[DancingSponge]

I've just bought my first mac after buying pc's all my life, a 2.1ghz G5 iMac. Sweet machine, now I just need to figure it all out

I need to get PhotoShop but would like to buy an older version to save money. Which version will run with Tiger? Will version 5 work?

Thanks

[Goldfinger]

7 or later.

[DancingSponge]

Isn't 7 the lastest version? Hmmmm Bummer.

[Goldfinger]

Nope. Photoshop 7 then there is Photoshop CS (essentially PS8) and then there is CS2 (PS 8.5 or 9, which is the lateste one).

[osxrules]

I know that version 7 works but I don't think any less will, except under the classic environment.

You can get 7 and CS cheap from ebay. I saw CS2 for just £30. It seems quite obvious these people are copying the discs and I've no idea how they are getting away with it but they are.

It's really your cheapest option for the full package because under OS X, it would have to be PS 7, CS or CS2. On Amazon, a used copy of Photoshop 7 is still £260. No wonder people are doing what they are on ebay.

If you really want to be legitimate, I think Photoshop Elements is the only way to go on a budget. You can get PS Elements off Amazon legit for £22.

Another alternative is to use the GIMP, which is free but I don't recommend that. I find Photoshop much better as it doesn't need X11 and supports pressure sensitivity for tablets.

[Cadaver]

Photoshop 7 was the first OS X native version... so v7, CS, or CS2. Unless you want to use PS under Classic (which I don't recommend, though it'll work).
Also consider Photoshop Elements 3, which is affordable and pretty decent. Elements 4, IIRC, is still under development for the Mac - being rebuilt for Intel-compatibility (already out for Windows).

[- - e r i k - -]

Current version of Photoshop is CS2 (Version 9.0). Well worth getting for the photo-features alone.

[zerostar]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - -

Current version of Photoshop is CS2 (Version 9.0). Well worth getting for the photo-features alone.

I can't stand the way they have changed the layers palette in this version, we reverted back to CS and CS2 is sitting on a shelf right now, anyone know a way to make this behave like the older versions?

[kidtexas]

I used 7 just fine until about 3 months ago when I upgraded to CS2. If you don't need all the digital camera RAW stuff, 7 is great. If you are doing camera RAW, go with CS or CS2. In my opinion...

[DancingSponge]

Can I upgrade from say version 3 to CS2, or does the upgrade require that the earlier version be installed? In which case, having a much older version won't work to upgrade as it won't install under Tiger.

[Eug Wanker]

I used 6 in Classic, but kept on getting weird glitches in the UI. It was very annoying, and I hated having Classic around anyway.

7 works just fine in OS X.

If I were you, the only older options I'd consider are 7 and 8. Actually, if you're like me, Photoshop Elements is actually OK. I'm buyiing two copies of that for work computers (XP), because our needs here are not that intense.

[Chuckit]

Photoshop 5 will run in Classic.

[Eug Wanker]

Originally Posted by Chuckit

Photoshop 5 will run in Classic.

Yeah, I have a copy of that too (edu). It does work but using Classic in 2006 just seems wrong.

Seriously though, like I said, I did get UI glitches when running Photoshop under Classic. Quite annoying. Mind you, that was a couple of years back. Maybe it works better now.

[DancingSponge]

OK, someone ejamacate me.. I'm a mac newbie. (so please bear with me as I learn a whole new way of doing things that were second nature to me under Windows)
Er... what's Classic? Is it some sort of shell for running old mac stuff? Do I have it on OS X? How do I access it?
Or do I have to have a previous OS installed which I bought before.

[Chuckit]

Originally Posted by DancingSponge

OK, someone ejamacate me.. I'm a mac newbie. (so please bear with me as I learn a whole new way of doing things that were second nature to me under Windows)
Er... what's Classic? Is it some sort of shell for running old mac stuff? Do I have it on OS X? How do I access it?
Or do I have to have a previous OS installed which I bought before.

Yes, Classic is an environment for running old Mac programs from before OS X (such as Photoshop 5 and 6). You also need a copy of OS 9 installed to run it. I believe Apple still provides a version of OS 9 to use with Classic on the software restore disks that come with computers.

[osxrules]

Originally Posted by Eug Wanker

If I were you, the only older options I'd consider are 7 and 8. Actually, if you're like me, Photoshop Elements is actually OK. I'm buyiing two copies of that for work computers (XP), because our needs here are not that intense.

I agree. I think Elements is actually fine for most people. Version 4 has some of the photo enhancing features of CS too like fixing shadows - I wonder what's taking Adobe so long. £20 or so for that level of functionality in version 3 from Amazon is incredible value.

Here's a comparison:

http://graphicssoft.about.com/cs/pho...ntscompare.htm
http://www.graphic-design.com/Photos..._elements.html

I actually use some of the features that aren't in CS but it would be interesting to see if people have written plugins for them. You can even use a lot of Photoshop plug-ins.

[Salty]

Elements 2 and beyond will also run on OS X. Though I prefer 2 to 3 since Adobe's recently forgotten how to not crap on an interface...

[- - e r i k - -]

Originally Posted by zerostar

I can't stand the way they have changed the layers palette in this version, we reverted back to CS and CS2 is sitting on a shelf right now, anyone know a way to make this behave like the older versions?

What specifically is it that you don't like about it?

[Amplus]

I read somewhere (reviews in the Apple store I think) that Elements 3 doesn't work with Tiger, 10.2-10.3 only. Is this true or has it been fixed since?