Adobe Bridge do you still use it?

[Bear Dale]

Adobe Bridge, do you still use it or do you just use Lightroom as a catalogue for Photoshop?

[ameerat42]

Nah! - Nevva liked it, really :confused013

Soon after, I got using [oh, whaddya call that Canon catalog?:rolleyes::rolleyes:], which I liked even less, and ditched it
in favour of Faststone Image Viewer. Been using that ever since (talking 10+ years here), though not for much
cataloguing :confused013

[Bear Dale]

Bridge has always been something that I have tried multiple times to like, but just never gotten on with.

I use LR for cataloguing and Faststone Image Viewer for browsing and some other operations which it just excels at (nothing even comes close to FIV).

[ameerat42]

...Faststone Image Viewer for browsing and some other operations which it just excels at (nothing even comes close to FIV)...

I think you've nailed it, BD. - It's 6 of 1 1 from 6 and FIV+E of the rest :p:p:p
- All of which is to say, I agree fully with the cited centiment :nod:

[John King]

Yeah, I have used Bridge for over 15 years, BD.

It still astounds me that Adobe's programmers cannot manage to make a SQL database work properly, but it beats the crap out of being locked into (or out of, as the case may be ... ) Lightroom's catalogue ...

[Jaded62]

Yes. Use it all the time as part of my work flow. Bridge to ACR to PS.

[Hawthy]

I use Bridge to import photos from camera to PC but that's it. I don't use Lightroom at all. Photoshop does the same job and more. For cataloging, I just create folders like "Family", "Tasmania 2018", etc. and name each image. I then use a program called "Search Everything" to look for specific images if I lose them. Simples.

[John King]

I agree that 'Everything' is an excellent program. Always install it on every PC I touch.

However, nothing compares with keywording ...

[Gazza]

Yep, another that uses it often. Comes in very handy when 'Batch Naming/renaming' the files I create for my daughters App. Big time saver.

[Lance B]

I use Bridge. After editing the RAW capture in Capture One Pro, I save to 16bit TIFF and then use Bridge to open in Photoshop to do my last tweaks.

[Brigitte]

I import my images into a folder called "Current WIP" or work in progress. This folder has a file for each of my cameras. Using "Faststone" image viewer I go through quickly and delete obvious duds. I then go through again and compare similar images and cull more.
I then move into Camera Raw. I used to do more editing in there but now tend to do minimal just ensuring the histogram is correct for the image and that it gives me a bit of leeway at each end, light noise removal and white balance.
I then move onto Photoshop. When completed I move the raw files into a yearly folder that is in a folder called Originals and the completed images also into a yearly folder. This folder has sub files of groups of months ( for those new to photography, if you intend to use dates begin with the year 2019-08-20 or your files will become completely scrambled up) completed images then have key words applied to them. To help find images I have another folder, again with with sub folders by years, into which I place just one or 2 images that relate to specific events or are special. This works for me and is simple.

[arthurking83]

Never really used Bridge.
Had one quick try, but once I realised it didn't catalogue the way I want, got uninstalled ... 30mins later.
Same with LR(4 and 5) .. hated the fact that it forced cataloging on you, cataloging capabilities hopeless.

So far, I've found that Windows most simple of software works perfectly for me.
Windows Photo Gallery, has a strange heirarchy(got used too it easily), free, but very limited usability(in that it's not straight forward to install).
So with that, it's on borrowed time, and I probably have to look for an alternative one day.

[ricktas]

I have never used bridge. I use Lightroom.

[Geoff79]

Yes. Use it all the time as part of my work flow. Bridge to ACR to PS.

Yep, same here. I use it daily.

For sorting and stuff I use Photoscape X.

[jim]

Have never used it nor Lightroom.

[farmmax]

Only use Bridge to bulk change exif information. That is the one thing Faststone doesn't do, and I wish it would. Found Bridge too slow and resource demanding. Lightroom is not much better and I hated having to import any image to edit it, so gave it the flick.

Faststone does all my downloading, batch renaming, batch resizing etc. I don't use it's editing features, but I notice more and more features added each edition, and there are now people using it to edit photos as well.

[Bear Dale]

I do wish there was dual monitor support for Bridge like LR has.

[Mark L]

Yep, another that uses it often. Comes in very handy when 'Batch Naming/renaming' the files .......
and batch importing previous changes made to a photo in ACR to other common photos.
A pity DB won't see this.

