[wulinka]

....is Faststone.

I used to use it to browse pics, you get a thumpnail overview and full screen view on "enter".
It seemed less bulky to me than Lightroom or Bridge.

Most of all I miss the super easy batch processing, especially to resize pictures?
It was practically a (not-much-more-than-) one-click action to resize a batch of pics to say web publishing size.
Now with all the fancy software on the new Mac (which I LOVE), which program will best do that for me?

Even though I wrote a sophisticated multi step resize action in PS, the small jpegs will turn out rather rugged, for all my experience, Faststone seems to use a really good algorithm.

Also, I encountered compatibility issues when trying to read jpegs saved from the mac on the pc, I had to save them two or three times (I did not actually change any settings, just repeatedly saved them as jpeg) before the PC would recognize them. Any hints on this?

Other than that I am very happy. I do have a small issue (I hope it is small) with the display being unstable in illumination, have a feeling it has to do with the external HD connected via Firewire 400 (any issues for you , G and Irma, or anyone who is using the same or similar WD MyBook external HD?).
I have called Mac service about it, but am now just trying whether it occurs when the ext HD is not connected.

The display also seems to become brighter when I open a dialogue like curves or a saving dialogue etc. in any program. .... Or am I just fantasizing?


thanks for any input from all you Mac owners / WD hard drive users!

Uli

[shuttertalk]

Hey Uli... I know what you mean. Mac has some nifty stuff though like:

For fast image viewing, you can use quicklook - click on a file in finder (or on your desktop) and press space. Then use your arrow keys to move back and forth between images. It works for other file types too, e.g. movies, pdfs, etc.

For resizing I wonder if Automator can help? It's the Robot icon in your apps - one of the actions under Photos is Resize photos. You can assign triggers to automator workflows - e.g. when card is inserted, or make it a right click action...

Anyway, I'm no expert - maybe others can help...

[wulinka]

Hey Jules!

I hadn't hear about the automator, something to look into!

Uli

[matthew]

Uli, I've never used Faststone, so I can't compare, but I've been quite impressed by Lightroom's ability to preview and batch process images. LR does its best to render all images in the order that you need them, but it's happiest when it gets to render all of the full-sized previews on import, and then once it's done you can flip between them very quickly. Use "G" to get to the grid view, "E" to get to the loupe (full-screen or magnified) view, or select several and compare them with the "survey" view ("N") which is a great way to see and select from a small group of images. For batch processing, have a look at the buttons on the bottom of the right-side panel in the develop module. Between them and the ability to select images in the filmstrip viewer at the bottom of the screen, you can select and sync many photos quickly. You even have the option of not synchronizing all of your edits; for example, you can keep the tone curve and exposure changes the same across all of the selected photos, but not apply the crop and rotation to the unedited photos.

When it comes time to resize a photo, create an 'export preset' within lightroom. Once you've set the parameters, it's just a matter of selecting the images and then using the drop-down menu to select the export preset that you want to run. (You can have as many as you like.) I have ones that automatically convert my images to sRGB, constrain the dimensions to particular maximum sizes, and set different compression levels -- all I need to do is choose one according to how the image will be used. They even end up in different folders depending on how I upload them. It's a very flexible program that rewards the time you'll spend setting it up to do your work for you. I even back up my images using an export preset -- it automatically exports the selected images as DNG files, puts them in a segregated folder, and then burns the whole thing to DVD without me needing to do anything more than the initial command and naming the disk(s). Handy stuff.

I've never experienced a problem moving jpegs from mac to pc; my only issue has been that PCs often read the thumbnail image that's created as part of the file on a Mac as being a separate second image. I've never had one fail to see anything.

What do you mean by unstable illumination? (Apple can set their displays to dim with very little delay.) I have a pair of WD drives on my desktop, and have never experienced a problem. But even if the uneven illumination is related to the drive, it's still a problem, all you're finding out is a cause or symptom. The computer's designed to run with a hard drive on the FW400 port, so something's going wrong.

[wulinka]

aaah, thanks for the tips mat! so: more research on LR. I have been using it for a couple of days, looks like it might become my new work horse, just need to find my way around.

I have to watch that illumination issue, it is not the dimming when the machine goes into energy save mode, more subtle and more sudden than that. I can't really tell when and why it happens, like I said, have to watch more and contact service again.

True, when the jpegs finally showed up on the pc there were two copies, one it would not show in Faststone, one regular image (which I used to post in ST).. so I guess one could have been the thumpnail
so much new stuff.

Uli

[guerito]

Congrats on the new Mac, Uli!

We haven't had any problems with the MyBook disks. They are somewhat removed from our monitors, around 60-70 cm. Irma has a crt, I have an lcd screen, no probs with either. About LR, it's what Matt said. Spend a little time on the setup, and things will happen just with a wave of the wand (or a click with the mouse). I love LR. Not only for the image editing functions, but also for the organizing capabilities. IMO it's really worth exploring, after a while you don't want to miss it anymore.

BTW there is a LR 2 Beta out, it has masks (!), besides other things. Can't wait for version 3, they might have layers... (Just kidding)

[matthew]

Getting to know Lightroom is a lot like a relationship. You can see it occasionally, do something special with it, and give it a trial without getting seriously involved -- much like dating. But its real strengths and weaknesses don't make themselves known until you've decided to make that commitment and live with it. Fortunately Lightroom has far more strengths than limitations, and makes an excellent partner. All you need to do is show it how you want things to be done.

If you like paper books, Martin Evening's "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Book: The Complete Guide for Photographers" is what I've read and can recommend. (I love the title: who but photographers would be using Lightroom?) "Real World Camera Raw with Adobe Photoshop CS3" is also valuable for the few chapters that go into considerable detail about how ACR4.1+ -- the engine under the hood in Lightroom -- does what it does. Unfortunately it also spends a lot of time talking about Bridge, which is the software version of how the dinosaurs' tried to beat the meteor.

For what it's worth, I have had an issue with my WD MyBook RAID drive, but it has nothing to do with the computer and no effect on it.

[wulinka]

argh, I am like Kombi's reader who found a typo now:
I called Apple service about the notebooks display illumination and they had me do something they called a
"master power management reset" or semething like that. Now I can't see my pictures anymore, I am just staring at the screen to see if it is still happening (I think it is...), getting a headache...

Oh well, there is no new purchase without any problems I think. have to say the guys at the apple call centre, all with an Indian accent, are "verrrrry frrrrrriendly"

Uli