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Why is it so hard to find a decent image organizer?
delwoode:
well I tried most of the progs mentioned and a few more I came across. I wanted somthing that was good at viewing pics, with different options for viewing and hopefully customisable. I also wanted something that would enable tagging and searching of the pics etc.
my favourites:
PhotoManager 2008 by Proxima, very good for viewing in full screen mode you get thumnails along the top. Can add tags and assign categories too. Easy to use
Coded color pro 5.8.2
lots of viewing options, can make catalogs, assign keywords and a nice calender view.
Idimager 4.2
easy to make virtual collections and fast collections, has calender function. iptc/xmp tagging, good healthy forum
SnapAct
Free, and for viewing I thought this was the coolest. You can make Albums of collections. ITs quick at drwing thumnails. Easy to tag and then search. Can upload and sync with the web. This prog is fairly new and doesnt have as many functions yet as the others but was kind of cool.
anyway out of all the progs I tried out these are my favs.
ps If you want a simple way to edit your exif/iptc data just install the xnview shell extension
http://www.xnview.com/en/downloadwin32.html then select a file or files and rightclick and choose from the menu, which also includes resize, rotate etc.
J-Mac:
Sorry for "necromancing" this thread but I think my own search for a new photo organizer/manager may be over. I have been looking for one since ACDSee Photo manager 2009 refused to cooperate on Windows 7. ACD Systems has apparently decided not to comment on their flagship app's inability to play nice with Windows 7's libraries and DPI display settings other than to say:
"Although Photo Manager 2009 has met Microsoft standards for compatibility and reliability on Windows 7 and has been verified Compatible with Windows 7, we have identified usability issues that some users may encounter related to Windows 7 Libraries and high DPI display settings.
As Photo Manager 2009 was not developed for use on Windows 7, this is not a supported operating system for the product."
--- End quote ---
It appears that they don’t intend to even attempt to fix the problems and instead release the next version, as is their usual MO. Not wanting to support this kind of non-support anymore, I set out to find a photo organizer program that is compatible with Windows 7.
So I have read all the threads I could find here at DC and elsewhere, looking for a good organizer that won't cost me too many of my body parts to purchase; I am an avid home user/hobbyist and don’t need many of the features that come with the $200 - $400 price range of programs, besides not being able to afford that anyway!
Believe it or not I am going to go with Zoner Photo Studio Pro, the same one that offered discounts of 90% a couple years ago. The fact that I purchased then allows me to upgrade now at $59.99 instead of the regular price of $99.99. Not the best discount but then again my version is three major upgrades behind the latest version. The main reason I am going to use Zoner is that its UI and feature set is very similar to the versions of ACDSee that I originally fell in love with. And so far it seems to work like ACDSee did so my workflow/habits don’t need to change much at all.
If anyone is using Zoner I would be interested in any comments about it. Always good to hear from users who have work-tested a program!
Thanks!
Jim
Innuendo:
I hadn't heard of Zoner Photo Studio Pro so I'm off to download it to try out. From the screenshots it looks good so I have high hopes. I just hope I can adapt from my ACDSee ways (used every version of ACDSee since v2.xx).
J-Mac:
I hadn't heard of Zoner Photo Studio Pro so I'm off to download it to try out. From the screenshots it looks good so I have high hopes. I just hope I can adapt from my ACDSee ways (used every version of ACDSee since v2.xx).
-Innuendo (February 21, 2010, 03:01 PM)
--- End quote ---
I haven't used ACDSee quite that long but I think my earliest version was 7; I definitely had version 8 and then the first Pro release. I don’t like the new Pro version. They changed the UI pretty drastically. Many panes that used to close with the top-right "X" now close the entire program - you have to hit the ESC key instead. A lot of folks aren't quite remembering that and keep closing the program. Funny, but I guess not if it's happening to you several times daily! ;D
Zoner looks like it has a lot of similar features but since I posted earlier today I decided to take one more look at the other candidates I considered.... and maybe I shouldn’t have because now I am undecided again! IDimager looks very enticing though some features I like are only in the Pro version, which costs $139. :o However I did notice that IDimager offers a "competitive upgrade" if you prove you purchased certain other apps, and ACDSee is one of them. Requires you to send them a copy of the receipt/invoice. Discount is 15% which takes the Personal version down from $69 to $58.15 and the Professional version from $139 to $118.15. Still kinda pricey but I really like that they store data in SQLite databases.
Decisions, decisions...
Jim
Darwin:
IDimager looks nice, but their pricing and upgrade polcies aren't very attractive:
All our products are sold with free upgrades for a main version life cycle with a minimum period of 3 months. This means that when you buy version 1.2.3.4 you are entitled to receive free upgrades until version 2.0.0.0 is released. If 2.0.0.0 or subsequent versions are released within the first three months following your purchase, then these version upgrades will be made available to you as a free upgrade also.
When your free version upgrade period or cycle has expired, you can upgrade to the latest release with a 30% price discount.
--- End quote ---
On a $140 program the discount seems stingy to me, if you're interested in the Pro version. I guess it really depends on how often they release new versions. If it's every two to three years it's not so bad, if it's every12 months it's pricey. Also depends on how badly one is infected by "upgradeitis" ;D
Let us know what you decide, Jim. I haven't looked at Zoner since version 10 (when they offered me an upgrade from 9 Pro) and it looks MUCH improved. Their pricing and upgrades are more reasonable, or so it seems to me. The only caveat is that it looks like they release new versions quite often (yearly?), but then, each major upgrade is $20 if you have the previous version, so...
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