Fancy Photoshop but can’t justify a full $49.99 a month for Adobe’s Creative Cloud suite? A new Creative Cloud bundle aimed at photographers offers a somewhat cheaper alternative.
As part of an update to its overall Creative Cloud suite that will see it labelled Creative Cloud 2014, Adobe is introducing a photographer-specific bundle that includes Photoshop CC, Lightroom and Lightroom for mobile, but not the full set of 14 apps included in the broader Creative Cloud suite. In Australia, it will cost $9.99 a month (on a 12-month deal). (Adobe previously offered this as a “limited time” deal in the US, but it’s now a permanent addition.)
That’s a marked switch from Adobe’s previous “mark up early and mark up often” approach. Indeed, we were so suspicious that we double-checked with Adobe, seeking confirmation the price was correct, and Adobe assured us it was.
For the full Creative Cloud suite, the standard Australian subscription still costs $49.99 a month (assuming you sign up for 12 months). The suite is receiving a significant update today across all 14 desktop apps, and also adding three new iPad design apps (Sketch for drawing, Line for drafting and Photoshop Mix for compositing and masking) and an iOS version of the Creative Cloud centralised management app.
Adobe has also launched two new hardware products, the Adobe Ink pen and the Adobe Slide ruler (seen in the picture above), for use with iPads. Those are US-only initially, but will launch in Australia before the end of the year. We’ll check closely to see if they attract an Australia tax penalty.
If you’re not a professional designer or photographer, there are plenty of good tools available for free. But if you specialise in photography and don’t need Illustrator, Premiere or InDesign, $120 a year is a lot less painful than the previous Creative Cloud option.
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One response to “Adobe’s New Creative Cloud For Photographers Is A Lot Cheaper”
Plans are available here if you want to compare: https://creative.adobe.com/plans
Half of me wants to get it, because I use Photoshop (and now, LR) all the time but the other half of me shouts not to, because of Adobe’s previous behaviour when it comes to pricing in Australia, plus the fact that you’re basically renting the software.
I paid $90 for my copy of HDRSoft’s Photomatix 4. I got version 5 for free and I can install this software on unlimited PCs, as long as I’m the primary user. For the value it adds to my photographs (http://davidgray.photography), I’d say its worth it.
In addition to this, I use Adobe Bridge (not included in the $9) for photo management, plus I use Illustrator (for 2-3 weeks a year – client work), I’ve used InDesign in the past (learning how to use it) and I’ve tinkered with Encore and After Effects (again, learning how to use it, plus doing some neat stuff with home movies for shits and giggles). Illustrator alone would be $228 a year ($19 a month) and I don’t make that much out of doing simple logo tweaks for local businesses.
If I wanted the others, I’d either have to pay $19 per month each (for a whole year), or $49 a month for the “complete” package. Not a good thing for curious people like myself who just want to learn how to use Adobe software.