Mark, you just changed my life. Culling has been the biggest drama for the last 2-3 years. Literally 90 minutes post-watching this, I burned through 4000 shots to get to about 40. I have the new Canon R5ii with comparable file size to the A1 (45 megapixels instead of 50) and NO PROBLEM. I also until now shot in JPG and RAW but no more. Transferred to Lightroom and off we go. Thank you so much.
Yep totally agree, I have so, so many programs paid for and free over the past few years, especially since I moved to Sony and this software is by far the quickest and easiest to use..
thank you for this, I spend so much time with previews and guessing via other ways, this app really cures my whining and it's nice to get things done now :)
Very helpful Mr. Mark! You mentioned this software on the Washington eagle workshop. I bought it, tried it, but didn't connect the dots. Now that I have worked through all of the images taken during that workshop, in Lightroom, I really see the efficiency of this process. It's back to photo raw for me. Thanks!!
Interesting, I have been using a program called Photo Mechanic for over 20 years with my digital images. When I did press. photography and equine events with printing on spot this program was great for culling, sorting, and resetting meta data. It’s not as cheap as the one you shared, however it’s does a lot more. If you have not heard or tried it, I find photo mechanic made by camera bits easy to use and navigate. I am like you, hate being behind the computer screen going thru all those files. Keep up the great work, can’t wait to see you do a comparison with your sony and the new Nikon Z9 when you get the chance. Take care and stay safe.
I tried Photo Mechanic also but it cannot view the RAW images at 1:1. It views the embedded preview at 1:1 which is not full res, so checking for critical focus is much better in this product. I even contacted the publisher of Photo Mechanic to make sure I wasn't missing something and they confirmed that it uses the embedded jpg preview. Photo Mechanic has a better interface.
@@davidpitts6044 question for you. When you used PM to check critical focus where you viewing both jpeg and raw combined? Or just raw? I changed to only view raw and the previews got better for me. I know that I have at times set the zoom at 400% to check focus and went thru images pretty quickly. I like the program because of all the many other things you can do also.
Billy, I shoot both for my sports work. RAW on the primary card, JPEG on the secondary. I don’t find much difference in previews tbh. Different screens give me different results also. It’s all about speed for me because I need to find the shot and upload it quickly.
With my Windows 10 the auto import to LR won’t work so I saved to a folder then added in LR (I just have to rename files after in Library Mode instead of import). Works great!
Thank you Mark, gave it a try and works a treat, those 50mp files are a bit tough on ole Lightroom, am loving my A1, have put 150.000 images through mine lol
Cool! 😎 ...but a bit depressing. The photos you forgot you took look better than my keepers. However, it's always a good day when you post a video. Keep up the great work.
1. Move files from memory card to a temporary folder on Samsung Android tablet. 2. Review files in gallery. This can go as fast as you can swipe the screen. 3. When you see something you want to process further, select it as a [Favorite]. 4. After reviewing all files, open Favorites (at this point, I usually do a second screening to wittle the batch down further, but you don't need to). 5. [Select All]. 6. Select [Share]. 7. Select [Lightroom] 8. Process photos in Lightroom. Step 1 takes the longest (data transfer dependent on your hardware). I use a Sony card reader and a usb-c wired connection. This is where we need help. Step 2 is as fast or slow as you want to go. Step 7 is data transfer dependent on your internet connection. You may or may not be able to improve this. After the above, go back to Favorites and copy all to an assigned folder. Delete files in Favorites. Ready to start again.
I have been used Photo Mechanic which also works well, although am looking at Fast Raw Viewer and it does seem to have some useful features missing from Photo Mechanic. However what Fast Raw Viewer seems to lack is the Ingest feature in Photo Mechanic - am I missing it? I don't feel happy selecting photos on the SD card, but want to import onto hard drive first
Mark have you ever tried Photo Mechanic? I just did the 30 day trial and loved it. I'm going to download this and try it before I decide to buy PM or not.
I get drowsy just browsing through 15% of the images I shoot on a half day trip. I need to switch to Raw-only instead of RAW+JPEG so that I don't feel too lazy too cull both files at a time.
