Alternative image cataloging app

[Nimrad]

As Apple just killed off Aperture I'm starting to look for alternatives and can't really seem to find much besides Lightroom. The problem with Lightroom is the pricing. Aperture was the perfect match for me as it was kind of cheap for an amateur photographer. Lightroom is priced at almost 100 NOK (13 USD) per month for me and the only thing I use the app for is cataloging and really minor editing when I have the time.

So what I'm looking for is an app that will give just as powerful cataloging features as Aperture(projects, albums, folders, face detection, smart albums, keywords), but at a lower price than Lightroom. Does this exist?

 

[Tumbleweed666]

Well Aperture is still here and working and will be for a few years yet, and there is a new Photos app coming from Apple which from all accounts will cover what you do, so why not wait and see what the new app is like?

 

[simonsi]

I am going to keep running Aperture at least until Photo's makes its appearance. Aperture is not being developed further but RAW support will still be adde as that isn't Aperture code.

I would be most concerned about any library format change that rendered moving to Photos a one-way deal (barring restore from backup), as I'm not planning to change my camera or workflow any time soon I don't foresee any problems with running Aperture for some time (I'd expect 2yrs minimum given Apple is still selling Aperture, it was supported under Yosemite and highly likely to run under the next 1-2 OSX releases).

No rush.

 

[maflynn]

There's also CaptureOne, though I think the DAM capabilities is weaker then LightRoom and Aperture.

Personally You cannot go wrong with Lightroom, you can still buy the stand alone version of LR if you don't want to go the subscription route.

 

[Fishrrman]

I agree with the posts above, that there's no immediate reason to "run from" Aperture.

It still works, and I'll take a -guess- that it will KEEP working with at least the 10.11 and 10.12 versions of the Mac OS when they get released.

We don't know what "Photos" is actually going to be like yet and won't until it's released or until Apple launches a public beta.

That's the time to try it and see if it will work for you.
And if not, that's when it will be time to move to the alternative.

 

[robgendreau]

You can do much of that with Picasa, which is free. I find it kinda slow, but did I say it's free?

 

[simonsi]

You can do much of that with Picasa, which is free. I find it kinda slow, but did I say it's free?

But continuing to use Aperture that he already has is just as free....