This past weekend someone at Adobe accidentally posted the press release announcing, and detailing the new features of, Photoshop CS2. The early posting did not go unnoticed.

As reported by both Think Secret and AppleInsider (the latter claiming an exclusive a day after Think Secret broke the news), the press release was scheduled for distribution 4 April, when Adobe will presumably announce Creative Suite 2 as well as CS2 versions of all its point products—InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, GoLive, and InCopy.

According to the press release, the following new features are built into Photoshop CS2:

• Spot Healing Brush for faster touch-up of blemishes, red-eye, noise, blurring, and lens distortion.
• Smart Objects that function similarly to Illustrator CS’s symbols in that Smart Objects may be stored once and duplicated, and an edit to the master updates all instances. Additionally Smart Objects are vector illustrations that can be scaled and transformed without losing image quality.
• For video and film professionals Photoshop CS2 features FireWire Previews that can be viewed on a television monitor, non-destructive editing, and support for 32-Bit High Dynamic Range (HDR) images.
• Vanishing Point, which allows cloning, painting, and transforming in perspective.
• Image Warping for fold, stretch, pull, twist, and wrap images into shapes ideal for product packaging design.
• More automation, including task-based menu presets, event-based scripts that execute automatically when triggered by actions like saving or printing, and Multiple Layer Controls that enable simultaneous editing of multiple layers.

Additionally, Photoshop CS2 will integrate into new Creative Suite 2 utilities Adobe Bridge and Adobe Stock Photos.

Adobe Bridge is a beefed up version of Photoshop CS’s File Browser now capable of multi-view file browsing and smooth integration across the Adobe Creative Suite 2 software—including, presumably, InDesign CS 2.

Adobe is also launching a stock photography service, Adobe Stock Photos, accessible via Adobe Bridge that allows users to purchase from “five elite stock image providers” in a single interface.

A new Camera Raw 3.0 workflow allows batch processing of RAW, JPEG, TIFF, DNG, and PSD files independently of Photoshop.

“Photoshop CS2 pushes the envelope with powerful features and simplified workflows that provide photographers and creative professionals the freedom to deliver stunning images,” said Bryan Lamkin, senior vice president of Digital Imaging and Digital Video Products at Adobe. “In light of the four million digital SLRs expected to ship this year, more photographers than ever will be making Photoshop CS2 their digital darkroom of choice.”

And now, they have a jump on what to expect.

Photoshop CS2 will begin shipping to U.S. and Canadian customers in May. Full retail copies are expected to be priced at US$599, with upgrades from any previous version of Photoshop set at US$149. Pricing for Creative Suite 2 has not yet been announced.

[1] Download the actual press release (PDF) courtesy of Think Secret here.

[2] Read the Think Secret story.

[3] Read the AppleInsider story.