It's better than anything I've seen yet in terms of professional powerhouse light board/image browsing software.
If you haven't checked it out yet, you may want to take a look (especially you ACDSee people). I'm becoming a believer that it will save significant time in a ton of different "at wedding" editing and post production situations. Very intuitive. Very helpful. Works especially well in tandem with DPP and PS.
It may be the third gem in the triple crown. Free trial download available at http://www.camerabits.com/Photo Mechanic Software Maker
Full Version: Lexar's Photo Mechanic
I did a short side by side comparison of ACDSee and Photo Mechanic and they both have some strengths. This wasn't an exhaustive test and I'm going to continue to use them both and I'll let you know where I end up.
Photo Mechanic VS. ACDSee
- Strengths of PM-
1. I love the simplicity of PM! but you miss out on some options that ACDSee has
2. PM is BLAZING FAST
3. Great option for larger thumbnails in PM - ACDsee is easier to switch back and forth from thumbnail to large view
4. Ability to view Mark II raw files in PM is nice but not really necessary b/c you can't edit them there anyway so you might as well just bring in the edited JPG's
- Weaknesses of PM-
1. Difficult to delete files in both thumbnail and large view (this may be a user issue) :-) but I wasn't able to remove the "Are you sure you want to delete" screen from either my mac or windows machine and ACDSee provides that option in their Preferences screen. With a mac in thumbnail view you have to "Command - Delete" and then verify which is too many steps to go through with 1000 photos.
2. Switching from thumbnail view to large view is also not quick enough. With ACDSee you can simply double click on the large view screen and it'll take you back to the thumbnail screen. With PM you have to actually close the box via Command W or by moving your mouse all the way across the screen - too much work! I found the best way to work is to stay in the large view with the smaller thumbnails.
3 Limited options all around but this software seems kinda new so I'm sure they're working to make it better.
...If I can figure out a way around the delete problem I'll probably switch over b/c the bigger thumbs are nice and I love the simplicity and quickness.
Ciao Ciao!
DJ
Photo Mechanic VS. ACDSee
- Strengths of PM-
1. I love the simplicity of PM! but you miss out on some options that ACDSee has
2. PM is BLAZING FAST
3. Great option for larger thumbnails in PM - ACDsee is easier to switch back and forth from thumbnail to large view
4. Ability to view Mark II raw files in PM is nice but not really necessary b/c you can't edit them there anyway so you might as well just bring in the edited JPG's
- Weaknesses of PM-
1. Difficult to delete files in both thumbnail and large view (this may be a user issue) :-) but I wasn't able to remove the "Are you sure you want to delete" screen from either my mac or windows machine and ACDSee provides that option in their Preferences screen. With a mac in thumbnail view you have to "Command - Delete" and then verify which is too many steps to go through with 1000 photos.
2. Switching from thumbnail view to large view is also not quick enough. With ACDSee you can simply double click on the large view screen and it'll take you back to the thumbnail screen. With PM you have to actually close the box via Command W or by moving your mouse all the way across the screen - too much work! I found the best way to work is to stay in the large view with the smaller thumbnails.
3 Limited options all around but this software seems kinda new so I'm sure they're working to make it better.
...If I can figure out a way around the delete problem I'll probably switch over b/c the bigger thumbs are nice and I love the simplicity and quickness.
Ciao Ciao!
DJ
My responses to DJ are below ...
- Strengths of PM-
1. I love the simplicity of PM! but you miss out on some options that ACDSee has
I'M NOT SURE THAT'S ACCURATE, BUT I DON'T KNOW ACDSee WELL AND I'M ON A MAC WHICH MEANS I MISS OUT ON ACDSee ENTIRELY.
2. PM is BLAZING FAST
YES IT IS.
3. Great option for larger thumbnails in PM - ACDsee is easier to switch back and forth from thumbnail to large view
ONE OPTION HERE IS TO USE THE "iris" PREVIEW ICON IN THE BROWSER MENU. YOU DON'T EVEN SELECT THE IMAGE. AS SOON AS YOU HOVER OVER THE IMAGE THE "iris" SHOWS UP AND YOU SINGLE CLICK IT TO OPEN THE VIEW. TO GET RID OF THAT VIEW JUST COMMAND-W.
4. Ability to view Mark II raw files in PM is nice but not really necessary b/c you can't edit them there anyway so you might as well just bring in the edited JPG's
THIS CAN BE HELPFUL FOR OTHER PURPOSES LIKE TAGGING AND SORTING.
- Weaknesses of PM-
1. Difficult to delete files in both thumbnail and large view (this may be a user issue) :-) but I wasn't able to remove the "Are you sure you want to delete" screen from either my mac or windows machine and ACDSee provides that option in their Preferences screen. With a mac in thumbnail view you have to "Command - Delete" and then verify which is too many steps to go through with 1000 photos.
