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24 Jun 2011 By ABradney-George

How Does Faststone Image Viewer Compare To Irfanview?

24 Jun

Trying To Decide Between These Two Free Image Viewers? Read On To See How Irfanview And Faststone Image Viewers Compare.

Free image viewers are a popular software choice for PC choosers, with everyone from Google and Microsoft having something on the market. But when it comes to open source and specifically produced software, Irfanview has always been a well-known and respected name.

At the moment, however, Faststone is getting a lot of attention. This freeware has been around since 2004 and is no where near as established as Irfanview, but there is widespread debate over which program is better. Some people, like tech blogger Bill Mullins, have argued that Faststone features and interface make it a cut above others. However, as this Technobuzz review of free image viewers points out, Irfanview does offer an advanced level of functionality that can be extended through the Irfanview plugins.

Faststone vs Irfanview Features

To get a better feel for both of these free programs it is important to consider the different features they offer. Some of the features that Faststone is known for include:

Image viewing and management
Image comparisons
Red-eye removal
Emailing
Resizing and cropping
Color adjustments; and
Musical slideshows

Irfanview, on the other hand, has had many more years to develop it's features, and the official website has many more listed when compared to Faststone's site. Apart from the musical slideshow option, Irfanview can do all of the things listed above, and also has one of the most easy-to-use batch conversion tools available.

However, Irfanview is designed to be useful for both professionals and beginners or casual users, and the program layout can be confusing to new users. Whether the decision is Faststone or Irfanview, it could be a good idea to compare these two programs by trialling each one for a while. After all, they are free.