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Best photo slideshow app with zoom effects

P

pi6xjdskfa

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 10, 2014
177
50
Hi,

I am currently using trial of Fotomagico but do not want to pay $80 a year($8/month) for slideshow functions where it zooms in and zooms out. Is there an app store slideshow app that has similar Ken Burns effect zooms? I can do this in Final Cut X etc. but want to be able to throw stuff onto a timeline and have it autozoom quickly to a spot as can be achieved by Fotomagico.

BTW, haven't btowsed or purchased anything on Mac App store for a while and it seems EVERYTHING is subscription now. To get these programs I need I would have to pay about $500 a year in subs alone. Already paying almost $200 a year for capture one. But that is something I use a lot. $80 for a slideshow app is ridiculous.
 
If it wasn‘t for the bulky Creative Cloud Desktop software to download it, my clear recommendation would be Adobe Bridge.
Adobe Bridge is great for slideshows/presentations and includes a zoom function therein.
It is completely free, no paid subscription whatsoever is needed if you want to use it as a plain viewer. You just can‘t save photo edits with Camera Raw.

If you want to try it, I‘d recommend doing so on a clone of your system or at least create a backup/snapshot before installing Adobe software. It‘s a big hassle to get rid of all their stuff afterwards.

What’s less known is that the license to run/use Bridge is completely free from Adobe and never expires! It doesn’t matter whether you’re running a Creative Cloud free trial or a paid subscription (or even any other Adobe software at all). Regardless, Bridge will legally continue to work and be able to manage and view your media and Adobe files even if/when your trial or subscription ends.
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It installs and runs fine, and even allows updating to the latest version of the app itself plus the ACR (Adobe Camera Raw) plugin for the display and previewing of raw files within Bridge.
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https://prodesigntools.com/free-adobe-bridge-cc.html
 
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Yeah I despise Adobe software. I think my fan went on every time I load up an Adobe product in the Intel days.
 
arw said:
It‘s a big hassle to get rid of all their stuff afterwards.
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I have always believed this was true. But, just 4 days ago, I wanted to uninstall my Adobe apps. To my surprise it is easy - just use the Adobe Uninstaller apps in /Application/Utilities/AdobeInstallers.
 
gilby101 said:
I have always believed this was true. But, just 4 days ago, I wanted to uninstall my Adobe apps. To my surprise it is easy - just use the Adobe Uninstaller apps in /Application/Utilities/AdobeInstallers.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the hint. It's easily overlooked.
In regard to Bridge: I am very happy with the performance/resources since I disabled all Adobe Updates, LaunchAgents and LaunchDaemons. If Bridge is not generating previews/thumbnails, it uses zero CPU. On Intel Macs. So definitely worth a try IMHO.
 
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I agree, PTE AV Studio is a good photo slideshow software for Mac. It's one time payment, not a subscription.
This app is very powerful, you can quick create a slideshow with styles or manually create keyframe animations (including Ken Burns Effects). Optimized for Apple Silicon in new Macs.
 
Just wondering why? FotoMagico, PTE AV Studio and Proshow should be very similar apps.
 
Aleksid1 said:
Just wondering why? FotoMagico, PTE AV Studio and Proshow should be very similar apps.
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Fotomagico was very intuitive and Mac like. PTE is very window-y and fotomagico is much more polished imo. ken-burn zoom in and out is very easy to implement in fotomagico plus adding audio etc.
 
pi6xjdskfa said:
Fotomagico was very intuitive and Mac like. PTE is very window-y and fotomagico is much more polished imo. ken-burn zoom in and out is very easy to implement in fotomagico plus adding audio etc.
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I think it's more a matter of habit and personal taste. Because PTE AV Studio can do everything that FotoMagico can do. Look on YouTube for video tutorials about PTE AV Studio.
To add audio, switch to the Timeline mode and simply drag and drop the audio file to the second track (or 3rd track).
In any case, good luck with your search for the best app!
 
I would consider Keynote. It is free and it has a lot transitions including zoom, pan, annotations, text, music, etc. When you get the whole thing done you can have it export to a movie or you can record a movie as you drive it manually. I’ve used it to make training videos. I record my voice as I manually play the presentation. I then clean up the final movie using FCPX.

Tip: try not to speak while any transition is in progress. This way in FCPX (or iMovie) you can easily delete or re-record vocal segments. I just record the whole thing in one pass. If I stutter I just pause for a second then repeat my speech then clip out the bad parts in FCPX. This is hard to do if you have a transition going on at the same time.

I’d also look at Graphic Converter. I haven’t used the slide show feature in ages. It is cheap, one time charge, no subscription.
 
Fotomagico is very intuitive to use, but agreed the new subscription pricing is too costly for my limited usage. However, Fotomagico seems to accept and there seems to be no blocking point that you can subscribe just for the months you want to use it for editing, but the app remains valid outside of subscription for playing and sharing presentations. As this fits into my typical occasional usage, after big holidays or special family events, it could be an affordable and satisfactory solution.
 
Aleksid1 said:
PTE AV Studio is a good photo slideshow software for Mac. It's one time payment, not a subscription.
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Thanks for the various recommendations of PTE AV Studio, I will be trialling it as a Fotomagico alternative.

Unfortunately with so many software companies, the fact that it's a one time payment now does not give me much confidence it won't become subscription in the future..
 
Big Bad D said:
Thanks for the various recommendations of PTE AV Studio, I will be trialling it as a Fotomagico alternative.

Unfortunately with so many software companies, the fact that it's a one time payment now does not give me much confidence it won't become subscription in the future..
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The developers of PTE AV Studio promised not to introduce a subscription. If I'm not mistaken, their product has been on the market for 22 years.
 
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The problem with Photos, Keynote, or Bridge is that they offer very basic slideshow capabilities.

Apps like FotoMagico, PTE AV Studio (or Proshow Producer on Windows) offer much more creative possibilies for improved slideshows:

- Text animations
- Keyframe animations. Nested animation
- Color filters
- Blur effects
- Displacement Map effects
- Many slide styles and transitions
etc
- Multiple audio tracks (simple audio editor)

Usually these features are presented in professional video editors with complex interface and high price (or subscription). Final Cut Pro X, Adobe Premiere, etc.
 
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