Photo Mechanic overview
Photo Mechanic is a photographer's image browser tool. It is the answer for professional digital photographers looking for a fast and easy-to-use image browser for digital camera files. Photo Mechanic's innovative batch captioning, renaming, speedy browsing, and Photoshop connectivity features have made it the choice of thousands of photojournalists and professional photographers worldwide. Optimized for use with professional cameras from Nikon, Canon, Olympus and Pentax, Photo Mechanic has become the standard tool for digital image browsing.
Photo Mechanic is a standalone image browser that lets you view your digital photos with convenience and speed. Photo Mechanic displays the "thumbnails" of photos on a camera disk or folder in familiar "contact sheet" display windows. You can quickly rotate, preview, copy, delete, tag, rename, and add caption / keyword (IPTC news record) information to photos both individually and in batches. Photo Mechanic helps you find the best photo amongst several similar shots with its preview display that lets you flip through a group of selected photos at high resolution. Photo Mechanic can then pass the photos you select on to Adobe Photoshop for image retouching.
Photo Mechanic's unique Image Variable technology unleashes the power of metadata. Metadata can be information saved with each photo such as image capture data or IPTC fields, or other information like the current date and time. Standard image capture data like aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and focal length can be accessed through "variables" and tucked-away in any IPTC field such as the caption. You can also use variables representing the current or capture time, date, or frame number, for example, for file renaming purposes. IPTC fields can be extracted using variables for use in renaming - even the filename variable can be placed in an IPTC field. One important variable called the sequence variable can be used for sequential naming or to serialize certain IPTC fields. In all, Photo Mechanic has more than 60 variables that enable customized workflows for captioning and renaming photos. The possibilities are endless!
Photo Mechanic can also print contact sheets and export HTML for Web pages. You can control the layout and size of your thumbnails, and even use Photo Mechanic's image variables to customize the text for thumbnail titles and page headers or footers, making Photo Mechanic one of the most flexible tools available for formatting your output.
What’s new in version 6.0
Updated on May 13 2019
Version 6.0:
Fixed:
- (Mac Retina only) Loupe cursor not working with pictures of 2000 by 1333 pixels
- Photo Mechanic not erasing disks when Ingest completes successfully
- On Mojave, thumbnails in Contact Sheet are hidden during certain operations
- Clicking a hover button while moving the mouse changes selection
- Issue with "Adjust Capture Date/Time" giving RAW file more recent time than XMP sidecar
- Unable to drag RAW+JPEG+WAV to a folder in Navigator & Favorites
- "Reveal in navigator" not expanding folder
- Application activation issues with Server
- When multiple contact sheets are displayed, it is possible to have multiple "Info" windows shown
- Info tips not being refreshed when scrolling contact sheet
- Contextual menu for Color Class and Ratings Filters not available when filters are disabled
- Reverse Geocoding not respecting flag "Never overwrite existing data"
- Error editing with Photoshop if Photoshop not already open
- Issue whereby canceling an Ingest will cause incorrect image state
- Dropbox uploader fails when destination path is empty
Information
App requirements
- Intel 64
- OS X 10.10 or later
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User Ratings
Mar 9 2017
Version: 5.0
It is fair to say that FastRawViewer is much cheaper and will do some of what Photo Mechanic can do. I used PM before v5 and I just got a license for FRV. FRV is proving to be an excellent short term solution for what I need which is mostly DAM capacity to review and mark and exuded images. Images that are then edited when necessary in an external editor.
But that is where the difference ends. (disclaimer - I still don't shoot raw so all my comments are about DAM and reviewing photos and opening them in external apps).
I recently asked at FRW why there is no search mechanism built in? They replied that they did not see it as a necessary feature. Excuse me? You are looking at a large folder of photos but it is not relevant that you find one you are looking for? Photo Mechanic does this and I just took it for granted this was common sense.
And, Photo Mechanic does much more. It imports like a fiend. It compares shots for quick review and it allows me to make and rate my photos quickly. Photo Mechanic is clearly a professional grade app for professional people, for people who work hard (and fast) with many photos and don't want anything to screw up. Photo Mechanic left me behind in the upgrade to v5 because they didn’t offer an upgrade - or perhaps it was that I was too slow to take it and it is too late now. But that is water under the bridge. Photo Mechanic is a very good program and while I am glad I learned of FRV, it really doesn’t compare with the full strength of Photo Mechanic.
