When we started scanning film and long before we had any digital cameras, I realized we needed something to keep track of digital image files. We were storing most of the scanned images offline on Compact Disk media. After doing a lot of research I realized there were only a few programs that could handle this situation well. The one I chose was Extensis Portfolio. I was very happy with its performance, and after getting used to its somewhat odd interface it was possible to catalog and easily find anything through keywords, categories, and thumbnail views. The only hardship was the tedious and time consuming entry of keywords and other information that makes the images easy to find. You seldom get something for nothing, though, and Extensis Portfolio has some powerful features that make entering this data as easy as it can be. We proceeded to put in the many hours of work necessary to catalog a large number of files.

Unlike most other programs available at the time, Extensis Portfolio keeps thumbnail images in its database. That means there is no need to keep the large image files "online" on a hard drive. Considering the fact that scans of even 35mm film are somewhere around 120 MB in size, this is a good thing. Optionally, Extensis Portfolio can also create and store larger full screen preview JPEG images on the hard drive too. This takes a bit more space, but it is insignificant compared with hundreds of gigabytes taken by the original files. When you find what you are looking for, a simple double click on the thumbnail image in Portfolio prompts the user with the volume name of the CD or other removable media to mount. When you do, Extensis Portfolio will open the image in the editor of your choice. Now that’s pretty cool.

Our first digital camera was a Canon EOS 10D. Because we got the camera late in its product lifecycle, we did not have to wait long for Extensis to support its RAW file format in a free update. I found it curious, though, that Extensis still had no support for cameras like the Canon EOS 1D and EOS 1Ds, which had been on the market for a long time and were widely recognized as being among the best professional cameras. When we got a Canon EOS 1D Mark II, Extensis Portfolio had no support for it's RAW files, leaving us stuck with no means to catalog them. Not only that, they still had no support for the Canon EOS 1D and EOS 1Ds (non MK-II) which had by this time been around for a couple of years. The reason I was given is that Extensis was completely rewriting the Portfolio RAW file support to make the addition of new camera models easier. When the rewritten software was released in July of 2004 in the form of a $100 update, it still supported none of Canon's professional camera models, some of which had been around for years. Finally, in late December 2004, I received notification that Extensis Portfolio had been updated to support cameras including the Canon EOS 1D, EOS 1D Mk II, and EOS 1Ds. It is interesting to note Canon stopped building the EOS 1D and EOS 1Ds cameras before Extensis managed to support the files they produce.

I might be inclined to simply accept their software rewrite explanation and pay the price, but as of this writing there is no support for the EOS 1Ds Mark II which has been available for about 6 months. On top of that, the Extensis web site states that they will try to add new camera support with each major revision of their software. Major revisions are typically the ones that happen infrequently and for which you must pay. For a program that needs updates for new file formats at the same relative frequency as Adobe Camera RAW (every few months), this is completely unacceptable. Also notable is the fact that most Adobe Camera RAW file format updates are free, not a hundred bucks each, and somehow Adobe manages to swiftly support new camera RAW formats. Does Extensis really expect photographers who buy new cameras to put up with being unable to catalog images for a year or more? If Extensis Portfolio was a $25 shareware product aimed at hobbyists it could still not be successful with this “user be damned” philosophy. Given the fact that the program costs over $200 and is aimed specifically at commercial users it is all the more unimaginable.

Anyone with a large image inventory has a huge number of hours invested in cataloging images. With conceivably hundreds of hours invested, the user’s cost in time and effort to change from one image cataloging program to another makes the purchase price of even the most expensive program fade into nothingness. Because of this, users have a large and long term commitment to these software companies. The software companies should make a similar commitment to avoid leaving the user stuck for long periods with unusable software. Extensis Portfolio has so far failed miserably in this regard. If you only deal with standard file types, or if Portfolio already supports your current digital camera’s RAW format and you plan to never get a different camera, it's a great program that works well. If this is not the case I would find a different solution. The best program in the world is no good if it will not handle the files your camera produces.

5/3/05
After over two years of use and disuse, we finally got rid of Extensis Portfolio in favor of Photools IMatch. I should mention that removal of Extensis Portfolio from a computer is not easy. The uninstaller removes the main executable file but left pieces of Portfolio strewn all over the computer's hard drive. The resident program "Portfolio Express" was not removed at all, producing an error messages on teach restart of the computer. Further, Windows XP registry keys for the program were not removed. Getting rid of these required lots of manual registry editing, which is something I cannot recommend. This is bush-league installer design on the part of Extensis. I suppose they thought no one would ever want to remove their program.

Now for the good news. On top of being a very powerful image management tool, IMatch supports all of Canon's latest camera models. Before purchasing IMatch I downloaded the trial version and tested it extensively. IMatch is a fairly technical program that takes a few days to get used to. For best results I recommend you download and install the free 30 day trial software, go through the tutorial, and read the built-in help as you begin to work with the program. Give yourself a few days with the program before you judge it. Once you understand how it works you will be amazed at how powerful it is. IMatch uses a category concept in addition to optional keywords. This makes cataloging far less error prone, faster, and easier. For image management the incredibly capable IMatch beats Extensis Portfolio hands down in terms of price, and ease of cataloging. Finding images is a snap too, and that's what having a program like this is all about. It works perfectly with images stored "offline" on CD and DVD media as well as those dtored "online" on a hard drive. Priced at about $60 compared with Portfolio's $200, there is little to dislike about IMatch. My congratulations go to Mario M. Westphal for creating a program this good and keeping it up to date. I hope he sticks with IMatch for as long as I stick with photography.

Happy cataloging,

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Notes (Updated 4/28/05):
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1. To varying extents, Extensis and all of us are victims of the camera companies' refusal to adopt an open and universal RAW format standards. Things do not look promising in this regard, with Nikon adopting proprietary encrypted formats in an effort to force Nikon users to buy and use Nikon software in order to work with their images. Currently, nearly every new camera model from every manufacturer uses a different file format. There are more than 50 different formats now, and more are on the way. This myriad of unique RAW formats threatens the long term viability of every photographer's RAW files. In ten, fifteen, or twenty years, will it be possible to find software that will read these long obsolete RAW formats and will run on computers of the day? Probably not. Today's software will almost certainly be incompatible with computers of the future. Remember DOS, the original Windows, and Windows 95? Who is going to write software to support obscure and long obsolete RAW formats? Camera makers will not do it. I am told that Canon has already dropped support for older RAW formats like those used by the D30. If existing Canon D30 conversion programs do not run on the next generation of Windows or Macintosh operating systems, D30 RAW files will have less use than a faded Kodachrome slide. The fact is that without an open file format, today's digital RAW files will probably not last as long as film. Suddenly, I'm finding it harder to remember exactly what was wrong with film.

2. For a discussion of this serious problem, please see www.openraw.org.