and color-adjustment capabilities for manipulating items in almost any way. Originally designed for bitmap images, Photoshop lets you create eye-catching typography by placing text on paths or within shapes, perform shadow and highlight correction, explore expanded color-matching features, parlay efficient layer comps, and preview, search, and share images. Oh, and it's also the premiere program for managing home digital printing.

CS3 Extended includes support for rendering and integrating 3D images into 2D composites and video layer editing. There's also a greatly modified help menu to take the edge off your learning curve, with built-in how-to's on Preparing Art for Other Applications, Printing Photos, Working with Color and Type, and more. From simply lightening dark photos to improving color and contrast, to adding objects or people that weren't originally in the picture, Photoshop is an excellent tool whose innovative features meet any professional need.

Though it's an excellent software tool, the trial version demands a lot of download time, hard drive space, and RAM for rendering and other heavy tasks. However, the trial is fully functional, letting you edit, save, print, and export files, making it easier to assess this expensive product. Keep in mind that Photoshop has a steep learning curve, so great results take time and training.