But were able to do this with LR at speed - I can import (Without needing to build previews) and cycle through images just as fast (The secret is to import as embedded sidecar)
I've been working on this and I have not been able to duplicate your results with LR. I think this software is faster IF you use it while the images are still on the card. Importing 3000 images from a high res camera takes a LONG time with embedded previews. The idea of fastrawviewer is that it gives you the ability to cycle through the images and view for critical focus right from the RAW images on the card. Then you import only 100-200 selected images instead of all 3000. That's the time savings. Also, some cameras embed a lower resolution JPG instead of a full resolution JPG and this means in LR you cannot view it at 1:1 unless LR creates a new preview, which takes time. I might be missing something?
I too have been using LR to cull and downselect. I have a pretty good workflow which is fast enough for me. I've often struggled with the thought of introducing another program into my workflow. But from reading these comments, I realize that (1) it does take a while to import the whole card into the catalog prior to the review process and (2) over 90% of the photos I import will stay in my catalog and I will never see them, because they are hidden by my workflow smart collections etc. So Ii think I will try it with Fast RAW viewer, running it straight from card, only importing the keepers. I will probably keep a full card dump of each shoot on my NAS as backup but there's no reason to carry the bloat into Lightroom.
@@MarkSmithphotography having only one LR catalog is actually a good strategy. When you send it to LR it actually opens up the last catalog you were working in (= the answer to the question posed). In response to a derived question: in what folder do you store the images: well, the import dialog allows for a complete configuration of that, of course. So, all bases covered. :-)
I agree! A bit of a bummer as the "right click" select Lightroom and it opens with selected images was a selling point of this software for me. What I have had to do is copy selected images in Raw Viewer to sub folder on my XQD card, then open Lightroom and import those. A bit more cumbersome than Mark showed on his Apple machine. Your call on whether that process has value to you. Seem like the "Raw Viewer" programmers have some Windows functionality to address.
@@rwilso15 This happened to me too. Then I right clicked on ONE OF THE SELECTED IMAGES and it worked as shown for me. When I was right clicking on an unselected image it did not show up in the import module of lightroom as selected.
@@davidpitts6044 Nope! I am right clicking on one of the selected pictures and when LR opens, none of the files are selected in the Import module. I am still on the trial version of FRV, so maybe that version is different than the purchased version. Thx for the feedback. Rob
that is such a NON-EFFICIENT workflow process. The software makes you jump through hoops to compare say 6 images together to view the best one... multi-window mumbo jumbo, etc. If you have 40 burst shots and you are trying to narrow it down to 3... it STILL takes forever in FSV. The only thing the software has going for it is speed.... otherwise, the tools are bad.
Great tips but you missed a critical step in the process- If you're culling and then importing straight from the memory card make sure your import settings copy the ACTUAL FILE from the memory card to a location on your computer (or somewhere other than the memory card). Otherwise when you eject and format the card- you'll have the unlinked previews in lightroom but the source files will be gone.
Mark, you just changed my life. Culling has been the biggest drama for the last 2-3 years. Literally 90 minutes post-watching this, I burned through 4000 shots to get to about 40. I have the new Canon R5ii with comparable file size to the A1 (45 megapixels instead of 50) and NO PROBLEM. I also until now shot in JPG and RAW but no more. Transferred to Lightroom and off we go. Thank you so much.
Thank you. Please do more of your photography workflow from importing, editing and exporting. 🙏🏽
Yep totally agree, I have so, so many programs paid for and free over the past few years, especially since I moved to Sony and this software is by far the quickest and easiest to use..
Just got the A1.. eagerly waiting the set up ! Keep up the great work
Soon!
thank you for this, I spend so much time with previews and guessing via other ways, this app really cures my whining and it's nice to get things done now :)
Love your videos !
Especially the Osprey and Bald Eagles they are incredible .
Haven't scene all of your videos but I'm working through them .
Interesting!
My culling secret? A bad mood. The grumpiness helps when blowing through a lot of files.
Lol. I understand completely!
Ditto!
What sort of computer are you using?
Great Tutorial Video Mark! Thank You So Much For The Information! I Greatly Appreciate It!
Thanks Mark! That looks like a great program. Sent it off to my friend Carl. 👍👍📷📷
I will get this immediately, now I wish I had a good A1 tutorial for the new baby I bought last week 😎
Soon!
