Help with CS4 Crashing and 'small previews'

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Hi all,

 

I am crashing more and more when processing images in Bridge then opening CS4..Photoshop 'unexpectantly quits" more often than not.

 

The images are created using my new M9 but I had the same problem with my M8. I am very new to Leica and not experienced working with Leica files.

 

But I have been having problems with CS4 quitting with Canon images as well.

 

I am using the newest versions of Bridge and CS4 on a Mac Pro Tower with plenty of ram and the newest system.

 

I've trying allocating more RAM and have purged cached images, compacted and whatever else I can think of and it still crashes. I just use it anyway and continue to reopen Photoshop but it's getting more and more disturbing.

 

Also, when I am viewing images in Bridge in Filmstrip mode the Previews above the filmstrip are small. I had this same thing with my files from my M8 and X1..With Canon files I don't have this problem.

 

Between these two problems I can't keep working like this.

 

Others have suggested using Lightroom and different processing software which I will consider but I do feel this is worth trying to get to the bottom of and can't spend that much time learning a new system right now.

 

Any help or suggestions greatly appreciated.

[adan]

I'm using PS and Bridge CS4 on an iMac 27", 4 gigs RAM, Snow Leopard 10.6.2. Several points:

 

1. Adobe Camera Raw 5.6 (current most recent) has a bug that crashes with M9 files on occasion - ACR is a Photoshop plugin, so it takes down Photoshop when it blows up.

 

http://forums.adobe.com/message/2633698

 

Adobe fixed this bug in Lightroom 5.6.1, but has not to my knowledge yet made the same fix to ACR 5.6 (as Steve Jobs said, Adobe is lazy sometimes). You need to find the old "beta" version of ACR 5.6 (which is what I use - no crashes, just an annoying once-a-day reminder that it is a beta version) - or go back to using v. 5.5 or 5.4. - You may need to email Adobe to find where they have hidden earlier versions of ACR on their download site.

 

Sending Adobe a bug report reminding them they are behind the curve on fixing this won't hurt either.

 

(Don't know about Canon images - at this point I'm not having any crashes. However, the Mac occasionally spends 15 seconds or so with the colored spinner whirling around the first time I open any raw image from Bridge into Camera Raw after starting Bridge - not a crash, just a brief panic attack).

 

2. There is a control slider, bottom right in the Adobe Bridge CS4 main window, that controls how large the thumbnails are.

 

In filmstrip mode, it directly controls the fimstrip image size. And indirectly (and inversely) how big the preview image is - the bigger the filmstrip images, the smaller the single image preview (also depends on how big your whole Bridge window/monitor area is).

 

Personally I use the "Essentials" view, which is the "contact sheet + preview + EXIF" viewing mode. But the same principle applies - the more space devoted to the thumbnails, the smaller the single-image preview image has to be. You can play with the dividers between the various panes to maximize the preview image area at the expense of the other panes.

 

Other than that - there are just the usual Mac fix-it items like repairing permissions.

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Andy, thanks for taking the time to post.

 

I'll try to go back to an earlier version of ACR to see if that helps.

 

Regardless of the size of the image in Filmstrip mode, the preview size of the images from 3 Leica cameras I have tried are all much smaller than the images from any of my Canons.

 

I'll try again tomorrow (actually today as it's almost 5am!)

 

Thanks again and I'll update this thread with my findings.

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I'm using PS and Bridge CS4 on an iMac 27", 4 gigs RAM, Snow Leopard 10.6.2. Several points:

 

1. Adobe Camera Raw 5.6 (current most recent) has a bug that crashes with M9 files on occasion - ACR is a Photoshop plugin, so it takes down Photoshop when it blows up.

 

Adobe Forums: Issue sending Leica M9 DNGs to CS4...

 

Adobe fixed this bug in Lightroom 5.6.1, but has not to my knowledge yet made the same fix to ACR 5.6 (as Steve Jobs said, Adobe is lazy sometimes). You need to find the old "beta" version of ACR 5.6 (which is what I use - no crashes, just an annoying once-a-day reminder that it is a beta version) - or go back to using v. 5.5 or 5.4. - You may need to email Adobe to find where they have hidden earlier versions of ACR on their download site.

 

Sending Adobe a bug report reminding them they are behind the curve on fixing this won't hurt either.

 

(Don't know about Canon images - at this point I'm not having any crashes. However, the Mac occasionally spends 15 seconds or so with the colored spinner whirling around the first time I open any raw image from Bridge into Camera Raw after starting Bridge - not a crash, just a brief panic attack).

 

2. There is a control slider, bottom right in the Adobe Bridge CS4 main window, that controls how large the thumbnails are.

 

In filmstrip mode, it directly controls the fimstrip image size. And indirectly (and inversely) how big the preview image is - the bigger the filmstrip images, the smaller the single image preview (also depends on how big your whole Bridge window/monitor area is).

 

Personally I use the "Essentials" view, which is the "contact sheet + preview + EXIF" viewing mode. But the same principle applies - the more space devoted to the thumbnails, the smaller the single-image preview image has to be. You can play with the dividers between the various panes to maximize the preview image area at the expense of the other panes.

 

Other than that - there are just the usual Mac fix-it items like repairing permissions.

 

Just starting to look into this now and a couple of things...When viewing images in Flimstrip mode in Bridge the Previews are small for all images taken with any Leica (M9, M8 and X1)..Regardless of the size I view the thumbnails the previews remain small. It's not the end of the world but it's annoying!

 

I read the link you posted about on Adobe's site where an employee of Adobe acknowledges there is a problem but doesn't suggest there is a fix yet.

 

My friend is using the exact setup I am and he too is crashing constantly with Canon files, as I am as well.

 

I am very unhappy with the instability if Adobe right now! Hate having to trouble shoot this stuff and go down deadends!

 

I'll try going to an older version of ACR and will report back!

 

 

PS: I tried viewing in the Essentials View, yes they are larger but at the largest sizes very pixelated!

[adan]

Hmm - the only pictures that occasionally turn up really small in Bridge for me are things in odd "old" formats like PICT. Or sometimes older Photoshop files (I've been using it since 2.0) that I haven't looked at for a while, and which Bridge is "seeing" for the first time when I go back through my archives (and those usually jump to a big preview once Bridge has a few seconds to read them.

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Hmm - the only pictures that occasionally turn up really small in Bridge for me are things in odd "old" formats like PICT. Or sometimes older Photoshop files (I've been using it since 2.0) that I haven't looked at for a while, and which Bridge is "seeing" for the first time when I go back through my archives (and those usually jump to a big preview once Bridge has a few seconds to read them.

 

I guess I can live with it till Adobe fixes it or I figure it out?

 

Oddly has not crashed in the last 25 images I have tested...but...we know how that goes!

[wda]

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I assume all your problems are now solved. Your thread came to light when I searched the forum for more recent comments on the stability of CS4. Mine has worked well since I upgraded some time ago, until today when it suddenly refuses to open beyond a screen warning of a fatal problem.

 

I use Lightroom as my primary processor and only 'finish' some files in CS4 when I need to access tools not available in LR or adding text etc. I realise that CS4 is an old version, but it is all I need nowadays.

 

My system is Windows 7 and I will probably have to uninstall and reinstall the software. Unless anyone has a better idea.

 

CS4 Bridge has always been a fickle programme for me, crashing without provocation. I use it as little as possible. There are other ways to replicate its functions.