Photoshop upgrade?

I have Photoshop 5, and wonder if I should upgrade? I know that 5 doesn't support DNG or PEF raw images, but apart from that can't see why I should upgrade?
Has anyone on the forum gone from 5 to CS3 and can give me an unbiased view on this?
Many thanks.

CS3 is much evolved from earlier versions - resizing functions/sharpening options etc are all more accurate & efficient.

As to whether it's worth upgrading, much depends on how much/for what you use it. Best thing to do is have a look on the Adobe website & see if any of the new features etc appeal to you.

It's also worth considering the cheaper options - Adobe Elements, very good too by most accounts

simon

I recently upgraded to Elements 6 (from PE4) and am very impressed with it. I really don't see the point in paying for full Photoshop when Elements 6 does (almost) everything I need. I'd rather spend the difference on more gear.
Oh and check the prices for both PSE and PS - they are often cheaper from online shops than from Adobe itself.
I had lots of problems when I first bought PSE4 from the Adobe site, and vowed never to buy directlt from them again. The fact that I got PSE6 cheaper elsewhere was a real bonus.

download tryal version from adobe site and you ll see what is CS3 like.. from CS2 to CS3 i think not necessary but from version 5 is not bad.. sharpening, exposure..

I bought PS Elements 5 last year and it seems to do almost everything that the full blown version of PS in the office does.

aaah... i thought you written about full version 5 of photoshop not PS elements..

I have elements 3 and cs2 and use elements 10-1 for work projects.
in fact I'm just about to install elements 4 that I got free with my wacom intous tablet.

it's fast, easy, and if you take the money you save you can buy some plug-ins that will be a better value long term.

Photoshop 6 was a major leap from 5 and I would suggest at least trying to upgrade to 7. I actually use PS7 quite a lot as it does not require so much memory as CS2 and hence is much faster.

CS2 does have some nice improvements to sharpening and resizing as well as adding in some photo filters.

Hi El Dingo,

I believe Adobe now limits the time/version of PS that your able to upgrade.
ie PS7 would be the oldest version that could be upgraded to CS3!

As far as I am aware you must have version 7 to qualify for an upgrade to CS3. If you only have version 5 you will have to pay full price for CS3.

There are two very good reasons to upgrade. Atleast to Photoshop 7.
From that version you get 16 bit support and the intro of the heal tool. PS 7 is also regarded as the fastest version ever on win 98, XP and mac machines. Legal versions are often seen for sale on auction sites. And they are cheap.
Good luck,
Martin

Thanks for the replies!
When I looked at the Adobe website (and EBuyer, Misco, etc.) the price of CS3 (at about £500) puts me off (as I'm not rich)! The funny thing is, that's about what PS5 cost me originally...
As has been pointed out, I left it far too long to get a reduced price upgrade. Maybe I'll try a download of Elements, and see how that feels.
My 'local' camera shop sells Elements for £49.99 - that seems to be the best I've seen anywhere. Somehow it seems too cheap... 1/10th the price, but is it 1/10th the functionality?

do you have a graphics tablet?
get a wacom bambo and get elements for free.
90% of the tools for 10% of the price. elements is good.

Latest version for Mac is due out soon:

http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelmac/

Sorry, I have a PC.
So far I've avoided Vista...