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Leaving Adobe behind? #1
Butch Miller's picture
by Butch Miller
May 7, 2013 - 1:08pm

Well, I've made my mind up today with the new CC subscription policy only for Adobe apps … after 20 years of Photoshop … 16 years of PageMaker then InDesign … 6 years of Lightroom … I'm done.

I won't be joining the throngs rushing to sign up for the Creative Cloud … Adobe has received their last dollar from me and I'll be researching alternatives for Ps … Gimp, Pixelmator, Acorn et al …

Anyone have similar reaction to Adobe's move today? Or recommendations on alternative apps?

Thomas Emmerich's picture
by Thomas Emmerich
May 7, 2013 - 1:40pm

I think I’m also out. After all the work learning what I need out of the complicated Photoshop (hours and hours of Deke McClelland on Lynda.com), I’m disappointed. I don’t feel I can justify/afford the monthly commitment. I’m only an amateur and making the jump from PSE to PS CS was a big decision. With CC, it’s a bit like crack, once you stop paying, the “high” immediately stops. I guess I’ll keep using PS CS 5.5 until it stops working well. For now it’s fine except Camera RAW is outdated for new cameras. But with Aperture, I rarely ever use Camera RAW.

The $149 upgrade fee I paid for previous updates every couple of years (I was a NAPP member) seemed reasonable. The CC monthly fee adds up to way more than that.

I heard the latest Acorn update is pretty good but I haven’t checked it out. I’m sure there will be another big learning curve to be able to do what I can do now in PS.

Thomas

David  Moore's picture
by David Moore
May 7, 2013 - 9:30pm

Frustrated by Adobe pricing for me goes all the way back to AP1.0 when I opted for that instead of lightroom. I recently bought cs6 PS but with plans on not upgrading in the near future. But… I can see that at some point Ill have to pay the cloud for PS to combine images. NAPP was great but became another monthly bill I didn’t really need. Lynda.com is great to catch new info on new program releases but it to becomes another bill to be paid. Im a commercial photog and I can write off the cloud so that helps a little with the expense. Except for my photography why cant everything else be close to free :-0

davidbmoore@mac.com
Twitter= @davidbmoore
Scottsdale AZ

Butch Miller's picture
by Butch Miller
May 7, 2013 - 10:19pm

Price is not the primary issue … I am willing to pay whatever it takes if my investment will enhance my bottom line … it’s that Adobe now expects us to enter into a mortgage, in perpetuity, then at the end of the road … we’ll have no home to call our own.

Charles Putnam's picture
by Charles Putnam
May 7, 2013 - 10:32pm

If Adobe kept more reasonable pricing for current users (i.e. extending the $10 a month upgrade beyond one year for current users), it’d be worth it.

I’m hoping that Apple has some major announcements at WWDC this June as respects to Aperture, iLife and iWork. Personally, I think they will be announcing updates on these. Related to this somewhat, the guy that created Soforbild has been working for a well known company in Cupertino since last year. Gotta wonder if he’s on the Aperture team.

I’m finding that I rarely go into Photoshop anymore, and rely more on Nik and onOne. PS gets used when text is needed or for content aware fill or move.

Whitney Dunn's picture
by Whitney Dunn
May 7, 2013 - 10:52pm

A couple things to note. First, future versions of Lightroom will continue to be sold as regular, perpetual, licenses. You can get it as part of Creative Cloud, but you don’t have to. Two, Adobe will continue to sell CS6 for the time being. If you don’t want to subscribe to Creative Cloud, again, you don’t have to, at least for now. They’ll also make sure CS6 is compatible with the next version of Mac OS X and Windows, so the software is good for at least the next few years.

See http://mobile.digitalartsonline.co.uk/news/creative-business/adobe-kills… for details.

Butch Miller's picture
by Butch Miller
May 7, 2013 - 11:15pm

Whitney:

“First, future versions of Lightroom will continue to be sold as regular, perpetual, licenses.”

Not ALL future versions … the official statement from Adobe is that Lightroom 5 will continue to be a perpetual license. There is no guarantee about what comes after. If CC proves successful after yesterday, how long do you think Lr will continue this way?

Two, Adobe will continue to sell CS6 for the time being.

Yes, PsCS6 is still available for $600 (US) … if you are still using CS 5 or CS 5.5 you can no longer upgrade to CS 6 without paying full price … or hopping onto the CC merry-go-round.

They’ll also make sure CS6 is compatible with the next version of Mac OS X and Windows, so the software is good for at least the next few years.

Couple of years? In this day and age a couple of years is merely the blink of an eye.

Florian Cortese's picture
by Florian Cortese
May 7, 2013 - 11:22pm

Like most of us here, I keep wondering when, if ever, Apple will deliver some newer version of Aperture. Sure, they’ve had periodic minor upgrades, but a real upgrade and boost in it’s features. I also use NIK plugins which work great with Aperture. I wouldn’t be surprised, now that Google owns NIK, that they may come up with something in the near future. My only fear is that the “subscription” model may be picked up by others as the modus operendi for all future photography software.

