Image management with/for DPP

I've done month long trials of Lightroom for every version and it's just not for me. Also tried Capture One, Aftershot, and a few others. The only RAW editor that gives me the output that I like is Canon DPP. I use Picasa to manage JPEGs, but I tell it not to show RAW because I don't like how Picasa deals with them.

My dilemma is that now 5 years into this hobby, I have a lot of photos just organized by year/month/day. I can't ever find anything without a lot of effort. "Remember that cool portrait shoot of so and so up by the lake? When did I do that? Fall of 09 or was it 10. Which month?" And That's if I can even remember I did it. I would love to be able to pull up all the landscapes I've done last year, but it would take hunting through 50 folders right now.

So what can I use? I want to use DPP for RAW edits, period. I need something that can help me sort and catalog my images without messing with them or changing how I work.

Maybe PS Elements? It has a pretty useful image Organizer...keywords, collections, and such. It doesn't have the integrated interface of Lightroom but is pretty good for basic tasks.

There is no shortage of cataloging software available, it all depends on what you want to get out of it and how much you want to spend on it. Image management is an important item if you take any amount of pictures each year. It makes finding something that you took a couple of years ago a snap, providing you put in the proper leg work at the time you put the image on your drives. I personally use Media Pro by Phase One. An internet search will give you lots of possibilities but one of the best resources for a quick look at what is available is a compilation of these done in the website Impulse Adventure. I did try Lightroom and its RAW converter was not for me but I did really like its cataloging feature at least in the previous version. There have many discussions on this in previous threads and you might glean some information out of them.

Before there was LR the leading DAM application was Photo Mechanic. It still has a lot of advocates.
http://www.camerabits.​com/products/

tzalman wrote in post #15455298
Before there was LR the leading DAM application was Photo Mechanic. It still has a lot of advocates.
http://www.camerabits.​com/products/

I had heard alot of good things about Photo Mechanic from some people that had used it. First hand impressions are always good and I met these people at a local camera club so it wasn't some post on a forum board. The problem with trying to get assistance on a open forum in making a choice is that you will get several different opinions in that "this is the only one that is worth anything". No doubt that Lightroom is a good program but if you aren't going to use most of what it offers then it is overpriced. The process that I used was to download the trials of some of the more highly rated applications and go through them with great care.

You asked about something that worked with DPP and that I cannot answer but it is important (at least to me) to have something that will talk with your RAW converter of choice. I don't use DPP as I use Capture 1 Pro as my converter of choice.

Whatever you choose, good luck. It is refreshing to see someone concerned about this issue at a point where they can get it under control. I've seen some people who don't take this serious until they have hundred of thousands of images and then it become over whelming to tackle.

tzalman wrote in post #15455298
Before there was LR the leading DAM application was Photo Mechanic. It still has a lot of advocates.
http://www.camerabits.​com/products/

Actually, PhotoMechanic was not DAM software back then.
The catalog function is newly added: http://www.camerabits.​com/home/whats-new/

iView Media Pro was probably widely used, as were Cumulus and Portfolio, but I couldn't say what was "the leading application".

If you don't want to use Lightroom, I think I'd recommend Media Pro (used to be MS Media Pro, used to be iView Media Pro) on OSX, or (maybe) iDimager on PC.
I use Expression Media.

Looked at these titles and revisited others I'd tried before and I think I just need to get more vigilant with tagging in Picasa and folder titles upon importing. I'd have to tag religiously with Lightroom or any pro package anyway, and I like Picasa for JPEG management. I start using trials of these packages and they either require me to do my RAW processing with them, or of course I can't see any "finished" RAW edits since they are only viewable in DPP. So I am left with a sort of split collection again like I already have.

I can't find a good way to sort the RAWs I've edited out into JPEGs and the ones I haven't yet, though. Sometimes I find hidden treasures of forgotten RAWs. But I tried enabling CR2's to show up in Picasa and it turns into a mess. I Like having PIcasa just be my finished work (and a grundle of JPEG snaps, LOL).

Someday I'll figure it out. Maybe Lightroom 5 will finally convert me.