Downloading the Trial version (full function for 30 days) was simple.

Author's note 2016-09-30: After reviewing the online videos for Media Pro, I realized that my lack of understanding and knowledge may have lead me to my negative assessment. Unfortunately, a new TRIAL is not allowed by PhaseOne - the only way to get a new trial is to put it on a new machine! 

Bottom line … if you give MediaPro a try, be sure to watch the info videos first!

First impression was that now I could use a dedicated DAM (Digital Asset Management) program for my photographs. I am a former Aperture user and miss its functionality immensely, but have learned to love the quality of CaptureOne for processing digital images. Trial periods on software are a great way to shake out a program to see if it fits your way of thinking and your workflow needs.

My initial reaction was positive for Media Pro. I would suggest moving your files into the catalog system gradually (alas I did not and the program crashed after hours of importing 80,000 files… my bad). That having been warned, Media Pro is able to do a great job on keywording and organizing your media. Make as many internal catalog folders and sub-folders as you need to sort your stuff. The help files are indeed helpful.

For me, the deal-breaker was that MediaPro does not play co-operatively with CaptureOne. Bummer! I expected (wrongly) that I could move back and forth between these two PhaseOne programs, keeping keywords and edits all nicely synched, but that is not the case. If I am missing something, please feel free to correct me.

By the way, my understanding when I purchased CaptureOne was that the file structure and folder system was the way to go rather than a separate DAM system, so this update of MediaPro somewhat surprised me. You can read my take on the CaptureOne system here: Not really so DAM mysterious! Capture One Workflow