Very cool, thanks Mark.
I just got it today. $17.99! Keep the tips coming! I also got Topaz DeNoise because of your review. Thanks, man!
Very helpful thanks.
Thanks Mark, always helpful tips, and so good to see you in FL this week, TFS always! you are the best
Love that software, been using it for years - a big part of my workflow for my pet photography business.
Very helpful Mr. Mark! You mentioned this software on the Washington eagle workshop. I bought it, tried it, but didn't connect the dots. Now that I have worked through all of the images taken during that workshop, in Lightroom, I really see the efficiency of this process. It's back to photo raw for me. Thanks!!
Nice. A Secret of the Pros. Thanks so much for sharing this one. Getting bogged down at the computer desk is the worst!
Darn! AFTER I spent many hours (and $100+) learning Photo Mechanic! But for simple culling, this sure seems better, quicker and less expensive.
Thanks from Denmark 👍😊
thank you for this!
Thanks! This should be very helpful.
Good to know; I use photo mechanic
Thanks for the info.
Interesting, I have been using a program called Photo Mechanic for over 20 years with my digital images. When I did press. photography and equine events with printing on spot this program was great for culling, sorting, and resetting meta data. It’s not as cheap as the one you shared, however it’s does a lot more. If you have not heard or tried it, I find photo mechanic made by camera bits easy to use and navigate. I am like you, hate being behind the computer screen going thru all those files. Keep up the great work, can’t wait to see you do a comparison with your sony and the new Nikon Z9 when you get the chance. Take care and stay safe.
I tried Photo Mechanic also but it cannot view the RAW images at 1:1. It views the embedded preview at 1:1 which is not full res, so checking for critical focus is much better in this product. I even contacted the publisher of Photo Mechanic to make sure I wasn't missing something and they confirmed that it uses the embedded jpg preview. Photo Mechanic has a better interface.
@@davidpitts6044 question for you. When you used PM to check critical focus where you viewing both jpeg and raw combined? Or just raw? I changed to only view raw and the previews got better for me. I know that I have at times set the zoom at 400% to check focus and went thru images pretty quickly. I like the program because of all the many other things you can do also.
@@billygarrett3911 I only shoot raw, not raw + jpeg so I don't know.
Billy, I shoot both for my sports work. RAW on the primary card, JPEG on the secondary. I don’t find much difference in previews tbh. Different screens give me different results also. It’s all about speed for me because I need to find the shot and upload it quickly.
With my Windows 10 the auto import to LR won’t work so I saved to a folder then added in LR (I just have to rename files after in Library Mode instead of import). Works great!
Nice thanks
Looks pretty cool. Is it a subscription or a one time fee?
Thanks!! Do you have a similar solution for video?
Thank you Mark, gave it a try and works a treat, those 50mp files are a bit tough on ole Lightroom, am loving my A1, have put 150.000 images through mine lol
Awesome
Bridge works so well for culling. What's the advantage of Fast Raw Viewer?
Cool! 😎 ...but a bit depressing. The photos you forgot you took look better than my keepers. However, it's always a good day when you post a video. Keep up the great work.
Lol
Seems like it's worth checking out. What happened to part 2 of the A1 guide?
I assume that this software will also download images from a card reader as well as images that are already stored on a hard drive?
1. Move files from memory card to a temporary folder on Samsung Android tablet.
2. Review files in gallery. This can go as fast as you can swipe the screen.
3. When you see something you want to process further, select it as a [Favorite].
4. After reviewing all files, open Favorites (at this point, I usually do a second screening to wittle the batch down further, but you don't need to).
5. [Select All].
6. Select [Share].
7. Select [Lightroom]
8. Process photos in Lightroom.
Step 1 takes the longest (data transfer dependent on your hardware). I use a Sony card reader and a usb-c wired connection. This is where we need help.
Step 2 is as fast or slow as you want to go.
Step 7 is data transfer dependent on your internet connection. You may or may not be able to improve this.
After the above, go back to Favorites and copy all to an assigned folder. Delete files in Favorites. Ready to start again.
