Has anyone used Photo Mechanic? I'm thinking of getting this program to control my impulse to import everything into Lightroom. Just wondering if anyone's used it or is using it and is...

tjc321

I'm thinking of getting this program to control my impulse to import everything into Lightroom. Just wondering if anyone's used it or is using it and is happy with it.I do practically all of my processing in LR Classic.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Do you have a windows system?
What about using Explorer for perusing images? Or "Photos" if you have Win 10/11.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

tjc321 wrote:

I'm thinking of getting this program to control my impulse to import everything into Lightroom. Just wondering if anyone's used it or is using it and is happy with it.I do practically all of my processing in LR Classic.

I assume you know about the "X" for reject and how fast a review and reject, then delete, what you don't want.

lreisner Loc: Union,NJ

tjc321 wrote:

I'm thinking of getting this program to control my impulse to import everything into Lightroom. Just wondering if anyone's used it or is using it and is happy with it.I do practically all of my processing in LR Classic.

If you have Lightroom then you also have Bridge which you can use to look at your files outside of Lightroom. It also allows you to rate them. Having said that, Lightroom is designed for fast editing of pictures. You would be wasting money on a program which you do not need and spending time learning a new program as well.

gwilliams6

Photo Mechanic has been used by pros working in the field and on location for many years as a good way to cull, edit and ready large amounts of photos for transmission.

But you dont need to buy it. I am a longtime pro that used Photo Mechanic for years, but I use the free (yes Free) FastStone Image viewer which has many of the same features as Photo Mechanic and works with all raw files from all brands. FastStone is super easy to use.

I view cull and edit my shots in FastStone first and then move my selects into LR or PS for any additional post processing. I prefer FastStone to my Adobe Bridge, much quicker and more intuitive IMHO.

https://www.faststone.org/

Cheers

Peterfiore Loc: Where DR goes south

gwilliams6 wrote:

Photo Mechanic has been used by pros working in th... (show quote)

Windows only...

xtasqf

I've tested it and compared to FastRawViewer. I find FastRawViewer faster and cheaper ...
Have a good day

Canisdirus

LR catalog is fine but not nearly enough if a photographer has thousands of images to go through.

PM is fairly popular in the pro world because of the way it streamlines the winnowing process.

No need to upload images...this program can perform everywhere on your computer drives.

Come home from a trip with 800 images and want the best 50? This program will do it very well.

I have not used it but have a copy. At some point I am going to run through everything I have with it.

There's a free 30 day trial...and I will do all of mine at once...for free.

tjc321

gwilliams6 wrote:

Photo Mechanic has been used by pros working in th... (show quote)

I'm a Mac user. Any issues with that?

tjc321

Sorry for late addition of info: I'm on a Mac & shoot a Z9 in bursts so I generate many many photos looking for the few keepers.

recb

tjc321 wrote:

I'm a Mac user. Any issues with that?

No issues, there is a version for Mac.

CliffMcKenzie Loc: Lake Athens Texas

I have been using PM for years and love it. When I return for a major shoot, insert card, PM pops up, name file, keywords to metadata and hit "ingest". While it is uploading from chip to "Picture Upload" sub-folder, I can see what it is doing on one monitor and enlarged on another monitor. After upload is complete, assuming a major shoot, I might run PM again on the upload sub-folder and cull before going to LRC. Once LRC is loaded and disk backup has taken place, erase Picture Upload sub-folder.

gwilliams6

tjc321 wrote:

I'm a Mac user. Any issues with that?

Photo Mechanic works with both Windows and Mac.

gwilliams6

Peterfiore wrote:

Windows only...

FastStone Image Viewer is not available for Mac as of now, but there are plenty of alternatives that runs on macOS with similar functionality. The best Mac alternative is XnView MP. It's not free, so if you're looking for a free alternative, you could try nomacs or Photoscape.

Cheers

magpix Loc: St. Michaels, MD

tjc321 wrote:

I'm thinking of getting this program to control my impulse to import everything into Lightroom. Just wondering if anyone's used it or is using it and is happy with it.I do practically all of my processing in LR Classic.

I started using PM years ago while working as a photojournalist, often having to cull through a thousand or more shots quickly. Although semi-retired I still use it to choose my selects before importing to LR. Couldn’t be happier with the program and still get many free updates after the initial purchase.