16 Best Photo Viewers For Mac 2022 - Rigorous themes

Photo Mechanic is one of the best apps for Mac computers for viewing multiple photos quickly. As a photographer, you'll love how much it ... Skiptocontent Wearereader-supported.Whenyoubuythroughlinksonoursite,wemayearnanaffiliatecommission.Learnmore. AreyoulookingforaphotoviewerforyourMac?WhileeveryMaccomeswithanativephotoviewercalledPreview,ithassomelimitations. Thereareplentyofalternativephotoviewersthathaveadditionalfeatures.Ifyou’reaprofessionaloramateurphotographerusingyourMactosortandeditphotosyoutookwithyourcamera,havinganadditionalappcanbeuseful. Thereareappsmadespecificallyforphotographerstohelpthemorganizetheirworkflow,editphotos,viewphotodetails,andmore. Manyoftheseapps,forexample,quicklyorganizeandsortpicturesautomatically,basedonthepersoninthepicture,theplacetheyweretaken,orthedatetheyweretaken. Otherappsallowyoutotagpicturesandthenfilterforimagestaggedwithaspecifickeywordwhensortingthroughthem. Also,whilePreviewisadecentapp,therearesomefileformatsthatitdoesn’tsupport.Sometimes,youmightgetan“UnsupportedFormat”errorwhentryingtoviewanimageifyouhaveanuncommonformat. Manyofthealternativessupportawiderrangeoffileformatsforviewing. Today,Iwillbegoingthroughthe16bestphotoviewersforMac. Contents show BestPhotoViewersForMac 1.XnViewMP 2.PhotoMechanic 3.AdobeBridge 4.Movavi 5.Nomacs 6.ACDSee 7.ApolloOne 8.qView 9.Xee 10.Lyn 11.Viso 12.LilyView 13.Phiewer 14.Pixea 15.Picturama 16.iFotosoft WrappingItUp:WhatIsTheBestPhotoViewerForMac? BestPhotoViewersForMac 1.XnViewMP XnViewMPisafantasticbutsimplephotoeditorandviewerthatsupportsawiderangeoffiletypes,includingparticularoneslikeDNG,HEIC,andOpenEXR.Infact,itreadsover500imageformats,anditallowsyoutoexportimagesin70differentfileformats. Sinceit’sfree,I’mincludingitfirst. Itgivesyoualotofflexibilityinhowyouviewyourphotos. Youcanviewthumbnails,forexample,forquickselection,oryoucancomparetwopicturestodecidewhichonetodisplayinyourgalleryorportfolio. XnViewalsoallowsyoutoviewEXIF,IPTC,andXMPmetadata. OnereasontochooseXnViewisthatinadditiontobeingaphotoviewer,itprovidespowerfulphotoeditingfeaturesbuiltintotheapp.Youcancroppictureswithoutlosinganyphotoquality,resizepictures,rotatethem,andmore. Adjustthebrightnessandcontrast,applyfilters,modifycolors,andapplyeffects. Ifyouneedtoworkonalotofphotosatonce,XnViewwilldefinitelycomeinhandy.Itallowsyoutobatch-editanentirephotocollectionusing80differentactions. Forexample,ifyoutookallthepicturesinashootupsidedownorsidewaysbymistake,youcanrotateallofthematonce. XnViewisconstantlyimprovingitsapp,speedingitup,andfixingbugs.Itprovidessupportformultiplelanguages. Therearen’tevenanyads,aslongasyouareusingitforprivateuse(orasanonprofit). Ifyouareusingitforyourcompany,you’llneedtopurchasealicense,however. 