3D design started off a few years ago and Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended is one of the first tools on the market to make it a standard. Designed for experts in various fields such as architecture. Photoshop is not like Illustrator where you can save as in the latest version 2019 and save down to CS5. The reason is photoshop files are very backwards compatible as most of the data is a pixlel data. You at worst may experience some issue with newer featurtes such as adjustment layers, or smart objects, but do a test on the CC computer to.
Wondering how the new features of Photoshop compare to the old versions? Here is a comparison chart of the features in Adobe Photoshop versions CS6 CS5 CS4 CS3 Extended.
It's useful to compare the new features in recent versions of Photoshop when deciding of the upgrade is worth it to you, and your workflow.
PhotographyUNcapped has collected information from several Adobe sources to compile this chart.
Note: Below this big chart is a breakdown of the new features, in each new version, going back through all the Photoshop CS incarnations: CS6, CS5, CS4, CS3, CS2, CS
Compare Photoshop Features + Versions | Photoshop CS5 Extended | Photoshop CS4 Extended | Photoshop CS3 Extended | |
——————————- Imaging Magic – Maximum creative impact ——————————- | ||||
| Content-Aware Patching | yes | – | – | – |
| Advanced Crop Tool | yes | – | – | – |
| Skintone-Aware Selections + Masking | yes | – | – | – |
| Updated Auto-Correction Settings | yes | – | – | – |
| Advanced Lens Correction | yes | – | – | – |
| Truer Edge selection technology | yes | yes | – | – |
| Color decontamination for selections | yes | yes | – | – |
| Selection and mask refinement tools | yes | yes | – | – |
| Content-Aware Fill | yes | yes | – | – |
| Mixer Brush | yes | yes | – | – |
| Bristle Tips | yes | yes | – | – |
| Puppet Warp | yes | yes | – | – |
| Additive grain in Adobe Camera Raw | yes | yes | – | – |
| Automatic lens correction | yes | yes | – | – |
| Straighten Image tool | yes | yes | – | – |
| GPU-accelerated features enhanced | yes | yes | yes | – |
| Content-Aware Scaling | yes | yes | yes | – |
| Extended depth of field | yes | yes | yes | – |
| Post-crop vignetting enhanced | yes | yes | yes | – |
| -ise removal in Adobe Camera Raw enhanced | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| HDR imaging enhanced | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| B&W conversion enhanced | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Creative content (shapes, styles, swatches) enhanced | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Motion-based content editing | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Industry-leading color correction | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Auto-alignment of layers | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Auto-blending of images | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Quick Selection tool | yes | yes | yes | yes |
Compare Photoshop Features + Versions | Photoshop CS5 Extended | Photoshop CS4 Extended | Photoshop CS3 Extended | |
——————————- Creativity Production Improvements + New Tools ——————————- | ||||
| Adobe Camera Raw ACR 7 | yes | – | – | – |
| Oil Painting Filter Set | yes | – | – | – |
| Layer Search | yes | – | – | – |
| Blur Gallery | yes | – | – | – |
| Video Editing + Creation within Photoshop | yes | – | – | – |
| Newly Modified Design Tools | yes | – | – | – |
| Brushes which Erode | yes | – | – | – |
| Painting Presets Additions | yes | – | – | – |
| Pattern Scripts | yes | – | – | – |
| 64bit Lighting Effects Gallery | yes | – | – | – |
| OpenEXR Transparency Support | yes | – | – | – |
| Selection Tools Improved | yes | – | – | – |
| Photoshop Apps Support | yes | yes | – | – |
Compare Photoshop Features + Versions | Photoshop CS5 Extended | Photoshop CS4 Extended | Photoshop CS3 Extended | |
——————————- Performance Improvements ——————————- | ||||
| Save in Background | yes | – | – | – |
| Mercury Graphics Engine | yes | – | – | – |
| Presets Saving – Sharing – Migration | yes | – | – | – |
Compare Photoshop Features + Versions | Photoshop CS5 Extended | Photoshop CS4 Extended | Photoshop CS3 Extended | |
——————————- Productivity boosts ——————————- | ||||
| Adobe Mini Bridge new | yes | yes | – | – |
| Adobe CS Review, Adobe CS Live online services | yes | yes | – | – |
| Paste in place new | yes | yes | – | – |
| 64-bit support | yes | Mac OS and Windows® | Windows only | – |
| Multitouch support | yes | Mac OS only | Mac OS only | – |
| Custom panels enhanced | yes | yes | yes | – |
