As earlier this month, Camera Bits has released, a major update to the company's image ingestion software. A free trial is available to download for new users on Windows and macOS, while 'qualified' existing customers can upgrade for $89 USD. A new software license is priced at $139 USD. For users who purchased Photo Mechanic 5 in 2018 will receive a license key for Photo Mechanic 6 for free.Photo Mechanic 6 brings a large number of big and small improvements, including the previously announced 64-bit support, the ability to ingest images from selection, better image caching, full-screen support for Preview and Contact Sheet windows, and reverse geocoding.As part of the initial release, Photo Mechanic 6 brings new elements including a new render cache and image gallery exporter. In addition to new features, version 6 also adds improvements to existing tools, including crop, slideshow, and the Find and Replace panel, plus new support for Blu-ray disc burning and.The software enables photographers to rapidly ingest images, organize, and manage them at faster speeds than catalogue-based competitors. Users have the ability to cull, tag, view, organize and export their images from a single application. This is the first major update to Photo Mechanic since the release of version 5 in 2012.Mac users must be running at least Mac OS X 10.10 or higher to use Photo Mechanic 6; Windows users must be running a 64-bit version of either Windows 7, 8, or 10.In addition to the release of Photo Mechanic 6, Camera Bits has also announced, a premium upgrade version of Photo Mechanic that will include the much-anticipated Catalog feature.
Announcements about new versions of Photo Mechanic. 180 Posts 179 Topics Last post by Kirk Baker in Photo Mechanic Plus Beta. On May 24, 2019, 04:52:53 PM Code Replacements. Camera Bits Forums - Info Center Upcoming Calendar Upcoming Birthdays: Airborne2 (76), hicksphoto6 (54) Forum Stats. Overview of Camera Bits Photo Mechanic 5.0. Photo Mechanic 5.0 will allow you to speed up your workflow by streamlining your copying process so that you copy images from your memory cards to your hard drive quicker than you ever imagined. Photo Mechanic 5.0 will take the work out of editing, labeling, and organize the images you have.
![Mechanic Mechanic](/uploads/1/2/4/2/124210855/602653086.jpg)
A limited beta of Photo Mechanic Plus will be launched on April 22nd to Photo Mechanic 6 owners at no extra cost and will be launched alongside a dedicated forum where beta testers can share feedback.In Camera Bits' own words, the upcoming Catalog feature 'is an image database for managing large numbers of image files across multiple locations.' After the beta period is over Photo Mechanic Plus will be offered as a paid upgrade over Photo Mechanic 6 at a price that's yet to be announced. I still use ImageIngesterPro for automatically renaming photo files in my cards and downloading them to internal HD directories / folders organized by dates taken ( year/ month/ day ) plus a back up copy on an external HD. My photo files add up to around 100,000 originals at this time.
Unfortunately, that excellent and simple software is not supported anymore and I just can't find a similar substitute to my liking. It's already showing some 'hickups' on Windows 10 latest versions. If anybody shares my concerns and knows of a simple app ( free or low-cost ) that does that job, please let me know!
@ewelchHave you tried Photo Mechanic 6? It's supposed to be 2-3 times faster than 5.I have, it's noticeably faster for me (on my old Mac Mini), which is what most people are reporting, but some people are reporting it as slower. But PM is about 'workflow' speed and some of the speed increases it seems, refer to the time it takes to complete a PM task, not just raw speed of rendering and scrolling.In this regard, PM6 is faster than PM5 for me, and going back to the OP, they are both faster than FRV, but FRV is aimed at a different customer.
@myotisone and Schweikert: Below is a copy of my exchange with Camera Bits, when I asked about adding RAW histograms.Would very much like for PM to have a RAW histogram. I often use FastRawViewer to cull and select photos when I have a shoot with bracketed images, as jpeg-based ones aren't accurate enough for critical work. But it's not nearly as intuitive or fast to use as PM.Could you add RAW histograms to PM?Thanks.The short answer is: no.PM doesn't render RAW files itself, so it can't have access to the image data and as such it can't count the frequency of color data.-KirkIn general, PM does not render RAW images.
Since it does not render RAW images, then it can't also get a more accurate histogram either.-KirkOnly on the macOS version has RAW rendering an option-KirkThe 'Kirk' is a Senor Software Engineer on the Camera Bits staff. SantaFeBill@myotisone and Schweikert: Below is a copy of my exchange with Camera Bits, when I asked about adding RAW histograms.I'm confused now, were you talking about viewing raw images or raw histograms. That main exchange with Kirk was about raw histograms. But I didn't realise it was only the Mac that offered a raw view toggle, which I have just discovered they have removed from PM6.
