PSX, as we will refer to it from this point on, came out back in April of this year and has already been the focus of many competent articles and reviews so rather than simply be repetitive we will run down a few haves and have-nots and give you our bottom line thoughts.

The first thing any user of PSX will notice is its brand new interface, which is easy to adjust to but different enough to really improve efficiency. It will certainly make your use of screen space more efficient and may allow you to finally part with that palettes monitor. The changing of the tools palette to a single row of tools saves SO much space on screen just by itself that we all wonder why it took almost 20 years for them to figure this one out.

The quick list of new features includes:

Smart Filters (non destructive Smart Objects technology now extended to include non destructive filtering), a new Quick Selection Tool (think magic wand as a free form brush), some new advanced compositing tools for merging the best parts from a series of images, and Video Layers (basic).

The Extended part also includes the following: 3D Layers that allow importing of 3D models, Video Layers (with advanced keyframe time line), Movie Paint tools for painting onVideo layers, 32 bit HDR file support, advanced Vanishing Point capabilities with 3D mesh export. A related neat trick is exporting Vanishing Point data in .vpe format which actually rebuilds the geometry and textures within After effects. This is a great 3D simulation for those that do not wish to do 3D.

The termination of ImageReady software may be problematic for some since not all of its capabilities have been rolled into PS. While its main animated GIF tools are in PS standard edition, there is no longer any way to create an image map for web use. Though not an issue with video, we find it stilted for PS to now handle 3D but not be able to create a simple 2d image map for the web.

Bottom Line: The new tools are all great, as is the new interface. The video and 3D abilities of Extended are also very welcome (though we did hear the term “feature bloat” bandied about). If your projects involve less demanding multimedia then a stand alone copy of PS is so powerful you may not even need the full suite and can get by with just PSX.

On the other hand, even if your needs outstrip Extended’s capabilities, the new video and 3D support may still be useful for the fast client mock-ups and presentation work that is often needed earlier in a production cycle.

Even if none of these new whiz-bang tools strike your fancy and you are an old fashioned artist (fancy that), then the Smart Filters ability to work non-destructively is a boon for you as well. The Smart tools interface in the layers palette is a bit kludgey after a few such layers are added, but powerful none-the-less. CS3 Photoshop Extended is a real winner.