THIS IS AN ISSUE I THINK. THE BEST SOLUTION IT SEEMS TO ME IS TO TAG RATHER THAN DELETE AND THEN DELETE ALL AT ONCE. THE TAG FUNCTION IN COMBINATION WITH THE VIEW PULL DOWN MENU CAN BE EFFECTIVE HERE.
2. Switching from thumbnail view to large view is also not quick enough. With ACDSee you can simply double click on the large view screen and it'll take you back to the thumbnail screen. With PM you have to actually close the box via Command W or by moving your mouse all the way across the screen - too much work! I found the best way to work is to stay in the large view with the smaller thumbnails.
I'M NOT FAMILIAR ENOUGH WITH ACDSee TO COMMENT ON THIS ONE.
3 Limited options all around but this software seems kinda new so I'm sure they're working to make it better.
I'D LIKE TO HEAR MORE HERE ... I'M THINKING OF PULLING THE $150 TRIGGER SO PERHAPS SOMEONE COULD MAKE A CONVINCING CASE FOR AN ALTERNATIVE MAC OPTION.
IT'S COOL TO NOTE THE VERY USEABLE SLIDESHOW OPTION IN PM AS WELL AS THE "INGEST" ABILITY TO IMPORT TO MULTIPLE SOURCES SIMULTANEOUSLY (AT NO LOSS IN SPEED) ... LIKE TO AN EXTERNAL RAID SYSTEM AND EMBED INFO INTO THE IMAGES (AGAIN WITHOUT IT SLOWING DOWN). THIS COULD GET RID OF THE NEED TO MAKE DESKTOP FOLDERS ENTIRELY. IT'S JUST NICE TO AUTOMATE THE RENAME AND IMPORT THROUGH A PROGRAM RATHER THAN DOING IT MANUALLY THROUGH DROP AND DRAG.
YOU CAN ALSO VIEW VERY CLEAN RAW FILES IN SLIDESHOW WITHOUT ANY ADJUSTMENTS, BUT IF YOU WANT TO DO ANY SORT OF FUNKY ACTIONS ON IMAGES, YOU'D STILL NEED TO MANIPULATE JPEGS IN PS.
IT'S COOL TO NOTE TOO HOW WELL THE DPP BROWSER CAN WORK IN TANDEM WITH BOTH PM AND PS. AGAIN THOUGH, THIS IS PROBABLY THE SAME WITH ACDSee.
THE BIGGEST BENEFIT I THINK IS THAT IT TIME/DATE SORTS IMMEDIATELY AND THERE'S NO NEED TO SAVE VERTICAL JPEGS AS THEY FLIP THEM AUTOMATICALLY FOR SLIDESHOW USE.
- Strengths of PM-
1. I love the simplicity of PM! but you miss out on some options that ACDSee has
I'M NOT SURE THAT'S ACCURATE, BUT I DON'T KNOW ACDSee WELL AND I'M ON A MAC WHICH MEANS I MISS OUT ON ACDSee ENTIRELY.
2. PM is BLAZING FAST
YES IT IS.
3. Great option for larger thumbnails in PM - ACDsee is easier to switch back and forth from thumbnail to large view
ONE OPTION HERE IS TO USE THE "iris" PREVIEW ICON IN THE BROWSER MENU. YOU DON'T EVEN SELECT THE IMAGE. AS SOON AS YOU HOVER OVER THE IMAGE THE "iris" SHOWS UP AND YOU SINGLE CLICK IT TO OPEN THE VIEW. TO GET RID OF THAT VIEW JUST COMMAND-W.
4. Ability to view Mark II raw files in PM is nice but not really necessary b/c you can't edit them there anyway so you might as well just bring in the edited JPG's
THIS CAN BE HELPFUL FOR OTHER PURPOSES LIKE TAGGING AND SORTING.
- Weaknesses of PM-
1. Difficult to delete files in both thumbnail and large view (this may be a user issue) :-) but I wasn't able to remove the "Are you sure you want to delete" screen from either my mac or windows machine and ACDSee provides that option in their Preferences screen. With a mac in thumbnail view you have to "Command - Delete" and then verify which is too many steps to go through with 1000 photos.
THIS IS AN ISSUE I THINK. THE BEST SOLUTION IT SEEMS TO ME IS TO TAG RATHER THAN DELETE AND THEN DELETE ALL AT ONCE. THE TAG FUNCTION IN COMBINATION WITH THE VIEW PULL DOWN MENU CAN BE EFFECTIVE HERE.
