Subscription Model

[Jan]

I blieve that "FotoStation Pro" (https://www.fotoware.com/fotostation) comes close to the functionalities (at least the ones that I use), bit it is way more expensive that PhotoMechanics!

too bad you can't just download and try it, and from the website it is not clear what it does and why it is any good.

You can try Fotostation Pro, just scroll down the Page there is the Button where you can download the Trailversion. Only for the Client Server Solution you need to Contact them.

[Roger Vikstrom]

cant'n understand the complains keep it or leave it. Why talk about photostation  at this place. Suggest all of you doing that somewhere else. I love PM  and it works well. Regards Roger

[Claude Diderich]

cant'n understand the complains keep it or leave it. Why talk about photostation  at this place. Suggest all of you doing that somewhere else. I love PM  and it works well. Regards Roger

I think it is fair to discuss alternatives if a firm decides (CameraBits) to change the way it delivers its software (new pricing model) to allow all users to make an informed decision of whether or not to embrace the (pricing model) change to be made, what you call "keep it or leave it".

[Roger Vikstrom]

So what have photostation to do with It? Pm support is the best they always answer and It's very cheap program that saves all lot of time. Can't undertand what to complain over.

[vale]

Hei Roger, chill.
We are here because we love/like PM. We try to use it as much as we can. Some of the people who are here, support this software during all this years with upgrading licenses. A lot more are not members of the forum (being a little bit hidden) but still, using PM as their main program.
When a decision about how the pricing will be from a (not revealed) date, it is only normal to raise our hands. Especially because not very much details were given by the creators.
To be fair, a tablet/macos native app is requested from the first days of M1. It's already 3 years. For those wanting that, a normal upgrade would took at least 100$, the subscription model will (at least at start) get them their program with less money.
For others....that depends on usage.
We only need more info about this transformation.

[Max Lemesh]

cant'n understand the complains keep it or leave it. Why talk about photostation  at this place. Suggest all of you doing that somewhere else. I love PM  and it works well. Regards Roger

People talk and discuss stuff. And we are here because we care. I would call myself a PM evangelist, I want PM to the best photo app out there, but in times of change like this we need some clarity - which is not here.

So yeah, chill and let the people speak their mind

[Pavel]

Me?  I've been using PM since 2004 or 2005 - can't quite remember and have been quite a evangelist.
When Photoshop went to "rent" only - I quit using it and have never gone back.  I used Capture one since 2005 and when it went to rent only, I quite using it and never have or ever will use it again.

Goodbye PM. My perpetual, until you need more money, license works fine on my current Macs and once software updates make it otherwise ... nice knowing ya.

Times change, I get that.  But perhaps PM management does not get the changes go two ways.  I actually find I use my iPhones (I have three for photography and videograpy) much more than the Z system I still keep but hardly use.  And Photos is now pretty much an attractive options for where things are headed., though mostly I use final cut pro.  Photos does not do some of the things I used to need to do once, but then neither does PM do much of what I now take for granted as a feature.  Times change. Time to move on.

[bwana]

Me?  I've been using PM since 2004 or 2005 - can't quite remember and have been quite a evangelist.
When Photoshop went to "rent" only - I quit using it and have never gone back.  I used Capture one since 2005 and when it went to rent only, I quite using it and never have or ever will use it again.

Goodbye PM. My perpetual, until you need more money, license works fine on my current Macs and once software updates make it otherwise ... nice knowing ya.

Times change, I get that.  But perhaps PM management does not get the changes go two ways.  I actually find I use my iPhones (I have three for photography and videograpy) much more than the Z system I still keep but hardly use.  And Photos is now pretty much an attractive options for where things are headed., though mostly I use final cut pro.  Photos does not do some of the things I used to need to do once, but then neither does PM do much of what I now take for granted as a feature.  Times change. Time to move on.

I feel your pain but you may have missed the announcement that there would be "an option for perpetual licensing in addition to a subscription licensing plan"?

https://home.camerabits.com/2023/11/12/changes-coming-to-photo-mechanic/

[charlesteton]

Me?  I've been using PM since 2004 or 2005 - can't quite remember and have been quite a evangelist.
When Photoshop went to "rent" only - I quit using it and have never gone back.  I used Capture one since 2005 and when it went to rent only, I quite using it and never have or ever will use it again.

Goodbye PM. My perpetual, until you need more money, license works fine on my current Macs and once software updates make it otherwise ... nice knowing ya.

Times change, I get that.  But perhaps PM management does not get the changes go two ways.  I actually find I use my iPhones (I have three for photography and videograpy) much more than the Z system I still keep but hardly use.  And Photos is now pretty much an attractive options for where things are headed., though mostly I use final cut pro.  Photos does not do some of the things I used to need to do once, but then neither does PM do much of what I now take for granted as a feature.  Times change. Time to move on.

I feel your pain but you may have missed the announcement that there would be "an option for perpetual licensing in addition to a subscription licensing plan"?

https://home.camerabits.com/2023/11/12/changes-coming-to-photo-mechanic/

Mmmmmmm I'm happy now 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[vale]

Don't be. It's been more than a month and no 'new' news about this.

[jrp]

PM's USP are its macros and ability to manipulate keywords reasonably conveniently.  From my perspective, the next step is the application of AI (ML) to keywording, etc.  It's not obvious that CameraBits will be able to provide that, so will be limited in its potential customers to those that need a very manually-intensive workflow.

That's a pity.  But the reality is that its former USP (fast preview / culling) is already being contested on the Mac, where PM6 is no longer native, by the lines of FastRAWViewer, and AI-based apps which can take pictures and tell you which is the sharpest, etc.  This is important when new cameras can provide 30 or 50fps and sorting through the result takes time.

So it may be that CameraBits will be able to live on through subscriptions from the agencies and those who are not prepared to adapt (for some good reasons) but a niche is, regrettably, often a tomb.

[Bob M]

FastRAWViewer is a great piece of software and is a wonderful adjunct to PM but it is no where near being a replacement.

[Max Lemesh]

FastRAWViewer is a great piece of software and is a wonderful adjunct to PM but it is no where near being a replacement.

Great for Sony RAW viewer in my case, that I launch from PM once every two months.

But other than that, FastRawViewer creators place so much emphasis on pixel and histogram peeping in their promo videos that they should drop the word "Fast" from the name and call it RawPixelPeeper

[martink]

As someone who has used PhotoMechanic enthusiastically for years and who admires their customer support, my hope, for what it’s worth, would for be a feature freeze on PM6 other than for it be able to run natively on Apple Silicon.  There may be a significant portion of the user base for whom those quite mature features around ingestion, selection, metadata handling and transmission are the extent of their needs of PM. Hopefully that would be available as a Perpetual license as now. As a mature product the cost of support should be low.
Where there is a version  (PhotoMechanic Premium?) with a wider range of best-in-class features that might include DAM, the ability to pick the sharpest from a burst of several frames, Face ID (who would provide the database ?), integration with the emerging content authentication systems, and the ability to machine read the numbers / names from a players clothing, then those are evolving technologies and I can certainly understand why, if accompanied by a clear and well-defined time line of development and implementation, then that could be offered on a subscription basis. A big question is what functionality would you lose on terminating a subscription.
Martin

[jrp]

I agree.  It's hard to understand what a subscription would be funding.  I can't imagine that PM will acquire any unique AI-based features as the company hasn't the scale to make that work, judging by the inability to move to Apple Silicon after over 2 years.  They may be able to use google or Microsoft's AI, but then so could anyone else (and other are indeed doing so, with mixed results).