Florian Cortese
www.fotosbyflorian.com

David  Moore's picture
by David Moore
May 8, 2013 - 12:39am

Florian I agree I think the subscription model is here to stay. Apple may adopt it. Off topic Id like to see in AP4 a rebuild feature where it reports or creates a log of images that slowed down the Rebuild process. Or at least which project there may be a corruption in so that we can export that project and reimport with our back up. Call it a “Potential Corruption Report” But as always be careful what we wish for. cheers

davidbmoore@mac.com
Twitter= @davidbmoore
Scottsdale AZ

Butch Miller's picture
by Butch Miller
May 8, 2013 - 12:41am

Florian … until yesterday I was very concerned about the future of Aperture … not that I didn’t think there ever would be something new … but that it would come so late as to render it inconsequential … Adobe gave new life to whatever Apple may offer with the forcing of all Adobe users into the Creative Cloud concept.

I have been busy in my free time cruising the web yesterday and today … and there are more than a few folks … many of them Apple users and they are also seeking out alternatives …

Though Apple will do themselves no favors by continuing to drag their feet in making their next move.

Yesterday also taught me that you can never trust ANY software developer completely and if you are a working pro … if you don’t have a “Plan B” for your software, it’s like showing up to shoot a wedding with only one camera, one lens, one flash and one memory card and expecting that disaster will never raise it’s ugly head … I’ll never venture forth again with all my eggs in one basket and am so glad I included Aperture in my set of tools out of curiosity. So not only am I moving away from Adobe, I’m also keeping an eye open to a backup option to Aperture should I need it.

Whitney Dunn's picture
by Whitney Dunn
May 8, 2013 - 1:39am

Butch, I agree with your point that this is more about Adobe’s bottom line than its customers’ benefit. The transition isn’t quite as harsh as first made out, though, and Lightroom is being treated a little differently.

Whether Lightroom 6 goes Creative Cloud only who knows, but it’ll be a tougher sell. The current upgrade price for Lightroom is $79 and a full version $149. That works out to about $7 and $12 a month, respectively. Price a subscription much above $10 and it becomes unpalatable, though the obvious strategy is to bundle it with some cloud only services and price it at, say, $20 a month.

Butch Miller's picture
by Butch Miller
May 8, 2013 - 3:26am

Whitney … It isn’t about any “harshness” of the transition … it’s about Adobe abandoning those of us who invested for decades to get them where they are today.

You can wrap CC in bacon … double dip it in milk chocolate … it will still have a bitter tasting hollow center …

This comment from a report yesterday says it all …

“There’s a stacking effect. When we bring customers in, they stay in. Then when we bring in new customers, we layer the revenue on top,” Morris said. “Recurring revenue is going to help Adobe in the long run. That’s one reason Wall Street responded very positively.”

If all I am to Adobe is a “additional layer of revenue” … they can survive without my support. What Morris overlooks in his comment is the first group that entered the CC fray did so voluntarily … or if they would leave now, they would have to pay full price for CS6 without the hope of further development … who is going to face that penalty … of course they are going to “stay in” … those of us left holding the empty bag have no such choice between a subscription or perpetual licensing. It’s an all or nothing proposition. Period.

Florian Cortese's picture
by Florian Cortese
May 8, 2013 - 3:47am

Adobe did hint in a recent webcast with Scott Kelby that they are working on a more photographer specific function with their cloud that would include being able to use it on multiple platforms (laptop, iPad/tablet, smartphone) and be able to work on photos from whatever device you were on and it would show up on all of them. But that was something in the future and it did not appear to be the near future. I do not know if that would be a great enough incentive for the enthusiast photographer or not. I do have CS6 but I plan on not jumping in and subscribing to a monthly fee. For what I use it for, it is just fine now and and can’t forsee any extra bells and whistles pushing me to want more out of it. I will wait and see what happens over the next year, and as has been so aptly stated by DBmoore, we all need to keep our options open.

Florian Cortese
www.fotosbyflorian.com

Charles Putnam's picture
by Charles Putnam
May 8, 2013 - 4:38am

The demo was of an (apparently) alpha version of Lightroom for the iPad. it used LR5’s Smart Previews in order to do editing (rather than uploading full RAW images). it then was supposed to sync back to LR5 on the desktop. Again, ti was an early alpha preview, with no time frame commitment.

Again, I’m anxious to hear what Apple comes up with at WWDC.

Butch Miller's picture
by Butch Miller
May 8, 2013 - 5:34am

I wasn’t all that impressed with Hogarty’s presentation on The Grid. While the concept sounds great on the surface, I think we may see iPad hardware advancements and a hybrid iOS/OS X combination that will run full Aperture tablet version using RAW images sooner than a Lr “Cloud” + Smart Preview option … I think the concept may be a “too little, too late” attempt because Hogarty went to great lengths to emphasize it was “early days” and “opening the discussion” … either way … It will be very unlike I will get on board with Lr ever again.

