Nik Software has updated their complete collection for 64-bit/CS5 compatibility. Way to go, guys! [Via]
Mac folks, is there anything keeping you running CS5 in 32-bit mode? I ask because the more legacy code we can lop off, the more we can focus on building for the future.
All 5 of the artists in my company who use MacPro’s run 32 bit mode just because of how poorly 64 bit performs, two reverted to CS4 for the bulk of their work. 2 of 5 our the iMacs run in 32 bit mode. Biggest running complaint is images that are 2–3 megabytes open several times slower than they do with CS4.
We don’t use plugins since around the Genuine Fractals like version 1 days though other than the nice little use old shortcuts plugin. Thanks again for having your team recompile that for our G5s again. The G5s are gone, but I won’t forget your efforts.
How about your own plugins, ie. Lighting Effects?
Would be nice to be able to use that without relaunching Photoshop…
Lighting Effects is an ancient code base. We decided not to waste resources updating it to 64-bit in favor developing new technology for a future version – Similar to how we deprecated Extract in CS4 and delivered the non-destructive, in app/non-plug-in, solution of Refine Edge/Smart Radius technology in CS5.
PhotoKit Sharpener tools are still 32-bit:
http://www.pixelgenius.com/support.html
Flexify still doesn’t appear to have a 64 bit version yet 🙁
Lighting Effects, simple as that. I know it’s an aging effect, but I use it weekly for one particular purpose in my unique workflow.
I’d be just as happy with a fully equivalent third-party replacement, but haven’t found one. As it is, I still run 32-bit on OS X.
Two plug-ins I use regularly, Acclaim’s Focus Magic and PixelVistas PhotoLift, remain unavailable in 64-bit versions. Acclaim says they’ll eventually release a 64-bit version of Focus Magic, but won’t say when. PixelVistas seems to be moribund or dead, since their Web site hasn’t been updated since 2007.
I’m looking for 64-bit replacements for both of these plug-ins, but I’m in no hurry. Nor am I in any real hurry to spend the money on upgrading several other plug-ins to new 64-bit versions that are now available.
The 32-bit CS5 works perfectly well for me with 64-bit Windows 7. My digital cameras are 8 and 10 megapixels, so the files don’t require the extra memory. The 32-bit version is entirely adequate even for the 4000dpi scans from 35mm negatives that I still occasionally work with. I’ve played with the 64-bit version a little, and found no performance difference I can notice despite the extra available memory. The only remotely compelling reason to abandon the 32-bit version is that there doesn’t seem to be any way to tell Bridge that I want to use it rather than the 64-bit version it insists on opening. I can work around that by opening 32-bit Photoshop before Bridge, but that seems awfully kludgey.
I don’t know how typical I am, but I suspect that many Photoshop users are in no hurry to embrace 64 bits.
Kyan – PhotokitSharpener 2 is CS5/64 bit compatible.
IconBuilder by the IconFactory requires 32bit mode. http://iconfactory.com/software/iconbuilder
(CS5 on a Mac 10.6)
TWAIN support for my scanner (which I used roughly weekly) is still only 32 bit
Scanners are tough one. Unless the scanner is really new, I don’t see the manufacturers updating their drivers. You could try a third party driver like VueScan 9 (releasing in December) that may give your scanner 64bit support.
Photomerge UI, Panopreviewer, Flexify… huh, do I make panoramas? But when the results get big, things slow to a crawl…
Plugins that don’t work in 64-land: Kodak’s Digital ROC, NoiseNinja, and Digital Light & Color’s Color Mechanic.
if loosing ancient filters like Lighting Effects (ah, use layer blending modes and the gradient tool!) means you can move forward faster, i say do it.
The printer plug-in for my Canon 8300 is still 32 bit code. Update “promised” for October, but they didn’t specify which year…
Noise Ninja and the Pixel Genius suite
My scanner and Lighting Effects
Import Video Frames to Layers.
I only just started using this feature and was surprised to find that it’s 32-bit only.
I will be honest and say that I’m not sure how much use I will make of it in the future though.
Would like Contact Sheet and Picture Package to be 64bit… and, no, the bridge versions are not an improvement.
The Photoshop Nik plugins are true 64 bit. Well I think anyhow, and they (NIK) say they are written in 64 bit code, while the lightroom version is 64 bit compatible. It is actually still a 32 bit plug in, but it functions while running a 64 bit boot (MAC) and running lightroom in 64 bit mode. You can verify the 32 bit processes by using activity monitor (MAC), and viewing processes and “kind” of process INTEL VS INTEL (64 bit). CS5 Photoshop runs killer in MAC 64 bit boot and 64 bit program. For large images and multilayered files Photoshop can and does access 16+ GB ram. Its great. I think ya gotta want to be 64 bit, make the choices to get there and yes its what it always should have been like.
Scanner driver… Twain… argh…
By the way, worst of it : i use PS CS5 for daily work in 64bit, works like a charm, and i use cs4 just to scan. And then i miss the spot corrector with content aware fill…
You ask about 32 bit legacy use. I certainly have no need for 32-bit functionality. However, if I could have my druthers, I’d sure like Adobe to eliminate the 300,000-pixel restriction in Photoshop and .PSB files. This restriction is often a big hassle for panorama photographers, at least those wanting to perform work over 20 GigaPixels. At 240 ppi, that’s only 104 feet wide, certainly not wide enough for some of the ultra-high resolution panos we want to build for our business.