Last June, we wrote about PhotoStatistica, a macOS app that visualizes the EXIF data of your photos. The app delivers a macro-level view of your photography and presents EXIF data in infographics and statistics.
Essentially, the app presents a visual representation of how you capture images.
The app is made by Phil Pegden, founder of Bristol Bay Code Factory. Last summer, when the COVID-19 lockdown began in the United Kingdom, Phil wrote the original iteration of PhotoStatistica in the evenings after homeschooling his children during the day. The initial response was positive, and Pegden was encouraged to continue work on the app and develop improvements and upgrades. He reached out to us to let us know that he's released PhotoStatistica version 2. 0, bringing with it a wealth of improvements.
Just one of the various graph options you have to choose from. Click to enlarge.
In addition to a complete user interface refresh, the app now supports Apple M1 silicon. At its core, what drew people to the first version of PhotoStatistica remains intact here. The app and its improved assortment of filters allow you to see what percentage of your images were shot at different ISO settings, at what apertures you most often shoot at, at what focal length or focal length ranges you most often shoot. You can filter selected parameters further by when and where images were captured, the camera used, the lens used, and much more. There were many filters and options in the original PhotoStatistica release, but Pegden has been hard at work expanding the software's capabilities in every direction.
Click to enlarge.
There are numerous ways to make the data more or less granular and change how the data are presented. You can view data in pie charts or bar graphs, and version 2 also includes a new pivot chart and drill-down tools. You can use PhotoStatistica v2 to analyze your files using selected parameters and then organize your images using dynamic folders.
In addition to the new Big Sur-inspired user interface, M1 support, and new visualizations, PhotoStatistica V2 is faster too. Pegden states that the software calculates charts up to twice as fast as its predecessor.
Using PhotoStatistica is simple. The app scans EXIF data from selected sources and cameras and can extract image data from Capture One Pro or Lightroom libraries on your machine. In the case of Lightroom, you must have the images stored locally and not solely in Adobe Cloud. You can also use images in Apple Photos, provided they are stored locally. Importing files is as simple as dragging and dropping them into the app. PhotoStatistica supports all image formats that Apple supports.
A visualization that lets you see a heat map of sorts showing the aperture/shutter combinations you use the most. Click to enlarge.
Once the app scans the EXIF data, you can filter against all imported EXIF dimensions and visualize your photos using histograms, pie charts, pivot tables, pivot charts, and a drill-down discovery tool. You can choose to export your charts as PNG files or export the raw data in CSV format. You can save the analyses and refresh results as you add additional images to your archives in PhotoStatistica.
Considering the wide range of available filters and ways you can analyze your images in the app, there are many possible ways to use the data. As we wrote back in June, if you frequently use your kit lens or other zoom lenses near the same focal length, you may want to purchase a prime lens at that focal length. If you shoot at high ISO a lot, a fast prime or a better low-light camera could be next on your wish list. When examining your settings and seeing how you capture photos, you may also find that there is room for improvement in how you approach your images. Ultimately, more data and research can help you better understand your photography.
The new version of PhotoStatistica is $5. 99 USD on the Mac App Store and is compatible with macOS 11. 0 or later.
. dpreview.com2021-1-22 18:45
