When we store photos on our computer, we usually resort quickly to the application that the operating system offers us by default. In the case of Windows 10 , we have Photos , a program with which we can perform various functions. However, there are much more interesting alternatives on the Internet and, of course, free . In this article, we will review which are the best programs to view photos in Windows 10 that will also allow us to get the most out of our image library.
As we say, the Photos viewer offered by Windows 10 is a clear option. Over time it has been polished and has added some functionalities. But it is a very basic program that, beyond the user level, does not offer many features. Also, you may have noticed that it sometimes takes a long time to load the images, this being one of the most recurrent complaints.
Therefore, if you are thinking of looking for an alternative to view and make some edits to your photos and images, you should pay attention. Here we will detail some of the best programs that you can use in Windows 10. All of them are free . Therefore, you can do the tests you want until you find the one that best suits your characteristics.
Alternatives to Windows Photo Viewer
IrfanView
The free program IrfanView is possibly one of the best known and most used by users. It has been cataloged many times as the best alternative to view photos in Windows. It is compatible with practically all versions of the operating system, from Windows XP to 10 .
One of its main advantages is the little space it occupies on our hard drive and the excellent performance it has. He is really fast responding. Now, its mission is clear, to visualize photos . As for the editing options it offers, they are not the most extensive, but they are sufficient. It supports all kinds of image and video formats, and also supports many free installation plugins.
FastStone
This app works excellently as a mere photo viewer. But it also offers us other options, so it can be an alternative series if we are looking for a certain level of specialization. FastStone is also quite fast and lightweight, and compatible with many formats. From this program we can highlight that, by making very little use of resources, it allows us to retouch and edit the photographs.
It has a full screen mode, which gives it an advantage over some programs of the style. It also offers us quite advanced tools related to the treatment of colors, digital effects, metadata about the photos or the visualization of folders.
XnView
XnView is another fairly lightweight and efficient image viewer. As a strong point, it must be said that it is compatible with an infinity of multimedia formats . The interface is simple and intuitive. Despite this, the returns are more than satisfactory. The viewer allows some editing options such as color adjustments, photo residency, cropping, metadata editing, resizing, including watermarks, adding text or presenting slides.
But it is not just a typical image viewer. It also organizes images with ease and manages files within your library. It is available in more than 40 languages and has several versions depending on the level of specialization that the user needs.
JEPGView
If as a user you are looking for minimalism and few artifices, JPEGView is possibly your program. It is a fairly simple software, but very effective if we require a fast viewer for visualization and basic editing. It supports JPEG , BMP , PNG , GIF and TIFF formats and processes images with agility. It is not possible that this program consumes very few resources from our team. The editing options allow us to adjust the contrast, sharpness, color saturation, balance….
Its use is very simple, since its interface offers just the right flourishes. To do this, the utilities it has are based on contextual menus to get the most out of the tool.
Honeyview
Another alternative that is also quite simple and basic to use. But no less effective, especially if we are looking for pure and simple visualization. HoneyView supports a wide variety of formats such as JPG , PNG , GIF , BMP, and PSD , as well as allowing compressed files. It also offers a simple interface that makes it easy to use and an EXIF reader .
Its simplicity does not exempt it from offering some editing options such as image rotation, resizing or file conversion.
Nomacs
This software goes one step further and goes beyond the typical display use. And it is that it is a powerful and fast tool that allows the editing of photos and images. If you use several operating systems, Nomacs is a good alternative, since it is compatible with macOS and Linux . To view photos, the application puts at our disposal a library organized in thumbnails and works very fluently.
The application, as we say, is not a simple viewer and offers us some interesting editing and adjustment options: brightness, contrast, saturation, exposure, resizing … Besides everything mentioned, it allows reading RAW and PSD formats, and has a portable version 64-bit.
WildBit Viewer
This application compatible with Windows 10 is very simple and intuitive if we want to see our photos. Among the different functions that WildBit Viewer offers, its slide show allows us to see our photographic files in the form of slides . It has a fairly precise zoom and the photo editor offers several interesting adjustment options, such as modifying the metadata .
It supports the vast majority of photo formats, in total more than 70, and allows us to compare images. Its full screen display mode can be controlled from an Android mobile, since it has a remote control application.
Apowersoft Photo Viewer
This application bears several similarities to Photos, the native one offered by Windows 10. What’s more, it seeks precisely to resemble it. However, it improves it by offering more functions and a better response time. It supports basic image formats like JPG , BMP , TIFF, and PNG . But it can also read the more professional ones like RAW , PSD and CDR .
You enter the editing options, Apowersoft Photo Viewer allows you to take screenshots , view in full screen and basic adjustments of color, contrast, etc. The tool works fast and, as expected, it consumes few resources on our team. It also allows the reading of files in PDF format.
ComicsViewer
This photo and image viewer is something different from the rest. As a peculiarity, ComicsViewer has a vertical display mode that will allow us to enjoy graphic content such as comics . In addition, it has compatibility with practically all existing formats.
As for the rest of the functionalities, it has basic editing tools (contrast, brightness, resizing, rotating images, cropping …). This also makes it a suitable program for those users who want to have their photo library organized. It is also a very light application, since it does not require installation. You can run as a portable program and take it anywhere on a USB device.