Anything out there for the Mac that is close to the quality of Pro Show Gold?

I'm trying to wean myself off the PC, but I've still got a few requirements that can't seem to transfer. The desk is a little too crowded.

I'm going to give FotoMagico a try:
http://www.boinx.com/fotomagico/

I think Cor has tried this. Cor, are you around to give an opinion?

I really like FotoMagico, I've used it for the last 2 years or so, though I've never used ProShow (staying as far away from PC's as I can)

On the PC a very easy way to do it is with a program called Canopus Imaginate 2.0.
You can pick a template or keyframe, add effects to each image, it's very fast and easy to use and it can match the length to any music track.

The best thing is that once you have made your project you can fire up EDIUS and import the Imaginate file/project directly into a DV or HD timelime and just edit with video.
Any changes you then make in Imaginate changes in the EDIUS timeline.

Beggars cant be choosers. There are so few programs out there for the mac that do slideshows well, that anything is better than nothing. Seems fotomagico is going to be it for now I havent used it enough to really form an opinion though. I still have Fusion with only 1 icon on the desktop, ProShow Gold

I recently had a demonstration of the mother of all slideshow programs named Wings Platinum. Wow...that's like trying to do rocket science. But again..no mac version.

What great timing! I 'm itching to do a slide show from my trip to Indonesia and this looks like it may fit the bill for me.

I do have one question - Is it possible to do a slideshow for PC users that doesn't require the use of a PC? In other words, can I do a slideshow on my MacBook Pro that will work for PC users. I don't want to ignore all those PC users out there

Ellen

I love how Wags mentions Edius in every post, even when the subject is something like, oh... "Mac alternative to the PC's Pro Show Gold?"

Eric, You're certainly more the photographer than I am. What do you think of Lightroom 2?
Steve

Maybe there's something I don't know about these PC programs, like maybe they cook for me, do my laundry, happy endings, who knows? All I know is Fotomagico, Keynote ,they're all pretty brainless to use and make slide shows.

Good slideshow programs let you do a lot of things you may not necessarily need, but can make your slideshow a lot more powerful if used right. Things like music synchronization, different transitions, zooms, pans, video in image, or image in image, easily made title pages, etc. Fotomagico can probably do most of that so im sure it'll work just fine

Well ERIC it's what I use and it just does things so quick and easy.
Had to line up, keyframe with colour correction and adjusting chrominance background for 88 HDV clips on very tight lip syc shots for my latest project from two cameras, it was so quick and easy to do.

Seriously go and download Imaginate 2.0 and give it ago with your pics if you are on the PC.

If you want to do some really cool things then go and get SCALA info channel designer...once you get you head around the interface you will be stunned by what it can do so easy.

Let's stay on topic. This thread is about Mac alternatives. No one is asking for PC stuff!

Eric. Thanks for the link. I downloaded a demo copy and here are my initial thoughts after playing with it for 1 hour.

1: The [ESC] key does not end the slide show as the instructions suggest. Only [command .]. ([control .] on PC)
2: there doesn't seem to be the annoying color shifts I usually see from importing Tiffs into i-anything (iphoto, imovie, etc)
3: Audio manipulation is quite limited. The chosen soundtrack seems to want to snap to the beginning of a slide and i cannot get it to do otherwise. There may be a control I haven't found yet which will allow for it. I have searched the prefs and other menus but nothing so far.
4: changing audio tracks will auto fade a song, but the fade is a bit abrupt and there seems to be no control for varying fade length.
5: working with individual slide placement in the frame (Stage) is quite clunky, even on a powerful desktop. You move the curser around to place an image, but the image doesn't immediately follow. It takes a while and then jumps around. Like the steering on a 1968 Buick LeSabre. Steer now, turn later. This was the most annoying aspect of the program for me.

I am a bit surprised by the lack of the audio control in a rev 5+ program. However, it is a very intuitive program to use and if a user has played with imovie or iphoto, look and feel is almost the same.
The cost is a bit off-putting for the controls offered, IMHO. $129 for a single licence or $249 for 5 pack, I believe.

OFF TOPIC: I have a question regarding burning DVD's. When i burn a slideshow (I use FCP & when in a hurry iMovie) using idvd, the colors and image quality fall apart. I usually edit photos using Prophoto or Adobe 1998 color space. I have tried converting to sRGB which does seem to help the colors a bit, but image quality is still horrible. Is that a function of burning to DVD, or is it iDVD doing the destruction? If so, what is a good recommendation for MACs for burning DVD's of slideshows?
Thanks