| Adobe Photoshop Lightroom® integration enhanced | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Powerful printing options enhanced | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Broad file format support enhanced | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Mobile device support | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| High-resolution web display | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Powerful extensibility enhanced | yes | yes | yes | yes |
Compare Photoshop Features + Versions | Photoshop CS5 Extended | Photoshop CS4 Extended | Photoshop CS3 Extended | |
——————————- Simplified 3D Design – 3D creation and editing ——————————- | ||||
| In-context, 3D Controls | yes | – | – | – |
| Reflections + Draggable Shadows | yes | – | – | – |
| Easy Alignment + Distribution of 3D Objects | yes | – | – | – |
| 3D Performance Boost | yes | – | – | – |
| Enhanced 3D Animation | yes | – | – | – |
| 3D Stereo Viewing + Printing | yes | – | – | – |
| Adobe Flash Professional 3D Export | yes | – | – | – |
| 3D Sketch + cartoon Presets | yes | – | – | – |
| Adobe Repoussé | yes | yes | – | – |
| 3D materials library and picker | yes | yes | – | – |
| Depth of field for 3D | yes | yes | – | – |
| Easy-to-use shadow catcher | yes | yes | – | – |
| Image-based lighting | yes | yes | – | – |
| 3D object painting enhanced | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Adobe 3D Forge engine enhanced | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| 2D and 3D compositing enhanced | yes | yes | yes | yes |
Compare Photoshop Features + Versions | Photoshop CS5 Extended | Photoshop CS4 Extended | Photoshop CS3 Extended | |
——————————- Advanced image analysis ——————————- | ||||
| Dicom Directory Support | yes | – | – | – |
| Quantitative data extraction | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Scale markers | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Count tool | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Edit tracking | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| DICOM volume rendering and file support | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| MATLAB support | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Image Stacks | yes | yes | yes | yes |
We hope you find this helpful.
Adobe Photoshop CS6 (version 13)
- Video creation + editing
- Smart Cursors HUD (Heads up display) – one of our faves
- Layer Search
- ACR 7 – Adobe Camera Raw 7 – one of our faves
- Lens Correction New Lens Profiles + Improved Features
- Blur Gallery
- Brushes which erode
- Airbrush brush tips
- New Painting presets
- Oil Painting filter
- Scripts for Pattern making
- Content-Aware Patch – one of our faves
- Auto-correction enhancements
- Skin tone masking and selections
- Mercury Graphics Engine
- 3D cartoon presets
- Background Saving – one of our faves
Adobe Photoshop CS5 (version 12)
- Improved workflow features
- 64-bit support
- Enhanced ACR 6 RAW processing
- Lens Correction Lens Profiles (one of my fave new features)
- Content-Aware Fill
- Painting + Brush improvements
- HDR Pro
- GPU Graphics processor improvements
- Refine Edge revisions
- Improved Performance
Adobe Photoshop CS4 (version 11)
- OpenGL display GPU acceleration in Photoshop
- Improved RAW processing with Adobe Camera RAW CR 5
- Canvas rotation with OGL
- Panels for Adjustment and Masks
- Extended Depth of Field (one of my fave new features)
- Layer Auto-Alignment
- Tabbed Document Windows
- Adobe Bridge CS4 with improved file management
- Support for 64-bit in Windows Vista x64
- Auto-blend
Adobe Photoshop CS3 (version 10)
- New User Interface (UI)
- Adobe Camera RAW (ACR) improvements
- Quick Select tool (one of my fave new features)
- Black and White Adjustment (one of my fave new features)
- New Curves Adjustment Layer dialog
- Smart Filters (non-destructive)
- Save for Web and Mobile Devices improvements
- Cloning and Healing with preview
- HDR new support in 32-bit with Layers
Adobe Photoshop CS2 (version 9)
- Adobe Camera RAW ACR 3
- Deeper Layer nesting structure
- Red eye tool (finally)
- Lens Correction (one of my fave new features)
- Image warp
- Spot Healing Brush tool (one of my fave new features)
- Smart Sharpen
- Vanishing Point
- Selection of multiple Layers
Adobe Photoshop CS (version 8 ) [this is when ‘Creative Suite' was added to the names]
- Shadow/Highlight image adjustment (one of my fave new features)
- Adobe Camera RAW 2
- Match Color
- Lens Blur Filter
- Histogram with real time updating
- Scripting capabilities
How many times have you heard someone say they need Photoshop to edit photos? Perhaps because it was first, or because talented artists have done amazing things with it over the years, Adobe Photoshop has become synonymous in many people's minds with manipulating digital photos.
