Product Reviews

There are dozens of slide show presentation applications available but few have the elegance and controllability of FotoMagico.

Starting the application, by default, loads your iPhoto library into its asset pane, but it's easy to change this to display the contents of any folder you choose.

One of the problems with displaying images from a variety of sources is that they're unlikely all to fit the dimensions of the screen. FotoMagico, by default, scales images to fill the screen, cropping as necessary; but its intuitive controls allow you to scale, reposition and even rotate images one by one.

You can choose an audio soundtrack to accompany images from your iTunes library or elsewhere. Fifteen transitions,

ADVERTISEMENT

including dissolves, wipes and fades, can be applied to slip seamlessly from one image to the next. Where iPhoto pans meaninglessly across oversized images, FotoMagico lets you set a start and end point for zooming on each image individually, and this can include rotation.

There are three ways of setting the transition from one image to the next. It can be after a specified time, which can be set globally, or for each image individually. The next image can be called on a mouse-click, which is probably the best way for live presentations - owners of MacBooks and iMacs can use their remote controls to move to the next image.

When preparing self-running presentations, the best method is to use audio markers. Choose your audio track, then play it in its pane in the Options window and click the Marker button when you want to move to the next image. This ensures images fit the audio track perfectly.

Completed projects can be played directly on the Mac or exported to a variety of formats including DVD, iPod, web and HDTV. When DVD burning is selected, FotoMagico will create the movie and automatically open it in iDVD.

Although there are other slide show programs, none rival FotoMagico for its ease of use, flexibility and the superb professionalism of its output. A joy to use.