2. Switching from thumbnail view to large view is also not quick enough. With ACDSee you can simply double click on the large view screen and it'll take you back to the thumbnail screen. With PM you have to actually close the box via Command W or by moving your mouse all the way across the screen - too much work! I found the best way to work is to stay in the large view with the smaller thumbnails.
I'M NOT FAMILIAR ENOUGH WITH ACDSee TO COMMENT ON THIS ONE.
3 Limited options all around but this software seems kinda new so I'm sure they're working to make it better.
I'D LIKE TO HEAR MORE HERE ... I'M THINKING OF PULLING THE $150 TRIGGER SO PERHAPS SOMEONE COULD MAKE A CONVINCING CASE FOR AN ALTERNATIVE MAC OPTION.
IT'S COOL TO NOTE THE VERY USEABLE SLIDESHOW OPTION IN PM AS WELL AS THE "INGEST" ABILITY TO IMPORT TO MULTIPLE SOURCES SIMULTANEOUSLY (AT NO LOSS IN SPEED) ... LIKE TO AN EXTERNAL RAID SYSTEM AND EMBED INFO INTO THE IMAGES (AGAIN WITHOUT IT SLOWING DOWN). THIS COULD GET RID OF THE NEED TO MAKE DESKTOP FOLDERS ENTIRELY. IT'S JUST NICE TO AUTOMATE THE RENAME AND IMPORT THROUGH A PROGRAM RATHER THAN DOING IT MANUALLY THROUGH DROP AND DRAG.
YOU CAN ALSO VIEW VERY CLEAN RAW FILES IN SLIDESHOW WITHOUT ANY ADJUSTMENTS, BUT IF YOU WANT TO DO ANY SORT OF FUNKY ACTIONS ON IMAGES, YOU'D STILL NEED TO MANIPULATE JPEGS IN PS.
IT'S COOL TO NOTE TOO HOW WELL THE DPP BROWSER CAN WORK IN TANDEM WITH BOTH PM AND PS. AGAIN THOUGH, THIS IS PROBABLY THE SAME WITH ACDSee.
THE BIGGEST BENEFIT I THINK IS THAT IT TIME/DATE SORTS IMMEDIATELY AND THERE'S NO NEED TO SAVE VERTICAL JPEGS AS THEY FLIP THEM AUTOMATICALLY FOR SLIDESHOW USE.
Main Advice - Buy a Windows PC 
1. I'm new to ACDSee so I don't know half of what it can do but I know it's a lot more than PM - especially in terms of customization.
3. I like the hovering iris thing but I don't like the "Command W" option - it requires moving my hand from the delete key over to the left side of the keyboard and I'm too lazy for that. The two step process to delete a file kills it for me as well. Even if they fixed the delete process I probably wouldn't switch unless they made it easier to switch back and forth between screens and dropped the price. $50 for ACDSee
4 I don't have a need for tagging or sorting my files other than time sorting them and both programs do this well. PICtage sorts'em for me.
1. I'm new to ACDSee so I don't know half of what it can do but I know it's a lot more than PM - especially in terms of customization.
3. I like the hovering iris thing but I don't like the "Command W" option - it requires moving my hand from the delete key over to the left side of the keyboard and I'm too lazy for that. The two step process to delete a file kills it for me as well. Even if they fixed the delete process I probably wouldn't switch unless they made it easier to switch back and forth between screens and dropped the price. $50 for ACDSee
4 I don't have a need for tagging or sorting my files other than time sorting them and both programs do this well. PICtage sorts'em for me.
Okay techies. I have a hard time speaking your language. I don't use either of these programs--just the EVU software for RAW and Photoshop for .jpeg. Could someone tell me in "simple and dumb" what functions you would use the Photo Mechanic software for?
Thanks!
Thanks!
LoL ... The main function for both of these programs is time sorting files from two separate cameras.
I'm surprised that Canon's new EVU and DPP programs didn't add this feature but my advice is that if you do have two cameras going on the same day to buy ACDSee 6 or PM and time sort and rename after you color correct your files.
... The main function for both of these programs is time sorting files from two separate cameras.I'm surprised that Canon's new EVU and DPP programs didn't add this feature but my advice is that if you do have two cameras going on the same day to buy ACDSee 6 or PM and time sort and rename after you color correct your files.
Thanks for clearing that up David . Makes perfect sense.
. Makes perfect sense.
I agree with David.
Hey Dana! I hear you got a new program! How do you like it!!! Moneybags!
I prefer phatcat.
It's slick. The biggest benefit is its speed especially if editing at an event. I've not discovered a more quick Finder/lightboard anywhere that works so well with RAW files and PS.
It's slick. The biggest benefit is its speed especially if editing at an event. I've not discovered a more quick Finder/lightboard anywhere that works so well with RAW files and PS.
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