PSCS6

[blumesan]

Has anyone made the switch from CS5 to CS6?
If so, what new features do you find that make the upgrade worthwhile? In particular what do you think about the changes to ACR?

[BambersImages]

I'm trialling CS6 at the moment, but moved from CS3 rather than CS5.
I had already moved from LR3 to LR4 which is using the same process as ACR in CS6.
It does take a little bit of getting used to, but now I like the new raw conversion more.

As far as the changed UI, I've not quite got used to it yet.

[m332720]

I went from CS5 to CS 6 because I find CS 6 to run faster on mu machine when working on batches of images. At times I am running actions on anywhere from 15 to 75 shots at one time. I also find bridge to run faster then in CS 5.
I am still trying to get used to the changes in ACR but I do think it gives a better file then the older ACR
Michael

[Canonian]

The only thing that is stopping me from getting CS6 is the fact I don't have the cushion of being a student, hence getting it at a cheaper price, so it looks like I will have to stick with CS5 for the time being, I can't upgrade from CS5 to CS6 because it is part of a Design suite (I was learning webdesign at the time). That said, I am using the beta/trial (albeit a couple days left on it), and I really do like it, CS5 looks really antiquated now. If they had half the stuff that LR4 has in CS6, I would happily stick with LR4

[PhotoGene47]

Since so many items have been upgraded in PS CS6, it is a little premature for me to really state what I find most impressive. I upgraded from CS5 Extended to CS6 Extended. The 3D elements alone are worth that upgrade as they did away with the cumbersome repousse feature. The new ACR engine now matches Lightroom's and it is awesome in that the sliders are more consistent with past photographic terms and are more responsive. I have not used Liquify yet but it is supposedly quite improved and real time. One of the problems here is that you must have the hardware to support it. Some are upgrading and finding that their video cards cannot handle the new functionality of this tool. I do like the new dark interface of the software as it seems to enhance the editing process [much as Lightroom's dark interface]. The cropping tool has changed but for those desirous of the older classic cropping tool, it can be restored in the preferences.

I am totally satisfied with my purchase. This is not to say that there are no improvements needed as that is almost always certainly the case. However, I think Adobe has gone considerable lengths to improve some of the tools' functionality and speed up the overall editing process. The trial version is for those that are not yet certain of whether or not the new version meets their need.
However, there is also the Creative Cloud where one can get all the features of the Creative Suite for far cheaper than buying the Creative Suite or the Photoshop [which the Crative Cloud provides the Extended version]. The big drawback to this arrangement is that the best price requires a year's commitment and that once you stop paying the monthly fee, you will no longer have access to any of the programs. It depends on your needs and pocketbook. Personally, I like the new changes and the interface itself [other than color] is not very different from the older CS5 so there is little problem in adapting to it. Enjoy.

[Canonian]

It's always best to judge yourself by downloading the trial. A lot of people can say good things about things that most people don't use at all. I know it probably going to be only 30-day compared to the beta (60 days) that was released earlier this year, but you will have to constantly use it for photo editing to get any real thoughts on whether it is really worth the upgrade

[mistermonday]

This release concentrated a lot of effort on the user interface. After 20 years of using PS, I find this release made a large number of really needed enhancements to the interface. If you spend a lot of time using PS these improve your workflow speed and reduce eye strain.
In some respects ACR is better (auto recovery, no brightness), in other respects it is not (for certain effects you need to move more sliders than before). In the end I think it just takes getting used to which control do what. For conventional image editing (processing RAW files from your camera) for normal rendering intent, it's more intuitive and faster.
The video editing capability allows me to retire another application on my PC that occupies 2GB of program file space and was not of much other value.
I now actually like and make extensive use of the crop tool which I did not do in CS5 and prior.
If you do any high end retouching there are some useful new time savers.
There are a number of other positives some of which I may or may not take advantage of.
You need to give the trial version an extensive test run to see if there is justifiable value or ROI for you.
Cheers, Murray