Upgrading is good, but I am really puzzled with the way it is being done.
I was an aspiring fan of CO 3.5.x in Ukraine when my colleagues couldn't even pronounce the name of the company (saying something like Faza Vuhn
When I finally bought my P30 and I received the full version of the previously tried PO 3.7.8 I was thrilled, but not for long -- PO started CO4. My local dealer is asking some extra hundred EURs for this version, and I'm still trying new upgrades.
Of course I like a lot of changes: good move from the "garage" design, finally overlay image feature in Windows, more structured approach to files in sessions, etc. But the minor featues and bugs and underthought functions that are still pop up in 4.7 amaze me.
I don't understand it when with minor updates you change this SHIFT key function or add some arrows support. You cannot change the control of the program on the go. Users usually grow to it - it should be thought through in advance, tested and only then presented in big bulks -- making users re-read the manual all over again.
Some of the frustrations:
1. Process. When I do a convert according to 2 recipes: one full-size jpeg and one preview screen jpeg -- the preview jpeg comes out like after the worst algorythm ever [attachment=12775:girl__CO4.jpg].
Have a look and compare to simple PS downsizing [attachment=12774:girl_PS.jpg].
One user used to alert on this on PO user2user forum, but so what?
2. Color tagging and sorting. After you color tagged some of the pictures and then sorted the images according to the color, the images with the same color come in an order that I fail to fathom. 26, 5, 13, 54, 1.... When I sit with my Client after the shoot and we are looking through the red-marked images, I am speechless to explain to them why the images don't come in the order we were shooting. Client of course think that the photographer is
not familiar with the soft.
This flaw comes up only in Windows version, as far as I know. I filed a support case some time ago with PO. Here comes 4.7 - no change. (
Overall, stability of the program is still far below compared to 3.7.8. Same computer, same Windows, same everything...
Some of the questions:
1. Web Gallery and small JPGs. Not all your web galleries should be Flashy. Some people like it, some prefer old good HTML. Please.
Also
the latest tip from vastly respected CI to produce little JPGs by creating a web gallery is very indicative of the program. You have to trick and hack ))
2. EIP format.- aware of it or not, PO is doing right from the marketing viewpoint to introduce this format. There is a theory that complementary market segments should de-value each other. For example, SUN (hardware) is de-value-ing the software developers (by sponsoring Linux, OpenOffice, etc). Microsoft and others view hardware as a commodity. So PO is pushing RAW files to commodity segment, implying that now Clients would be wise to purchase CO4 as well ).
- some of the issues with EIP are not clear. Obviously, info packed into the EIP file and info from the Settings folder should conflict. How does CO4 prioritize two sets of settings? If you change the settings of the EIP, both sets of settings change? What happens to the mainstream settings when you unpack (though you might not need it, but you may) the file? All these issues should be clarified -- probably I need to
read the new manual book again)