Sometimes we want to tweak images/photos on Windows 10 PC or laptop, but the built-in viewer is not good enough or doesn’t offer many options to tweak/edit pictures. This is when we start to think about the default Windows Photo Viewer alternative. This post has picked the seven best image viewers for Windows 10/11 OS. It is also backward compatible with the previous version of Windows OS.
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1) Windows Photo Viewer:
Windows Photo Viewer is a default image viewer which comes pre-installed in Windows 10. Microsoft has improved a lot from its previous versions in terms of in-built functionality for Photo viewers.
In the latest version of Windows Photo viewer, besides basic functionality like zoom in-out and image rotation, crop offers features like adding 3D effects, adding animated text etc.
Microsoft is slowly but gradually trying to make the default photo app more robust, but still, they have a long way to go.
2) Irfan View:
The second application in our list is Irfan View, the most popular third-party image viewer for Windows 10. It is also my all-time favourite; I enjoy using its many, many built-in functionalities.
Being an open-source application, it is available for free for different types of devices. It receives multiple iterations-updates from its developer from time to time to keep Irfan View app in the favourite list of all photo view enthusiasts in the world.
This app is not just a simple image viewer but comes with a complete package for all necessary types of editing on the go. You do not need a complicated application like Photoshop to make small tweaks in the image, like the option to read 1 BPP image in RAW dialogue, add effects to pictures like shadow, shape, turn image corners rounded, snowflake, hexagon, spikes, hearts etc.
Irfan View supports many image file formats and a few video formats. The functionality of the application can improve by using the Irfan View plugin.
3) FastStone Image Viewer:
FastStone is another fantastic photo viewer for Windows 10; it comes with features like red-eye removal from images, cropping, adding effects etc. It allows the end-user to do multi-tasking with FastStone, like viewing and editing the photos simultaneously. It also supports various image formats and a few advanced file formats like PCX and RAW files used in DSLR or high-end cameras.
The other fantastic functionality available in the application is batch processing of task, i.e. end-user can add as many images and process name change, file format change, cropping images at the desired format can be done in few mouse clicks. The official version of the application can be downloaded by clicking the below button.
4) XnView:
XnView is another image viewer for Windows 10; launched initially for only a Linux-based eco-system, which was later released for Windows.
The most popular feature the XnView application offers is to create slideshows by selecting a group of images and adding different text and watermarks using a batch processing script. In addition to handling these things, XnView offers functionality that includes correcting and swapping colours, capturing screenshots, converting images into a grayscale format, creating webpages, thumbnails for videos etc.
5) HoneyView:
HoneyView is a simple image viewer for Windows 10, the functionality and features of HoneyView are the same as that of Windows Photo Viewer; however, it offers many additional features under its hood, like support for advanced file formats like PNG, GIF, RAW, TIFF.
The standard functions of the application can be accessed using the right-click menu on the app or keyboard shortcuts, which can be configured according to user choice.
A few other remarkable features are its speed of processing RAW, PSD or LZW- compressed TIF files; rendering such big files sometimes impacts the application’s performance, but HoneyView handles it very well. It supports almost 15 file formats that include animated GIFs.
6) Apowersoft Photo Viewer for Windows 10
Apowersoft photo viewer, for Windows 10, is a stylish and not so CPU-hungry application. Users using a mid-range PC or laptop can use this application very quickly without thinking of any issue arising out of it, as the simplicity, smoothness and light design will take a toll on the computer running it.
The application comes with features like support for a wide range of file formats, adding effects & text, resizing and rotating, the ability to take a screenshot and the easy-to-share option.
7) Freshview:
Freshview application allows the end-user to keep images organized as much as possible. Besides supporting a wide range of image file formats, around 86 also supports video and audio file types.
Its minimalistic design and simple yet powerful make this application stands out from the crowd. Users can create slideshows and watch them in Freshview before sharing them with friends and family. Hence, it acts as a one-stop application for all such needs.
What are the advantages of installing other image viewers on Windows 10?
The main advantages of installing using third-party image viewers on Windows 10 are the control and ease of performing the task. The default Windows Photo viewer doesn’t offer as much control compared to current third-party apps available in the market.
Features like support for a wide range of image formats, RAW, PSD or LZW- compressed TIF files, option to read 1 BPP image in RAW dialogue set third party application ahead of the competition when compared to Windows photo viewer.
Therefore, if the user is looking for full control over an editing-modifying image, then they should try any of the above-listed applications and can get a crux of features available in such tools.
Do let us know which one is your favourite photo/image viewer for Windows 10 from the list above and why down in your comments!
