Adobe CS3

If you are graphic designer, videographer, or other creative professional you might know about Adobe's next Creative Suite, CS3. CS and CS2 came in one package or version offering just about the same tools but each time in a different version. Since the acquisition of Macromedia, Adobe has bundled Macromedia's tools with their CS2. Now with CS3, Adobe has a lot more tools (such as the heavy hitters Flash and Dreamweaver). Since a lot of videographers are more and more using some graphic design applications there is a need to bundle some of those programs with the video programs. CS3 is said to work great on Vista (they did a live web demo of some of the applications on Vista) as well as on the Mac. They seem to be favoring the PC version since two of the apps that come in the Master Collection only are for Windows.

For all the different types of users out there Adobe is offering six different versions of their Creative Suite 3: design standard, design premium, web standard, web premium, production premium, and the master collection. The design premium, most likely the most popular one, is running around eight-teen hundred US dollars ($1,800). The one that sticks out to me the most is the Master Collection which runs around twenty-five hundred US dollars ($2,500).

The Master Collection, or CS3 MC, comes with everything found in the other five versions of CS3 which include:

• Adobe InDesign® CS3
• Adobe Photoshop® CS3 Extended
• Adobe Illustrator® CS3
• Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional
• Adobe Flash® CS3 Professional
• Adobe Dreamweaver® CS3
• Adobe Fireworks® CS3
• Adobe Contribute®
• Adobe After Effects® CS3 Professional
• Adobe Premiere® Pro CS3
• Adobe Soundbooth™ CS3
• Adobe Encore® CS3
• Plus Adobe OnLocation™ CS3 (Windows® only) and Adobe Ultra® CS3 (Windows only)

The thing that really stands out to me is that every single application seems to work well together. You can now import Photoshop layers directly into Flash and Dreamweaver (which will save me tons of time), take your Flash and place it into After Effects, as well as use a ton new features in every new version of each application. Photoshop Extended (one of the two new versions of Photoshop) allows you to integrate 3D modeled elements and Premiere now offers a lot of great new features like new high-definition capabilities as well as a new way of slow-motion-ing clips. The Master Collection will be available mid July (due mostly to the video applications being delayed) where the design and web stuff is available now.

All-in-all this is a creative person's dream. The integration between everything is amazing. I will be pre-ordering my CS3 Master Collection now!