Face Recognition: Face recognition
functionality can be used to keyword large
numbers of images semi-automatically. All
the user has to do is allocate appropriate
names and intervene if the software makes
a mistake while scanning for faces. Our
test folder contained 350 images and was
designed to test the user-friendliness of each
program. We also wanted to see whether the
personal data thus gathered could be written
to standard metadata fields. The recognition
rates we recorded were variable, but were
not directly comparable due to the ability of
some programs’ ability to ‘learn’ from user
input.
Search Functionality: Powerful search
functionality is one of the major differences
between ‘real’ image database software and
the indexing services built into most
operating systems. We tested search
capability and user-friendliness.
Metadata:Keywording is one of the core
functions of image database software. We
checked the effectiveness of each
solution and the types of data fields
it supported. Again, it is difficult to
compare these products directly. The
lack of generally accepted standards
for the type, size and labels of
metadata fields means that they vary
widely from program to program.
Performance and Stability:We recorded
perceived performance and stability and
noted crashes and slow performance in our
test results (see page 131ff). Our relatively
small (5 GB) test database shouldn’t have
overtaxed any of these products, but our tests
proved otherwise.
General:A test like this cannot, of course,
provide a comprehensive view of each
product. We deliberately restricted our view
to the everyday usefulness of each program’s
database functionality, and did not include
the image processing performance in our
assessments.Image Database Software | Test ProceduresOpen source digiKamincludes
a wide range of presets for
exporting data to cloud
services, although you have to
re-grant user rights after you
have exported your data.
None of our test candidates
supports automatic
comparison and transfer of
user rights via the interface
between a LAN and the cloud.