Wiley, the publisher was deceptive on the front cover of this book.
On the front cover it says, "100% Comprehensive-Authortative" This is a lie. I was trying to find out how to use the Actions feature. Actions are missing from the book. I emailed one of the authors. I was informed that Actions were left out. I was told that this book is the Standard version. The Professional version has Actions. A book that says on the front cover, "100% Comprehensive" should include everything on Photoshop CS2. There is no need for two separate versions. Who knows what else is missing from this book.
Photoshop CS2 bible
I am new to digital photography correcting and I didn't really find this book very helpful. It is full of information, if you know what is the purpose of the information. To me it seems like the on-line help that comes with the programme. I would also compare it to labels on medicine bottles......if you are a doctor then the chemical's name, proportion and mix make sense. If you are not a doctor then it is a case of "so What". If you are a "doctor" then it is just the thing for you. If you want something practical then stick to photography magazines.
great reference; not the best for a new user
This book is a great reference It probably does contain everything you want to know about Photoshop CS2, but I wouldn't recommend this to someone as their first book on Photoshop. PS can do so much and this book tells you about all of it. It's just too much for a first-time user. Definitely buy this for your library, but don't start your education with it.
CS2 Bible
I know absolutely nothing about Photoshop. This is an excellent book to help in learning Photoshop. It was recommended by my professor and I trust his word. So I purchased it and I was not disappointed.
Very good, but could use a better index
I'd already read this book before buying, so there weren't any surprises.
Overall, I'm very satisfied. In particular, there were few errors compared to most reference books published today. (Screen captures not always accurately described by the text, however.)
A few complaints:
(1) Lack of color in the figures and screen captures is a real drawback.
(2) It's supposed to be a reference book, yet the index is not very thorough at all. Sometimes it takes me quite a while to locate a topic--I've had to mark the book up with a lot of post-its to get around this.
(3) Some things are covered in kindergarten detail, but some are covered little or not at all. For example, if actions are covered, I can't see where.
****
My updated review:
I liked the book. I'm going to get the CS3 version right after this. Still, there are things that bug the hell out of me:
(1) The index is about the most worthless I've ever seen--a big problem for a reference book. I had to mark my book up with postits instead.
(2) Some Photoshop features are 100% ignored. Others get too much detail. I have no idea why.
(3) I want technical explanations, giving me a better idea--preferably in the form of formulas--about how each feature works. A formula wouldn't take up much extra space, and could be put in a footnote or appendix. "It works and it's cool" just isn't enough for me.
(4) There are plenty of errors, usually small, that pop up with increasing frequency as the book goes on. Especially when describing what's supposed to be in a figure. That's about par for the course these days, but it still wastes a lot of my time figuring out what was really meant.
But, to reiterate, I did, as a whole, like it.
(39 reviews)
