Photodex CompuPic Pro

Previous reviews of CompuPic Pro are well outdated, as are reviews at other sites. Compupic Pro represents itself as an expert/professional product, yet it cannot handle the .RAW file formats that are becoming the defacto standard for expert/professional photographers. It cannot even show thunbnails, much less edit, my Canon Raw (suffix .CRW and .CR2 files) nor Nikon Raw (.NEF), Adobe default (.DNG), Fuji (.RAF), Minolta (.MRW), Pentax (PEF), Olympus (.ORF). This is like making a high-grade TV today without input for cable signals.

This may be great software for those who do not now and never will want software that recognizes highest quality images from top line digital cameras.

My experience with the product is based on 30 surprised minutes with the software trying to use it on my photos plus an hour on the internet verifying that it cannot handle RAW files. I wish it did, because I was hoping it would solve my need for robust, stable, flexible photo management software.

PS: You can see my photos at www.myconstructionphotos.com and www.ironshots.com, of which 90% were shot in .RAW format.

I do not know. My evaluation stopped when I found Compupic Pro does not recognize my photo files. See above.

No support for .RAW files rules it out for me and other photographers who shoot in .RAW. That weakness dominates/trumps other strengths and weaknesses.

Adobe Album, Google Picasa, Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Bridge, Bibble

NA

In its new service release Compupic 6.2.1245 IS ABLE to read 48bit-Tiff-files. That consequently solved the problem that caused my low rating which is obsolete therefore. The properties list the 48bit Tiffs as "24bit" yet but maybe this will be corrected in one of the next service releases. I'll give it another try. 5 stars so far for the now most promising and complete image browser.

At first glance Compupic seems too offer the long awaited image-management solution. Over a decade there's still a gap between cataloguing software and fast but amateurish image browsers. You have the choice between the likes of Foto Station, Carto Cumulus on one side, ACDSee as a standard in effect on the other. The learning curve of professional document management systems is a hurdle except those specialists spending most of their day managing clients image-stocks. Even if you can handle those systems they cannot compete with ACDSee or Compupic when it comes to browsing full-screen. One main feature that ACDSee sets on top is the capability of reading nearly all the file types you encounter in everyday work. To make it short, as short as the trial of my Compupic installation, Compupic failed to open half of my image stock, but it worked through the other half in an outstanding speed. Too bad that this excellently performancing program that could be the missing link between cataloguing and browsing software doesn't read 48bit-Tiffs, one of the basic file types in digital imaging.

-impressing speed -flexibility -configurable -professional interface

-not able to read essential file formats!! -therefore not fulfilling the basic task of an image browser -> thumbs down as long as Photodex doesn't come up with the every-day file types. -Usability suffers from non-standard commands

-Extensis Portfolio -ACDSee -Photoshop 7 image browser -Canto Cumulus -Foto Station -numerous more, I don't recall their names ;-)

very kind, admitting that there is no solution for the missing file type-support so far.

this undoubtedly is the best overall program for photo browsing, editing, annotating, and many others. i cant say enough about this program...it is excellent.

fast, very fast generation of files, thumbnails...etc.

printing of multiple pictures. this will be solved in august with update 6.2.

just about every other photo browser, editor, etc.

marc has answered every email that i have sent him.

