Anyone using Photo Mechanic?

[johnastovall]

A very knowledge ex-PJ suggest using this for fast work and IPTC editing.
I'm asking since I have couple of contracts for Contract Photography and Writing for a regional Texas paper to sign. I did the first job Saturday in CS3 and it was a pain. They don't know about IPTC but other possible contractors might and some I know require it.

Any opinions on Photo Mechanic. It seems cheap enough.

 

[LJL]

John,
I have used it in the past and thought it was great. It can only be better now. It is very quick for viewing, sorting, renaming, synchronizing times from multiple cameras (if you have the need), and loading in the IPTC data. That is pretty much what it was designed for, and Sports Illustrated has used it from the start to manage all their images, credits, etc., so it cannot be that cumbersome.

I do most of my edits now in PS, though it is a bit of pain having to tag so many different windows within the File Info. However, if you select a batch, you can load up all of the generic stuff easily. (I do this for the multiple polo matches I shoot every week and sometimes several per day.) From there, the only changes that need to be made are to the Description for individual images that would be used as captions and stuff. It really is not that bad, but PhotoMechanic is probably the fastest, and easiest for doing lots of these kinds of edits.

LJ

 

[Jonathon Delacour]

I've used PM for a year or so and have never regretted the purchase. It makes entering IPTC really easy and, as LJ noted, it's extremely fast.

Moreover, the developers, Camera Bits, have indicated that they are working on adding "a very functional and powerful, multi-user capable cataloging system" to PM, which is great news for me since it means I'll eventually be able to discard Expression Media as my catalog software. (Based on the latest "upgrade", the widely expressed fears that iView Media Pro would languish after it was purchased by Microsoft appear to be justified.)

 

[harmsr]

I'll echo the thoughts of the others here. I like Photo Mechanic, but am waiting for them to add support for the Hasselblad H3DII39 files. The good thing about this is that, they use the OS X from Apple to generate their previews of RAW files. If Apple supports the files then they can also.

I tried the Hassy files and they were not recognized by Photo Mechanic, so I sent an email asking about compatability. They responded promptly stating that since Preview & Aperture can recognize the files, it would be very minor coding for them to update Photo Mechanic.

I'm hoping this comes quickly, as I like the program.

Best,

Ray

 

[etrigan63]

PM is a very capable app that allows me to file my photos painlessly. Big thumbs up!

 

[Player]

Fantastic program! You can even upload FTP.