2.PhotoMechanic PhotoMechanicisoneofthebestappsforMaccomputersforviewingmultiplephotosquickly.Asaphotographer,you’lllovehowmuchitimprovesyourworkflow. PMpullsimagesfromyourmemorycardquickly,soyoudon’tneedtowasteanytime.Youcanimmediatelygettoworkondeletingrejectsandselectingthebestphotosfromashoot. PhotoMechaniccanpullimagesfromseveralmemorycardsatonce,speedinguptheeditingandselectingprocess.Notonlythat,butyoucanseeimagepreviewsastheyarebeingloaded,savingyouwaitingtime. Asyougothroughyourphotos,youcanaddkeywords,metadata,copyrightinformation,captions,andmore.Thetoolallowsyoutoflipfromimagetoimagequickly,butyoucanalsobatcheditandaddmetadatatoorresizemanyimagesatonce. UsingGPSdata,youcanautomaticallyaddcity,state,andcountrymetadatatoyourphotos. Ifyoufindworkingwithrawphotostooslowwiththebuilt-inphotovieweronMac,especiallywhenyouhavethousandsofimagestoflipthrough,PhotoMechanicisagoodsolution. PhotoMechanicintegrateswithcloudsharingtoolslikeFlickrandPhotoShelter.ItalsointegrateswithFacebookandemail,makingitabreezetosharephotos;youcanautomaticallyaddwatermarkstotheimagesyouupload. Insteadofuploadingthemonline,youcanalsoburnthemontoaphysicalCDorDVDdrive. WhilethecurrentversionofPhotoMechanicrequiresamacOS10.10.5orup,anolderversionisstillavailablefordownloadonolderMacversions.Checkthedownloadpageforupdatedinformation. 3.AdobeBridge AdobeBridgeisapowerfulphotoviewerthatallowsyoutoview,organize,andeditcreativeassetslikeimages.SomethingsyoucandowithAdobeBridgeinclude: Usefilterstofindtheexactpicturesinyourlibraryyouarelookingfor Performanadvancedmetadatasearch Editmetadata Createcollectionstoorganizepictures Addlabels,keywords,andratingstoimages Resizemultipleimagesatoncetofillorfitatargetsize Renamefileswhileimportingthem ConvertfilestoDNGduringtheimportprocess OneoftheadvantagesofusingAdobeBridgeoverotherphotoviewerappsisthatitintegrateswithotherAdobeCreativeCloudapps,makingeditingandretouchingeasy.Forexample,ifyouusePhotoshoptobrushupyourpicturesafterashoot,youcanopenanimageinPhotoshopstraightfromtheBridge. Ifyouwanttoeditarawphoto,youcanopenitinAdobeCameraRaw.YoucanalsocreateanAdobePortfoliowebsitetoshowcaseyourworkusingimagesyouhaveinAdobeBridge. AdobemadeBridgefree,anditseemslikeitisstillfree—butyouneedtologintoyourCreativeCloudaccount.Also,somefeatures,likeopeningarawimage,aren’tavailableonthefreeversion. 4.Movavi Movavi’sPhotoViewerisanexcellentchoiceforphotographerswhocareaboutspeed,efficiency,andproductivity.Youcanquicklyfilterforandfindimagestakeninaspecificlocationorthathaveaspecifictag;youcanalsofilterbydate. You’llfindthebatchimageeditingfeaturesquiteuseful.Photographerscanenhancemultiplephotosatonceorresizeanentirefolderatoncetofitspecificrequirements. Movavisupportsover60differentfileformats,includingbothrawcameraphotosandcompressedformats,likeJPGandPNG.Whenviewinganimage,youcaninstantlyfindandswitchtoanotherimagebybrowsingthefilmstrip. Whenviewingyourgallery,youcanenlargethumbnailstomakeiteasiertofindaspecificpicture.Ifyouhavealotofimagesfromaphotoshoot,you’llfindthisfeaturehelpful,asitwillhelpyousortthroughyourimages. Anothercoolfeatureistheabilitytoselectspecificphotosfromacollectionandviewonlythoseimages. Movavihasnativesupportforseverallanguages,suchasEnglish,Japanese,Italian,Spanish,German,andmore. MovaviPhotoEditorworkswelltogetherwithMovaviPhotoManager.IreallylikeMovaviPhotoManager,becauseithelpsyoucleanupclutterinyourgalleryandfindyourmostimportantandbestphotos. Forexample,onethingitdoesisfindduplicates—photosthatarevisuallyalike.Sometimes,you’lltakeseveralshotsofasceneorattraction,andthatcantakeupalotofspaceonyourdevice. Movavihelpsyoufindduplicatesanddeletethem. Italsoorganizesphotosintofoldersofpeopleusingfacialrecognition.Whetheryouareaphotographerwhodoesphotoshootsforclientsoryouwanttofindpictureswithaspecificfriendorfamilymemberinit,thisfeaturewillcomeinhandy. Movavialsoautomaticallycreatesalbumsbasedongeolocationanddate,soyoucanquicklyfindpicturesfromaparticulartrip,forexample,orphotosyoutookonyourweddingday. Youcanalsoapplytagstophotos(suchastravel,wedding,drinking,etc.)tomakeiteasiertofindthemlater. 5.Nomacs WhileyoumightbefooledintothinkingthatthisapphassomethingagainstMacs,basedonitsname,itdoessupportMacs.Ifyou’relookingforalightweightandsimpleopen-sourcephotoviewerforyourMac,Nomacsisanexcellentchoice. Itsupportsthemost-usedphotofileformats,includingPSDandrawimages.Youcanviewthumbnails,browsethroughfolders,usefilterstosearchforspecificfiles,andmore. Ilikedhowyoucancomparetwopicturesbyzoomingintotheexactsamespotorapplyingoverlayswithdifferentopacities.Also,youcaneditpicturesusingNomacs—youcanadjustthehue,brightness,saturation,andsoon. SomefeaturesthatareplannedfortheupcomingreleaseofNomacs3.16includeAVIFsupportandtheabilitytoblurphotos.ChecktheNomacssitetoseethelatestversion. 6.ACDSee ACDSeeisaproprietaryphotoviewerandeditorthatcomeswithseveraluniquefeatures,suchasfacialrecognition. Aboveall,ACDSeePhotoStudioisdesignedtohelpyouorganizeyourpictures,makingitperfectforprofessionalphotographerswhodomanyphotoshoots.Youcanviewphotosinstantlywithimport-freeaccessandusefilters,categories,tags,colorlabels,locationdata,andmoretosortandfindpictures. Facialrecognitionallowsyoutoquicklyisolateandselectpicturesofparticularpeople. Let’ssayyouhadseveralphotoshootsinoneday,withseveralclients.Asyouhadtorushfromphotoshoottophotoshoot,youdidn’thavetimetouploadthepicturesfromeachshootinbetweentheshoots. Or,youmightdogroupphotoshoottours,whereyoushowseveraltouriststhecityandtakepicturesoftheminthemosticonicspots. Whenyougethome,you’llhavetosortandorganizethepicturesofeachclient.WithACDSee’sfacialrecognitiontechnology,allthatwillbedoneforyouautomatically. Anotherawesomefeaturethatcanletyousortpicturesisthemapviewer,whichshowsyouwheredifferentpicturesweretaken,basedonlongitudinalandlatitudinalinformationembeddedintoeachpicture’smetadata. Let’ssayyouwentonatourandtookpicturesofseveralnationalparksorcities.Themapviewerallowsyoutoquicklysortandgroupthembasedonlocation. ACDSeePhotoStudioalsocomeswithadvancededitingcapabilities,whichyouwillfindusefulifyouareaprofessional.Withbuilt-insupportforrawimagesfromover500cameramodels,youcanedityourphotosusinglayersandthetool’sAdvancedLightEQtechnology. AdvancedLightEQallowsyoutobrightencertainparts/pixelsofapicturewithoutaffectingtheentirepicture,foramorenaturalendresult. ThereareseveralversionsofACDSee,soyoucanchooseonethatworksforyourbudgetandphotoeditingneeds.Despitebeingpaidsoftware,ACDSeeprovidesafreetrialforallofitsproducts—seeupdatedinformationaboutthathere. 