Image Management for Windows & Macintosh

GuideReviews Index

Picasa Digital Photo Software from Google
Picasa is a flashy and functional digital photo organizer and editor which has improved considerably since its first release. Although I expected better organization and searching capabilities from a Google property, Picasa is excellent for beginners and casual digital shooters who want to find all their pictures, sort them into albums, do quick edits, and share with friends and family.

XnView - free multimedia viewer, browser and converter
XnView is a fast and free image viewer and converter with support for a staggering number of file formats, operating systems, and languages.

ACDSee 9 Photo Manager
ACDSee 9 Photo Manager packs a lot of punch for under US$40. Although the user interface has the potential to become cluttered and unwieldy, this downside is outweighed by the sheer number of tools and features available.

Corel Paint Shop Photo Album 5 Deluxe Edition (formerly from Jasc Software)
Formerly known as Jasc After Shot, Jasc Paint Shop Photo Album allows you to import, organize, enhance, and share your digital photos. The printing and sharing features are exceptional, but there are better solutions for editing and organizing your photo collection.

IMatch Image Management Database from Photools.com
The IMatch image management database for Windows offers seriously powerful image management that rivals high-end image database software at a fraction of the price.

StudioLine Photo 2
StudioLine Photo 2 is an unusual approach to digital photo management and editing. Although the non-standard interface increases the learning curve somewhat, its innovative editing and annotation tools make it worth investigating. Version 2 is noticably faster than the previous version and offers several worthwhile enhancements such as integrated CD and DVD writing, JPEG 2000 support, and more tutorials.

ThumbsPlus 6.0 from Cerious Software
Speed and looks are not the strong point of ThumbsPlus, but if you want extensive cataloging features, multi-criteria file search, powerful batch processing, and integrated image enhancement--and you don't mind spending time navigating dialogs and entering database information--ThumbsPlus would make an excellent choice.

Vallen JPegger Image and MP3 Explorer (Windows)
Vallen JPegger is a simple image browser and viewer which also lets you browse and play MP3 files.

Firegraphic 6 for Windows
Firegraphic is a nice image management solution that offers a few unique features, but doesn't stand out overall. If your main objectives are printing images and burning CD archives, give it a look.

Preclick Lifetime Photo Organizer 2.0 for Windows
Preclick Lifetime Organizer is a user-friendly, inexpensive tool to organize and manage digital photo collections, but only if you're dedicated enough to spend time populating the "PhotoBacks."

iView Media Catalog for Windows and Macintosh
iView Media is a limited but capable media catalog for organizing and managing all your pictures, music, and video files on the Windows or Macintosh platform.