Breeze System’s Downloader Pro does only one thing, but it does it extremely well: Downloading your images to your PC. Whether running multiple download sessions in parallel, converting RAW images to DNG (Digital Negative Format), renaming all images, adding metadata or creating backups during downloads, Downloader Pro delivers — fast and prodictably! Initial setup takes a bit, but once done, importing images is a snap. We have been using it for years and miss it dearly ever since we converted to our Mac, since all of Breeze’s software is Windows only.
Highly recommended!
Price: $29.95
CameraBits released version 4.5.2 of its popular PhotoMechanic software, which is optimized for very fast downloads of images from your camera to a PC or a Mac. In addition, it allows for fast sorting, tagging and the creation of contact sheets in a color managed environment. The new version adds support for the Canon 1D Mark III and also contains minor bug fixes.
Price: $150
Not sure how well this one works, so we’d appreciate some feedback. The approach that ImageTrends takes with Sensor Kleen Pro is software-based rather than some gadget that you might typically use to clean your sensor. The software examines a number of images, e.g., images from a shoot, to determine dust patterns and then corrects them in all images that exhibit the problem.
I don’t see Sensor Kleen Pro as a replacement for your existing dust removal process; it’s more an augmentation. However, if you contracted dust while changing lenses in the field, it might actually save your day.
Price: $99.95
Here are my three favorite photo/imaging tools, all for free:
1. Irfanview
If you try out just one free tool, this is the one. It’s the best free image viewing tool in the world. Period. Viewing images, printing, converting them between different formats, slide shows, minor adjustments, thumbnails, image organizing – all of these can be done fast and easily. There’s hardly an image format that is not supported by Irfanview. It’s not an image editor, though.
I’ve been using Irfanview since the mid 1990’s and it’s my default application for file extensions such as JPG and TIF. It’s one of the first applications that get installed whenever I get a new PC. Try it out and I bet it will stick. Sorry, Windows only. Available in many languages.
2. Pixmantec Raw Shooter Essentials
Although Pixmantec was bought by Adobe least year and its Raw Shooter engine is now part of the new Adobe Photoshop Lightroom product, you can still google it to find copies on the net. If you bought a Digital SLR in 2006, chances are that Raw Shooter Essentials (RSE) supports its RAW format. In short, RSE is a full-featured software package to convert RAW images to TIFFs or JPEGs and it does a great job of doing so. Intuitive interface, easy adjustment capabilities and superb image processing make this a great value. Personally, I use the Premium (RSP) version, but I used RSE before RSP came out. It’s by far the best free RAW converter. Again, Windows only.
3. GIMP
Not ready to shell out hundreds of dollars for Adobe Photoshop, but still want Photoshop-like functionality? Try the GIMP, an open-source image editor. While its functionality is a bit short of Photoshop’s, it still offers way more than most other free “image editors”. Plus, it’s available on Windows, Mac and Linux/Unix. It would be my image editor of choice, if I would go the free route!
Digital Outback Photo posted the first in a four part series about my experience with Lightroom. Called “Veit’s Personal Lightroom Workflow Experience”, I will examine certain aspects of my photographic workflow and how Lightroom might or might not help me to improve them. Interested? Check it out!
