Which Photo Gallery Should I use? ZenPhoto, Coppermine, Gallery2

[HungryWriter]

I have three options that my hosting service provides. I don't know which is the most user friendly, offers batch uploads, etc. So if you have any experience, I'd love to hear about it.

The three are:
1. Coppermine Photo Gallery
2. ZenPhoto
3. Gallery2

[wndrlst]

The only one of those I have any experience with is Gallery2, and I was unimpressed. (I'll give the caveat that I'm not the most tech savvy of people.) I kept losing images. The links were there, but would lead to torn image icons instead of photos. I'd restore the page from the backup, and they'd come back, then degrade again.

I don't know what was going on, but it was enough to cause me to move my url to smugmug. Best decision I've ever made!

[anhtimmy]

zenfolio is really good.

[Lonnie]

zenfolio is really good.

At first I thought it was zenfolio too, but he said zenphoto.

I've played around with these 'install it yourself' galleries before and I prefer using a service like Zenfolio. Don't have to worry about software upgrades later and it's just a lot less headache. I think an account at zenfolio (what i have and am happy with) or smugmug is the way to go, unless there is some functionality you need that those sites don't provide.

This is the same reason I went with a Blogger blog instead of hosting a Wordpress blog. The Wordpress blog is a lot more customizable and potentially powerful, but I would rather focus on the content that spend time installing, updating, hosting it.

Having said that, I've installed Gallery2 and Coppermine before. I found the Gallery2 community very forthcoming with support.

[sapearl]

That's quite an interesting and insightful statement there Lonnie. Although I've used Blogger for a few years now, I've been looking at talking to folks who use Wordpress. The latter seems to have become quite popular.

I went with Blogger since I don't know how to code and wanted to get a blog up and running quickly with minimal fuss. It delivered and I can quickly update it, posting new articles and images with ease.

But I must confess that I like the look of Wordpress better. The fact that it has a lot of customization is also very appealing and people love it. And I also agree that I don't really want to be concerned with upgrades and installations. I rather focus on content.

I'm in the process of having somebody revise my regular website and have also been looking at gallery type s/w. Lonnie, had you considered something like SimpleViewer or SimpleViewer Pro as a plug-in gallery? - Stu

......This is the same reason I went with a Blogger blog instead of hosting a Wordpress blog. The Wordpress blog is a lot more customizable and potentially powerful, but I would rather focus on the content that spend time installing, updating, hosting it.

Having said that, I've installed Gallery2 and Coppermine before. I found the Gallery2 community very forthcoming with support.

[Lonnie]

I'm in the process of having somebody revise my regular website and have also been looking at gallery type s/w. Lonnie, had you considered something like SimpleViewer or SimpleViewer Pro as a plug-in gallery? - Stu

Stu, I haven't seen SimpleViewer before, but I haven't been looking either. Is this something you can incorporate into a blogpost? I'm going to have to give this a try - I'm assuming I can get it to work with my Zenfolio images.

I should note that I just take pictures for fun, aside from being an occasional second shooter, so my web needs are a lot different from yours. I have never been good at design and loathe "creating" a page.

[HungryWriter]

These are great suggestions, but the recommended sites outside of what I am trying to decided on have a fee attached. I already have web hosting, and wordpress and these galleries are already included in that fee. So, based on budget, its one of the three I listed.

I believe that Coopermine has bulk upload feature which is nice.

[Lonnie]

Gallery has a bulk uploader also that works well.

http://gallery.menalto.com/wiki/Gallery_Remote

[sapearl]

Hi Lonnie - that's a good question about whether or not it can be incorporated into blogger.

I don't honestly know, but have a suspicion of "maybe not" since I have not seen any FAQ tips to that effect. But I plan on looking into it... certainly would be nice. There are a number of these types of programs out there, Simpleviewer can be downloaded for free and tried, in its basic form. If you pay $45 you get the full version that allows you to "pretty" it up.

Stu, I haven't seen SimpleViewer before, but I haven't been looking either. Is this something you can incorporate into a blogpost? I'm going to have to give this a try - I'm assuming I can get it to work with my Zenfolio images......