The world revolves around social media that, including uploading photos, sending messages and being a content writer. People have started to use Photoshop, and the usage of Adobe has increased in these times.
Adobe software is upgrading itself each day and has become very important. Two of the most used versions are CS3 and CS4
Key Takeaways
- Adobe CS4 introduces new features, such as Content-Aware Scaling, enhanced 3D tools, and an improved interface, which are unavailable in CS3.
- CS4 offers better performance and optimization, resulting in faster processing and smoother operation compared to CS3.
- Adobe no longer provides support or updates for CS3, while CS4 still receives limited support.
Adobe CS3 vs CS4
Adobe CS3 was released in 2007 and included software applications such as Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and others. Adobe CS4 was released in 2008 and included updated versions of the software applications in CS3 and new additions such as After Effects, Premiere Pro, and Soundbooth.
CS3 was a version that was released a year and a half back and was said to be a revolution in its field. It had two of the later dropped features, Adobe Ultra and Adobe Stock Photos.
Some other features were also there in this version like Adobe InCopy, but in the later versions, they could only be ordered with the Adobe pack.
CS4 is the latest version of Adobe Photoshop and includes features like a premier pro along with an illustrator.
The latest version also has developed a new interface in which all the apps share a common tab similar to an internet browser. It has also excluded some apps and switched to 64-bit from 32-bit.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Adobe CS3 | Adobe CS4 |
|---|---|---|
| Versions | CS3 is the older version of Adobe and has some bugs. | CS4 is the newer version with more features and fewer bugs. |
| Interface | The interface of CS3 was traditional and old. | CS4 adopted the newer interface in which all work could be done on different tabs like the internet search engines. |
| Some features | The pack of CS3 consisted of some of the features like the Adobe Ultra. | The pack of CS4 is devoid of these features. |
| 64-bit | The applications which were run in this are strictly 32-bit. | The applications are either 64-bit or optimised to be 64-bit. |
| Nvidia Cuda | The pack doesn’t provide support for this technology. | CS4 is compatible with the latest technologies of NVidia. |
What is Adobe CS3?
Adobe CS3 is a version of Photoshop that provides the user with a large number of features and the photographers and editors a variety of choices.
Photoshop has become an integral part of our life because everyone wants to show their best, whether it is social media or simple company logos.
The CS3 mainly had the traditional interface that made the user create a project under which several files were created that made it easy to handle but were still challenging.
The version was also devoid of many other features like selection and masking, adaptive wide angle, content-aware move and patch, puppet wrap, etc. All these features are included in the “Imagining Magic Option”.
Although the plan was devoid of some features, it includes some apps that were removed later, such as Adobe Ultra, Adobe Stock Photos, etc.
It also included some features of the “Maximum Creativity Option”, like the creative content like shapes, styles, swatches, industry-leading colour correction, etc.
CS3 was out in 2007, making it an older version when CS6 was out. CS6 gives a lot of benefits, but CS3 can still be used, and it is not free. The main problem with using this is that it is not compatible with the latest Windows.
What is Adobe CS4?
Adobe CS4 is the newer version of the CS3 and was released after a year or so.
This version provides better features for editing videos as well. This made it quite popular and was used by most content creators and bloggers to make their videos beautiful and arranged.
The interface of Adobe CS4 was changed from the traditional system. It consists of a single interface on which multiple projects can work. The different tabs and layers can be accessed by the use of the tab above the window section.
The interface is now in the form of a Chrome window where different tabs can be accessed easily.
Adobe CS4 has removed several features that were present in previous versions because they had some bugs, and others were introduced as paid software along with the pack.
The Adobe features removed were Ultra and Stock Photos, and the app made paid for was Adobe InCopy.
The features that were missing in CS3, like the “Imagining Magic Option”, were added with extra features in the “Maximum Creativity Option”, like the fluid canvas rotation, field depth extension, auto-alignment of layers, etc. It also added various features for video editing and was preferred for that.
Main Differences Between Adobe CS3 and CS4
- CS3 is the older version of Adobe and has some bugs, whereas CS4 is the newer version of this and came in 2009.
- The interface of CS3 was traditional and old, whereas CS4 adopted a newer interface in which all work could be done on different tabs like the internet search engines.
- The pack of CS3 consisted of some of the features like the Adobe Ultra. In comparison, the pack CS4 is devoid of these features.
- The applications which were run in this are strictly 32-bit, whereas the applications are either 64-bit or optimised to be 64-bit.
- The pack of CS3 doesn’t provide support for this technology, whereas CS4 is compatible with the latest technologies of NVidia.
Last Updated : 13 June, 2023
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Sandeep Bhandari holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computers from Thapar University (2006). He has 20 years of experience in the technology field. He has a keen interest in various technical fields, including database systems, computer networks, and programming. You can read more about him on his bio page.
Adobe CS3 introduces new features such as Adobe Ultra and Adobe Stock Photos, which are not available in CS4. It also includes ‘Maximum Creativity Option’ features like creative content, shapes, styles, swatches, and industry-leading color correction.
Yes, it seems that CS3 still has its advantages despite being an older version.
It’s interesting that CS3 offers something not available in CS4. That’s worth considering for creative projects.
The interface change from CS3 to CS4 sounds quite significant. The new tab system in CS4 seems to offer a more efficient workflow for handling multiple projects.
It’s great to see the comparison table between Adobe CS3 and CS4. The details provided really help in understanding the differences and improvements in the newer version.
The only problem I see with Adobe CS3 is that it is not compatible with the latest Windows and it is not free to use. I think this makes Adobe CS4 a significant advantage over CS3.
I agree, CS4 definitely has more useful features compared to CS3 and it’s also compatible with the latest technologies.
CS4 offers better performance and optimization compared to CS3. It’s always better to use the latest version of the software for faster processing and smoother operation.
But is CS4 really worth the cost? I heard that it’s quite expensive compared to CS3.
Adobe CS4 appears to have addressed some of the bugs and shortcomings present in CS3. It’s good to know that CS4 is also compatible with the latest technologies of NVidia for better performance.