Digital Photographer's Software Guide - Bertemes - Net

Comments
CompuPic Pro is much more than an image viewer. Like ACDSee, it is becoming a
complete workflow product. One early criticism of it was that it lacked support for 48bit
TIFF files, but this has now been corrected. However, at the time of writing it still
lacks support for RAW files, which might be an inconvenience for many users. Its chief
virtue is its amazing speed; it enables you to search thousands of images “by eye” with
a minimum of fuss. With its support for MPEG, AVI, and MOV formats, there is no
better application for browsing media downloaded from the Web (the possible exception
being PicLens).
Version: CompuPic Pro 6.23 (2008)
OS: Windows 95, 98/ME, 2000, and XP
RAM: 128MB
Supported file formats: Reads more than 100 formats, including JPEG 2000 and
48-bit TIFF files; writes more than 20 formats
Price level: Approx. $80, CompuPic Express $25, CompuPic $40
Address: Photodex Corporation, 925 Westbank Drive, Austin, TX 78746, United States
www.photodex.com
FastStone Image Viewer
Vendor: FastStone Soft
Purpose: A fast and efficient image browser, file converter, and editor
Chapter 2 ■ Image Viewers 13
Description
If you want to neatly organize a few hundred pictures in your computer, all you need
for quick browsing and display is the FastStone Image Viewer. It has an easy-to-use interface.
It lists folders Explorer-style on the left, which, on opening, display their contents
in contact sheet format. When you open an image it displays full-screen immediately,
complete with zoom tools, while the contact sheet converts to a hidden, scrollable top
bar, discovered when you move the cursor to the top of the screen. What could be simpler?
The program supports all major formats including JPEG 2000 and the popular
digital camera RAW formats.
Additions to the FastStone Image Viewer have expanded its capabilities, with file conversion
and many editing functions. It gives you a choice of 11 resampling algorithms
for resizing alone. Then there are rotate and flip, cropping, sharpen, blur, and controls
for brightness and contrast. Special features include watermarking, annotation, drop
shadow, framing, and bump mapping. You can use it to make slide shows, with 150+
transition effects and music support. With batch processing for renaming files, full Exif
display, dual-monitor support, and contact sheet building capabilities, FastStone Image
Viewer is a versatile and useful product.