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Photo Management Software

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David Lowe

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I’m looking for suggestions for photo management software.

I take a lot sports pictures which results in having 1000’s of images to sort through. I use PS CC for editing but I find Bridge rather slow and clumsy for cataloguing and moving files from one folder to another.

I currently use ACDSee, which I quite like, to sort through my images, but because I have purchased a new body with new RAW files I need to upgrade. So before I do that I thought I’d ask for suggestions on alternatives.

I have Lightroom but never use it, again I find a bit slow for sorting or am missing something and should I learn more about it?


David.
www.dalsports.co.uk
www.davidlowephotography.com
 
David Lowe said:
I’m looking for suggestions for photo management software.

I take a lot sports pictures which results in having 1000’s of images to sort through. I use PS CC for editing but I find Bridge rather slow and clumsy for cataloguing and moving files from one folder to another.

I currently use ACDSee, which I quite like, to sort through my images, but because I have purchased a new body with new RAW files I need to upgrade. So before I do that I thought I’d ask for suggestions on alternatives.

I have Lightroom but never use it, again I find a bit slow for sorting or am missing something and should I learn more about it?

David.
www.dalsports.co.uk
www.davidlowephotography.com
Click to expand...
Do your culling and rating prior to ACDSee using FastRaw Viewer:

FastRawViewer

We needed it. We made it. We share it.
www.fastrawviewer.com www.fastrawviewer.com

Ian
 
David Lowe said:
I’m looking for suggestions for photo management software.

I take a lot sports pictures which results in having 1000’s of images to sort through. I use PS CC for editing but I find Bridge rather slow and clumsy for cataloguing and moving files from one folder to another.

I currently use ACDSee, which I quite like, to sort through my images, but because I have purchased a new body with new RAW files I need to upgrade. So before I do that I thought I’d ask for suggestions on alternatives.

I have Lightroom but never use it, again I find a bit slow for sorting or am missing something and should I learn more about it?

David.
www.dalsports.co.uk
www.davidlowephotography.com
Click to expand...
On slower computers, Lightroom can be slow at rendering images the fast time (after which is stores a preview), which I guess is what you mean. For sorting and searching I find it blisteringly fast, much faster than Bridge.
 
Thanks Ian, I'll certainly take a look and download a trial version.
 
It's not that LR is slow in loading, it's slow to use, or maybe I'm just used to it, but all other software allows me to access folders and save to them in less mouse clicks.
 
David Lowe said:
It's not that LR is slow in loading, it's slow to use, or maybe I'm just used to it, but all other software allows me to access folders and save to them in less mouse clicks.
Click to expand...
Yeah, LR is generally sluggish compared to many other programs, but I haven't found anything better for what I need PP-wise.

For previewing/culling I've been using FastStone image viewer and the name fits. It's very fast with all my RAW files, including 24MP D750 NEFs.

And as they say: "No Adware. No Spyware. Free for Home Users."

http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm
 
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For Windows only !

I have used AC DSee in the past, but was sufficiently annoyed by the need to constantly upgrade when I wanted to work with RAW files from a new camera.

There is a SUPERB Photo Management Program that has the best User Interface, Tons of great features, and high speed. In addition RAW compatibility is constantly updated. Finally, it is offered free of charge for Personal Home Use. Not for a trial period, but for unlimited time. You can have it create a thumbnail database, so once you've viewed a photo, it does not have to take time to create it all over again. Even without saving thumbnails the program is really fast.

You can easily set it up to load any photo you are viewing into Photoshop, or any other program. The design surpasses any other program I have used. The only competitor would be XnView, which is not nearly as stable but which is also free for Personal Use.

Not only is it superb for managing your photos, but it also has some amazingly useful editing features among which is intelligent batch re-sizing, copying selected photos to another folder, straightening horizon, adding Bubble Talk and Thoughts, Contact sheets etc.

For those who appreciate a program of this quality, you can either Donate some money, or purchase a commercial license for $34.95

FastStone
http://www.faststone.org/download.htm

Features:
http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm
 
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I use zoner photo studio. There is a free version and a pro version that couts money. I use the free version. It's greater for organizing and editing if you don't want the full power of photoshop. I have not tested away on the free version yet but I know the pro version definitely supports it.
 
Thank you to everyone for their comments and suggestions, I will be downloading the trial versions to see which one best suits my needs.
 
rb0321 said:
David Lowe said:
It's not that LR is slow in loading, it's slow to use, or maybe I'm just used to it, but all other software allows me to access folders and save to them in less mouse clicks.
Click to expand...
Yeah, LR is generally sluggish compared to many other programs, but I haven't found anything better for what I need PP-wise.

For previewing/culling I've been using FastStone image viewer and the name fits. It's very fast with all my RAW files, including 24MP D750 NEFs.

And as they say: "No Adware. No Spyware. Free for Home Users."

http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm
Click to expand...
 
rb0321 said:
True, but for my money - none ;-) Faststone is great. My camera is set so the embedded JPG previews are good enough to use for getting rid of obvious duds. That's pretty much all I use it for as Irfanview is my preferred JPG viewer. Most other photo manipulation, organizing, etc is done in LR.

www.flickr.com/photos/rb00321/
Click to expand...
Well if you think it is that good, which I do as well. Please donate to Faststone so that the guy gets a few $'s


Ian
 
IanYorke said:
rb0321 said:
True, but for my money - none ;-) Faststone is great. My camera is set so the embedded JPG previews are good enough to use for getting rid of obvious duds. That's pretty much all I use it for as Irfanview is my preferred JPG viewer. Most other photo manipulation, organizing, etc is done in LR.

www.flickr.com/photos/rb00321/
Click to expand...
Well if you think it is that good, which I do as well. Please donate to Faststone so that the guy gets a few $'s

http://www.faststone.org/donate.htm

Ian
Click to expand...
Just switched from macOS to Win10 in late Jan when I bought an HP laptop. Discovered Fastone a few weeks ago, tried it and have been using it since, even if I haven't taken that many photos of late. If it continues to fulfill its current purpose for me, which it should, then donating is a great idea. Thanks for the reminder.
 
XnView MP -- like FastStone, it's free, but its advantage is that it has a better colour management system than FSIV (important especially if you use a wide-gamut monitor).

IrfanView -- ditto.

Then there are the already mentioned FastRawViewer and FastPictureViewer -- not free, but quite affordable and they have their own advantages over the previous two.

--
Marcin
 
Last edited:
For quick look and cull Nikon's ViewNX2 works for me and is free.
 
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