Camera Bits releases Photo Mechanic 5.0

After an extensive beta test period, Camera Bits have now released version 5.0 of its digital workflow software.

Apart from bug fixing and other minor enhancements, this final version is pretty much the same as the beta version I have reviewed earlier. One notable (and welcomed by many) change is the added lighter theme for the various dialogue boxes which is now also the default.

This week only, Camera Bits offers a discount for the new version:

• New licence: $130
• Upgrade: $80 (Note: if you bought Photo Mechanic 4.6.x in the last year, you should be eligible for a free upgrade)

The offer ends 13 20 August at 23:59 (US time).

If you're looking for a great digital workflow experience, make sure you check out Photo Mechanic, just request a demo code and download the new v5.0. I really love it and heartily recommend it!

For more information, demo codes, and purchasing, please have a look at the Camera Bits company website.

Review: Photo Mechanic v5.0

Even when you only shoot a limited number of images a year, there will be a time when you need some sort of tool to help you manage your images and streamline the whole digital workflow process. From loading the images onto your computer, adding image information (meta date), editing, and exporting them to e.g., your website.

Many solutions exist to cover one or more of the digital workflow tasks. Common options include Adobe Bridge (included with Adobe Photoshop), Adobe Lightroom, and Phase One's Media Pro. Nikon shooters may be familiar with a combination of Nikon Transfer and Nikon View (both free programs). Although I have tried out many of the more common solution, I found none of them suited my particular workflow very well. My search for a viable solution brought me to Photo Mechanic, an application developed by Camera Bits, and which I have been using happily for many years now.

Camera Bits just released a public beta for its oncoming version 5.0 of the software and this version will be the basis for this review. As a member of a select group of private beta testers, I have already been able to work with the new software for a while now and in fact contributed to some of the new/improved features.

What is Photo Mechanic?

Photo Mechanic (PM for short) is a standalone application supporting all steps in the digital workflow. It has an extremely fast (perhaps even the fastest on the market?) image browser with very nicely integrated features to support and/or automate your digitial workflow. IPTC and Exif meta data are fully supported and can be applied quickly and easily either on individual images or in batch. Code replacements (e.g., short abbreviations of commonly used terms like player's names) and the use of “variables” make Photo Mechanic a very flexible and powerful tool for Photographers and others participating in the digital workflow process.

I will discuss the various features of the program following the basic steps in the digital workflow, below.

Note: this review does not try to cover each and every detail of the program. I will, however, try to cover the, in my opinion, more important aspects. Also, because this review is based on a beta version of PM5.0, features and implementation details may change in the final product (rest assured, however, no functionality will be removed from the final release of PM 5.0, only enhanced/added!)