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Author Topic: Best software for a photo library  (Read 17022 times)

john beardsworth

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Re: Best software for a photo library
« Reply #20 on: November 05, 2018, 03:07:55 pm »

I see no reason not to, while always allowing for the unexpected.

They have always refused to give a time table, other than they were still working on it,  until earlier this year when they said by the end of the year.

In August they confirmed the end of the year "even if it kills us"

On 28th October they again confirmed they were still on track for a release before the end of the year.

And betas are already with users.

This sounds fairly promising to me.

Cheers,

Graham

And you've not heard all that before?

It'll be just a browser.
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john beardsworth

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Re: Best software for a photo library
« Reply #21 on: November 05, 2018, 03:11:18 pm »

I wish I knew more about using my LR. One thing that makes sense.  It's that learning everything about one program is better than learning and using two programs with less knowledge about each.

So very true.
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myotis

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Re: Best software for a photo library
« Reply #22 on: November 05, 2018, 03:49:38 pm »

And you've not heard all that before?

It'll be just a browser.

No, as I said, I haven't, I have never seen them give a time frame before.

Cheers,

Graham
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john beardsworth

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Re: Best software for a photo library
« Reply #23 on: November 05, 2018, 05:57:27 pm »

So where have you seen this commitment? Any URL?

I've followed PM pretty closely for over 10 years. While I don't doubt their commitment to their core product, I'm surprised anyone credits their promises of a catalogue-based product. Maybe a miracle will happen though. But in 2019, why would a photographer ever want a cataloguing app that doesn't display images with their adjusted appearance?
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myotis

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Re: Best software for a photo library
« Reply #24 on: November 06, 2018, 02:42:38 am »

So where have you seen this commitment? Any URL?

I've followed PM pretty closely for over 10 years. While I don't doubt their commitment to their core product, I'm surprised anyone credits their promises of a catalogue-based product. Maybe a miracle will happen though. But in 2019, why would a photographer ever want a cataloguing app that doesn't display images with their adjusted appearance?

I have just been carefully following their comments on the user forum over the years.  Here is a link to one post

http://forums.camerabits.com/index.php?topic=10179.15

And I guess we all want something different from a DAM, long term I want a DAM that is independent of any photo processing software, so my database of raw and final images are unaffected by any changes in processing software.
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john beardsworth

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Re: Best software for a photo library
« Reply #25 on: November 06, 2018, 02:59:24 am »

Thanks, that's more definite than I've seen for a while. It'll be interesting - if it happens. But they'll struggle to break out of their market. Aperture and Lightroom proved the obvious value of a DAM application showing what your pictures look like.
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Bart_van_der_Wolf

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Re: Best software for a photo library
« Reply #26 on: November 06, 2018, 04:27:40 am »

Thanks, that's more definite than I've seen for a while. It'll be interesting - if it happens. But they'll struggle to break out of their market. Aperture and Lightroom proved the obvious value of a DAM application showing what your pictures look like.

How's that different from what e.g. OnOne's On1 PhotoRaw (https://www.on1.com/) or Skylum's Luminar DAM module has to offer, or will offer, including some others who are working on such capabilities/applications? They too will show the current state of editing alongside the metadata needed for actually managing those assets. Besides, Raw converters like Capture One Pro also offer capabilities to manage one's images and metadata.

Anyway, there are multiple ways one can manage one's Digital Assets. It largely depends on the specific requirements which approach is 'best' for a specific user. The OP's requirements seem pretty straightforward, but maybe he has other things in mind we do not know about, which makes it hard to be specific.

Cheers,
Bart
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john beardsworth

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Re: Best software for a photo library
« Reply #27 on: November 06, 2018, 05:11:58 am »

How's that different from what e.g. OnOne's On1 PhotoRaw (https://www.on1.com/) or Skylum's Luminar DAM module has to offer, or will offer, including some others who are working on such capabilities/applications? They too will show the current state of editing alongside the metadata needed for actually managing those assets. Besides, Raw converters like Capture One Pro also offer capabilities to manage one's images and metadata.

Not really different. The indications are that they do let you properly see the pictures you're managing, as C1 does. But I wonder if they will offer features they are marketing as DAM, ie whether they are browsers like Bridge rather than catalogues like LR, Aperture - and C1.

Anyway, there are multiple ways one can manage one's Digital Assets. It largely depends on the specific requirements which approach is 'best' for a specific user. The OP's requirements seem pretty straightforward, but maybe he has other things in mind we do not know about, which makes it hard to be specific.

There are of course multiple ways and specific requirements, but we shouldn't fall into the YMMV trap of saying they are all equal. On the little we know of the OP's perceived needs, properly showing how your photos look should be the starting point for any recommendation. People don't seem to remember how crap things once were.
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Bart_van_der_Wolf

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Re: Best software for a photo library
« Reply #28 on: November 06, 2018, 09:53:11 am »

There are of course multiple ways and specific requirements, but we shouldn't fall into the YMMV trap of saying they are all equal. On the little we know of the OP's perceived needs, properly showing how your photos look should be the starting point for any recommendation. People don't seem to remember how crap things once were.

I'm not so sure that's the case. Managing assets has much more to do with managing metadata and storage locations. I'd prefer a tool that excels at that (but that's me), and also gives a decent impression of what the image looks like. There's also a risk of "Jack of all trades, master of none".

Sure, it's nice to also have a decent preview, but if images are repurposed for different media and modalities, that's going to be a soft proofing compromise anyway.

Cheers,
Bart
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john beardsworth

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Re: Best software for a photo library
« Reply #29 on: November 06, 2018, 03:13:22 pm »

It is patently the case. Any DAM will by definition handle metadata and storage locations, so there's very little point in choosing one that fails to show photos with your corrections. Unless you want to make work for yourself.
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DP

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Re: Best software for a photo library
« Reply #30 on: November 06, 2018, 07:18:09 pm »

It is patently the case. Any DAM will by definition handle metadata and storage locations, so there's very little point in choosing one that fails to show photos with your corrections. Unless you want to make work for yourself.
you fail to comprehend that some people use more than on raw converter - hence there is a big point not to get sucked into a primitive DAM like LR is...
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john beardsworth

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Re: Best software for a photo library
« Reply #31 on: November 07, 2018, 05:58:40 am »

you fail to comprehend that some people use more than on raw converter - hence there is a big point not to get sucked into a primitive DAM like LR is...

If that view had any merit, you wouldn't hide behind a pseudonym.
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myotis

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Re: Best software for a photo library
« Reply #32 on: November 07, 2018, 07:36:35 am »

But they'll struggle to break out of their market. Aperture and Lightroom proved the obvious value of a DAM application showing what your pictures look like.

I guess we will need to wait and see.

As indicated in my earlier posts, useful as it is (and I have both LR and C1 catalogues), having a catalogue for raw and final images that is independent of the processing program is, long term,  more important to me, and I'm guessing from comments over the years from people looking for a good standalone DAM means I'm not alone.

But, everyone works differently.

Cheers,

Graham
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john beardsworth

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Re: Best software for a photo library
« Reply #33 on: November 07, 2018, 11:01:13 am »

As indicated in my earlier posts, useful as it is (and I have both LR and C1 catalogues), having a catalogue for raw and final images that is independent of the processing program is, long term,  more important to me, and I'm guessing from comments over the years from people looking for a good standalone DAM means I'm not alone.

It's what some people say, and it is inherently a good ideal, but not enough put their money where their mouth is (not directed at you!). So one part of the standalone DAM market like Extensis could only continue by targeting enterprise-level customers with multi-user and then cloud-based features, where it has been joined by new players like Libris. The part that remained single-user like iView-Expression-C1Media Pro has almost disappeared, though iMatch is still around. I'd be surprised if PM go after the first market, which is viable but crowded, while the second makes one wonder why CameraBits think they can succeed where other strong players like Microsoft and PhaseOne failed.
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ned

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Re: Best software for a photo library
« Reply #34 on: November 07, 2018, 12:47:37 pm »

So did you try imatch?


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myotis

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Re: Best software for a photo library
« Reply #35 on: November 07, 2018, 01:37:21 pm »

The part that remained single-user like iView-Expression-C1Media Pro has almost disappeared, though iMatch is still around. I'd be surprised if PM go after the first market, which is viable but crowded, while the second makes one wonder why CameraBits think they can succeed where other strong players like Microsoft and PhaseOne failed.

There is also Photo Supreme and Neofinder/Abemeda, with a reasonable number of people bemoaning the loss of Media Pro. And Daminion and Mylio?. The  main failing, I think, was that Phase One never really put any effort into it, just as Microsoft hadn't before them.  From day one, it was difficult to find it on their website (Phase One's) and the user guide was never included in the Phase One documentation pages. Bugs went unfixed, and it needed a major rewrite to let it run with upcoming Mac OS's.

The obvious target market of C1 users looking for  a more robust DAM than C1 offered were disappointed because of poor integration, and existing users of iView Media (such as myself) continued to be disappointed because, just like MS, Phase One did virtually nothing to update the program, and it seemed that Media Pro was only a stop gap until they progressed their real interest of adding a DAM feature to C1.

I think Camera Bits are in a different position, they are small specialist company selling a niche product to a niche market, with a product (PM5) well overdue for an upgrade. Like many PM5 users (I'm assuming), I would be upgrading to PM6 even if it didn't add a DAM. And they may well pick up some Media Pro users, as well as users looking to try an alternative to one of the few remaining single user DAMs. 

But Camera Bits presumably have their own problems as more and more people are probably just using LR etc to do things that PM does.  I bought PM4, not because I was the obvious market, but because I found LR unusably slow for culling and image management. But, I still find it such a useful "swiss army knife" of file ingestion and management that I wouldn't want to live without it now.

The other question is whether it will be a "proper" DAM that also catalogues audio files, Word files, PDFs etc, or will it be a specialist photographic DAM.

It seems reasonable to assume it's a small market, but given Camera Bits existing product, and its user base, plus the reputation of the company within the industry for this type of program, I'm not sure that a comparison of how well Phase One and MS did with a DAM, is a good indicator of how well Camera Bits will do with PM6. And of course, taking on your point, the market is likely to shrink as most users are probably looking for an integrated DAM/Raw Processor, which is increasingly becoming the standard with most raw processors, either already available or on the way.

Any way its apparently going to be available as a public beta soon, so I look forward to seeing what it has to offer.

Cheers,
Graham


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john beardsworth

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Re: Best software for a photo library
« Reply #36 on: November 07, 2018, 04:45:49 pm »

Mylio is about managing your photos with their adjustments, and Microsoft's acquisition of iView was driven by that need. They really wanted the iView people for the team developing SmartFlow, their LR/Aperture competitor. And I agree with your suspicions about with PhaseOne seeing MediaPro as a stop gap. They made efforts to make it show C1 adjustments, and then added the DAM features into C1 itself. I assume they've all done their market research.

But PM is indeed in its own market with a loyal user base, driven by culling and turnaround speed.  Many users like you will just upgrade anyway, so if PM6 does come out they'll struggle to distinguish if the catalogue has any effect on sales. I hope you're not waiting too long....
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myotis

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Re: Best software for a photo library
« Reply #37 on: November 08, 2018, 01:47:51 am »

But PM is indeed in its own market with a loyal user base, driven by culling and turnaround speed.  Many users like you will just upgrade anyway, so if PM6 does come out they'll struggle to distinguish if the catalogue has any effect on sales. I hope you're not waiting too long....

Except they may pick up improved customer retention, a return of old customers, and an upward turn in new customers. Plus a change in the type of technical support questions, e.g if in spite of the DAM all the technical support requests still revolve around culling, then the DAM may have been a waste of time.

And yes, I hope PM6 isn't that much longer, although I have been running a parallel catalogues in LR and Neofinder, as I've never really believed Media Pro would survive (and LR has some nice features) I have been looking forward to PM6 for a long time. Let's hope it lives up to my expectations!!

Cheers,
Graham
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john beardsworth

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Re: Best software for a photo library
« Reply #38 on: December 16, 2018, 10:51:02 am »

So PM6 isn't this year after all. I can't say I am at all surprised - after all, what's another year?
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myotis

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Re: Best software for a photo library
« Reply #39 on: December 17, 2018, 10:15:22 am »

So PM6 isn't this year after all. I can't say I am at all surprised - after all, what's another year?

Yes, a bit disappointing. They have always avoided giving any time frame until now, so I was hoping for at least the public beta this year.


Cheers,

Graham

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