question about upgrading to CS3 production studio

[John Godden]

Greetings

I'm currently using PP 2 and am thinking about upgrading (primarily for AE) to CS3 Production Studio Premium. The upgrade price (from PP 2) is $1200. If it's OK to ask this question................ is there a cheaper way to upgrade? Any chance the product will be available cheaper once it's officially released?

I've checked the 'big marketplace board' but couldn't find a cheaper way to go.

Thanks
JohnG

[Matt Grunau]

CS3 Production studio is an absolute steal for the price. 7 programs, all the production versions, for $1,700. You can't, and I mean can't, beat that.

But, if you have premiere, and are looking for a copy of After Effects to compliment your work, think about buying an unopened copy of something like 6.5. You can find that for as little as $350, depending on where you look.

I plan to get the production bundle sometime, but not in the near future. For my current needs, Photoshop CS2, AE 6.5, Illustrator CS, Vegas 6, DVD Architect, and Soundforge 6 cover all of my bases.

It really depends on what you need After Effects for. The vast majority of my work in it is basically Photoshop for video, and not so much motion graphics. There are significant improvements from 6.5 to 7, but not in the areas I need them (not yet).

If the upgrade price for PP2 is $1,200, it would be reasonable to add another 400 bucks and get the whole thing. It's not going to get cheaper, but you can find older versions for a lower price in the meantime.


Unless you need everything the newest production bundle brings to the table, with every addition and every program, buy only what you need of older versions. Save yourself some money, and put that towards the big upgrade in the future. Unless you get to the point where all the programs you want even with older versions still comes withing the full production bundle range.

[John Godden]

CS3 Production studio is an absolute steal for the price. 7 programs, all the production versions, for $1,700. You can't, and I mean can't, beat that.

But, if you have premiere, and are looking for a copy of After Effects to compliment your work, think about buying an unopened copy of something like 6.5. You can find that for as little as $350, depending on where you look.

I plan to get the production bundle sometime, but not in the near future. For my current needs, Photoshop CS2, AE 6.5, Illustrator CS, Vegas 6, DVD Architect, and Soundforge 6 cover all of my bases.

It really depends on what you need After Effects for. The vast majority of my work in it is basically Photoshop for video, and not so much motion graphics. There are significant improvements from 6.5 to 7, but not in the areas I need them (not yet).

If the upgrade price for PP2 is $1,200, it would be reasonable to add another 400 bucks and get the whole thing. It's not going to get cheaper, but you can find older versions for a lower price in the meantime.


Unless you need everything the newest production bundle brings to the table, with every addition and every program, buy only what you need of older versions. Save yourself some money, and put that towards the big upgrade in the future. Unless you get to the point where all the programs you want even with older versions still comes withing the full production bundle range.

Hi Matt

The $1200 is for an upgrade to CS3 Production Studio.................. from PP 2.0. :Drogar-Shock(DBG):

OK, I know this is probably a good price, but I'm a cheapskate at heart and would like to weasle the price down if possible. :violin:

[Matt Grunau]

Hi Matt

The $1200 is for an upgrade to CS3 Production Studio.................. from PP 2.0. :Drogar-Shock(DBG):

OK, I know this is probably a good price, but I'm a cheapskate at heart and would like to weasle the price down if possible. :violin:

I would expect that kind of price. Again, unless you need AE CS3, Flash, Premiere CS3, Photoshop CS3, Illustrator CS3, Encore CS, and Soundbooth, why spend that much?


It is a hell of a deal for the whole package, but again, it comes down to what you need. The only Essential programs you really need at this point for video in your case would be Premiere (which you have), Photoshop, and After Effects. You could easily pick up older copies of both AE and Photoshop for around 700. That may seem like a lot, but it is still a grand cheaper than the whole package, and half a grand cheaper than the upgrade.

Then again, for an additonal 1K, you would get everything. I ran into that problem myself, buying and upgrading only the programs I needed, and not dealing with the bundles. In the end, I have spent $1,400. Had I waited, or spent it all at one time, I would have much more. But I needed them when I needed them, and didn't have the amount for the bundle. So I spent my money over time.

Like I said, it is all about what you need now to get the job done. If you need After Effects, look for an older version. If you need Photoshop, look for an older version. You will save money in the short term, but will still have to think about the money you spend now versus putting that money towards the bigger purchase.

In my case, I needed the software NOW, and so I bought each on its own. Yes, in the end I could have taken all that money and put it towards the production bundle, but at the time, I didn't have the money for the whole thing. So I got what I needed.

I wish I could tell you to do "x", but I don't know what you are doing, I don't know what your needs are, and I don't know what or where you expect to be in the next 3 years that would warrent a definitive answer of "yes, get the production bundle".

So again, my advice is, get the essentials you need to get the job done, and get older versions. Then, as you make money from jobs, put that toward the whole package. That's what I'm gonna do.

[John Godden]

Answering my own question: I'll wait till mid July to see what happens with the pricing once CS3 is officially released. My suspicion, however, is that the upgrade price (from PP2) won't change/drop.

[harry.mchugh]

you can check ebay or other places for used copies of production suite.

[Matt Grunau]

you can check ebay or other places for used copies of production suite.

I just checked Amazon, and there was AE 6.5 standard for $320.00. Since most people would not use the extras offered by the production bundle (the wiggler, motion tracking) that's one hell of a good price.