7.ApolloOne ApolloOne,byAnogeissus,wascreatedforphotographers,byphotographers.Itallowsyoutopreviewrawphotosinstantly,andithasaneasy-to-usetoolbarthatletsyouquicklyperformcustomizationsandedits. YoucanviewEXIFmetadatausingtheapporratepicturesfromonetofive.Afteraphotoshoot,forexample,usetheratingsystemtoquicklyselectyourbestandsecond-bestshots. Usingembeddedlocationdata,youcanlocatepicturestakeninaspecificspot.Youcanalsoupdatelocationdatabydragginganddroppingpicturesonthemapinmapview. FlippingthroughphotosiseasywithitsTrackpadandMagicMousesupport,whichallowsyoutoswipethroughphotoslikeyouwouldonaniPhone.IfyouhaveaMacwithaTrackpad,youcanalsozoomintoaphotousingyourfingers. Photographerscancreateslideshowsusingbuilt-intransitionsandevenaddiTunesmusictotheslideshows. ApolloOneallowsyoutoviewanimatedGIFs.That’ssomethingyoucan’tdowiththebuilt-inMacphotoviewerthatcomeswithyourcomputer—whileyoucanseeallframesofaGIF,youcan’tplaytheactualGIF. 8.qView Ifyou’vebeensearchingforaminimalisticphotoviewerwithouttoomanydistractingfeatures,checkoutqView.Unlikeotherphotoviewersonthislist,itdoesn’thaveanyfancyfeatures—andthatisexactlythepoint. You’llseejustyourimageandtheqViewtoolbar,withnothingelseonyourscreen,allowingyoutofocusentirelyonit. BecauseqViewdoesnothavetoomanyfeatures,itisverylightweightandspeedy.Itdoesn’tuseupalotofresources,andyoucanopenandswitchthroughimagesextremelyquickly. Thatdoesn’tmeanyoucan’tdoanythingelseotherthanviewaphoto.Byright-clickingonaphoto,youcanopencontrolsanddothingslikerotateormirroranimage. Also,qViewisentirelyfreeandopensource. 9.Xee Ifyoulikethebuilt-inPreviewimageviewerthatcomeswithMacs,butyouneedabitmoreswiftnessandfunctionality,tryXee.ItisverysimilartoPreview,butithasadditionalfeatures—forexample,itsupportsGIFandanimationviewing. Infact,XeesupportsseveraladditionalfileformatsthatPreviewdoesnot,makingitagoodalternativeifyouworkwithimagesthatPreviewcan’topen. Also,itincludessupportfortouchgestures,allowingyoutoflipthroughimages,zoomin,rotateimages,andmore. 10.Lyn AnothersolidphotoviewerisLyn.Designedforphotographers,webdesigners,andgraphicartistsusingmacOS,itismeanttoreplacethebuilt-inphotoviewerwithafast,efficient,andaestheticallypleasingalternative. Itsupportsallstandardfileformats,aswellasrawandHDRphotos.Youcanviewimagesandquicklyadjustbrightness,contrast,andmore. Youcanalsoapplyfiltersorchangeacolorfulpictureintoablackandwhiteone. OnethingthatmightinterestyouisLyn’ssupportfornon-destructiveediting.Thatallowsyoutoeditandenhanceanimagewithoutlosingtheoriginal. Lynallowsyoutovieweachpicture’smetadata,andyoucanalsodraganddropimagesonamaptoadjustthegeolocation. YoucanexportyourimagesorsharethemdirectlytositessuchasFlickr,Dropbox,orSmugMug. Itcomeswitha15-dayfreetrial,soitdoesn’thurttotryitout. 11.Viso AnothergreatminimalistphotoviewerforMacisViso.AfteritwaslaunchedonProductHunt,itquicklytrendedasthe#3productoftheday. Itallowsforquickphotoviewingwithoutanintrusiveinterface,anditdoesn’tuseupalotofresources.OneoftheadvantagesithasovertheregularPreviewappisthatyoucanviewanimage’ssizeanddimensionswithoutopeninganadditionalinfowindow. 