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| COSMI 5,000 Photo Objects (Windows) | 
 enlarge | From: Cosmi
Category: Software
Buy New: $0.40
New (5) Used (2) from $0.40
Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 21390
Format: Cd-rom
Platform: No Operating System
Media: CD-ROM
Number Of Items: 1
Model: cdrs984
UPC: 022787619848
EAN: 0022787619848
ASIN: B0000UI2ZA
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: New-- Sealed will Ship out First Class Next Day
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| Features:
| • | Features over five thousand high-quality images you can use royalty-free | | • | Sorted by multiple categories to help you find what you need in Animals, Nature, Business, Sports, Holidays, Food & Drink and many more | | • | Compatible with most page layout, drawing and word processing tools | | • | Thumbnail viewer for easier browsing | | • | Work with multiple vector-based clipping paths |
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| Customer Reviews:
 Not Worth 10 Dollars May 13, 2005
My first impression of COSMI's 5000 Photo Objects was, "I want my money back!" However, after spending some time looking at each image carefully, I've upgraded my evaluation to "I paid too much for this." I'm writing a long review of a ten dollar product because I don't like getting ripped off, and you shouldn't either.
The good news is that the images have no background, so you can insert them into other documents or websites without seeing a clunky square around them. However, these are all JPG images, not transparent GIFs, so you may have to convert them before using them without backgrounds. I believe JPG retains color and clarity better than GIF, and that's probably why they're used.
I was hoping to use these images for several projects I am working on, and out of 5,000 I would estimate that about 10-20 are useful for that purpose. And I'll be somewhat embarassed to use those 10-20. That's why I paid too much.
The JPG images are readily available in subdirectories labeled by category (see below). However, much of the root directory is filled with COSMI software. I would recommend NOT installing any of the included software, since cheap CDs like this often contain spyware and other nasty things. Instead, just view the images from your browser.
The bad news is:
1. The images are not very large. Most are smaller than 640x480 (the typical screen resolution in 1985).
2. All images have a very sterile, staged "catalog" feel. This makes them all look terribly cheesy despite the professional photography and good lighting. The people look like models (i.e., they don't look human).
3. A lot of images are repeated *many* times at different angles or with slight variations. For example, out of the 5,000 photos you pay for, 52 of them are close-ups of a dentist's drill bit, and there are about 50 more that are similar to that. There are probably only 50 unique "people" images, but they are repeated at different angles for a total of more than 1,000 photos.
4. Images with light edges look awful while browsing because they blend with the white background, so you can't see the edges. However, they probably look much better when added to a different color background.
5. I can't imagine where most of these photos would ever be useful. (Example: several photos of a ceramic chicken?)
6. Many photos don't accurately represent the real object. For example, the two space shuttle photos are images of a space shuttle toy.
7. So many variations of many photos, yet not enough at the same time. For example, there are multiple versions of a hand holding cash, but they all face the same direction. If you reverse them horizontally the text on the cash will be backwards.
8. The entire collection resembles what you'd see on Ebay (i.e., it looks like a catalog from a garage sale).
Here's the breakdown of photos. Don't let the categories fool you--most photos are only vaguely related to the subject.
Animals & Wildlife (59) (all insects, excepts for 3 birds)
Architecture (22) (birdhouse *models* and dollhouse figurines)
Business (228) (office supplies)
Education (92) (children's blocks and paintbrushes)
Finance (65) (lame--children's blocks spelling out financial phrases, etc.)
Food & Drink (649) (mostly fruits, bagels, cheese, and nut displays)
Health Care (419) (drill bits, wheelchairs, walkers, pill bottles, and chairs)
Holidays & Occasions (61) (santa figurines, etc.)
Household Items (771) (exactly what you'd find at a garage sale)
Industry & Agriculture (493) (random junk--toy hats, brooms, speedometers, pots & pans, PCV pipes)
Lifestyle & Arts (154) (masks, eyeglasses, dice, statuettes, sombraros)
Nature (68) (pine cones, stones, and shells)
People 1 (651) (models standing around looking unnatural)
People 2 (742) (more models standing around looking unnatural)
Religion & Myth (10) (Virgin Mary statuettes and crucifixes)
Science & Technology (52) (really, really OLD "techonology"!)
Signs & Symbols (83) (blue, plastic 3D shapes, gingerbread men silhouettes, not many actual signs at all)
Social Issues (25) (handcuffs, skeleton keys, sheriff badges)
Sports & Recreation (457) (binoculars, balls, plastic picnic plates & cups, Swiss knives, sunglasses, sports gear)
Transportation (8) (a toy boat, toy car, toy space shuttle, and toy airplane)
If those are the images you need, then ten bucks ain't bad. Otherwise, it's a waste of ten bucks. Given another chance, I'd pay no more than $2 for it at a garage sale.
 Fun. October 6, 2004
I do image-editing more as a hobby and to make my "blog" more annoying than other people's, so my needs are not as extraordinary as other people. I found this fun little disc in the discount bin, and I'm quite satisfied, especially with the very, very attractive brunette woman who appears in so many of the photos. It works well with the "smart select" function in my "Nova Photo Explosion" program, so for my limited purposes, this is a great buy.
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