[Ross M]

I primarily use Lightroom, Photoshop Elements and Faststone (as a browser). I'm pretty sure Adobe Bridge doesn't work with PS Elements. If my financial position improves, I will upgrade from PS Elements to full Photoshop, but I find using Lightroom initially for RAW processing and finishing with Elements in layers works for me right now. I have the free version of Nik Collection plus TK Actions masking software in PS Elements and that makes it quite powerful, especially the "Control Points" of Nik tools.

I use Faststone as a the final cropping tool and compression tool too.

I also have tried ON1 Photo RAW, but it is buggy and slow. I was hoping it would be a one stop integrated process as opposed to Lightroom plus Elements. Yet to try the 2019.6 update.

[Bensch]

I use Adobe Bridge on my MacBook Air, which is generally only used on travels where I don't want to take along something heavier.

Would like to use Faststone, but it's only for Windows :(

Home PC / MacBook Pro both have Lightroom and Photoshop.

[Tannin]

I give Bridge a fair-dinkum try-out every three or four years. It never lasts for long. Too slow, too cumbersome, and really rather pointless. What does it do that other programs don't do faster and better? Nothing that I can think of.* For downloading images, Downloader Pro is the best-in-class. For viewing and organising, any of several made-for-purpose image viewers: my favourite is PMView but there are about six other good ones, including XNView and Faststone. They blitz Bridge comprehensively: faster and better.


* Exception. I once wanted to do slightly weird raw conversion stuff with a whole batch of images and Bridge was the easiest way. What weird stuff? Don't really remember.

- - - Updated - - -

PS: I forgot to mention Lightroom. Wouldn't touch it with a 3.048 metre pole. It wants to take over your entire computer. Errk. It doesn't even have a "file/open" function so that you can work on the file you want to work on: no, you have to give it every damn thing. Very arrogant and greedy. Yuk!

[Geoff79]

I use Adobe Bridge on my MacBook Air, which is generally only used on travels where I don't want to take along something heavier.

Would like to use Faststone, but it's only for Windows :(

Home PC / MacBook Pro both have Lightroom and Photoshop.

The single thing I missed most when I switched from a lifetime of PCs to Mac about 5 years ago now, was Faststone. I used it more or less exclusively.

But as the years have passed, I’ve found Photoscape X on the Mac to be a pretty decent alternative. Have you tried it?

[The Dronefather]

I use Bridge on a daily basis. As a graphic designer who uses the entire Adobe suite, it is the perfect 'hub' for all the software.

[Bensch]

The single thing I missed most when I switched from a lifetime of PCs to Mac about 5 years ago now, was Faststone. I used it more or less exclusively.

But as the years have passed, I’ve found Photoscape X on the Mac to be a pretty decent alternative. Have you tried it?

Thanks Geoff, haven't heard of Photoscape X before, but will definitely take a look :th3: :th3:

[rexboggs5]

As I am much more of a PS user than a LR user, I use Bridge to select which photos to keep and which are worthy of further post-processing.
So, I copy my photos from my camera to a new folder on my computer, open the folder in Bridge and use Ctrl-L to view and rate the photos - 1 star to keep, occasionally 2 stars for a 'wow' photo.
I then delete the photos with 0 stars, and again view the photos using Ctrl-L, and now rate the better photos with 2 stars and any 'wow' photos with 3 stars. I then delete the 1 star photos.

If I now want to process the remaining photos (eg if I have photographed an event such as a race), this is when I would open the remaining photos in LR and do some post-processing, using the Sync option to save lots of time.

Cheers, Rex

[peterb666]

I use Bridge to import files and then do almost all my editing in Adobe Camera Raw (from Photoshop CS5). I do most of my shooting with a Nikon D700 and in the process of replacing that with a D800 and both of those are supported in that ancient version of Photoshop.

My Nikon D7500 isn't supported so stuck with pre-converting into DNG via Adobe DNG Converter.

I have never warmed to Lightroom. I just find ACR much easier to use and what I cannot do in ACR is covered by either Photomatix (and then finished in ACR anyway), Photoshop of Microsoft ICE.

Happy to keep going this way and as I am now retired and live on next to nothing, don't want to get messed up with multiple subscriptions to software.