A major producer of digital images, I needed a good program to catalog and view my images. Several years ago, I tried CPIC (CompuPic) and was immediately seduced by the intuitive interface and excellent viewing options. The slide show is supremely easy to run, viewing individual images involves a simple click on the (customizable size) thumbnail. And another click to return to the thumbnail/index screen. CompuPic, produced by Photodex (short for "photo index") had first been conceived as an image viewer and photo index (contact sheet) generator, and was quick and efficient at its original tasks. As a mature and ever-evolving product, its roots as a no-nonsense image viewer are clearly visible. It also works as a file manager, allowing you, from the CPIC interface, to create or delete directories (folders) and move files about with drag & drop ease. CompuPic (which is still available for $39.95) had an interesting option which its authors called "ABC" (Advanced Batch Conversion) which was available at extra cost. Well, I tried that, and for years I have rotated and saved large numbers of vertical images that had been stored horizontally by the digicam... I have used ABC to make all kinds of changes to groups of files, from color shifts to resizes as well as the rotations named above. Last year, Photodex produced CPIC Pro, a costlier program that includes all of the extra-cost optional plugin functions that were available to CPIC, and added many new functions to the "Pro" version. Among these, html-based "contact sheets" for posting on the web, (generated automatically at blazing speed), automatic upload of images to several of the photo-printing outfits such as Ofoto, and even the ability to create picture CDs automatically. The program keeps gaining functions while keeping a supremely clear interface. Nearly every aspect of display can be customized, and as the user reads the tips that appear each time you start the program (though you can switch off this function), he/she learns of scads of new functions that may come in handy some day. CPIC and CPIC Pro can display some 45 image formats, allow thumbnail browsing, Zoom & Pan, E-Mail files, free Greeting Cards, free photo uploading, Picture Indexes, Crop & Auto-Crop, Color Adjustments, Image Enhancement, Rotate & Flip, Red Eye Reduction, Text & Thought Bubbles, (very handy, that!), Fuzzy Vignettes, GIF Transparency, Tiled Background View, File Conversion, Animated GIF Support; it also plays sound files, video files. allows full file management (Copy, Move, Rename), offers multiple view modes, saves thumbnails of offline volumes, allows the creation of keyword files, Search, Slide Shows, Printing, Screen Saver, Wallpaper, Network Support, TWAIN Scan & Capture, website scanning, screen capture, advanced text functions (drop shadows, textures, outlines, opacity...), and on and on and on..... Among the real pleasures of CPIC and CPIC Pro is the printing interface. Forget all you learned about DPI, just show the size you want on a page (or type in the measurements) and a perfect print will be generated at the size you wanted, on the page in the position you specify with your mouse. If only the "big boys" (like Adobe) could figure out how to do this so well and so painlessly! Do I sound like an enthusiast? You better believe it! I've tried other viewing programs, such as ThumbsPlus, ACDSee, Firehand, etc. but none approaches the functionality of CPIC or CPIC Pro. I especially like the wallpaper function. You select a file (any format) and select it to become your desktop wallpaper. CPIC automatically generates the appropriate BMP file, but always gives each successive wallpaper the same name, so that your wallpaper files don't end up filling your hard drive. A small detail, but a telling one. What do I use CPIC Pro for? To view images, sort them, catalog them, upload them to web "contact sheets", printing, batch processing, basically just about everything except reworking details (as in PhotoShop): CPIC is not an image processor as such: it has no "tools", you cannot retouch details of an image (except for redeye reduction). But with it you can change the gamma, color balance, contrast, sharpness of the entire image. Something else that I really like about this program (or, should I say, of the mentality of its programmers), is that, when you install it, it ASKS you which file associations you wish the program to make. It doesn't burst in and impose itself on your system like so many of its competitors. CPIC Pro has a light, sensitive touch on your system...with one exception: if you choose to create a thumbnail database (and this is an option) the thumbnail file will build up to an impressive size. The upside? Thumbnails are always already there for you: no waiting. The downside? You can end up with a very large thumbnail database, many 10s of MegaBytes... But it remains your choice whether to create this database file or not. Other programs perform many of these same functions. But CPIC Pro has more and better functions, in my view, than any of the competing products. I especially like the interface and learned it in a matter of minutes. I try other programs from time to time, but never find the interface as well thought-out as CPIC Pro's. There are cheaper programs, and you get what you pay for. Is CPIC Pro the perfect program? Of course not. There are a few functions here and there that I wish CPIC had but does not: it doesn't read EXIF data (yet), it can't handle LWF files (yet?), it doesn't have that great little function of removing barrel distortion that one or two programs out there do have (yet). But with the free upgrades, I am sure to get those functions when they do get programmed into the next build. I can tell you that of all the programs on my computer, CPIC Pro is the one I use the most. Photodex offers a free download of a time-limited copy of the latest version of the program. Purchasers may download, for free, new versions for one year following initial purchase. A Mac Version of CPIC Pro is in beta testing and should offer all of the same functionalities as the Windows version.

-fast image viewing- -does not destroy your file associations upon installation- -excellent contact sheet generator- -clear, intuitive interface- -swift html-page generation- -customizable "styles" of html pages...one even looks like a 35mm contact sheet, with the 35mm sprockets visible!- -easy batch conversions- -outstanding printing interface- -easy redeye reduction- -free upgrades-

The thumbnail database file can get VERY large...but this function can be disabled.

ACDSee ThumbsPlus IrfanView Firehand Thumber Slider VuePro etc.

Very responsive. If you find a bug, write them and they will fix it!