The most problematic test subject: confusing interface (the icons in the toolbar are admittedly coordinated with each other, but are barely distinguishable at first glance) and significantly worse performance compared to the competition (P2008 and P2004) and then there are also display errors. For example, the entire layout would get scrambled when using the scroll wheel of the trackball. Additionally, extracting information for keywords is not transparent without studying the manual. And the view switching options involve too many clicks for me - I want to be able to quickly and easily regroup my database contents according to different criteria. Here too, iView Media Pro wins hands down (P2004). IPTC photo data is also not read by default in Cumulus either; possibly the optional modules could help there. Of course, the option of different server sizes is good - for professional shops possibly the central criterion, more important than handling issues or greater learning curve. But I'm looking for a solution for an individual photographer.
Also good is the seemingly lower price at first glance. However, you pay for it through option packages - many features that are included with the competition are only available here through option packages. And the demo is only for the basic package and a few optional extras - so you can't test everything beforehand. This made it impossible for me to check whether Kodak RAW format is fully supported here. Which is particularly annoying since I would have been interested in this feature specifically.
All in all, Cumulus leaves me with a very mixed impression - perhaps Canto should let some fresh air into development and give the program a complete overhaul; it simply seems a bit baroque and cumbersome.