Adobe remove 3D editing from Photoshop. This is a great disappointment according to a number of photographers, image creators and developers in the 360 virtual community.
When Adobe first introduced the monthly payment scheme I raised an issue regarding the pricing policy as I was working in the USA and UK. If I signed up in the USA, as a resident of the UK, I would still be charged the higher UK price! Adobe not only adjusted this but also reduced the price so that it would be the same in all markets. I believe my call did make some sense to them.
What doesn’t make sense is removing 3D functionality and leaving users to migrate to other software programs, mainly Serif’s Affinity Photo. This is a budget program retailing at £50.00 which will make it very difficult for Adobe to attract the migrators back.
There is a huge market for 360 cameras and the evidence is there in front of our eyes. Ricoh sold out of the V5 and Z1 cameras globally on many occasions and the demand for 360 tours and virtual spaces continues to grow.
I started with Photoshop v1 and unfortunately will have no option but to try Affinity Photo (in fact I’ve already bought it!) However, before changing my workflow I will be investigating other software options. I’m not convinced Affinity Photo is reproducing all of the detail in a RAW data file using a Canon DSLR. The Photoshop file was marginally better. The next step is to check if there is any loss in quality when importing RAW data from a Sony A7R.
What do Adobe say? You can use the ‘previous’ version by switching off the auto update. There will be a 2 year window to continue using this which will then be an ‘old’ version. I’m not a fan of switching between versions. It doesn’t change the fact that it will disappear.
To crown it all Adobe have released 4 new ‘paid for’ Substance Apps. These are Stager, Painter, Sampler and Designer. As you would expect there is an increased cost of £40/month or £480 per annum. That’s another £2000 of photography work to enable for you to pay for the price of Substance. Will this price increase when the Substance Modeller version is available?
Despite Adobe saying the Substance Apps offer everything in the 3D environment. Many photo editors want the simple function of removing the tripod and levelling the image.
Some links you will find useful; Adobe link / Affinity link
p.s. I don’t have an affiliation with either software companies. This is my opinion and I’m expressing my disappointment and from some of the feedback I’ve read on the 360 forums.