12.LilyView Aswe’retalkingaboutminimalisticphotoviewers,wecan’tcontinuewithoutmentioningLilyView.It’soneofthebestphotoviewersifallyouwanttoseeareyourphotos—therearenofiltersandalmostnouserinterface,justyourpictures. Whiletherearesomecontrols,suchastheabilitytozoomintoanyimageorrotateit,theymostlystayoutofsightuntilyouwanttousethem.Also,theappsupportsmultitouchgestures. WhileLilyViewisn’tfree,itdoescomewithafreetrial. 13.Phiewer Phiewerisagreat,folder-basedphotoviewerforMacthatsupportsmanyfileformats,includingTIFF,HEIC,HEIF,andmanyothers.YoucanviewtheEXIFmetadataofanyimageanduseoneofthemanyshortcutstodothingslikerotateanimageorswitchtoafull-screenview. Phiieweralsoallowsyoutocreateaslideshowquicklyandeasily.Yousethowlongyouwanteachmediafiletobedisplayed,andPhiiewerwillcreateaslideshow,completewithtransitioneffectsandmusic,accordingtoyourtastes. IfyougettheProversion,yougetadditionalfeatures,suchasnewfiltersandeffects. Theappsupportsrawphotosfromawiderangeofcameramodels,includingthosefrompopularcompanieslikeKodakandCanon.Youcanseeafulllistofsupportedcameramodelsforrawphotouploadinghere. 14.Pixea Pixeacallsitselfthe“invisiblephotoviewer.”Itallowsyoutoviewphotosfromarchivesandfolderswithoutextractingthem. UsingPixea,youcanviewEXIFmetadataandperformbasicimageedits,suchasrotationsandimageflipping. Thereareonlyafewexportformats:TIFF,PNG,JPG,JGP-2000,andBMP.However,youcanimportmanyotherfileformats,suchasHEICandPSDimages. Overall,youwillfindPixeaveryefficientbutminimalistic,withasleekandmoderninterface.EditingandviewingaremadeeasierwithsupportforTrackpadgesturesandkeyboardshortcuts. 15.Picturama AcoollittleappisPicturama.Itcanreadmanyfileformats,likePNG,HEIC,HEIF,andothers,aswellasrawfilesfrommanycameramodels. Itwon’tchangetheoriginalfileofanyphoto,asitisnondestructive.TheappallowsyoutobrowsephotosbydateandviewEXIFdata,andyoucanaddtagsandzoomintophotos. Picturamaalsoallowsyoutorotate,flip,andevencroppicturesintheapp. Theappistranslatedintoseverallanguages,includingSpanish,French,andChinese. 16.iFotosoft iFotosoftisaviewerappforMac,currentlyavailablefordownloadfromsiteslikeCNET.Ithassomeprettyawesomefeatures,suchastheabilitytoconvertunpopularoruncommonfileformatstomorepopularones,soyoucanusetheminotherphotoviewersandeditors. Usingthebatcheditingfeatures,youcanresizemultipleimagesatonce.iFotosoftletsyoureadanimage’sEXIFmetadata. iFotosoftletsyoupreviewimagethumbnails.Youcanalsofavoriteyourbestimagesandcreateaslideshowoutofthemlater. WrappingItUp:WhatIsTheBestPhotoViewerForMac? IrecommendXnView,asitisfreeandticksalltheboxesyouwillneed.Itislightweightanddoesn’tinvolveasteeplearningcurve. Ifyouarewillingtopayabitmoreforapremiumapp,I’drecommendPhotoMechanicorMovavi.BenjaminLevinBenjaminLevinisadigitalmarketingprofessionalwith4+yearsofexperiencewithinboundandoutboundmarketing.Hehelpssmallbusinessesreachtheircontentcreation,socialmediamarketing,emailmarketing,andpaidadvertisinggoals.Hishobbiesincludereadingandtraveling. Affiliatedisclosure: AsanAmazonAssociate,wemayearncommissionsfromqualifyingpurchasesfromAmazon.com.Youcanlearnmoreabout oureditorialpolicieshere. 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