Charles Putnam's picture
by Charles Putnam
May 8, 2013 - 5:53am

Butch - Agreed on all counts. Apple’s iCloud service could easily be adapted to do the same thing (iPhoto for iPad kinda does this).

I rewatched that episode during lunch - Hogarty dodged a LOT of questions (which were finally answered yesterday at MAX). It remains to be seen what Adobe will do as far as a LR/PS Creative Cloud combo. He was definitely fishing last wee to see what people would buy into.

Eric's picture
by Eric
May 8, 2013 - 9:21am

I’m out too, but a big CAVEAT. Apple really needs to take advantage of this huge market opening Adobe has delivered it on a silver platter with this insane money-grab policy. I really hope we see Apple put out an amazing Aperture update soon. There will be a sea of people headed to the Aperture shore. Can Apple do it? Will Apple do it?

Eric

Walter Rowe's picture
by Walter Rowe
May 8, 2013 - 10:18am

Given that LR is used by a lot more amateurs than PS and the rest of the Creative catalog of products, I think Adobe would be shooting themselves in the foot to force everyone to a subscription model for that one product.

The iron is hot, Apple. Time to strike!

Butch Miller's picture
by Butch Miller
May 8, 2013 - 12:04pm

Found a comment from yesterday by Mr. Bryan O’Neil Hughes (Senior Product Manager for Photoshop) :

“Lightroom is for photographers. And the Lightroom team is very aware of the reaction by photographers to Photoshop CC. We don’t have plans to make Lightroom a subscription-only option but we do envision added functionality for the CC version of Lightroom.”

Seems the only way users will get bonus features is the pay-to-play in the cloud method … that will please the throngs of Lr public beta testers to no end …

Once again, glad I’m getting off the merry-go-round …

Whitney Dunn's picture
by Whitney Dunn
May 8, 2013 - 10:58pm

There’s a really active thread on luminous landscape on just this topic. At least one person, Jeff Schewe, participates in the Lightroom private betas, and maybe Photoshop as well, so he’s got some insight into Adobe’s thinking.

Here’s the link: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=78085.0;topicseen

Butch Miller's picture
by Butch Miller
May 9, 2013 - 12:04am

Yes, Jeff has been on the inside with Photoshop, even before it was known as Photoshop … he is a life-long friend of Thomas Knoll (the original developer of Ps) and Jeff was one of his beta testers when the app was known as “Barney Scan” … long before Adobe was ever involved in the process … so “The Schewe” speaks from experience and definitely has much more insider knowledge than many who like to claim they do …

He also is one of the fellows from PixelGenius that developed the Photokit Sharpener plugin for PS … and PK Sharpener is the formula Adobe uses for export sharpening in Lightroom …

Don rabideau's picture
by Don rabideau
May 9, 2013 - 10:09am

I’m also ditching Adobe and switching back from Lightroom to Aperture. I feel like the prodigal son.

kureen paige's picture
by kureen paige
May 10, 2013 - 11:22pm

I really want to switch back to Aperture but I still get way better results with lightroom. Apple only needs to change how they handle sliders and lens correction built in and I would be hooked. I only use PS for text so I’m hoping acorn has drop shadows (pixelmator still doesn’t) and I would use acorn for text and uninstall PS

Charles Putnam's picture
by Charles Putnam
May 11, 2013 - 1:14am

WWDC is only a few weeks away. Patience young Padawan.

Butch Miller's picture
by Butch Miller
May 11, 2013 - 4:55am

Yeah … I had high hopes of something Aperture related at WWDC LAST year was left empty handed …

Just sayn’ …

Don rabideau's picture
by Don rabideau
May 11, 2013 - 11:42am

Aperture 3.3 was released at WWDC last year, It was something.

Butch Miller's picture
by Butch Miller
May 11, 2013 - 11:31pm

That’s true … and while I didn’t find the release of 3.3 unwelcome … it wasn’t enough. Nor was it what many expected. If Apple offers anything less in the round than a full, meaningful version update … it’s going to disappoint more than a few folks … 3.5 ain’t gonna cut it with most users …

Stuart's picture
by Stuart
May 12, 2013 - 1:11am

I am on the fence right now. Meaning I switch between LR and Aperture. However lately it has mainly been LR. Really like some of the new features in LR5 beta. Right now I am waiting to hear if there will be any announcements during WWDC next month about Aperture. If there are none I plan to move to Lightroom full time.

Stu

Whitney Dunn's picture
by Whitney Dunn
May 12, 2013 - 6:31am

If Apple offers anything less in the round than a full, meaningful version update … it’s going to disappoint more than a few folks … 3.5 ain’t gonna cut it with most users …

WWDC is the right occasion, the right audience, and the right time to introduce Aperture 4. If it’s not ready then, you’ve got to wonder when it will be.

Butch Miller's picture
by Butch Miller
May 12, 2013 - 6:52am

Yes it would be … even a sneak peek of something more to come later in the year would suffice if need be … but silence could be deadly for future concerns … and likely could further erode confidence …

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