And yet, Photoshop is one of the biggest iceberg applications out there: Most people, even many experts, use only a small percentage of what Photoshop is capable of.
That's why Adobe also sells Photoshop Elements. Originally designed as a 'Photoshop Lite,' Elements is now nearly as capable as its older sibling, especially for most general-purpose photo editing.
The elementalsIf everyone thinks they need plain Photoshop, how do you determine which application is actually a good fit? In general, Photoshop Elements appeals to customers who are just starting out or who have an intermediate level of experience editing photos.
Adobe has incorporated features that walk users through steps to correct, retouch and create novel effects on their photos; some of those features save a lot of time compared to getting the same results in Photoshop CC.
Photoshop Elements has also found a home among scrapbookers, teachers and people who need to create posters and other materials without becoming image-editing experts.
Photoshop CC users tend to be intermediate-to-advanced image editors, with a high concentration of professionals such as high-end photo retouchers, advertising agencies, Hollywood studios and the like.
That's a broad brush to apply, I admit, and you'll find plenty of exceptions within the Photoshop orbits: advanced editors who don't need all of Photoshop CC's features (or cost), people of varying skill levels who need specific tools found only in Photoshop CC and so on.
But taking a look at which features are present in each application reveals a lot about which markets Adobe is targeting.
Elementary, my dear photographerWhereas Photoshop CC is a vault of features you can pick and choose from as you need them, Photoshop Elements includes modes that walk you through many operations, depending on your skill level.
Photoshop CC assumes you either know how to use its features, or you're going to look elsewhere to learn all of its ins and outs. Photoshop Elements, on the other hand, includes modes that walk you through many operations depending on your skill level.
The Quick Edit view presents several common adjustment types (exposure, color, sharpen) using visual previews: click the thumbnail that looks best. You can then fine tune the adjustment, or alternately click Auto to let the application do the correction.
The Guided Edit view, redesigned in Photoshop Elements 14, steps you through the actions needed to make adjustments, or perform edits such as restoring old photos or changing the perceived depth of field.
In the Expert mode, which is the closest to Photoshop CC's normal working mode, you get features such as layers, masking and the host of common Photoshop tools.
For photographers looking to manage their images, Elements includes the Organizer, a way to collect, tag and find shots within a central library. Photoshop CC assumes that you'll use Lightroom or some other method to manage your libraries.
In terms of specific features, Photoshop Elements boasts a long list. The most important one, however, is the heart of the software: Elements is built using the same core imaging technology of Photoshop CC. All the research and development that Adobe's engineers put into making Photoshop CC the premiere tool for pushing pixels is also available to Photoshop Elements.
Not everything gets in, of course. Elements doesn't support CMYK files, which means it's not an accurate tool for sending jobs to press. Also, specialized Photoshop CC features such as working with 3D objects are also absent.
Some features are restricted. Both Photoshop CC and Photoshop Elements include the Adobe Camera Raw module for working with raw-formatted image files, but the one in Elements has fewer options.
