I'm not using either but was at a seminar by John Shaw this weekend and he swears by IView MediaPro. He did a brief demo of it at the seminar and if you have a truly high volume of images I think it would be hard to beat.
iViewMedia and Extensis Portfolio are excellent but if you use a Mac you can just stick to using Aperture it will catalogue and process RAWs all in one.
Posted by Ed Dubois on November 9, 2006 at 10:54 PM
I bought and am starting to use IMatch. Afraid it's too early to tell you how I like it since I'm just learning but it seems to handle large volumes of images with no hesitation. I also like that it can search very quickly for similar images which I find really helps with the bird photos.
Posted by Robert Fisher on November 9, 2006 at 11:41 PM
There's also Picasa, which is free, although it may not be full featured enough. Photobyte might also be an option. It's not only a cataloging package but a business software for photographers as well. It's also free.
A vote for Imatch too. It takes a bit of time to get used to but once you've got it, it's quite easy.
Another nice feature is it monitors the folder in the BG. If you're working on a image(s) in a certain folder IMatch will update it automatically.
I have thousands of images and I can go to any category to bring up an image.. example, Avian/Warbler/blue-winged and Imatch tells me exactly where it is, weather on a HD or DVD.....I recommend it!
Posted by Walter Rowe on November 10, 2006 at 8:05 PM
I use iView Media Pro. Best piece of catalog software I have ever used. I have tried ThumbsPlus, iMatch and Extensis Portfolio.
Posted by Curtis Knight on April 16, 2007 at 9:43 AM
I'm an imatch user but when I found out that they don't give you a break on upgrades, well I'm now questioning whether I want to continue supporting them. I'm still at a point where I could switch. I think I'll be giving iview serious consideration.
Posted by Ron Niebrugge on April 19, 2007 at 2:33 PM
I'm also a happy IMatch user - very powerful program.
"I'm an imatch user but when I found out that they don't give you a break on upgrades, well I'm now questioning whether I want to continue supporting them."
They did charge for the last update, but every update before that, since 2001 has been free.
I have been using IMatch (price is right and full featured but I found it confusing at first) but I think I am finding Lightroom (good cataloging and a fine Raw handler) a great substitute. As far as I know all the programs have a trial so it might be worth the download time.
Discussion
9 repliesI'd like to get some unvarnished opinions on the pros and cons of both software programs from people who are using them.
Thanks!
Nick Leadley
Another nice feature is it monitors the folder in the BG. If you're working on a image(s) in a certain folder IMatch will update it automatically.
I have thousands of images and I can go to any category to bring up an image.. example, Avian/Warbler/blue-winged and Imatch tells me exactly where it is, weather on a HD or DVD.....I recommend it!
"I'm an imatch user but when I found out that they don't give you a break on upgrades, well I'm now questioning whether I want to continue supporting them."
They did charge for the last update, but every update before that, since 2001 has been free.