If
you have a large collection of image files, Lyn can help you put them in order
so they will be very easy to locate. With Lyn, you are in charge of how your
images are arranged. It uses the folder you create to organize your images.
Popular
image libraries on Mac such as iPhoto, Photos, Aperture, and Lightroom can be
accessed by Lyn. This versatility makes Lyn a good alternative for anyone
moving on from Aperture or iPhoto; also suitable for those that are not happy
with the newer Photos app.
Pros
·
Very Fast; displaying and working
with images is nearly instantaneous.
·
Versatile browsing interface provides
plenty of choices.
·
Works with existing popular image
libraries.
·
Batch image file type conversions.
·
EXIF and IPTC viewing and editing.
·
Built-in map for viewing where images
were shot.
Cons
·
Doesn't support events, faces, or
other iPhoto and Aperture organizations.
·
Image editing is very basic.
Installing Lyn
Installing
Lyn doesn't require any special procedure; simply drag the app to your
/Applications folder. Uninstalling Lyn is just as simple. If you decide Lyn is
not for you, just drag the app to the trash.
How Lyn Works for Image Organization
If
you've used iPhoto, Photos, Aperture, or Lightroom, you may be surprised that
Lyn doesn't use an image library; at least, not like the ones you're used to.
This is the key to why Lyn is fast; it has no database overhead to update and
organize while it’s displaying
images.
Rather,
Lyn uses the common folder that Mac’s
Finder creates. You can add and remove folders within Lyn, or do it with the
Finder. You can even do both; set up a basic image library in the Finder using
nested folders, and then add to or fine-tune it while you're using Lyn.
This
reliance on standard folders explains why Lyn doesn't support organizational
structures, such as events or faces. But Lyn does support smart folders, which
you could use to create a somewhat similar method of organization.
Smart
folders used by Lyn are really saved searches, but because they're saved and
stored on Lyn’s sidebar,
they're easily accessed and appear just like any other folder. With smart
folders, you can search for flagged, rated, label, keyword, tag, and filename.
If you add an event keyword to an image, you could recreate the event
organization available in other image browser apps.
Lyn Sidebar
As
mentioned, the sidebar in Lyn is the key to how images are organized. The
sidebar contains five sections:
Search,
which includes any smart folders you create;
Devices,
where any cameras, phones, or other devices that you've connected to your Mac
will appear;
Volumes,
which are storage devices connected to your Mac;
Libraries,
which provide quick access to Aperture, iPhoto, or Lightroom image libraries
you may have on your Mac; and
Places,
which are commonly used Finder locations, such as Desktop, your home folder,
Documents, and Pictures.
Viewer
Images
are shown in the Viewer, which resides next to the sidebar. Like the Finder,
you'll find various views available,
including Icon, which shows a
thumbnail view of images in the selected folder. The Split view shows smaller thumbnails and a large view of the
selected thumbnail. In addition, there's a List
view that shows a small thumbnail along with the image's metadata, such as
date, rating, size, aspect ratio, aperture, exposure, and ISO.
Editing
Editing
is performed in the Inspector. Lyn currently supports editing EXIF and IPTC
information. You can also edit GPS information contained in an image. Lyn
includes a Map view that will display where an image was taken. Unfortunately,
while the Map view can show where an image was taken if there are GPS
coordinates embedded in the image, you can’t
use the Map view to generate coordinates for the image, a feature that would be
very handy for all the pictures we have with no location information.
Lyn
also has basic image editing capabilities. You can adjust color balance,
exposure, temperature, and highlights and shadows. There are also black and
white, sepia, and vignette filters available, as well as a histogram. However,
all adjustments are performed by a slider, with no automatic adjustments
available.
There's
also a nice cropping tool that allows you to set an aspect ratio to maintain
when cropping.
While
the image editing is basic at best, Lyn does allow you to use external editors
such as Photoshop among many others.
Review
Lyn
is a fast and inexpensive image browser that, when combined with your preferred
photo editor can make a pretty good workflow system for photo lovers. Without
an internal library system, Lyn relies on you to manually create your image
library using the Mac’s
folders. This can be a good thing if you don't like having your images managed
for you blindly in a database system, but it also requires you to keep on top
of the folder structure, you create.
Lyn
goes for $20.00. A 15-day demo is available.
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