Jason Dunn
09-15-2007, 06:11 AM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://store.digitalriver.com/servlet/ControllerServlet?Action=DisplayPage&Locale=en_US&SiteID=acd&id=ProductDetailsPage&productID=78701700' target='_blank'>http://store.digitalriver.com/servlet/ControllerServlet?Action=DisplayPage&Locale=en_US&SiteID=acd&id=ProductDetailsPage&productID=78701700</a><br /><br /></div>"ACD Systems International Inc. has put a new level of control and convenience into photographers’ hands with the release of ACDSee™ Pro 2, featuring next-generation workflow management and RAW processing functionality tested by thousands of professional photographers. This updated version of the industry’s most complete, “one-stop” software package for viewing, processing, editing, cataloging, publishing and archiving digital images is rich with new features. The capabilities of ACDSee Pro 2 leverage the power of today’s digital SLR cameras and support an expanding variety of RAW-format files. The upgrade was developed with input from more than 2,500 photographers from around the globe who participated in a beta-testing program earlier this year. <br /><br />“Our Pro 2 software serves professionals and avid amateur photographers who need advanced tools,” said Mark Franklin, executive vice president of ACD Systems. “The ability to work directly with our customers has allowed us to develop a product release that will bring unprecedented efficiency to the photographic community, freeing them to focus on what they do best – producing quality images.” ACDSee Pro 2’s expanded processing power and speed allows viewing and handling of large RAW files with the speed of smaller JPEGs. File manipulation is made easier with cutting and pasting of RAW photo settings, one-step rotating and cropping, and recovery of up to two stops of lost highlight detail with the Highlights Recovery slider. RAW files can now be simultaneously exported to up to 14 different formats and multiple resolutions. Options to rename, resize and embed color profiles are also included in this time-saving operation. Cataloging images is now even easier with ACDSee Pro 2’s improved metadata features, including automated metadata-based file sorting capabilities, and read/write capabilities for XMP sidecar files and digital negatives (DNG). Enhanced editing is made possible through tools such as opacity and blending, channel mixer, and patent-pending shadow and highlight controls.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/acdsee-pro2-boxshot-Vista-web-EN.JPG" /><br /><br />Selling for $129.99 USD, ACDSee Pro 2 is a great tool for image management - I'm testing it now, and it's every bit as fast (if not faster) than previous versions. I'm less convinced regarding its RAW processing capabilities when compared to Lightroom, but that's a program that's about 250% more expensive, so perhaps the comparison isn't fair. I'll have to dig into what ACDSee Pro 2 can do with RAW files - but in the meantime, it handily replaces ACDSee 9, which is what I was using for file re-naming and metadata manipulation. Definitely worth checking out!