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« on: March 19, 2007, 05:47 AM »
I just tested for my requirements 30 image organizers over the last 48 hours and came to some conclusions. Not much help to MrCrispy because I didn't look closely at tagging.
My needs are - when you select a folder the thumbnails of the graphics in that folder (not just photos but also any graphics) show very quickly. One can see, if one chooses, the thumbnails for the folder and all subfolders at the same time. Preferably also some means of building databases, catalogs, albums or collections of the graphics across several folders, and not too slowly. If graphics have tags the ability to quickly filter on one or more. BTW this quick survey was for image organisers, not image editing.
I have a set of 30,000 small web graphics which I use for testing. The fastest of these programs cataloged these graphics faster than the slowest cataloged my 700 digital camera images.
And the winner is iView Media Pro; I found I got to know this program readily - it is quite intuitive IMHO. It is also expensive.
A cheaper alternative is Studioline Photo Basic (freeware) and Classic (currently on special at $30). These seem to have the same power as IVMP but the interface in not as crisp. Futher experimentation required here.
This is the third time I have done this exercise and the original winner SmartPix Manager ($35?) id still up there. Interface and ease of use are not good but power is there.
While it may appear to be oriented toward photos I found ExifPro good for general graphics. This is possibly the only software in my experiment I will buy.
Zoner Photo Studio does not quite meet the basic criteria but still could be lived with because of the functionality (a free and a $20 version).
If databse functionality is not required P3DO seems to do the job. Faststone and XNView don't meet the criteria but have reasonable GUI's.
iMatcha and CodedColor are database oriented and don't quite meet the basic "I want to see it and I want to see it now criteria".
An old favourite Graphics Workshop was abysmally slow.
Thumbs Plus is tempting but there seem to be cheaper alternatives albeit without the nice GUI.
My experience is that when searching for software, eventually one comes across a particular product in a category which just seems to fit like a hand in a glove. This is one of the few software categories I've found where I haven't been able to find quite the right match. I've willed myself to like ACDSee. I've even thought to myself, what the heck I'll just buy it and use it and swallow hard everytime I have to reselect a whole heap of subfolders for viewing. It's amazing how expensive $40 can appear when the fit is not quite right.
I can't justify $199 for IVMP but at least it sets a standard. I will pay for exifpro and would consider doing so for StudioLine Classic or Zoner Photo Studio.
Jeff
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