Compare Photoshop Features + Versions | Photoshop CS5 Extended | Photoshop CS4 Extended | Photoshop CS3 Extended | |
——————————- Imaging Magic – Maximum creative impact ——————————- | ||||
| Content-Aware Patching | yes | – | – | – |
| Advanced Crop Tool | yes | – | – | – |
| Skintone-Aware Selections + Masking | yes | – | – | – |
| Updated Auto-Correction Settings | yes | – | – | – |
| Advanced Lens Correction | yes | – | – | – |
| Truer Edge selection technology | yes | yes | – | – |
| Color decontamination for selections | yes | yes | – | – |
| Selection and mask refinement tools | yes | yes | – | – |
| Content-Aware Fill | yes | yes | – | – |
| Mixer Brush | yes | yes | – | – |
| Bristle Tips | yes | yes | – | – |
| Puppet Warp | yes | yes | – | – |
| Additive grain in Adobe Camera Raw | yes | yes | – | – |
| Automatic lens correction | yes | yes | – | – |
| Straighten Image tool | yes | yes | – | – |
| GPU-accelerated features enhanced | yes | yes | yes | – |
| Content-Aware Scaling | yes | yes | yes | – |
| Extended depth of field | yes | yes | yes | – |
| Post-crop vignetting enhanced | yes | yes | yes | – |
| -ise removal in Adobe Camera Raw enhanced | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| HDR imaging enhanced | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| B&W conversion enhanced | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Creative content (shapes, styles, swatches) enhanced | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Motion-based content editing | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Industry-leading color correction | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Auto-alignment of layers | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Auto-blending of images | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Quick Selection tool | yes | yes | yes | yes |
Compare Photoshop Features + Versions | Photoshop CS5 Extended | Photoshop CS4 Extended | Photoshop CS3 Extended | |
——————————- Creativity Production Improvements + New Tools ——————————- | ||||
| Adobe Camera Raw ACR 7 | yes | – | – | – |
| Oil Painting Filter Set | yes | – | – | – |
| Layer Search | yes | – | – | – |
| Blur Gallery | yes | – | – | – |
| Video Editing + Creation within Photoshop | yes | – | – | – |
| Newly Modified Design Tools | yes | – | – | – |
| Brushes which Erode | yes | – | – | – |
| Painting Presets Additions | yes | – | – | – |
| Pattern Scripts | yes | – | – | – |
| 64bit Lighting Effects Gallery | yes | – | – | – |
| OpenEXR Transparency Support | yes | – | – | – |
| Selection Tools Improved | yes | – | – | – |
| Photoshop Apps Support | yes | yes | – | – |
Compare Photoshop Features + Versions | Photoshop CS5 Extended | Photoshop CS4 Extended | Photoshop CS3 Extended | |
——————————- Performance Improvements ——————————- | ||||
| Save in Background | yes | – | – | – |
| Mercury Graphics Engine | yes | – | – | – |
| Presets Saving – Sharing – Migration | yes | – | – | – |
Compare Photoshop Features + Versions | Photoshop CS5 Extended | Photoshop CS4 Extended | Photoshop CS3 Extended | |
——————————- Productivity boosts ——————————- | ||||
| Adobe Mini Bridge new | yes | yes | – | – |
| Adobe CS Review, Adobe CS Live online services | yes | yes | – | – |
| Paste in place new | yes | yes | – | – |
| 64-bit support | yes | Mac OS and Windows® | Windows only | – |
| Multitouch support | yes | Mac OS only | Mac OS only | – |
| Custom panels enhanced | yes | yes | yes | – |
| Adobe Photoshop Lightroom® integration enhanced | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Powerful printing options enhanced | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Broad file format support enhanced | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Mobile device support | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| High-resolution web display | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Powerful extensibility enhanced | yes | yes | yes | yes |
Compare Photoshop Features + Versions | Photoshop CS5 Extended | Photoshop CS4 Extended | Photoshop CS3 Extended | |
——————————- Simplified 3D Design – 3D creation and editing ——————————- | ||||
