Image Viewers

There are many, many free image viewers out there, some very simple and basic, others complicated and sophisticated.
In many cases functions overlap with other categories such as image editors, conversion/rename programs, etc. We include
here a cross section of viewers available to fit most every need. In our case we use several, since many do one thing very well
and it is faster and simpler to use a basic program to do a single job than a more complicated program. Why use a base-
ball bat to kill a fly?

CDCarousel
CDCarousel is a unique approach to viewing large numbers of slides in a gallery-like format, even from a CDROM. It currently can handle up to 266 images. Images are chosen from thumbnails by number, functioning much like a carousel slide projector except that any image can be chosen at any time. CDCarousel can display a single full screen image, overlays of one half size images or one or two side-by-side images.
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Irfanview
IrfanView is a very fast, small, compact and innovative FREEWARE (for non-commercial use) graphic viewer for Windows 9x/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003. It is simple for beginners and powerful for professionals. It was the first Windows graphic viewer WORLDWIDE with Multiple (animated) GIF support, one of the first graphic viewers WORLDWIDE with Multipage TIF support and the first graphic viewer WORLDWIDE with Multiple ICO support.
(Details)
Visit the Irfanview website
Download Irfanview from CNET.com

FastStone Image Viewer 6.5 (Windows)
A fast, stable, user-friendly image browser, converter and editor. It has a nice array of features that include image viewing, management, comparison, red-eye removal, emailing, resizing, cropping and color adjustments. Its innovative but intuitive full-screen mode provides quick access to EXIF information, thumbnail browser and major functionalities via hidden toolbars that pop up when your mouse touches the four edges of the screen. Other features include a high quality magnifier and a musical slideshow with 150+ transitional effects, as well as lossless JPEG transitions, drop shadow effects, image annotation, scanner support, histogram and much more.
(Details)
Visit the FastStone website
Download FastStone

XnView
A fast and free image viewer and converter with support for a huge number of file formats, operating systems, and languages. XnView can import over 400 graphics formats, and writes about 50. It’s highly customizable and doesn’t do annoying things like take over all your file associations without asking or leave files in all your folders. XnView gives you the option to create a thumbnail cache or not, but even without caching it is still very fast.
(Details)
Visit the XnView website