Of course, you can always download a trial version to test it.Įxposure X5 and Affinity Photo do everything I need as full replacements for LR and PS. It's possible version 4 is amazing and blazing fast, but I wouldn't count on it. Then I went to run it again recently, and once again it was hanging at startup. They released a few updates that did improve its performance under Windows. After the debacle that was version 3, I finally gave up. Yes, DarkTable is a good choice, even if not exactly easy as Lightroom. Happy so far.įor raw development and cataloge workflow, look at Darktable its free This latest version of Studio Pro offers some improvements, including mapping capability, over the previous ones. I went with ACDSee photo studio 5 for cataloging while I do editing in Affinity Pro. It's a good set for Windows users, FastStone + AP. I manage my files through the excellent FastStone Image Viewer. I bought the AP last October and I am very satisfied, although I still have a lot to learn. I have been a Photoshop / Lightroom user for many years - both are very good, but changing the subscription system was a bad idea. The interface is pretty ugly by today's standards, and you have to tweak the settings to get efficient operation. It has a catalog feature, too, but I have not tested that. XnView MP is a free browser that will handle IPTC data and file launching. Instead, we got Luminar 3 with 'Libraries' with the finished DAM pushed down the road - again. Delivery of the DAM version was promised at various points in the latter part of last year, but that didn't happen.

Skylum's Luminar is another product with a DAM in the works. Photo Mechanic engineers have been working on a DAM that will be a part of the next version of PM, but that development has been going on for a long time. A mature product from a small company, excellent support, available for both Windows and Mac platforms. The app was created for sports photographers who needed to assign IPTC data to their photos quickly before sending to their newspapers, magazines, stock agencies, etc. It is not designed for searches of your entire inventory. Photo Mechanic is not really a DAM but a specialized browser that can be used for many DAM jobs: assignment of GPS data, assignment of keywords, importing from your camera card and launching of raw converters and editors. Small company with excellent and quick response support. It will also render thumbnails from the native Affinity Photo files. For Windows users, the ACDSee DAM products are very good in my experience before switching to Mac.įor file management, searching, GPS mapping and launching raw converters and editors, Photo Supreme is the best DAM I have found. Support is not very good, and 'reinstall the app' seems to be a standard recommendation for problems. However, it seems to start very slowly, and there are other little quirks ACDSee did not fix before pushing this Mac product onto the market.

Overall, it has a lot of promise.ĪCDSee Photo Studio 5 for Mac is very fast for searching your inventory of images. They're promising updates later this month or early February, which will hopefully correct some of the shortcomings. It's been a bit sluggish for me, and there are some features missing in the Windows version - apparently a result of rushing to get it out the door by the promised deadline (there is a Mac version). Personally, those are the most important features to me.Īnother option you might look at is Luminar 3, which was recently announced to considerable fanfare. It doesn't technically have a DAM, but it does let you import photos, add metadata and easily browse through folders. I've been using AlienSkin Exposure as a replacement for LR. There is a 30-day free trial so that you can have a better idea of its strengths and weaknesses. I find it better than Lightroom, but this is clearly a matter of personal taste. Any experience or recommendations among you AP users?Ĭapture One is my favourite Lightroom alternative. ACDSEE for Mac 4 and Corel AfterShot Pro 3 are two options. I can use AP for RAW development but don't know what to use for managing my photo collection. With the constantly changing subscription issues I am thinking of abandoning Lightroom. Currently I use Lightroom Classic to manage my photos and do RAW development. As have most Affinity users, I have had a love / hate relationship with Adobe.

Affinity photo free trial terms