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02 August 2010

AxMeta What software do you use to get pictures off your camera and organize them?→[More:]I'm not fond of the Nikon or Cannon software (big and bloated). Is there something that will simply pull off the photos and put them in dated directories and nothing else?

post by: arse_hat at: 14:52 | 16 comments

I use Google's Picasa. It does have a ton of functions for uploading and printing and sharing blah blah blah. That being said, I use it to rip the photos from my camera and maybe for some minor edits (cropping for a Photo Friday, etc). It's simple and pretty quick. Also, when you double click a photo, it now brings up this nice preview function that has an opaque black background. I really like that.

posted by youngergirl44 02 August | 15:02

I just use the built-in Windows function that does that. It just runs automatically when you plug in the camera.

posted by octothorpe 02 August | 15:07

At work I use a very old version of PaintShop Pro. I like it because on this (XP) machine, the camera shows up as a separate drive and all the pics on it are thumbnails, so it's easy to then edit in PhotoShop and then save.

On the macbook at home, well I just use iPhoto, which I do not like much. I have not yet sprung for any photo software, but I feel like I need to. Any suggestions?

posted by danf 02 August | 15:10

Yeah, Windows Scanner and Camera Wizard, coupled with Irfanview for editing.

I hate hate hate Picasa. It runs slow, I hate the way it auto-organizes files, and it's always trying to sync to the web when I don't want too. Too many bells and whistles, too many automated functions.

I wish there were something like Flickr that would just live on my computer. I'd love to be able to tag and note my own photos without having to upload them anywhere, for instance.

posted by Miko 02 August | 15:41

For my last two cameras I used whatever software came with them, but now I just use the Windows folders and move stuff around via click-and-drag and create special folders as needed. I feel like I have my photos organized better since I've done it manually.

posted by Slack-a-gogo 02 August | 16:28

I love my Canon software, which came with the camera. Unfortunately Windows Vista destroyed it (even when I deleted and reinstalled), so now I use the Windows software, which is much kludgier but works.

posted by bearwife 02 August | 16:44

What Slack and octothorpe said.

posted by BoringPostcards 02 August | 16:56

I do it mostly manually. I have a script that easily creates a new directory for me named for the current date and i manually move photos there. I used to have a better script that would do the whole process from the command line, but i lost it at some point and haven't recreated it.

posted by DarkForest 02 August | 16:56

I love that my camera(-phone) just plugs into any USB port and then functions like an external HD. Just grab the pix I want, and drop them in a directory.

posted by Eideteker 02 August | 17:06

I tried to like Picasa for a while but it's like iTunes for photos, you end up pulling your hair out trying to get it to do what you want it to do instead of what it wants to do.

posted by octothorpe 02 August | 17:20

I'm wishing the same thing as Miko. And I hate hate hate iPhoto soooo much.

posted by dabitch 02 August | 17:25

I use a SanDisk card reader combined with XPs software. It downloads photos into whatever folders I designate. Then I use PSP7 for editing.

posted by deborah 02 August | 17:58

I use Adobe Photoshop Album Starter Edition, which Adobe don't seem to distribute any more. It does pretty simple tagging and searching etc. It worries me, though, that one day I won't be able to use it and I'll lose all my tagging of >6,000 photos. I do import them manually rather than use the automatic function, so I place the photos in folders based on year/month. At least I'll have some sort of order if I lose the tags. It does have some basic editing functions, but I usually use Photoshop for that anyway.

posted by dg 02 August | 18:00

So Windows will actually sort the pictures into folders by date? What version did this start with?

posted by arse_hat 02 August | 18:17

I love Picasa.

posted by grouse 03 August | 00:32

Another Picasa user here. I don't have any problems with it, but also, I have no talent, so there's that.

posted by toastedbeagle 03 August | 11:21

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