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Apple Aperture 2.0 | List Price: $199.00
Discount Price: $109.99
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Platform: Mac OS X
Brand: Apple
Binding: DVD-ROM
Release Date: 2008-02-15
Features: - Next-generation RAW image processing for producing images of the highest quality
- Quick Preview mode for rapid-fire photo browsing
- Image adjustment controls such as Recovery, Definition, Vibrancy, and Vignette; Soft-edged Retouch brush for removing unwanted elements from photos
- Simplified user interface that maximizes screen space and provides direct access to your iPhoto library
- .Mac Web Gallery support for instantly publishing photos online, allowing visitors to both view and download images
Outstanding RAW Workflow Manager [Posted on 2008-07-01]
If you shoot in RAW and manage large numbers of photos, you need to give very serious consideration to Aperture 2. The program provides truly outstanding RAW conversion tools - greatly superior to Adobe's free Digital Negative Converter. It provides very flexible, easy-to-use tools to compare and rate photos, including stacks, ratings and comparison tools. The library management tools are truly outstanding, giving you multiple levels of keywords, a variety of tools for organizing your shots, and a hierarchical system for organization. And it links tightly to the photo editing application(s) of your choice.
Batch processing is well-supported, both on import and on photo selections. Essentially all data associated with the photos - both image details and EXIF - can be handled individually or at a batch level.
Famously, Aperture makes its edits to photos by linked mathematical formulas; the RAW photo itself is not touched. So manipulations can always be reversed. This also keeps the photo database from growing through duplicate files; there's just one file, and a series of small files representing the edits.
Aperture isn't perfect. While it is adequate for simple edits to photos, you'll still need a tool like Photoshop of Elements to perform serious adjustments to your photos. Aperture does a fine job of working with those photo editors. And Apple can be slow - sometimes, seriously slow - supporting the RAW formats of newly released cameras. In the case of the Olympus E-3, the camera was released for five months before Aperture could import its RAW format. There are always worksarounds - Adobe DNG if nothing else - and in fairness to Apple, its Aperture RAW converters are outstanding, but be prepared for a wait if you have new model camera. And Aperture demands significant resources: at least G5 (an Intel chip is better), at least 2 GB RAM (4GB _much_ better), an approved video card, hard rive space adequate to your projected ibrary and a backup or removable drive to hold a backup (a "vault").
Perhaps best of all, Aperture lets you define your own workflow. Adobe Lightroom, by contrast, pretty much imposes its workflow structure on you. You can do things in the order you want, not the order some programmer wants.
If you are new to Aperture, I recommend the Classroom in a Book tutorial, Apple Pro Training Series: Aperture 2 (Apple Pro Training Series).
I could not be happier with this program. I have some 25,000 shots, and add 1,000-2,000 per month. It has been flawless. And I've never lost a photo.
My highest recommendation.
Not as good as Picassa, which is free! [Posted on 2008-07-08]
Apple is selling what should have been a free update to iPhoto. Worse, it confuses iPhoto into creating multiple copies of each photo, and has a schizo stacking algorithm.
The omissions are glaring.
No duplicate finder, no layers, weak cropping and poor output controls.
They have, however, jumped on the "pug-in" train to up-sell even more "features" which ought to come with a program like this.
No where near as good as even Photoshop Elements, and even slower, even on fast hardware.
Apple should go back to photography school.
Superior Product [Posted on 2008-07-24]
I'm a professional photographer, and after extensively testing both Aperture and Lightroom, I'm throwing my hat on the Aperture side.
Lightroom, to be honest, is a great application. The layout is easy to understand, and the modules guide a first-time-user. I also find the plugin architecture compelling, allowing me to preview changes before applying filters, and then having the ability to delete and adjust applied filters. Having said that, Lightroom is clunky. It seems to be more of a Photoshop product than a digital image catalogue product. Quite frankly, nothing will replace Photoshop--it is the end all and be all of photo applications. However, I need something to convert RAW files to workable JPEGs, and need an easy way to adjust white balance, exposure, tones, and noise. Although Lightroom makes this process reasonably easy, the module system (though helpful at first) begins to irritate me. I hate the thought of switching between one module and another simply to make one adjustment. I also don't like to follow a structured format--that is, I don't want to first view my files and select them, THEN move on to the editing module to apply changes, THEN work on web development. To me, that's too structured.
Aperture, on the other hand, allows me to do everything at once. I can browse my RAW files and rate them; if I find one I like but needs exposure control, I can bring up the transparent HUD, make my adjustments, and skip to the next file...all without being forced to switch between modules.
Aperture 2 is a superior product, much better than the first version. It is much faster than Lightroom (I'm running a Mac Pro with dual core 2.66ghz, 9gb RAM). Importing files is a lot easier--hell, I can even start browsing photos before they're all downloaded. The interface is nice and clean (although, I must admit Lightroom's interface is more attractive to me). Aperture 2 also has multi-display support--something Lightroom lacks. And the Loupe tool comes in handy every single time I use the application.
In short, Apple has done an incredible job building upon Aperture 1, and updating this fantastic application. As a professional photographer, Aperture is absolutely essential, no less so than Photoshop.
A-poor-ture [Posted on 2008-07-25]
I originally bough this product for the web-publish feature in Aperture, but to my disappointment this feature is terrible slow if you have large files it could take hours to publish them to the web and It distorts your image size. Bottom line, don't waste your money.
Aperture 2 - Easy way to work a lot of photos [Posted on 2008-07-25]
I used this product on a trial basis after shooting over 100 photos for a local dance performance. I was able to quickly crop, tweak, eliminate red-eye and perform a lot of other things quickly. I have Photoshop CS, but I have to upgrade in order to import my Nikon D300 images, so I thought I would give this a try as it is a less expensive answer than upgrading.
Obviously it is not as powerful as Photoshop, but I have found it to handle a lot of the basic photo modifications well. Aperture is not quite as complex or intimidating to use and doesn't require reading a book in order to figure out how to do the simple tasks. If I have a single photo that I need to spend a lot of time with or want to really change its' appearance drastically, it's off to Photoshop or Nikon Capture. If I have 50 pictures that need only minor tweaking, I'm using Apple's software.
I doubt that there's much Aperture will do that Photoshop won't, and if one takes the time to learn how to program Photoshop batch functions, maybe large numbers of photos can be handled just as quickly. But I do not think that many people could be as productive as quickly as they can with this software. It has Apple's hallmark intuitive processes that you would expect to be a part of the package. You can export a selection of photos to low or high resolution jpg files very easily. And for those who've not yet learned to shoot in the native RAW formats of their Nikons or Canons, you will be surprised to see just how many sub-par unprocessed JPG files can be transformed into winners by shooting in RAW and using the features in this software.
It's fairly priced, pretty powerful, and relatively simple to use. So shoot RAW, tweak, upload, print, frame up those stunning 8x10 photos in your office and start hearing people tell you how good a photographer you are!
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