| In-context, 3D Controls | yes | – | – | – |
| Reflections + Draggable Shadows | yes | – | – | – |
| Easy Alignment + Distribution of 3D Objects | yes | – | – | – |
| 3D Performance Boost | yes | – | – | – |
| Enhanced 3D Animation | yes | – | – | – |
| 3D Stereo Viewing + Printing | yes | – | – | – |
| Adobe Flash Professional 3D Export | yes | – | – | – |
| 3D Sketch + cartoon Presets | yes | – | – | – |
| Adobe Repoussé | yes | yes | – | – |
| 3D materials library and picker | yes | yes | – | – |
| Depth of field for 3D | yes | yes | – | – |
| Easy-to-use shadow catcher | yes | yes | – | – |
| Image-based lighting | yes | yes | – | – |
| 3D object painting enhanced | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Adobe 3D Forge engine enhanced | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| 2D and 3D compositing enhanced | yes | yes | yes | yes |
Compare Photoshop Features + Versions | Photoshop CS5 Extended | Photoshop CS4 Extended | Photoshop CS3 Extended | |
——————————- Advanced image analysis ——————————- | ||||
| Dicom Directory Support | yes | – | – | – |
| Quantitative data extraction | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Scale markers | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Count tool | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Edit tracking | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| DICOM volume rendering and file support | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| MATLAB support | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Image Stacks | yes | yes | yes | yes |
We hope you find this helpful.
Adobe Photoshop CS6 (version 13)
- Video creation + editing
- Smart Cursors HUD (Heads up display) – one of our faves
- Layer Search
- ACR 7 – Adobe Camera Raw 7 – one of our faves
- Lens Correction New Lens Profiles + Improved Features
- Blur Gallery
- Brushes which erode
- Airbrush brush tips
- New Painting presets
- Oil Painting filter
- Scripts for Pattern making
- Content-Aware Patch – one of our faves
- Auto-correction enhancements
- Skin tone masking and selections
- Mercury Graphics Engine
- 3D cartoon presets
- Background Saving – one of our faves
Adobe Photoshop CS5 (version 12)
- Improved workflow features
- 64-bit support
- Enhanced ACR 6 RAW processing
- Lens Correction Lens Profiles (one of my fave new features)
- Content-Aware Fill
- Painting + Brush improvements
- HDR Pro
- GPU Graphics processor improvements
- Refine Edge revisions
- Improved Performance
Adobe Photoshop CS4 (version 11)
- OpenGL display GPU acceleration in Photoshop
- Improved RAW processing with Adobe Camera RAW CR 5
- Canvas rotation with OGL
- Panels for Adjustment and Masks
- Extended Depth of Field (one of my fave new features)
- Layer Auto-Alignment
- Tabbed Document Windows
- Adobe Bridge CS4 with improved file management
- Support for 64-bit in Windows Vista x64
- Auto-blend
Adobe Photoshop CS3 (version 10)
- New User Interface (UI)
- Adobe Camera RAW (ACR) improvements
- Quick Select tool (one of my fave new features)
- Black and White Adjustment (one of my fave new features)
- New Curves Adjustment Layer dialog
- Smart Filters (non-destructive)
- Save for Web and Mobile Devices improvements
- Cloning and Healing with preview
- HDR new support in 32-bit with Layers
Adobe Photoshop CS2 (version 9)
- Adobe Camera RAW ACR 3
- Deeper Layer nesting structure
- Red eye tool (finally)
- Lens Correction (one of my fave new features)
- Image warp
- Spot Healing Brush tool (one of my fave new features)
- Smart Sharpen
- Vanishing Point
- Selection of multiple Layers
Adobe Photoshop CS (version 8 ) [this is when ‘Creative Suite' was added to the names]
- Shadow/Highlight image adjustment (one of my fave new features)
- Adobe Camera RAW 2
- Match Color
- Lens Blur Filter
- Histogram with real time updating
- Scripting capabilities
How many times have you heard someone say they need Photoshop to edit photos? Perhaps because it was first, or because talented artists have done amazing things with it over the years, Adobe Photoshop has become synonymous in many people's minds with manipulating digital photos.
