Shortly before the keynote at PhotoshopWorld yesterday, Scott Kelby got word that Adobe would have a “big announcement” during their part of the keynote. They announced a “Photoshop Photography Program” - users of PS CS3 or later could get both PS CC and Lr5.2 (and later) for $9.99 a month….for life (as long as you keep paying).
Although their Creative Cloud has apparently been financially successful, they took a lot of well deserved heat and criticism from hobbyists/serious amateurs/semi-pro's (and even several pro photographers like Alan Hess were critical of Adobe's pricing and subscription only plan).
Great deal or desperate move by Adobe?
I'm hoping that Apple shows a little love to us Aperture users next week. I'd love to see both a major update to Aperture, along with even their foray into offering an alternate photo editor to do the “heavy lifting”.
And if you want PS and have no internet connection?
If I understand Adobe’s plethora of announcements and blog posts correctly, LR will continue to be available as a stand-alone product if that is all you want. You won’t necessarily get all the features that CC members get, and you won’t get updates as frequently. You will also have to pay for upgrades over time much as you do today.
… if I understand things correctly.
Photographer | https://www.walterrowe.com | https://instagram.com/walter.rowe.photo
Walter - spot on. Some of the folks at PSW also confirmed this is Adobe’s stance - Lr will continue to be both a retail and included in their CC service.
I agree, I hope Apple ups the ante soon … options are good for everyone …
I’ll differ on the fact that CC has “apparently been financially successful,” … I don’t think their numbers for subscriptions have been hitting the marks they had hoped … hence this latest offer and the extension of the previous offer to the end of August. If their original offering announced in May was on target with projections, why would they offer a price break to the folks who were disappointed with CC.
My personal view on CC has never been about price. I am willing to pay whatever it takes to get the job done. Or the several hundred thousands of dollars I have spent over the past 38 years on equipment, supplies and accessories has been an exercise in futility …
My problem with CC, is the built in expiration date for usage of the software no matter how long you pay. With CC, no pay, no play. They can try to equate CC with a “service” all they want … It is not like cable or satellite tv service, cellular service, Netflix or any other subscription in the fact that I still have to purchase, maintain and support top tier hardware and install the software locally, with the other aforementioned services, you can employ those services even on modest enduser hardware … unless or until I can dump a bunch of images into the “cloud” and just “push play” … I don’t consider what Adobe is offering as a service …
Plus, while this current price point offering does sound great on the surface … it does little to change the fact that Ps CC offers nearly nothing new as far as features that would enhance my bottom line … and the fact that Lr5 still suffers from abysmal Slideshow and Book modules which would necessitate the need for employing alternate solutions for those tasks … in the end, very little that would be worthy of investment to fatten my own wallet. So it is not much of a bargain for me, yet it would be a few bucks more in Adobe’s account each month.
So far, I’m still not impressed with Adobe’s CC only licensing model … at any price.
Charles,
I watched the keynote yesterday and really liked the announcement of the $9.99 deal since I tend to use both Aperture and LR. I really like some of the new features in LR 5 and hope Aperture will have some cool upgrades soon.
Stu
Stuart
Website: http://www.stuartonline.com
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+StuartSchaefer/
If Apple hits the mark with a major update to Aperture I will have no reason to buy into the new $9.99 CC option from Adobe. That said, I think the price is quite fair for all you get with LR + PS with no change in price. I wonder if subscribers to the deal could sue Adobe in a class action lawsuit if Adobe later said “oops we have to raise the price” after making such a fuss over offering this permanent price to those who sign up before December 31st. I imagine I will subscribe at least until I know if Aperture will offer a new release that meets all my demands. I have the $30/mo CC now and would welcome a $20/mo decrease in price since I really only need LR and PS. I really don’t even need LR to be honest, but it if comes free with CC I will take it for the sake a keeping up with what Adobe is doing for academic purposes at least.
Photographer | https://www.walterrowe.com | https://instagram.com/walter.rowe.photo
My Gibbs gut check says that iLife/iWork and Aperture will be released along with Mavericks. [yeah…it’s just a hunch]. There’s been enough discussion here and elsewhere, and Apple ain’t stupid, as to what features need to be added.
I’m planning on waiting until Mavericks comes out to make a decision whether to lock in the $10 per month price. I use PS enough (even though I’m a “hobbyist”) that it’d be worth it.
There’s some FAQ on Adobe’s site about the Adobe Photoshop Photography Program Offer.
A couple of key points I saw:
1. Although the price is $9.99/mo, you need to make an annual commitment to get that price (e.g. $119.88/yr.)
2. If you cancel at the end of your annual commitment, you won’t be able to rejoin at that price.
So if you currently own CS3 or later you get one chance to get in on the deal before Dec 31. If you ever quit you’re out forever.
Thomas
As someone whose only Adobe program is Acrobat Reader, this was of little other than general interest to me.
What about those who want Lightroom (which could eventually include me if Aperture isn’t seeing some love soon) but do not own (or want to own) any other products? No deal for them?