[bxf]

Probably the one thing for which I find Bridge to be most useful is that it enables me to filter the thumbnail display using combinations of various EXIF criteria. For example, I can ask to see all images taken with a specific lens, at selected focal lengths, F-stops, etc. It will even let you dig into subfolders, so that the search will show everything that meets your selection criteria.

Problem is, Bridge kills my system, probably because my 4GB memory (which is the limit my laptop can handle) is simply not enough. Bridge, as well as anything else I may have running, moves very slowly.

Does anyone know of an application that provides similar browser filtering capability?

Thanks for any suggestions.

[wlachan]

The older Lightroom 2.7 should be good too, but depends how many more softwares you will be running I guess. There is a chance that your notebook might be able to handle 2x4GB DDR2 even the official spec says 2x2GB.

[adpo]

i use lightroom 3 on a netbook using a 1.3ghz dual core cpu and 4 gigs of ram, runs great for me, although i do get the occasional hiccups here and there.
if ram is really an issue, check out SmartRam by iobit, it comes packaged with their advanced system care thing. best part is, its free.

[Wombat]

You might find ACDSee Photo Manager 12 will do the job for you. It's inexpensive, fast, light on resources and can run those filters you've mentioned. You can get a trial download. You can also set PS or whatever as an external editor or use its own (obviously more limited) editor mode. I find it very flexible and easy to configure, with a remarkable depth of features for its modest price.

[bxf]

The older Lightroom 2.7 should be good too, but depends how many more softwares you will be running I guess. There is a chance that your notebook might be able to handle 2x4GB DDR2 even the official spec says 2x2GB.

Hmmm, hasn't occurred to me that this could be the case. Would be great if it works. I'll have to test this. Thanks for the suggestion, maybe

[bxf]

i use lightroom 3 on a netbook using a 1.3ghz dual core cpu and 4 gigs of ram, runs great for me, although i do get the occasional hiccups here and there.
if ram is really an issue, check out SmartRam by iobit, it comes packaged with their advanced system care thing. best part is, its free.

I've been assuming that LR would be similar to Bridge in this respect, but perhaps not. I'll give it a shot.

I already use Cleanmem, with marginal, temporary improvements. Any "memory-enhancing" program would have to resort to increased paging activity, and since THAT is the reason for the slowdown in the first place, it's not likely to show much benefit.

Thanks for the suggestions.

[bxf]

You might find ACDSee Photo Manager 12 will do the job for you. It's inexpensive, fast, light on resources and can run those filters you've mentioned. You can get a trial download. You can also set PS or whatever as an external editor or use its own (obviously more limited) editor mode. I find it very flexible and easy to configure, with a remarkable depth of features for its modest price.

OK, I'll have to give this one a try. Now, which product was it that included ACDSee in its software bundle, and where is that CD?

Thanks for the info.

[Wombat]

OK, I'll have to give this one a try. Now, which product was it that included ACDSee in its software bundle, and where is that CD?

Thanks for the info.

Just be aware there are several ACDSee products. ACDSee Pro is a bigger, heavier and more resource-hungry program than Photo Manager 12 (though it's still very speedy compared with Bridge). Since you've been using Bridge you obviously have Photoshop, so there'd be no advantage in getting the full, more expensive ACDSee Pro. Whichever you choose, you'll find your 4GB RAM is plenty. I also use Bridge sometimes and it really crawls in comparison.

[bxf]

Just be aware there are several ACDSee products. ACDSee Pro is a bigger, heavier and more resource-hungry program than Photo Manager 12 (though it's still very speedy compared with Bridge). Since you've been using Bridge you obviously have Photoshop, so there'd be no advantage in getting the full, more expensive ACDSee Pro. Whichever you choose, you'll find your 4GB RAM is plenty. I also use Bridge sometimes and it really crawls in comparison.

Good to know. I'll definitely have a look at this. Thanks again for the update.