Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
The tricky thing about novice or consumer package is that while beginner ’ attainment level might not be very advanced , their level of expectation for aesthetic note value might be very sophisticated . Like its predecessor , Apple ’s iPhoto 6 cater tools that are sluttish enough for initiate to apply but does n’t compromise on image timber . It offers everyone the power to output the variety of images that they ’re used to seeing every day in print and on the Web . While iPhoto 5 (; April 2005 ) sharpen on newfangled editing feature such as the Adjustment panel and Raw file support , version 6 focuses on output and system .
Performance and management
As detail in our First Look , the program ’s most important Modern feature film is a striking cost increase in execution . Importing , scrolling , and navigation are all much faster in version 6 , the interface palpate lively ( on my 1.6GHz PowerBook G4 and other fast Macs ) , and switching in and out of Edit modality is much bouncy . What ’s more , the program ’s library can now hold as many as 250,000 image . If you use iPhoto on a regular basis , these feature article alone make iLife ’ 06 well worth its price .
But iPhoto 6 packs much more than under - the - hood adjustments . Upon plunge the new edition , you ’ll see iPhoto ’s new interface . As with iTunes , Apple has throw away the cumbersome brush - metal bezel and given iPhoto a simpler , cleaner , more professional smell . Otherwise , most of iPhoto ’s port remains the same .
Full-screen editing
In gain to its new face - and - palpate , iPhoto 6 sport some new clitoris . Alongside the honest-to-goodness Info and Keyword button ; you ’ll now encounter an Enter Full Screen button . press it , and iPhoto ’s interface — along with your desktop and any other windows — will completely disappear , replaced by a square mordant field of study in which your prototype will be displayed as large as possible . In full - screen editing way , you could edit your exposure without the distraction of other user interface elements or colors .
Save the DateiPhoto 6 ’s Calendar feature film let you easy lay out calendars of any length . ( Click icon to open full screenshot )
Blocking out the relief of your Mac desktop is a really gracious elbow room to delete , and iPhoto ’s full - screen redaction mode provides memory access to all the feature you ’d ordinarily have when blue-pencil . With a simple taste change , you could severalize iPhoto to mechanically toggle in and out of full - screen redaction mode any fourth dimension you double - press an image .
Complementing the full - screen redaction mode is a new Compare feature , which let you display up to eight images side by side . you could pick out any of the comparison images for editing without lead Compare musical mode , and you could well change the currently selected image by pressing the keyboard ’s pointer keys to move to the next or previous look-alike .
Full - filmdom editing mode and side - by - side comparing are great additions to iPhoto ; they render capabilities that a great deal of high - end redaction and cataloging programs miss . Compare mode greatly simplify the operation of picking out just the right icon from a full day of shot .
The young Effects palette is iPhoto ’s only editing addition . With the Effects panel , you gain single - click access to disgraceful - and - white spiritual rebirth , sepia - toning effects , dim-witted vividness changes , and border effects such as vignette and blurs . These tools wo n’t help images with serious problems , but the Effects venire is handy for quick applying wide-eyed adjustments to most image .
Photocasting
For years , iPhoto has allowed users to share their photo libraries with other iPhoto users on the same local field meshing . With version 6 , you could now easily share your photos with other user anywhere on the web , whether they use iPhoto or not .
You must have a .Mac bill to use Photocasting — iPhoto will use your .Mac storage to host the photo you choose to partake . To start Photocasting , just select an record album and then select the Photocast push button on the toolbar . you could select a size ( dimension , not bit - depth : all JPEGs are automatically 8 - spot ) for your images — modest , average , large , or real sizing — and even protect your pictures with a exploiter name and password . When you sink in on the Publish clitoris , iPhoto will upload your image to your .Mac account , resizing on - the - fly , if necessary . Once finished , iPhoto will give you the option of vitamin E - mailing a notice that contains the Web address .
Users without iPhoto can view your Photocast from any RSS reader , including Safari RSS . only point readers to the name and address , and they ’ll see the photos displayed just as they would any RSS feed .
Output
iPhoto ’s account book - making readiness include several unexampled guide . However , the book - impress service itself has been upgraded to give rise more - sophisticated , mellow - closure printing . The result books look much better than those ordered through previous versions of iPhoto . Also , once you ’ve set up a record , you’re able to play it as you would a slideway show . Each Holy Writ page exhibit on a full screen , with all of its layout and gist . This is a very cool lineament that I ’ve wanted since version 5 .
Complementing the improved book - making feature are two Modern output options that lease you project and order customs cards and calendars . The Calendar characteristic is particularly telling , thanks to its power to automatically spell iCal calendars and Address Book birthday entries . iPhoto ’s calendars ply a identification number of feature of speech not found on Web - found calendar - printing services . For instance , you may place a exposure on an individual day in the calendar , and produce calendar with any number of month you need .
For Web - gallery introduction , Apple has replaced iPhoto ’s HomePage integration with reflex export to iWeb , iLife ’s new Web - construction app . Simply select an album and snap on the iWeb button , and your exposure will automatically be poured into one of iWeb ’s Sir Frederick Handley Page design .
Other output improvements let in options for borderless printing on printing machine that support it , the power to export 16 - bit TIFF files , and the option to tag images with a ColorSync visibility while importing .
Whereas previous versions of iPhoto always simulate your images into an internal depository library , iPhoto 6 let in a preference for simply referencing images in their original position ( just as in iTunes ) . This means that you could now utilize iPhoto for cataloging offline volumes , such as CDs or DVDs , onto which you ’ve archived pictures . Unfortunately , when you ’re quick to edit an image that is offline , iPhoto bring home the bacon only a generic prompting to find the missing file , not a request for the specific loudness . Because of this , iPhoto is still not worthy for the type of catalog that you could execute with a dedicated cataloging app like iView Media Pro .
iPhoto ’s importing feature have been amend ; you now have the option of tagging images with a ColorSync visibility upon meaning . For user who desire to run a colouration - managed system , this is a great addition , though it works only for images that iPhoto copies into its library .
Macworld’s buying advice
Apple has done an excellent job with the iPhoto 6 upgrade . The performance improvements alone should please most iPhoto user , while the full - screenland redaction musical mode , new output options , and Photocasting feature film make the determination to upgrade to this version a no - brainer .
[ Ben Long is the author ofComplete Digital Photography , third edition(Charles River Media , 2004 ) andGetting start With Camera Raw , ( Peachpit Press , 2005 ) . ]
