Media Prois compatible but not directly
integrated with the Capture One RAW editor
offered by the same manufacturer. We didn’t
test any software that doesn’t offer RAWsupport, as it is of no interest to a majority of
today’s photographers.
Unlike the other single-user solutions we
have already mentioned, iMatchdoesn’t
include any genuinely useful editing
functionality and represents its own category
of single-user, pure database tools.
Canto Cumulus is a pro-grade, multi-user
solution with network support. We tested the
single-user starter version to see how pro
software performs in a simpler environment.
Our final test product is eyebase
mediasuite, which is a purely cloud-based
solution with browser-based user access. This
approach saves a lot of maintenance work
compared with most other self-hosted,
Web-based solutions. eyebase charges its
users a monthly fee.Our Test Procedures
Our aim was to test the performance limits of
the selected products in each of the following
categories:
Image Import:We started by filling each
database, retaining the original folder
structure where possible. We used one set of
28 images in common formats such as BMP,
GIF, JPEG, EPS, PSD and TIFF, as well as moreexotic formats such as Targa and Pixar. We
created our test images using Photoshop,
using a total of 10 different TIFF variants with
differing bit depths and compression
methods. These are included on this issue’s
free DVD to enable you to conduct the same
tests on other, similar products.
Our other set of test images comprised 128
RAW files in various formats. These included
everything from early Kodak DCS files to
photos taken using contemporary Nikon,
Canon, Pentax, Olympus and Sony cameras.
To keep things interesting, we also included
less common, proprietary Leica and
Hasselblad formats.
We tested each program’s ability to import
all the formats and to display thumbnails and
full-screen previews of each. A program can
only usefully manage a file if these conditions
are met.
Asset Management via a built-in File
System:Although all of our setups allowed
us to access our test images directly via the
host file system, we don’t recommend that
you use this approach, as it can lead to
synchronization errors in the database. A
quality image database should be capable of
performing all standard file operations, such
as copying, deleting, moving files and
creating new folders.
Geotagging: Just displaying existing
geotags is no longer enough by today’s
standards, and built-in map functionality is
required for user-friendly editing and display.
We put the geodata functionality through its
paces for all the test programs that offer it.Image Database Software | Test
Multi-user support requires an appropriate database back end. digiKam‘s experimental multi-user
functionality allows you to migrate your data from a single-user (SQLite) to a multi-user (MySQL) environment.Imabassupports a wide range of databases,
from free single-user packages right up to
pro-grade enterprise solutions