Anyone signed up for this? How do you like it? Thanks for your input.

Love it.

Used to use Aperture as my first step, but PM is waaay faster and allows me to make selects in a fraction of the time. That's all it's good for though.

Worth every penny. I come in from a wedding, transfer files to the computer and can flip through the pictures in Photo Mechanic without waiting for Bridge to build a catalog. There is no wait between pictures when viewing full screen like with other non-cataloging browsers.

http://www.thebschoolblog.com/index.cfm?postID=65

just a reminder that they require an annual renewal to keep getting updates to the software.

The amount of time I save using PM vs anything else I've tried easily offsets the cost.

I'm still not understanding the attraction to PM, even after Iwatched Becker's little vid.

I gotta say that after having both PM and Lightroom, I prefer the Swan method. Yes, LR isn't as fast at loading the images initially.

But, since I'm downloading directly to LR throughout the wedding day (and less than half the images mention in the vid), LR is almost as fast. Download and preload previews throughout the day - let it build the database and previews while I'm shooting - then, at dinner hour, I'm running a quick pick of hot ones for a slide show.

That night, after the wedding, I catch up on card downloads, copy all files to external source -- and go to bed while LR builds previews.

If you want fast download and instant previews all at once, you need PM -- but, if you use the Swan LR method like I do, you don't need PM.

Also, I was disappointed in PM that it still directed the files to PS for any levels adjustment or other minor enhancements. It is soley a viewer, cataloger, and re-namer, unless I've missed something.

Once you get past the fast access -- As DJ would say, isn't it pretty much like iPhoto?

I mean, what other features do it have? beyond sorting?

+1 for me. I love the speed of PM and how well it plays with Nikon RAW files.

It says in the PM manual too that it doesn't do a whole lot, but what it does it does really well--mainly, allowing you to import pics and separate the good shots from the bad shots really fast. Tried LR beta but certain incompatibility with Nikon NEFs and Nikon Capture NX turned me away. In my Nikons, I can pick Color Mode I for better skin tones, or Color III for more saturated greens. LR completely ignores that because it generates its own preview thumbnails and doesn't understand some proprietary Nikon tags in the NEF. PM uses the built-in preview file for viewing so it's blazingly fast. (Yes, even if you shoot RAW there's still a little, somewhat low res, preview file in the file--that's what you see on the LCD on the back of the cam). I use Capture NX to tweak my RAW files, and when I save the file, it generates a new preview file within the NEF that reflects the tweaks I made (WB, exposure, etc) and because PM doesn't try to generate its own previews, it correctly reflects the tweaks to the files.

That said, i wish there's a program that combines both PM and Nikon Capture NX into one. LR in essence does that, so there's one fewer program to try to master or upgrade. The price of Lightroom is more than the combination of PM and Capture NX too.

In the end, I suppose it comes down to workflow--whatever program(s) you can use to improve your workflow always helps the bottomline.

My 2 cents.

PD

I love PM and use it many many times every day. Someone orders reprints, I open up the folder of images in PM and choose the files to open/process in CS3. Someone orders an album, I open the folder in PM and tag all the images to go in the album. I'm putting up a slideshow, I open the folder in PM and tag the shots to go into the show... you get the idea.

Best $150 I ever spent. And that includes the 3 cases of 2-buck Chuck I got last time I was at Trader Joe's.

yes for 150 you get a browser... but oh what a browser it is. Often times I can pick all the keepers from one card before another card is completely downloaded. There is absolutely no lag in going through files or moving files from folder to folder. Pair that with they keyboard shortcuts and there's nothing faster for going through photos. cmd+E takes you directly to ACR or Photoshop/ your editing program of choice.

iPhoto is actually pretty terrible for file organizing and its backwards folders/albums nonsense. PM is nothing like iPhoto; your files are not imported into a library and you can't sepia tone your images.

Its much easier to edit once you have your selects vs going through 2-3k files in LR IMO