Just make sure you’re satisfied with what you see. I would suggest the OP takes a look at ACDSee. Yet Lightroom is still the obvious choice for me. As a Fuji shooter I had to complicate import by adding Iridient's XTransformer to the front-end. I now happily pay Adobe $10/month for functionality, efficiency, reliability and support I could not find elsewhere.
Tried just about all of the candidates mentioned so far plus a couple of database apps supposedly compatible with photos. DAM with enough tools to make the entire process from memory card to export efficient. For years flailed around looking for decent DAM. They're both paid, obviously, though small potatoes in the grand scheme of photography-related things. It works really well for me in combination with Capture One and it's "Sessions" approach.Īnyway, either Capture One or Capture One + PM Plus is worth looking at. It's maybe worth taking a look at if you're willing to run more than one piece of software. PM Plus brings in DAM and excellent search capabilities. I've used basic Photo Mechanic for a decade for ingest, metadata, rating, backups, etc and (like C1) couldn't live without it. Capture One doesn't have an iPad presence yet but they are working on an M1 build for Q1 that will pave the way for that.įor my "real" DAM though, I've been moving more to Photo Mechanic Plus. Lightroom arguably has a better print module as well, though for me I use a separate application for that anyway. These seem to be the functions a lot of Adobe ex-pats get the most bent-out-of-shape about. If you're used to Lightroom, be aware that Capture One's goal in life isn't to be "like Lightroom" - there's no history panel, multi-image HDR or Pano features if you find those functions useful in your raw processor. I even find that doing raw processing and associated editing in it "fun". Their approach isn't perfect, but it's certainly doable and I could live with it if I had to. I could even use it for my DAM system quite happily as they have pretty sophisticated metadata and search capabilities, versions (variants) and they do have a mostly file-system focus on how they manage images. It took me a while to warm up to it - like you, I came from Aperture - but they have superb (to me) learning resources and now I couldn't live without it. I too prefer a file-based approach.įor my particular variety of camera systems and needs, my raw processor of choice is Capture One. Anyway, I look at DAM as a "system of things you do to manage digital assets" and I long ago gave up the notion of having a one-size-fits-all application that does everything (both management and editing). I'm currently trying DxO PhotoLabs 4, and eventually I will have to give Adobe Lightroom another chance.Īre there any that I should try? Are there any which are fun?Īffinity has been threatening a DAM system for some years now.
Also all of the example images they present to show off the power of their software seem gaudy.ĪCDSEE: I haven't tried it, but just looking at tutorials, they seem to use an approach to DAM that is not compatible with what I'd like: a purely file-based workflow. Plus, I am really annoyed by their spam emails that I still get with SPECIAL LIMITED OFFERS and the like, which grates me the wrong way, too. Luminar AI: I have purchased licenses for Luminar 2 and 3 just to fund development for their DAM functionality, which has been a big disappointment. No stacking, which pretty much eliminates it from serious consideration. On1: I have tried the current version again, but the UI seems clunky. On the plus side, it seems to be the only piece of software that is Mac-like. RAW Power: This seems more like Photos Pro, with more (better?) editing options but its file management functionality seems to be identical to Photos. Photos: Way too limited and has a modal interface. The other thing is that all contenders but RAW Power are cross-platform, which makes their UI very un-Mac-like and clunky. Marking photos for deletion (the X rating in Aperture) also do not seem to be included. How are versions and stacks not features that are just standard by now? I reckon that is because of asset management and file management seem to be one and the same thing. Luminar 4 aka AI, and DAM features fall by the wayside. But it seems to me that all contenders focus mostly on advances in editing like e.
I'll give you a list of the ones I have tried below. I want an app that makes me want to sort photos again, edit them, curate them and print them. I don't want relitigate or wax nostalgically here, but I wanted to see if I can find a DAM that is a replacement to rekindle my interest in photography. Since the demise of Aperture, my photography has atrophied.