But that is where the difference ends. (disclaimer - I still don't shoot raw so all my comments are about DAM and reviewing photos and opening them in external apps).
I recently asked at FRW why there is no search mechanism built in? They replied that they did not see it as a necessary feature. Excuse me? You are looking at a large folder of photos but it is not relevant that you find one you are looking for? Photo Mechanic does this and I just took it for granted this was common sense.
And, Photo Mechanic does much more. It imports like a fiend. It compares shots for quick review and it allows me to make and rate my photos quickly. Photo Mechanic is clearly a professional grade app for professional people, for people who work hard (and fast) with many photos and don't want anything to screw up. Photo Mechanic left me behind in the upgrade to v5 because they didn’t offer an upgrade - or perhaps it was that I was too slow to take it and it is too late now. But that is water under the bridge. Photo Mechanic is a very good program and while I am glad I learned of FRV, it really doesn’t compare with the full strength of Photo Mechanic.
Aug 29 2016
Version: 5.0
I recently found a great alternative to this excellent but rather expensive application. It's called FastRawReview and it's much cheaper.
http://www.fastrawviewer.com/
Jan 29 2016
Version: 5.0
It is useful to indicate the build of this great app. Latest is 16960.
Feb 21 2015
Version: 5.0
Is there another image browsing app that allows viewing raw & JPEG as a single file, & allowing operations to be done on both versions of the file, or either one (ie: the JPEG version or the raw version)? ----> NO, Lightroom doesn't do that. Any tips would be appreciated.
Aug 19 2013
Version: 5.0
Since 2012 the PM 5 is no longer a beta. Great product by the way!
Jun 9 2011
Version: 4.6.7
This application forms one of the first principals of digital photography. It's absolutely necessary.
Feb 3 2011
Version: 4.6.6
This is an essential component of digital photography workflow. For those who seem confused, it is not an alternative to Lightroom or Aperture or iPhoto. Rather, it’s the first step in moving your images from your camera to your computer.
Unless you’re a star photographer who can get the shot in one, you’re like the rest of us, shooting multiple angles/shots of a subject that will have to be culled. Obviously, you want to archive almost all your shots (even the rejects), but you’ll only be working with a few selections.
That’s why you need Photo Mechanic. With PM, you “injest” your card into a (what I call) “dump” archive. From there, you rapidly browse through your images, selecting your picks. Then, you copy your picks into a separate “project” location.
From here, you can import the “project” selections into Lightroom, Aperture, iPhoto, or whatever you use to manage your projects.
To answer another misconception from an earlier user, no, you don't have to “injest” archives you’ve already sorted and stored on a hard drive somewhere. You just have to open the folder in Photo Mechanic to view the images. Injesting is meant for dumping card data onto a hard drive; once there, you only need to browse folders.
I didn’t think this app would be that useful to me (especially at $150), but after using it for 10 months, I don’t think I can live without this first step. Injesting photos straight into Aperture or Lightroom is a monumental mistake because it takes far longer, and both programs are incredibly slow at loading RAW files the first time. Plus, there’s no reason to import images into LR or A projects that you know you don’t want to use. It just makes everything aggravatingly slower.
Trust me: this first step will save you so much time and energy working with your project files.
Oct 16 2010
Version: 4.6.6
Only for professional photography businesses, not for those of us who take pictures as a hobby.
If you're a non professional photographer then try Lightroom 3 instead, you'll probably get more value from that product, which does everything that Photo Mechanic does and a lot more. Photo Mechanic however, is way faster and just as if not more stable than Lightroom 3 at what it does and is excellent software for professionals who have a necessity to deal with 100/1000s of raw DSLR shots in a very short space of time.
Oct 10 2008
Version: 4.5.3.2
I like the application a lot, but I'd like to be able to access my Canon Rebel from the program. Because Mac OS X doesn't recognize it as an external drive, I have to first open image capture to access pictures from my canon and then import them into photo mechanic. For that reason, I won't be purchasing the program.
Apr 3 2007
Version: 4.4.3.3
As another reviewer has said, "If you are a digitally based photographer, then you need PhotoMechanic . Period." The fastest viewer, sorter, ftp'er +++ out there... And with fantastic support. If only all software was like this.