No explanation, just that its been removed.I have FRV set up as the main editor in PM, and just flick between the two as part of my more detailed evaluation. I don't really care about seeing a half-developed RAW from FRV any more (initially I was excited about it). I'm shooting RAW and jpeg most of the time as it's easier and faster to cull from the full size jpeg previews.The development hasn't stopped. There's a great beta out right now for 1.5 which includes TIFF and PNG support.That link includes a trial code good until 5 May 2019 without even signing up with an email. I strongly recommend trying FRV with priority to external jpeg if you have them. Filtering via XMP Rating 'Not Set' and after pressing Tab allows you to go through your pictures full screen very fast with automatic transport controls (i.e.
When you grade a picture, it disappears and the next one comes up). Photo Mechanic is so much more.
If you care about metadata, you have variables and ITPC templates that will speed up your work. But then a protessional tool isn't needed by people who only type in a copyright and descxription. But if you care about having the right metadata for professional puposes, Photo Mechanic will blast any competition out of the water.My biggest gripe is it doesn't support iPhone's HEIF format (same quality as jpeg but half the size, or better quality at the same size).
Secondly it would be nice if it were able to filter out a lot of differnt files and EXIF more easily. Letting me manage all files like Bridge can would really be helpful for cleaning up a file system gone awry. Elwech, you're right: PhotoMechanic is both a culling tool and a keywording/ITPC. While FastRawViewer offers the basic of ITPC editing and adding some basic copyright information but it's primarily a culling/selection tool.A photographer who needs ultrafast processing of jpegs out with detailed metadata would be better served by PhotoMechanic. A photographer who needs to cull substantial shoots from RAW and will go on to process the photos from RAW is equally well served by FastRawViewer at 1/10th the cost.Before version 6, I'd say better served by FastRawViewer.
FRV while not lining up for any beauty prizes offered a modern interface while PhotoMechanic 5 is one of the ugliest pieces of software I've ever opened on OS X. I have been using Aperture since it was issued in 2005, almost fifteen years ago. Apple has informed me that the next update of the OS, in Fall 2019, will not allow the use of the app. Yikes.I tried migrating to Photos. The fuzzy thumbnails aren't much use to me. The image only gets better in the 'edit' mode.
Photos is great when using several Mac devices, like iPhone, MacPro, etc., but not for my use where I prefer to keep my images on one computer with a back-up.I have used Iridient Developer for years for any important images. It meets my high standards.Affinity Photo works for any additional layering edits, after ID.I have now bought Photo Mechanic. I didn't take long with the trial version. It is just what I wanted.ID ($100) + PM ($140) + AF ($50) = $290.I like this combination more than LightRoom and PhotoShop at $120/year.Capture One is about $300 but I like the separate PM and ID apps.I could have and should have made the change years ago!
Photo Mechanic is open on my desktop every single day that I’m working. It’s my “go to” program that I use all the time. It’s fast and simple, and absolutely brilliant for culling, applying caption information, and downloading to two different locations at once. The ingesting is fast as it downloads multiple cards at once.
I love that I can adjust the size, resolution, rename the image, place a watermark on the image, etc., all while emailing, moving, coping, and/or saving images. It’s crazy cool and a program that I can’t live without!
Bob and Dawn Davis, superstar wedding storytellers and educators (bobanddawndavis.com). Whether I am editing thousands of pictures from the World Series or dozens of iPhone pictures of my cats, I can’t do my job without Photo Mechanic. Ever since I stopped shooting chrome and switched to digital in 2003 I have been using Photo Mechanic every day on either my desktop or laptop Macs. For editing and captioning on deadline after a ballgame there is nothing better. There is a reason Photo Mechanic has been the industry standard for almost 20 years. Brad Mangin, Sports photojournalist (manginphotography.com). Photo Mechanic is my secret weapon.
I adopted it ten years ago, early in my career. I heard about it from other pro photographer friends, who said I HAD to try it because it was so much faster than culling in other programs.
If you ask anyone who has discovered it, they’ll absolutely rave about it. I think Photo Mechanic is a bit of a hidden jewel in the photography world. It’s unbelievably necessary to my workflow and I use it every day, so I tell my students about it too. It’s about making my life EASIER because honestly, I’d rather be out shooting. Lisa Mark, Fine art wedding photographer (lisamarkphotography.com).