No, I had never heard about FastRawViewer. Thanks for bringing it to my attention! I downloaded it and installed it, but it needed to install a bunch of updates from Microsoft for DirectX9 to work. The first time I tried to install it, I canceled the DirectX9 updates, and the program wouldn’t even run! So, learn a lesson, always install updates! I uninstalled it, then reinstalled with updates, and it works just fine!
So, here are my thoughts based on the few minutes I’ve played with it…
First, it definitely FAST! It is at least as fast as FastStone Image Viewer. And since FastRawViewer is actually reading the RAW file instead of the JPEG preview, it must be a great deal faster! It’s having to crunch 3 or 4 times as much data in the same amount of time! 1:1 previews are virtually instantaneous, and I must say, I was impressed! You can tell that just by looking at it that it’s actually viewing the RAW file and not the jpeg version, there is just a different “look” to the picture.
I had to change the keyboard shortcuts right away to something I’m used to, but after that, it’s pretty easy to figure out.
Pros:
- Blazing fast image rendering.
- Completely customizable shortcuts.
- Reads the actual RAW file, not a jpeg preview.
- Let’s you preview different exposure and white-balance settings without having to open other software.
- Focus peaking, so you can see exactly where your focus is.
Cons:
- The interface looks a bit clunky, it’s not very streamlined. (Quite the contrast with Lightroom!)
I guess that’s about all I can think of! The interface isn’t a big issue, mostly personal preference, and since it’s still in beta, I’m sure it will improve!
Overall, I think it’s a VERY strong competitor for FastStone Image Viewer. If anything, it’s a little faster than any other program that I’ve tried. But for now, I’m sticking with FastStone because it has a completely distraction free fullscreen view and comparison mode.
@ariathny: The link you provided to FastRawViewer isn’t valid, it got messed up somehow. It actually links internally to Lenspiration.com to a page called “www.fastrawviewer.com” like this:
https://www.lenspiration.com/forums/topic/best-photo-viewer-for-photographers/www.fastrawviewer.com
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