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 Adobes next playlist.
Id 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.