Factory42

Factory Featured Plugin displays a set amount of posts in a loop with a custom field image and links to that post, making a gallery of images linked to the posts.
Has configurable settings, such as; 
* Image Width and Height 
* Set the category to pull posts from 
* Set the amount of posts to show.
Nice and easy way to present a certain category of posts in a widget area. Have a look at the Sceenshots to get a better idea of what it looks like.

Featured Factory

Displays a set amount of posts in block with custom field images. Configurable from the Widgets panel.

Eliot Akira

<h4>Deprecation Notice</h4>

This plugin is no longer in active development.
Please use the next-generation template system, <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/tangible-loops-and-logic/" rel="ugc">Loops & Logic</a>.
<h4>Overview</h4>

From a single field to entire pages, Custom Content Shortcode is a set of commands to display content where you need.
The [content] shortcode displays any of the following: posts, pages, custom post types, fields, images, menus, or widget areas.
The [loop] shortcode performs query loops. It can display, for example, available products in a category, or excerpts from the 5 most recent posts. You can query by parameters such as: post type, taxonomy, date, and field values.
There is a reference section under Settings -> Custom Content.
<h4>Included</h4>

Here are some of the included features:
<ul>
<li>Wide range of query parameters to display site content</li>
<li>Conditional content based on field value, login status, etc.</li>
<li>Overview of your site’s content structure</li>
<li>Relative URLs for links and images</li>
<li>Cache the result of a query</li>
<li>Optional: Gallery field, Mobile Detect, Math</li>
</ul>
Support for other plugins: <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/advanced-custom-fields/" rel="ugc">Advanced Custom Fields</a>, <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wck-custom-fields-and-custom-post-types-creator/" rel="ugc">WCK Fields and Post Types</a>

Custom Content Shortcode

Display posts, pages, custom post types, fields, attachments, comments, images, users, menus, sidebars

Featured Factory vs Custom Content Shortcode