Managing Digital Photos
November 17, 2004 10:03 AM
As per this question a couple of weeks ago, the insurance company paid up and I'm the owner of a brand new Canon 20D. Unfortunately, the new camera didn't come wiht any database software like my old D60 did. Now I need a new way to keep track of all the photos. (MI)...
My old camera came with a free program called Canon Zoom Browser. It was a download client and was also a nifty database program that stored thumbnails of your photos locally and those you had burned to CD. It was convient for finding which CD a picture you were looking for was on without having to drop them in one by one.
My new camera didn't seem to come with any of this software. Also, the older software doesn't support the new RAW file format on the 20D, so it's basically useless except for the old archives.
So here is what I'm looking for: photo database software that will keep track of images locally and on CD and is capable of handing both .crw and .cr2 RAW image formats and .jpg's of all stripes. It seems like there are a few of these tools out there. Has anyone had experience with these? Do you know of a good one? Is it too much to ask for it to be free? (I think I know the answer to that one already) Thanks in advance, MeFi photogs.
My old camera came with a free program called Canon Zoom Browser. It was a download client and was also a nifty database program that stored thumbnails of your photos locally and those you had burned to CD. It was convient for finding which CD a picture you were looking for was on without having to drop them in one by one.
My new camera didn't seem to come with any of this software. Also, the older software doesn't support the new RAW file format on the 20D, so it's basically useless except for the old archives.
So here is what I'm looking for: photo database software that will keep track of images locally and on CD and is capable of handing both .crw and .cr2 RAW image formats and .jpg's of all stripes. It seems like there are a few of these tools out there. Has anyone had experience with these? Do you know of a good one? Is it too much to ask for it to be free? (I think I know the answer to that one already) Thanks in advance, MeFi photogs.
Also, my pro photog friend swears by Photo Mechanic, but I haven't used it.
posted by misterioso at 10:57 AM on November 17, 2004
posted by misterioso at 10:57 AM on November 17, 2004
iView Media Pro will do it. Of course, at $200, it ain't exactly cheap, but it's one of the best programs of its kind.
Extensis Portfolio is the same price and will also support your camera.
Bibble Lite is a raw format converter (compatible with CR2) with an integrated thumbnail browser. It's less expensive ($70, or $130 for the Pro version) but I don't know how useful the browser portion is. The other programs are more in the asset management vein and may have more capabilities in that vein.
I too have heard good things about Photo Mechanic.
For Windows only, the $90 ThumbsPlus seems to be an all-around favorite. (You need a plug-in for raw camera files, but it's free.)
For Mac OS X only, the $35 Qpict may be worth a look, if only for the price. I remember it being sort of slow, though.
posted by kindall at 11:01 AM on November 17, 2004
Extensis Portfolio is the same price and will also support your camera.
Bibble Lite is a raw format converter (compatible with CR2) with an integrated thumbnail browser. It's less expensive ($70, or $130 for the Pro version) but I don't know how useful the browser portion is. The other programs are more in the asset management vein and may have more capabilities in that vein.
I too have heard good things about Photo Mechanic.
For Windows only, the $90 ThumbsPlus seems to be an all-around favorite. (You need a plug-in for raw camera files, but it's free.)
For Mac OS X only, the $35 Qpict may be worth a look, if only for the price. I remember it being sort of slow, though.
posted by kindall at 11:01 AM on November 17, 2004
I prefer Photoshop Album but it doesn't support the 20D. iView MediaPro says it does do .cr2.
posted by smackfu at 11:02 AM on November 17, 2004
posted by smackfu at 11:02 AM on November 17, 2004
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by misterioso at 10:54 AM on November 17, 2004