ACDSee is a Archive program, not an image editor, though it does have some minimal functionality in that sphere. Anyone who buys an archive program with image processing in mind is simply misguided.
With ACDSee, I can find any of over 30,000 images on each of my machines in seconds. I can visually compare images, deciding on which of several similar images I choose to work with, and open them in whatever app I want. And yes, you can name, copy, move. If you love doing clerical work, you can add extensive notes to every image.
As far as processing, I can quote a project. A friend shot a pretty major back-country expedition and needed a quick and dirty slide show. We did it on my machine using ACDSee and FotoAnglo, a superb slide show program that works almost as a plug-in.
1. The images for the show were selected from the tumbnails and copied to a working folder, leaving the originals intact of course.
2. We CDed to the chosen images and in a very few minutes had them pretty well balanced using the built-in controls to take them to full dynamic range and boost the mid-range with the gamma control where needed. All the color balances had been done in-camera and were fine.
3. From here they were exported into FotoAngleo, where a timing interval of three seconds was chosen along with a simple wipe.
4. In less than an hour in the city, the producers were watching the results with totally positive consequences.
Had there been time to run each image through Photoshop, the slide show would have been far better. The production executives were actually amazed that it was that consistent. The stills - along with DV footage - are now nearing the end of post production.
One does not fault Photoshop for its feeble media management features and total lack of sound editing. That is not its purpose. One does not fault the media management software from ACDSystems, Jasc or Adobe for their lack of media processing. That is not their purpose.
They do many things, but the main thing they do is making the handling of thousands of media files - sound, image, animation and video - files a breeze. That is their purpose. They do many other things, but that is cream.
If you want an editing program - specially one that handles RAW - buy Photoshop CS. At this point, it is the only game in town for .nef files. Yes, Nikon Capture HANDLES them. Photoshop CS PROCESSES them at a high level of function.
There is no comparison between the function of Photoshop and the archive programs other than very minimal overlap. They are optimized for entirely different purposes and one will not replace the other.
If you want media management, don't buy an image processor. If you want image processing, a media manager will fall far short. If you want a financial spreadsheet, don't buy a video game and expect it to perform like Excel.
larry! ICQ 76620504
http://www.larry-bolch.com/