I've been a long time user of ACDSee products... starting way back when it was just a quick and easy way to sort through photos and do some simple edits and modifications. When they introduced a "Pro" version I used it extensively and loved it. So, when they launched the Pro 3 Beta I started to look forward to when I could take some time and play with it some... and I finally found some of that time.
I downloaded the second beta release of Pro 3 and played around some and came away with the following "first impressions":
- Speed - as fast, if not faster than my Pro 2.5 version. Scrolling through multiple folders and looking at the thumbs generated for both jpg and raw (nef and dng) files was a breeze.
- Workflow - I'm not set in any particular pattern of "editing" my images, so I found the new interface that highlights the workflow steps (Manage, Develop, Edit, etc...) easy to understand... once I got into them and worked with it some. I think that once people understand the difference between Develop and Edit (and what it means to the file)... then it will make a lot more sense.
- Capability - When ACDSee first introduced the Light Equalizer in the Pro version I thought it was one of those true "killer" functions that would help bring the ACDSee team some well deserved respect. It was simple to use and honestly changed the way that I composed and captured images at the camera. I think that the ACDSee developers have exceeded themselves with the set of tools that show up in version 3.
Now, what about the downsides? I will have to consider myself one of the fortunate ones... based upon some of the comments in the beta forums. I haven't experienced the crashing and hang-ups that have plagued others... and I'm not so dead set in my beliefs that I can't easily grasp and adapt to the workflow. So, I think that the biggest downside, for now, is that there isn't any real third party support and utilization of ACDSee. I've never found a plugin / extension for effects or enhancements like you can find for Adobe's software... even though I've gotten the impression that they can be made.
Overall, I'm impressed with the application and will be looking forward to making a formal upgrade to version 3 when it's released.
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