Photo Mechanic vs XnView: What Software to Choose

If you’re choosing between two image viewers and want to compare Photo Mechanic vs XnView, the article will help you make the right decision. Both programs are useful for sorting and classifying digital photos. They are compatible with multiple file formats and allow you to perform simple manipulations.

Photo Mechanic is a popular photo manager used by professional photographers. It works great for viewing RAW files. The program has an intuitive interface and two viewing modes. You can see a single picture or a photo matrix from a directory on the hard drive.

XnView is a viewer that runs on the most popular operating systems. This program supports over 400 graphic and multimedia file formats. It converts 50+ different formats and has various tools for processing graphic elements.

Photo Mechanic is a digital asset management software for photographers that works great for image organizing. The program allows you to rate photos, assign tags to them, view and edit photo data, etc. Due to the convenient navigation, you can sort the photos, create albums with different names and find the desired pictures with ease.

Photo Mechanic supports digital and basic cameras. You can download and transfer images from your devices and store them in directories. The program has extra options, such as image rating, a GPS coordinate system (with Google Maps), unique captions and descriptions.

You can rotate images without quality losses. Besides, you can convert images to enhance them in other software.

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Selective image sorting. This photo catalog software allows you to manage photos, sorting them by color or using a rating system. Since this information is stored in the image metadata, you can use this data when working in other programs, including Lightroom.

If you switch between two images, you can compare them with the V or H shortcut. You can also filter the images to see only those with specific colors or ratings.

Supports keywords. When adding keywords to a photo, you need to press the "I" button after choosing the desired image. Once the IPTC information window shows up, you can enter the desired keywords. By using the arrow keys to move to the next image, you can speed up the process.

You can also select multiple photos and press Cmd + I to open the IPTC window. You need to enter keywords relevant to the selected images.

Intuitive image import. Once you’ve reviewed images and corrected their metadata in this photo-culling software, you can transfer the files to the editor. Photo Mechanic allows you to send pictures directly to Lightroom, Photoshop, or any other program. Moreover, you can send the files to your clients after selecting their resolution, size, and adding a watermark if needed.

Live slideshow function. Photo Mechanic can be used as a slideshow maker. You can set the time between photo changes. Besides, it’s up to you whether to display the text associated with the file. You can apply looping or random image shuffling, however, it’s impossible to add the background music. Alternatively, you can make a video file from the slideshow to share with others.

Supports codes. Photo Mechanic allows you to use codes instead of image names. It comes in handy if you are a sports photographer. Since player’s names are usually long and difficult to remember, you can add codes instead to speed up the process.

Lack of mobile version. Photo Mechanic is not available on mobile devices. It supports only Mac OS X and Windows.

Limited image editing features. Photo Mechanic has only basic image processing functions.

XnView is a free photo organizing software for graphic file viewing and basic editing. It supports Windows, Linux, macOS, and UNIX systems. The program is compatible with various printers and scanners.

XnView is compatible with popular audio-video file formats with preinstalled codecs. Being one of the best batch photo editors, it has a bundle processing tool and allows you to perform several similar tasks at a time.

XnView supports some editing features, such as cropping, resizing, etc. Besides, it allows you to adjust the gamma, contrast, brightness, balance, etc. You can apply new settings and filters to a collection of files automatically.

The software is compatible with scanners. It supports a contact list, creates screenshots, allows you to create Windows wallpapers, generates HTML albums for posting on the web, etc.

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Convenient image viewing. XnView makes it easier to view images. You can switch between files using special arrows. There are zooming in and out options on the control panel. You can find them by clicking on the magnifying glass icons with plus and minus signs. The software allows you to crop, rotate, resize, scan, and print images.

Compatible with multiple formats. XnView supports over 500 formats, including some audio and video ones. You can also use it to work with multi-page and animated static images in APNG, TIFF, GIF, ICO, etc. It can also export files in about 70 formats.

Powerful file manager. XnView is a reserve image search app that helps you find desired images with ease. When looking for a certain picture, enter its location, format, and size. Besides, you can use filters to narrow down your search.

Multiple viewing image options. You can use thumbnails, FilmStrip, slideshow, etc. Besides, you can compare images or use filters. With filters, you can sort images and view only the ones you need.

Batch image processing and renaming. XnView allows a user to apply the same settings to several selected images. Then, you can rename or organize them.

Ineffective cropping tool. The program shows an area that will be cropped doesn’t allow specifying its exact dimensions.

Slow filter loading. It takes a long time to apply filters to several files at once.

Photo Mechanic has a free 30-day trial. To get full access, you can choose one of the 2 options: Photo Mechanic Plus and Photo Mechanic 6. Photo Mechanic Plus costs $229. It includes all the features of Photo Mechanic 6 along with a powerful image database to manage all your photos. This package provides a single-user license for macOS and Windows along with 64-bit compatibility.

Photo Mechanic 6 costs $139. This multifunctional package is great for professional photographers.

If you don’t know what software to choose, Photo Mechanic or XnView, keep in mind that the latter allows you to download and use PC and Mac versions for free. If you are going to use XnView for teamwork, you should buy a license that starts at €3.90.

This Photo Mechanic vs XnView comparison proves that both programs are good management tools. You can view images, work with meta tags and use basic processing options. Photo Mechanic is great for professional photographers who need to use tags and sort images into categories. If you need fast batch file processing and image converting, you should opt for XnView.

Photo Mechanic is a non-standard image browser that allows you to open multiple folders in separate tabs. It works great when you need to view and organize archives. This software has the metadata editing option. You can access and edit keywords, information about the photographer, copyright, model, and other IPTC data.

XnView supports 500+ formats, including multi-page and animated images. This file manager allows you to filter images by different criteria, search for them on the PC, copy, move them and perform various actions.