Photo Mechanic vs. LR3

[crbeveri]

Hey all, I currently use LR3 but have read and mostly seen a large amount of sports photographers use Photo Mechanic. I have read about Photo Mechanic but have never used it and am gonna give it a try this weekend.

I am just looking what y'all's opinion is on the two programs and which you feel is better and why.

Cheers
Chris

[d2creative]

Photo Mechanic, at least when i used it, was just a way to quickly flip through your photos and make your pics, rename, and export. You can't compare it to LR because LR does soooooo much more. It's a full fledged editing program.

[crbeveri]

Originally Posted by d2creative

Photo Mechanic, at least when i used it, was just a way to quickly flip through your photos and make your pics, rename, and export. You can't compare it to LR because LR does soooooo much more. It's a full fledged editing program.

didn't know that but good to know. thx

[scottbuckel]

Photomechanic has a huge following and I did not fully understand it until I saw an instructor using it to scroll through a directory of about 3000 raw captures.

I use it do my initial edit of my captures and I us it to add some of my less specific keywords. I can edit a photo session in a fraction of the time I can with any other tool. It does have a number of features that allow for manipulation of metadata in your images. PM does not have any photo editing tools, but you can send files over to whatever editor you want to use.

LR has a database as well as image editing tools. The file renaming tools are just slightly less powerful than PM. I us LR to find and manage my captures.

I use both regularly. I was able to purchase a non-upgradable version of PM for about $60 (unfortunately they are not offering that version at this time.)

Scott

[arich]

PhotoMechanic processes RAW files faster than LR3, great way to go through and pick your best shots. For sports its invaluable because you can process, crop, caption and transmit super fast. Check out Zach Arias' video on how he has integrated PhotoMechanic into his LR3/PS workflow I've moved the blog –> zackarias.com/blog » Workflow :: Photo Mechanic to Lightroom to Photoshop to Delivery