Apr 28 2006
Version: 4.4.3b0424
If you are a digitally based photographer, then you need PhotoMechanic . Period.
It is the single most useful tool in the market, nothing touches it for professional workflow in terms of organising and accessing images. I started using it about 6 months ago and almost on a daily basis find new ways in which it helps me work faster.
The developers are very open to suggestions and respond personally to queries. As for price, well I wish that my $1400 CS2 with fancy bridge could load images for preview as fast as PM. It is instant. jpgs and RAW.
my business generates several 1000 images a week and the ability to vet them, rename them and save them to 2 locations as they come off the card, and then burn to CD/DVD (and across multiple discs if needed) all from one app, is so tremendously timesaving.
The Email and FTP features are a huge time saver. Clients want images emailed, select them, size them to what ever pixel dimensions and dpi and send them. Done.
The zillion ways to catagorise images is so much better than Bridge, its a joke. Sort by any piece of metadata that you like. Great for separating images that are shot on different cameras, but merged and renamed in chronilogical order such as weddings. Want to see what each photog shot? Sort by serial number then.
It just goes on. Any claim that PM is not a quality program, comes from the mouths of fools and is simply absurd.
If for some reason your camera is not supported, email the devs and let them know. Or get a real camera :-)
Apr 26 2006
Version: 4.4.3b0424
I own this and GraphicConverter. GC is a great program but isn't set up to ingest, tag the best, or rate on a scale a folder full of images.
PM is purpose-built for a professional workflow. There's nothing else in it's class for that.
Nov 22 2005
Version: 4.4
LOL. Pentax RAW.
For you and the one other guy out there who uses a Pentax digital camera.
Jun 15 2005
Version: 4.3.7
The only one!!!
The best!!!
I run through thousands of digital immages every day, super!!
Finaly digital immaging is becoming serious.
Jun 15 2005
Version: 4.3.7
I did something stupid: I used the batch rename command of this program that I was still testing without backing up the photos first (was on a trip, limited HD space + time). For some mysterious reason, PM stopped renaming midway, but didn't give me any error message so I didn't know what was going on for a while. But I couldn't find a particular photo I remembered shooting so I went in the folder and discovered about 50 files with weird names like temp00003445.jpg (forgot exact format, but something similar).
Judging from other reviews, this bug must not be that common and I'm just unlucky, but I have to rate from my own experience, and I wasted so much time just to figure out what was going on and manually reorganize everything that I pretty much hate this program.
May 23 2005
Version: 4.3.6
Good reviews. But I only have one question: is it worth 5 times the price of GraphicConverter? I have a 700Mhz G4 iMac. Is PM that much faster. If it is I'll gladly pay the price.
May 18 2005
Version: 4.3.6
Well, with OUT any questions this software is very, very EXPENSIVE !!! BUT??? Very, Very GOOD !!! I think probably the BEST there is.........if I will buy it? Well, it depends if I'll be able to "mug" a local bank, just kidding.......
Apr 27 2005
Version: 4.3.5
As a photojournalist working at a big daily and for various wire services I can tell you nothing touches this program. Iphoto's ok for the very casual user, but gives up a hell of a lot of speed and power for it's simplicity.
PhotoMechanic tech support is also second to none.
Jan 16 2005
Version: 4.3
Tried this one out, and I have to admit it loads images fast.
On the downside, it does Not read EXIF data(at least there's no way to show them like in iPhoto), so it show all 'portray' images laying down, meaning the time you saved on loading the images, you spend flipping images the right way.
Also missing is a Reveal in Finder - strange feature left out of a n application used to browse folders of picts.
I would consider this app if these bare-bones features was available.. but then again, iPhoto 5 is about to hit the streets...
Aug 31 2004
Version: 4.2
This program is VERY FAST at generating variable-sized thumbnails for many types of images (including RAW files), yet it doesn't save disk-filling previews unless you want it to. Very flexible renaming features. Nice implementation of adding IPTC data using templates and EXIF/IPTC variables. Excellent for copying files from CF cards to laptop or desktop computer. Very simple to use, so I can maximize my time in the field concentrating on capturing images and downloading them quickly, yet with plenty of control over sorting and categorizing. Nice preview size. Highly recommended! Good suport from developer
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