Media Pro 1 - initial testing

Imported 34,810 photos taking up 272 gigs of space on an external hard drive, resulting in a catalog slightly larger than 1.8 gigs.
Total time of import ~ 6-8 hours

Initial import produced about 2 dozen images logged as "Unable to scan" (see note and graphic below) but was able to rebuild by hand. I have read other reviewers who claim they were unable to rebuild by hand.

User Interface:

Reminds me of why I liked Expression Media 2 (except in black). Straightforward, simple and intuitive.

Out of box, very little customization before import.

Left hand is devoted to either the Organization Panel or the Media Information panel -- both customizable.

Org Panel very nice and full of robust features, providing far more sorting tools than Bridge: Credit, Author, Doc title, Copyright, Place finder (Country), in addition to the standard keywords (of course), date Finder,

Media Info panel -- use of colors to visually separate categories of information is a cool idea and makes it easy to scan the panel. Annotations (what Bridge calls "Metadata) is reminiscent of EM2 as well.

OK, the bad news:

1. Single most obvious issue is the "Unable to scan media file" error message. This can be resolved by going back and selecting the unscanned files -- listed in the activity log at least -- and then going to the Action menu and then Rebuild Item (Command + B). This may not always work, however, and I had to retry it several times with a few of the unscanned files.

2. Maximum catalog size is unclear -- at what point do the problems begin? Media Pro tech support claims "128,000" files but we don't have a clear idea of the aggregate size of those files. They might add up to 20 gigabytes or 120.

Next up, a series of search tests to see how the program fares under the gun.

Stay tuned!

Expression Media 2 now Media Pro 1 and Photoshop User Trashes Bridge

Expression Media 2 is gone, replaced by a totally redesigned program called Media Pro 1 -- and with it any support  for the older program as well. Phase One, who purchased EM2 from Microsoft last year, is selling an upgrade to the photo cataloging program for $59 for EM2 users ($69 for iView users). There can little doubt now that the "new" program is designed to integrate with the company's powerful Capture One RAW converter and image editing tool. A good deal for Phase One users and certainly a smart move from a corporate perspective to be sure -- but what about the rest of us?

I suspect future versions will quietly integrate into the Capture One system, eventually serving as their version of Adobe's Bridge product (but catalog-based, not browser-based). It just makes sense, after all. But if you don't use the entire package, well. . . .

Any thoughts?

So, the alternatives to Bridge get fewer and fewer.

And to top it off, in the latest issue of Photoshop User magazine (published by the National Association of Photoshop Professionals), under "NAPP Community," is a short note pointing the reader to www.photoshopuser.com where they will find "100 Ways Adobe Lightroom Kicks Bridge A$$ for Photographers." Think I'm joking? Check it out, with video tutorials no less.

Where is this leading, I wonder?

Confusion at Phase One about Expression Media 2?

I just posted this on Peter Krough's DAM forum:

I had a disturbing conversation with one of the sales people at Phase One yesterday regarding EM2.

Backstory: I had called earlier in the day and left a voicemail at their generic sales number in the US explaining that i was looking for updated information on the future of EM2. I explained I was the digital photo librarian for a large university in New England and that we had been using Bridge CS4 for nearly two years to archive and share our large image library (140k+ photos among 18 workstations) and I felt the time was running out on using Bridge. After researching catalog software -- and spending no little amount of time with the DAM Book and here on the various fora -- I had tested EM2 on my own image archive last year and found it a very impressive tool indeed.

Unfortunately, the person from Phase One who called me back left me with the distinct impression that there is uncertainty underlying the future of the software. I had heard from an acquaintance here on my team that he suspected they were going to integrate EM2 into their Capture One software system -- which does make some sense I grant you.

Anyway, the fellow who called me -- horrible connection so I never did get his name right -- I asked if any future upgrade was planned and if so would it be free to existing users. At first he said, "The upgrade was supposed to have already happened," but then he backpedaled right away and said it was going to happen soon, and then probably pretty soon. . .  I asked if it would be free to existing users and he said there would be a fee charged then right away he said it might be free but there would perhaps be some kind of charge. I asked about new features in the "upgrade" and he finally admitted that he didn't really know anything about the future of the product and very little about the product itself.

Finally, I inquired about notification for updates and he said "check back on the website from time-to-time."

Well, you get the picture.

None of this was very reassuring about the future of EM2 as a standalone and certainly not for multiple users.

Image cataloging software: the browser approach

There are few low-cost database digital asset management systems available today, and with the growing trend toward cloud computing and storage that number is likely to decrease in the years to come.  Extensis Portfolio 8.5 (standalone), Adobe Lightroom 3, Apple Aperture 3 and Phase One EM2 are the only serious reasonably-priced DAM options available. But even those programs can become costly when you starting adding up the licensing fees for multiple users.

If you need to organize your organizations image collection and can't afford an enterprise-level digital asset management system  or  a catalog-based (i.e., database) program your best bet is a browser-driven program.

Perhaps the best known browser program is Adobe Bridge CS4 that ships with nearly all Adobe image editing and suite programs. Easy to set up and easy to use, Bridge is in some ways a more sophisticated "Finder" (for the Mac).

A stand-alone program, Bridge also possesses a very robust set of organizational tools. In fact, my browser of choice for the Johnson & Wales University image library is Bridge CS4.  But Bridge is not, as we discussed in a previous entry, a cataloging program, and as a result has several important drawbacks, particularly non-accessibility offline and the need to continually update the local cache.

Bridge is ideal  primarily for its ease of use, ubiquitous nature and of course cost (free). But it is, really, only a stopgap method for any large image collection. If you're using Bridge (like we are) you must start planning for the next phase in managing your image library. Given the nature of software Bridge will eventually reach its breaking point -- you need to be prepared for that eventuality.

Next: catalog or database software for image archiving.

Microsoft drops Expression Media 2 and Phase One picks it up

Just in case you didn't get the word last year:

On May 25, 2010, Microsoft announced that Phase One had acquired Expression Media 2 (EM2); as of August 25 Phase One took full control of customer support for the product.

Phase One is widely known for their high-end digital camera systems, digital backs and digital photo software and their acquisition of EM2 provides them with a robust and competent digital asset management program.

As of this writing, Expression Media 2 upgrade is selling on Amazon for a little over 80 bucks and the full product is available on the Phase One website for $199 (Windows and Mac versions available).

Next: I'll talk a bit about the handful of low-cost DAM programs available today.