The Verdict

L ooking at all our seven tests, we have a clear leader in

digikam, which scored top marks, or equal top, in all but one. We would be surprised if it didn’t prove a clear favourite for most readers – and, because of its excellent user documentation, you needn’t even be concerned that such a fullyfeatured package involves a long learning period.

Next up, we have two packages in the form of gthumb and

Shotwell that tie for second place, by having exactly the same average score – down to the last decimal place. This isn’t to say that they excel in the same areas, though, so if you want to choose between them you should look at the individual test scores to see where they differ. The major areas in which they differ is support for Raw files, where Shotwell fares better than gthumb, and support for file-sharing sites – where the converse is true.

In fourth place we find Xnview MP which, despite apparently having the same average score as our two joint-second place packages when marked as a whole number, is actually about half a point lower. Xnview MP is a bit of a mixed bag, with the scores for individual tests ranging from 2 to 10. Please don’t discount it, therefore, as its undeniable strengths might be exactly what you’re looking for.

Finally we come to picty, which is in last place by a reasonable margin; indeed it’s bottom or joint-bottom in all our tests. We have a nagging doubt that our low scores are due to us not being able to find everything it has to offer, because its user documentation is so poor as to be almost non-existent. Having said that, Xnview MP’S documentation is absolutely nonexistent, yet we were able to get more out of it.

In summary, we were impressed at what is available under Linux to support the serious amateur photographer and we believe that embracing this technology will very much improve your productivity and enjoyment of your hobby.