Image management software

WheresWaldo · 11-12-2008, 11:52 PM

I know this has been asked before but it is hard to make comparisons when you have to wade through many threads, so I am asking again. In light of the fact that I have rekindled my love of photography and merged it with my love of cycling as well as gadgets, I have a problem locating pictures on my HDD.

I would like to know what others are using as a catalog management software. Typically now I am just creating directories based on date then dumping the images there. I also use a GPS Datalogger and geocode many but not all of my images. for that I have been using RoboGEO. I also use PhotoME to look at EXIF and Metadata. I am in the process of learning Lightroom as I find it much more suited to my needs than full Photoshop.

I am curious what others use, I am not really concerned with editing capabilities other than adding keywords and copyright data to the EXIF. It would be nice if that capability exists. I can still use RoboGEO so adding geodata is not mandatory.

Any suggestions are welcome.

chrisman · 11-13-2008, 03:27 AM

Check out this site for reviews of various Digital Asset Management packages - The DAMRoundup - Photo Management Software Reviews and News All Reviews

*Wheatfield* · 11-13-2008, 06:34 AM

Originally Posted by WheresWaldo

I know this has been asked before but it is hard to make comparisons when you have to wade through many threads, so I am asking again. In light of the fact that I have rekindled my love of photography and merged it with my love of cycling as well as gadgets, I have a problem locating pictures on my HDD.

I would like to know what others are using as a catalog management software. Typically now I am just creating directories based on date then dumping the images there. I also use a GPS Datalogger and geocode many but not all of my images. for that I have been using RoboGEO. I also use PhotoME to look at EXIF and Metadata. I am in the process of learning Lightroom as I find it much more suited to my needs than full Photoshop.

I am curious what others use, I am not really concerned with editing capabilities other than adding keywords and copyright data to the EXIF. It would be nice if that capability exists. I can still use RoboGEO so adding geodata is not mandatory.

Any suggestions are welcome.

You might want to look into Adobe Lightroom. It is primarily a cataloging and data basing program with limited (but very useful) image management capabilities.
I'm quit certain you can download a fully functional trial version from the Adobe website with will give you a month to learn if the software is right for you.

Wulifou · 11-13-2008, 07:05 AM

Originally Posted by Wheatfield

You might want to look into Adobe Lightroom.

I can only agree with that. Image management possibilities of LR are enough for my needs. If you use a Mac, you should also take a look at Aperture, which is basically Apple's inhouse equivalent to LR.

WheresWaldo · 11-13-2008, 07:30 AM

Originally Posted by chrisman

Check out this site for reviews of various Digital Asset Management packages - The DAMRoundup - Photo Management Software Reviews and News All Reviews

Very interesting site. I am in the process of reading the reviews this morning.

Originally Posted by Wulifou

I can only agree with that. Image management possibilities of LR are enough for my needs. If you use a Mac, you should also take a look at Aperture, which is basically Apple's inhouse equivalent to LR.

I have downloaded the trial and will look seriously at Lightroom. If it does everything I need, and I believe that my needs are fairly lightweight then that will be my choice. Lightroom seems like a good choice with the ability to use Camera Raw and do some PP.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Bart · 11-13-2008, 01:03 PM

previously iView.
Suits me just fine.

*AlanR* · 11-23-2008, 03:16 AM

Lightroom is an amazing program and was designed for photographers. But get Scott Kelby's Lightroom 2 book and follow it for at least the first 33 pages. That book has saved me more time and headaches than I would believe possible. His work-flow on how to import, organize, and quickly find photos is simply the best ideas I've ever seen from a pro.
Alan

kerrowdown · 11-23-2008, 03:56 AM

I've been using Adobe Bridge that came shipped with CS3, it seems to do for me what it says on the tin.

*Eaglerapids* · 11-23-2008, 07:38 AM

Lightroom 2 is kinda spendy at $299 but much cheaper than CS3+Bridge. LR2 is for phoptographers and is very very good at cataloging photos and also for editing. Not as good as photoshop for editing, but it's learning curve is not as steep. That said there is more to LR2 than first meets the eye and if you decide to go with it AlanR has a great reccomendation with the book he describes. I don't have that particular book but I have a couple others by Scott Kelby and they are great books.
The new adjustment brushes in LR2 are incredible, if your computer can handle them. They are not optimized very well for older computers. I ended up buying a dual core laptop with 3 gigs of ram that runs rings around my aging computer. LR2 allows you to install on a PC and a laptop which is cool.
LR2 is not perfect and it has it's quirks but once I got into it I wouldn't want to be without it.

Don Boyd · 11-29-2008, 10:13 AM

I just purchased Lightroom 2 from Amazon.com for $140.

*AlanR* · 11-30-2008, 12:02 AM

Originally Posted by Don Boyd

I just purchased Lightroom 2 from Amazon.com for $140.

May want to double check. I have seen Lightroom 1 for about $140, but not LR 2.

*Michaelina2* · 11-30-2008, 11:13 AM

As I recall, its availability window lasted an hour and they were sold out within the first 10 minutes. It was priced at $124.99, including shipping.

I got a note saying I should expect delivery via USPS by 05 Dec...

It arrived, today (02 Dec)