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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Photo Mechanic - Anniversary price $60
Curtis Clegg, Photographer
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Sycamore | IL | USA | Posted: 9:57 PM on 02.03.11 |
->> For anyone like me who is a little behind the times and has yet to get Photo Mechanic, version 4.6 is available now for download for only $60 (no updates beyond 4.6.x though).
The press release is here:
http://www.camerabits.com/site/15th_Anniversary_Release.html |
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Bob DeChiara, Photographer
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Burlington | MA | USA | Posted: 7:56 AM on 02.04.11 |
| ->> Dont' feel bad Curtis. I was in the same boat. Just made the purchase the other day. Can't beat the $60 bucks! |
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Jason Orth, Photographer
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Lincoln | NE | USA | Posted: 10:41 AM on 02.04.11 |
| ->> Noob question here: I've been looking at PM for a while. Do you use this in lieu of Lightroom or in concert with it? I use a batch action on my photos once imported. |
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Tim Snow, Photographer
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Montreal | Qc | Canada | Posted: 11:14 AM on 02.04.11 |
| ->> Depends on your workflow. I use PM to make my initial selects and caption, then import to LR to make my final edit. You can't beat PM for speed, especially if you shoot RAW. |
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Scott Morgan, Photographer
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Rockford | IL | United States | Posted: 11:14 AM on 02.04.11 |
->> Jason,
I use PhotoMechanic (PM) with Lightroom, but it depends on your workflow. You probably know this, but PM is not an image editor. It does tons of things, but you need Lightroom or Photoshop to actually tone your images.
Here's what PM does for me:
- Ingest
Automatically import, rename, apply global caption, copyright, back-up and unmount your card with one click.
- Image sorting.
PM is the fastest preview and sorting program I know of. You have several options of how to sort. From a simple tag (use the T key or check the box). A five-star system compatible with Lightroom or a color based system. Personally I use the tag and star system in combination to edit.
- Captioning
Captioning is where PM destroys any competition. In my opinion, if you need to caption pictures, you cannot live without PM. The global IPTC Stationary Pad lets you apply a caption and fill in IPTC info boxes on all of your photos at one time. If you take advantage of the Variables and Code Replacements in PM, it can radically speed up your captioning, while reducing your chances of having errors or misspellings. One example that I use is applying a date to your captions. If you have this in your caption filed, the date will automatically be applied to all your pictures in AP style: {iptcdow}, {iptcmonthnameap} {iptcday}, {iptcyear4}, - this will pull the date stamp from your camera (which you have to set correctly one time). For instance, it will insert Friday, Feb. 4, 2011, if you shot it today.
You can use other variables to speed up renaming and filling in IPTC fields. {filenamebase} is a handy one that will put in the file name without the extension.
- Code replacement
Code replacement lets you set up a simple plain text file with shortcuts for longer stings of text. A common example is a team roster. A code would look like team21 and would return the name of player 21 on your team. These are very easy to set up and save a huge amount of time. Also, you only need to spell a name correctly once, which cuts way down on errors. I have a long list of codes for things like important peoples names, names of places I shoot often, hospitals, etc. You name it, make a code and never spell it wrong again.
- FTP and file transfer
PM has a built in FTP feature that lets you send as you edit. It also has built in transfer options for PhotoShelter, flickr, smugmug and a bunch of others.
PM has a ton of other handy functions as well, but these are my main functions. They also have service that is second-to-none. They have a user forum on their website where a senior programmer answers questions for you. They really are amazing, and at $60, it's an amazing bargain. |
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Juliann Tallino, Photographer
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Seattle | WA | USA | Posted: 11:40 AM on 02.04.11 |
| ->> code replacement alone makes PM the only choice if you shoot sports, especially when you get a bunch of players with long, hard to spell names. |
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Patrick Fallon, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Columbia | MO | USA | Posted: 12:07 PM on 02.04.11 |
->> Anyone know if I purchase this version, I will be able to purchase an "upgrade" license in the future at the discounted upgrade price?
P. |
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Patrick Fallon, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Columbia | MO | USA | Posted: 12:08 PM on 02.04.11 |
| ->> err. nevermind, just found the page that says you can. |
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Jason Orth, Photographer
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Lincoln | NE | USA | Posted: 12:19 PM on 02.04.11 |
->> Thanks for the info Scott. The Code replacement is the option I was most interested in - I think it would be great for racing. Keywording individual drivers takes forever in LR
Sounds good. I think I'll be downloading it. |
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Chris Proctor, Photographer
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Crete | IL | USA | Posted: 12:56 PM on 02.04.11 |
| ->> PM and a subscription to Jason Watson's website www.codereplacements.com is a match made in heaven! |
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