Migration from PC to Mac of JPEGS

[dtraughber]

First time newbie here! First, Peter, thank you for your wonderful, lucid, well-written, and well thought out DAM book—it’s brilliant!

I need some guidance: I have roughly 350+ GB worth of jpegs, organized with date and place, and all uniquely named (with NO original camera names) taken over a period of 5 years. At present the file names are too long and date is MMDDYY. I have added no keywords nor metadata. At this point I have very few derivatives.

My plan is this: when Leopard comes out this October, I’ll be migrating all photos from PC to Mac. I’m trying to get my ducks in a row for the upcoming fall migration!

First task has been backup to ext HD’s and DVDs, major thinning of the collection, then more backups. I have no cataloguing or browsing software presently, so becoming familiar with those will have to wait. I wondered if I bought IVMP now (which is meant to work on both Mac and PC), is there any work I can do on IVMP with my files before the migration to Mac?
 
I do have Photoshop.  Entering metadata and keywords will be done on the new Mac, so no worries about that info “coming along for the ride”. For lack of "better" alternatives at present, I’m strongly considering using Bridge and IVMP/Media Expressions.

As you recommended, I’d like to bring all legacy digital images into the information structure at one time. For a smoother transition, and to do as much of this work as possible ahead of time, I had wanted to rename my files, and redo the file structure, making buckets. Is there renaming / renumbering software out there for PC that would help? Or will renaming be a tedious image-by-image ordeal?

Because of the nature of JPEGs, I would like to simplify the process and do the work only once, being careful to maintain the integrity of the JPEGS. After reading various information on the web on JPEGS, I am NOT clear on all the actions that further compress JPEGS other than to "Save As". Does changing the name of the file, or the file path compress the JPEG further? Does backing up to other media compress the JPEGS? What else do I need to heed concerning compression of the image?

Any recommendations as to what I can do to prepare for this mass migration would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers, d traughber

[peterkrogh]

D (Name?)
Do you really have 350 GB of JPEGs.  This is, like a million images or something?

I'd get cataloging software to help with the migration.  iView is cross platform, so it would be a god choice to move with you in the future.

Don't mess with any of it too much until it's cataloged.

You can rename and add metadata (with most applications) without recompressing the files.
Peter

[dtraughber]

Hi Peter,

Name's Dadre, (pron "day-druh") but some friends call me "D" or "DT". "D" is a lot easier to pronounce, no? 

Leaping from years on a PC to a Mac, along with heavy digital baggage (gazillions of jpegs) can be like going into outer space without a tether. Thank you for the Tether, Peter.

Regarding the actual number of images, is there a way to easily find out on a PC how many images I've got without cataloguing or browsing software? Just curious. I just went by how many GB it requires in a backup. In any event, it's an overwhelming number of images to start out with, certainly a daunting task.

Yes I shoot a lot, say from 3 to 6 GB a session, up to several times a week. All JPEGS @SHQ.  When diving, it's shooting almost "non-stop", even on the surface intervals! So it adds up. My computers and hard drives are bulging at the seams, so to speak.

After I posted my message, the lights went on about getting iView now and doing the cataloguing on the PC. With all the serious culling of images there should be room to run the added software. It's  not clear if I'll have to buy the same iView software twice-- I believe the users agreement is that you have to get it licensed on either Mac or PC platform. Something like that, will have to contact the company to find out the details.

I'm immensely enjoying reading your book (and the forum). It takes quite a gestalt view to see the system without already having the software to give the process more "shape".

Thanks again,
D

[peterkrogh]

Dadre,
I think the same serial number does both platforms.  Start cataloging thos images and see what you've got.

If you are going to make catalogs with lots of images (>30,000), then set your thumbnails to low quality, 600 pixels.  Don't make "Full Screen Previews".

Happy cataloging.
Peter

[dtraughber]

Peter, thanks for the tip about the thumbnails. Well, I didn't wait for Leopard to arrive--the new Mac is on the desktop for about one week, ready to roll. IVMP was just now installed, so shortly the cataloguing begins after a few test runs.

I feel like I'm in rough seas with information overload from this forum, and your book, and my own inexperience, particularly from not seeing the software in action, and partly from the platform switch from PC to Mac (my first Mac). It takes a real leap of imagination. Challenging, still all in all very exciting.

After reading all the feedback on the MediaEx I hesitated to even open the IVMP software. In any event, I made the leap.

Peter, you mentioned using small thumbnails with catalogues over 30,000. The main project I'm working on is well over that number of items, and growing. I'm considering making smaller catalogues, divided by year, which would bring the catalogue size down to between ~6,000 to 11,000 images per year. On my test run I used the thumbnails created by the camera (low quality).

Here's my question: from the IVMP User's Manual, it is written that the previews "are large JPEG proxy images that will be displayed in Media View, Slide Show, and Light Table..." Assuming that the thumbnails are used for these previews, if I'm using low quality thumbnails, won't it be difficult to judge image quality to make my picks, say, in Light Table? Or is critiquing the image better done in Bridge?

Would you recommend that iView make the highest quality thumbnail for critiquing images (and keeping the catalogue sizes smaller by using fewer images)?  It is not clear to me from reading through the IVMP User's Manual if the thumbnails (assigned at the time of import) are the images I'd be working from.

What is the difference/advantage of using ImageIngestor in addition to/instead of IVMP for importing images, and some of the other same functions of both programs?  My legacy files are all JPEGs, and soon I plan to switch to shooting RAW.

Metadata can be added in ImageIngestor, IVMP, and/or Bridge?

Thanking you all in advance for any recommendations.

dadre

[dtraughber]

Hi again,

I found the answer to my questions on thumbnails and previews in IVMP. And I understand about how it makes the file size grow by using higher quality thumbnails.

But my questions still stand regarding "What is the difference/advantage of using ImageIngestor in addition to/instead of IVMP for importing images, and some of the other same functions of both programs?  My legacy files are all JPEGs, and soon I plan to switch to shooting RAW....Metadata can be added in ImageIngestor, IVMP, and/or Bridge?"

I see in The Dam Book where Bridge is used as an example. In the forum recently I see where ImageIngestor is recommended for getting certain tasks done right in the beginning at the time of downloading of images.

I'd appreciate any help and enlightenment right at this point of "a single step" towards moving through thousands and thousands of images. It'd be great to start off on the right foot.

thanks again,

dadre

[peterkrogh]

Dadre,
Try to keep questions focused, and see if you can find ones that have been answered.

ImageIngester Pro does a bunch of things on import:
Rename
Add Metadata
Backup twice
Make Number Range folders
Launch Bridge
Build Cache
Keep a record of downloads, and more.

This is most important, IMO, for fresh downloads than for working on existing images.
Peter