The troubles of 30 fps LOL, I shoot at 10fps and miss my typewriter 😉
I have been used Photo Mechanic which also works well, although am looking at Fast Raw Viewer and it does seem to have some useful features missing from Photo Mechanic. However what Fast Raw Viewer seems to lack is the Ingest feature in Photo Mechanic - am I missing it? I don't feel happy selecting photos on the SD card, but want to import onto hard drive first
Mark have you ever tried Photo Mechanic? I just did the 30 day trial and loved it. I'm going to download this and try it before I decide to buy PM or not.
Not yet!
For Apple fans, I recommend Lyn.
Nice software. Gonna try. Btw which lens you were using in the beginning for vlog mode? :) looks very nice.
16 35 f4 on the a7s3
I get drowsy just browsing through 15% of the images I shoot on a half day trip. I need to switch to Raw-only instead of RAW+JPEG so that I don't feel too lazy too cull both files at a time.
Thank you for this video. How can i droppend photo's from Fastraw Viewer into the recycle bin? You could also throw away photos, right?
Thanks Mark, will this work with CR3 files, thanks
But were able to do this with LR at speed - I can import (Without needing to build previews) and cycle through images just as fast (The secret is to import as embedded sidecar)
I've been working on this and I have not been able to duplicate your results with LR. I think this software is faster IF you use it while the images are still on the card. Importing 3000 images from a high res camera takes a LONG time with embedded previews. The idea of fastrawviewer is that it gives you the ability to cycle through the images and view for critical focus right from the RAW images on the card. Then you import only 100-200 selected images instead of all 3000. That's the time savings. Also, some cameras embed a lower resolution JPG instead of a full resolution JPG and this means in LR you cannot view it at 1:1 unless LR creates a new preview, which takes time. I might be missing something?
I too have been using LR to cull and downselect. I have a pretty good workflow which is fast enough for me. I've often struggled with the thought of introducing another program into my workflow. But from reading these comments, I realize that (1) it does take a while to import the whole card into the catalog prior to the review process and (2) over 90% of the photos I import will stay in my catalog and I will never see them, because they are hidden by my workflow smart collections etc. So Ii think I will try it with Fast RAW viewer, running it straight from card, only importing the keepers. I will probably keep a full card dump of each shoot on my NAS as backup but there's no reason to carry the bloat into Lightroom.
Quick question, what color profile do you use in light room ? Adobe color or camera raw profile ? For the A1? Thanks
How do you choose to name the Lightroom library before importing the images??
Not sure. I only have one.
@@MarkSmithphotography having only one LR catalog is actually a good strategy.
When you send it to LR it actually opens up the last catalog you were working in (= the answer to the question posed).
In response to a derived question: in what folder do you store the images: well, the import dialog allows for a complete configuration of that, of course. So, all bases covered. :-)
This does not seem to work on a Windows computer - when I select files and go to lightroom the import panel opens, but the files are not selected
I agree! A bit of a bummer as the "right click" select Lightroom and it opens with selected images was a selling point of this software for me. What I have had to do is copy selected images in Raw Viewer to sub folder on my XQD card, then open Lightroom and import those. A bit more cumbersome than Mark showed on his Apple machine. Your call on whether that process has value to you. Seem like the "Raw Viewer" programmers have some Windows functionality to address.
@@rwilso15 This happened to me too. Then I right clicked on ONE OF THE SELECTED IMAGES and it worked as shown for me. When I was right clicking on an unselected image it did not show up in the import module of lightroom as selected.
@@davidpitts6044 Nope! I am right clicking on one of the selected pictures and when LR opens, none of the files are selected in the Import module. I am still on the trial version of FRV, so maybe that version is different than the purchased version. Thx for the feedback. Rob
Hi Mark, The benefits of this software over Lightroom? Thanks
that is such a NON-EFFICIENT workflow process. The software makes you jump through hoops to compare say 6 images together to view the best one... multi-window mumbo jumbo, etc. If you have 40 burst shots and you are trying to narrow it down to 3... it STILL takes forever in FSV. The only thing the software has going for it is speed.... otherwise, the tools are bad.
Great tips but you missed a critical step in the process- If you're culling and then importing straight from the memory card make sure your import settings copy the ACTUAL FILE from the memory card to a location on your computer (or somewhere other than the memory card). Otherwise when you eject and format the card- you'll have the unlinked previews in lightroom but the source files will be gone.