[Digikam-devel] [Bug 196649] Very poor usability when browsing JPEG and RAW files

[DGardner]

https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=196649





--- Comment #2 from DGardner <dkde gardnersworld org>  2009-06-16 10:03:11 ---
Thanks, Mikolaj.

I'll fill you in a bit more on my workflow to give you an idea of where I
am coming from and what I think I need from ShowFoto and/or digiKam.

I use digiKam for all my image management, but I've had a few issues
with it (and with me) in the past that make me feel safer if I keep the
unmodified files from my camera in a separate location and then import
renamed copies of those files into digiKam. That way, if anything goes
wrong (either in digiKam or due to a PEBKAC), I'll always have an
original file that I can copy again.

I operate with two completely separate image archives: "Original" and
"Organised". The "Original" archive contains the original images straight
from the camera with no modifications other than the deletion of the
irredeemable images. The "Organised" archive contains the renamed copies
of the original images (I have my own renaming script based on Exiftool
that uses MakerNote information for Canon file numbers that Exiv2 does
not support). It is only the "Organised" archive that I manage with
digiKam. Off the top of my head, I'd guess that there are about 20,000
images in each archive at present.

Perhaps, what I need is to have two separate digiKam configurations for
these two image archives. Each would have its own, independent image
database and different digiKam settings. However, I do not know if this
is possible.

For example, in the "Original" archive, I would not use any tags and would
not set any options that might modify the files, such as the automatic
setting of the photographer's identity and the credit and copyright. In
the "Organised" archive, I will use digiKam just as I do today with lots
of tags and other settings to help me manage my images. The separation of
the two archives means that I will not accidentally modify the original
images when browsing the "Organised" archive and will not be distracted
by duplicates of all of the images there (e.g., when browsing the time
line, etc.).

If I could do that (and maybe I can, but I just don't know how) I would
be happy to use digiKam for both purposes. If this is not yet possible,
then I would guess that making digiKam support two separate configurations
for two separate archives would be easier than trying to support two
different modes of operation for different groups of albums within a
single archive, with all of the extra configuration options, menus, filters,
etc. that that would entail.

Every time I use ShowFoto, it disappoints: digiKam is so slick and polished
that the myriad of immediately obvious problems with ShowFoto come as a bit
of a shock. If digiKam could do what I wanted when just screening original
images, I'd switch to it in a heartbeat.

So, Mikolaj, do you know if digiKam can support separate configurations
for completely separate archives? If not, would I be better off pushing
for this change to digiKam rather than requesting enhancements and fixes
for ShowFoto? Does ShowFoto have any future place in the longer term plans
for the digiKam family of applications and libraries?

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