And yet, Photoshop is one of the biggest iceberg applications out there: Most people, even many experts, use only a small percentage of what Photoshop is capable of.
That's why Adobe also sells Photoshop Elements. Originally designed as a 'Photoshop Lite,' Elements is now nearly as capable as its older sibling, especially for most general-purpose photo editing.
The elementalsIf everyone thinks they need plain Photoshop, how do you determine which application is actually a good fit? In general, Photoshop Elements appeals to customers who are just starting out or who have an intermediate level of experience editing photos.
Adobe has incorporated features that walk users through steps to correct, retouch and create novel effects on their photos; some of those features save a lot of time compared to getting the same results in Photoshop CC.
Photoshop Elements has also found a home among scrapbookers, teachers and people who need to create posters and other materials without becoming image-editing experts.
Photoshop CC users tend to be intermediate-to-advanced image editors, with a high concentration of professionals such as high-end photo retouchers, advertising agencies, Hollywood studios and the like.
That's a broad brush to apply, I admit, and you'll find plenty of exceptions within the Photoshop orbits: advanced editors who don't need all of Photoshop CC's features (or cost), people of varying skill levels who need specific tools found only in Photoshop CC and so on.
But taking a look at which features are present in each application reveals a lot about which markets Adobe is targeting.
Elementary, my dear photographerWhereas Photoshop CC is a vault of features you can pick and choose from as you need them, Photoshop Elements includes modes that walk you through many operations, depending on your skill level.
Photoshop CC assumes you either know how to use its features, or you're going to look elsewhere to learn all of its ins and outs. Photoshop Elements, on the other hand, includes modes that walk you through many operations depending on your skill level.
The Quick Edit view presents several common adjustment types (exposure, color, sharpen) using visual previews: click the thumbnail that looks best. You can then fine tune the adjustment, or alternately click Auto to let the application do the correction.
The Guided Edit view, redesigned in Photoshop Elements 14, steps you through the actions needed to make adjustments, or perform edits such as restoring old photos or changing the perceived depth of field.
In the Expert mode, which is the closest to Photoshop CC's normal working mode, you get features such as layers, masking and the host of common Photoshop tools.
For photographers looking to manage their images, Elements includes the Organizer, a way to collect, tag and find shots within a central library. Photoshop CC assumes that you'll use Lightroom or some other method to manage your libraries.
In terms of specific features, Photoshop Elements boasts a long list. The most important one, however, is the heart of the software: Elements is built using the same core imaging technology of Photoshop CC. All the research and development that Adobe's engineers put into making Photoshop CC the premiere tool for pushing pixels is also available to Photoshop Elements.
Not everything gets in, of course. Elements doesn't support CMYK files, which means it's not an accurate tool for sending jobs to press. Also, specialized Photoshop CC features such as working with 3D objects are also absent.
Some features are restricted. Both Photoshop CC and Photoshop Elements include the Adobe Camera Raw module for working with raw-formatted image files, but the one in Elements has fewer options.
Photoshop Elements is typically built on the previous generation of Photoshop's engine; many of the previous year's star Photoshop features would appear in the current year's version of Elements. For example, Content-Aware Fill first appeared in Photoshop CS5 in 2010, and made its way to Photoshop Elements 9 in 2011.
Photoshop Cs5 Vs Cs6
Photoshop Elements, for example, includes a Haze Removal feature introduced in 2014 in Photoshop CC and Lightroom CC. Although we often like hazy, misty images, sometimes it's nice to have control over how much haze is in the shot.
Another feature is the ability to sharpen images that are blurry due to camera motion.
Photoshop Elements also includes advanced features that either are not in Photoshop CC, or are more difficult or time consuming to apply. For example, the Photomerge Scene Cleaner lets you combine several photos of the same scene (say, a popular tourist attraction) such that people strolling by are no longer in the shot. Adobe photoshop cs6 free. download full version zip.
Photoshop Cs6 Vs Cs3 Software
We have dozens of courses on Photoshop on LinkedIn Learning. See them all here.
Adobe Photoshop Cs6
They include:
