Nikon photo browser and organizer?

Hello, I have a mac and do not like iphoto. I need a replacement browswer to

view photos, do slideshows and organize photos. I don't need an editor since I

have Photoshop CS2 and Capture. Is Picture Project a decent browswer? How

about Nikon View? What are the things you like about both and dislike about

both. I'd like to stick to one of these since they are free. Thank you for any

input.

 

-Donny

Have you tried " GraphicConverter " at

http://www.lemkesoft.com/

Oh! By the way I think its the best $30.00 I've spent on my computer.

Picture Project is the freebie that Nikon provides. I find that it is cumbersome on the Mac. I have a G4 powerbook not the latest Intel duo. The files reside in Mac OS X library preferences. Find it and copy the folder as a backup.

 

Initially the program loads up all the files very quickly. However, as the number of files increases, the upload is very very slow. Then the program has a nasty habit of quitting in the middle and it won't load anymore pictures. I couldn't fix it, hence the backup. I would load the backup, keep a copy elsewhere and continue where I left off. I have about 40k images loaded in Picture Project.

 

I use the program for one reason mainly - all the meta data shows up for each image. You don't get all the info in Photoshop or any other retail program such as Portfolio etc. I queried Nikon and Portfolio and got no satisfactory answer and still do not have all meta data available except in Picture Project.

 

If this is not important, then don't bother with Picture Project and just rely on Photoshop, or, maybe Aperture or Lightroom. Aperture [major upgrade 1.5] from Apple is quite impressive now for sorting etc. I don't know about the meta data. I believe Aperture is available as a trial from Apple. Lightroom is definitely available as a trial download in beta version for Mac and Windows. Definitely try this before it becomes finished and you have to buy it. The trial version of Aperture has an expiration date but it is fully functional. Go to Adobe's website.

 

Good luck

Have you tried google's <a href="http://picasa.google.com/">picasa</a>?

Donny...I run Picture Project on a Dell desktop with 1.25 Gig memory...Nikon Picture Project loads very quick and continues to work quickly even with other photo "tools" open.

 

I recently added Nikon Capture NX and I find the two programs compliment each other.

 

You can run Picture Project alone and get great results, especially with Nikon NEF files.

 

It is very quick, it gives you latitudes in each of the adjustments.

 

I especially like the D-Lighting adjustment. Unlike "Fill Flash" on my Adobe Elements, you'll get hardly any if any at all noise with the D-Lighting tool....it simply works great with the JPeg or NEF files I download from the D-200.

 

Picture Project has mechanisms to organize photos although I have not used them or attempted them...simply don't have the need.

 

If Picture Project does not suit you, try Picasa2. It has excellent organization, a very large viewing field, easy to use adjustments (although somewhat limited), easy to print with. I don't think it is the best mechanism for NEF files...although I have made adjustments to a satisfactory level. It also lacks the proprietary mechanisms that I believe Nikon has installed with Picture Project and Capture NX to get the most out of NEF files.

 

I download files to Picture Project, and make adjustments if necessary, then I export the files to "My Documents" with no size reduction (as TIFF files), then I print the files in Picasa2, picking them up from "My Documents" in Picasa2.

 

Of course when I use the Capture NX I'll print directly from it.

 

The Nikon programs require significant memory to run properly....without which you really can't blame the program.

The nicest thing I've found for the mac (and I've tried a lot trying to find something as simple

as iPhoto that doesnt use its crazy folder system) is Adobe's Lightroom beta.

<br /><br />

Free download from <a href="http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom/">Adobe</a>

but it will expire some time next year, when pressumably they realease CS3 and include it.

Is very similar to Aperture in features by the way...<div></div>

Donny,

 

I am running a Macbook with the duo core Intels. I have Photoshop CS2 but was somewhat

disappointed in the performance. I went out and bought Aperture 1.5. WOW! It is fast

(native to Apple OS) and like iphoto, doesn't change the master image. All versions are

simply documented as changes applied to the original. It actually provides the workflow

tools to simplify managing your images - freeing you from having to spend hours at the

computer tweaking. This is what I used to do with Photoshop CS2.

 

Aperture does not allow the pixel-by-pixel editing that you have in Photoshop, so it is not

a complete replacement for Photoshop. However, since I bought Aperture, I have only

exported two images to Photoshop.

 

Aperture does a great job with raw files (IMO as good as Nikon's Capture NX) and is easier

to use. The only drawback is that Aperture only supports a limited number of camera raw

file formats. You need to verify that your camera's raw format is supported.

 

Since you are looking for a "freebie" this may have to wait for your Xmas list, as it costs

$300. But it is worth every penny of the cost.

I think the best browser and importer is Photo Mechanic by Photobits. Check out the free

trial. It is an amazing tool. jon

For the things you are looking to do, Nikon View is better than Picture Project. It's a reasonably small, light program that will let you browse through a folder in reduced size mode, enlarge on screen for a critical check, tag files to be organized/moved and do slide shows. It will also do some other handy things like a batch resize, JPG out put if you want to print a set of 4x6's. I know you have other programs to edit, but the editor in NV can handle quite a few quick fixes. NV can also be configured so that when yuo want to edit a file it is opened in the program of your choice.

 

I loaded Picture Project once and though it was a program designed for folks new to digital and needed a lot of hand holding. Nikon View, on the other hand is nice, bare bones utility like program.

Thank you for all your input. Right now, I think I am going to use the Adobe Bridge program as my sorter/viewer/organizer of photos. Although, I will try all the above suggestions as well in the near future.