All I can say is wow! My PS CS6 results keep blowing away those I got from PS CS5!

Question

If you use Photoshop to prepare photographs and can spare some time, here's a great idea:
In the Photoshop CS6 beta, re-process some of your photos on which you've done your best work before, then compare your results.
I'm betting you will be able to make them look better than you were ever able to do with any prior version of Photoshop.  Maybe even night and day better!
I've been doing just that.
Not only am I able to achieve results directly and quickly with Photoshop CS6, but they're just coming out better looking.  A lot better.  Everything just seems to work more smoothly and accurately, from the more accurate cursors helping with selections, to the UI that's easier on the eyes, to the great stability of this beta.  The improvements in Camera Raw 7 give the images the best start yet, and touch-up and whatnot in Photoshop proper just goes smoothly.
To show you what I mean, here's a raw file, which I shot in 2008 with my Canon EOS-40D and 28-135 zoom lens.  The first link below is to the best result I was able to achieve using Photoshop CS5 back a few years ago.  The second link is what I just managed with Photshop CS6.  I thought I had done really well before, and was quite proud of that result.  But my more recent Photoshop CS6 result has more presence and just feels nicer.  See if you don't agree.
Warning:  These are large 25 megapixel files.
http://images.ProDigitalSoftware.com/Mustang_25MP.jpg
http://images.ProDigitalSoftware.com/Mustang_25MP_CS6.jpg
In a recent thread Jeff Schewe pointed out that technology advances such as what have gone into the PV2012 process of Camera Raw are allowing us to take our raw data further than was ever possible before, and wow, he wasn't kidding!
-Noel

Answer 1

Hudechrome wrote:
The creative side is just that and no amount of tech wizardry can overcome and guarantee that the results from re-visiting with an upgrade will consistently provide a better result
I agree, there's a degree of subjectivity in all this.  And I'm only one person saying I think my results look better - others might not like them so much. 
But every image I've tried this on - and I've done it quite a few times now, just to get to know Photoshop CS6 - I've come up with a better result, and virtually always in less time.  I've had 2+ decades of experience with Photoshop, so I don't think I'm still learning to do things better at this rapid a rate.
Here are two images that represent my latest comparison, best I did with a snapshot in harsh lighting in CS5 vs. best I could do in CS6.  I feel the second has a bit more presence and depth.  I welcome your opinion.
Hudechrome wrote:
The bottom line: Do the tools free or constrict? With a suite like Photoshop, both are in evidence in every release I have encountered from Photoshop5 to CS6.
Just a week certainly isn't enough time to try EVERYTHING but I have to say I've not found much of anything that I feel works worse in PS CS6 so far.  The more I use this thing, from the small tweaks to the new features, to the fact that it's MORE stable than Photoshop CS5, the more I am impressed.
-Noel