Exceptional work all round

[David Kilpatrick]

I run mine on the same machine, and I keep the catalogue on the same drive as the files. I only have 10,000 or so images catalogued so maybe there is a point where it slows down, that I have not reached. Program is on the iMac, the archive disk and EM catalogue file are on a Firewire 800 drive directly connected.

To open my catalogue: 15 seconds for the Mac to decide to wake up my HD (hear it spin up after 15 seconds); then another 15 seconds to fully open the catalogue (disk activity light). Catalogue 126MB, media 3.4GB, 9370 images.

To view all as thumbnails: instant. All 9370 immediately scrollable no delay whatsoever. To select any subfolder (shoot): instant view as thumbnails again. No delay. To view any single selected image large size: about 0.25 sec. To view 100% section: again about 0.25 sec (it is effective instant). To arrow-key move through full size OR 100% views of images in a folder: 1.8 seconds per image required.

I would never try using my Network Drive to store anything. It is a tiny fraction of the speed of any other drive, and takes several hours just to do its incremental backup task.

David

[ianmiddy]

Catalogue 126MB, media 3.4GB, 9370 images...

...To select any subfolder (shoot): instant view as thumbnails again. No delay.

I would never try using my Network Drive to store anything. It is a tiny fraction of the speed of any other drive

Odd - my catalogue is about 750Mb, for about 75Gb [approx 32k images after some tidying]

I've now found that the date selection is fairly quick, but opening/moving between folders takes several [5-10] seconds - which seems completely the wrong way round!

[having the net drive offline does speed things up a bit - but, of course, I then only have thumbnails]

I've also tried to upgrade to build 2.0.2096.0, but it refuses to recognise my installed version...so maybe I've got a duff install somehow ?

I may remove and reinstall at the weekend - I've also read something that suggests performance can be improved by importing subfolders rather than just ones whole library in one go...

Thanks for the performance tests/figures.

IDM

[David Kilpatrick]

I am only cataloguing finished Alamy JPEGs. Nothing else. None of my spare JPEGs, none of my raws, no other non-Alamy images on my system. EM will catalogue raw files and much else but I do not want it to. Basically it mirrors my Alamy collection, and that is all.

David

[ianmiddy]

Basically it mirrors my Alamy collection, and that is all.

Hmmm - maybe I'll just use it to catalogue my Uni work [the ability to provide the "off-line" catalogue to my tutors might be nice] and see how it performs with a much-reduced number of images...

...and keep LR for the full collection.

Thanks again for your insights & time David - do you mind if I reference your comments [if needed] in any evaluation I have to submit ? [I will, of course, provide a draft of any document for your ok].

IDM

[David Kilpatrick]

No problem there. After all, until I forked out for the latest version this month, I was used a press review copy which was grudgingly updated for the last revision. Since that was blood out of stone, and there is some risk of the product getting combined into a horrible Microsoft superapp, I decided to buy the latest upgrade.

I also have some of the other DAM software solutions like Extensis Portfolio but none of them works as well as EM for my main use, finding pix rapidly via keywording. I forgot to mention that finding a searched set, out of dozens of folders, is almost instant and it's great to have all the pix in one window (not still in their folders) to view.

David