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Aperture 4.0
- Thread starter shaunp
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What I really, really like about Aperture is the super strong database function.
Library on the internal drive, on external drive = OK.
No mandated folder hierarchy for organization. Easy backup and updating. ou can, but you aren't forced to store things that way. I said goodbye to nested folders when I dumped my IBM XT and MS-DOS along with it.
I'm not well-tutored in computers. But The Cloud seems like a risky place to entrust all your 'precious babies'.
Library on the internal drive, on external drive = OK.
No mandated folder hierarchy for organization. Easy backup and updating. ou can, but you aren't forced to store things that way. I said goodbye to nested folders when I dumped my IBM XT and MS-DOS along with it.
I'm not well-tutored in computers. But The Cloud seems like a risky place to entrust all your 'precious babies'.
I have to eat my optimistic words about Aperture's future, but the one thing I'm not worried about is the cloud as primary repository (whether Adobe's or Apple's or Google's). Day to day, a properly managed cloud infrastructure is far less susceptible to the risks of data loss than our local equipment. There's nothing to prevent us from backing up our cloud storage locally - it's basically a matter of shifting backup to local and primary to the cloud - and how many photographers maintain off-site/cloud backups these days? This neatly forces the issue. Will there be ongoing concerns about data privacy, censorship, and the like? Yes.
Meantime, the advantages of "my library, everywhere and on any device" are substantial. Some of the most frequent Aperture and iPhoto questions on these forums have to do with networking (and the poor support thereof). Concurrent users, seamless hand-off from mobile device to laptop to desktop... yeah. The biggest liability is the ongoing cost of cloud storage, though at somewhere between $100 and $200/yr for 1TB (paid in monthly installments), it's worth it to me. I pay more for things of far less value to me - insurance only pays off if something goes wrong - cloud storage provides insurance plus the day-to-day benefits of "my photos, everywhere." Maybe iCloud/Photos won't be the right solution for my needs, but the cloud most definitely is.
Thank, you ApfelKuchen. Like most, I never really understood The Cloud. Those are some serious tech advantages.
My most of my knowledge about media formats and DLSR data came from reading Peter Kroegh's "The DAM Book - digital asset management.
By the way, AK, about that name. some of us out here can read German. I was born in Milwaukee. You can't trick me.
My most of my knowledge about media formats and DLSR data came from reading Peter Kroegh's "The DAM Book - digital asset management.
By the way, AK, about that name. some of us out here can read German. I was born in Milwaukee. You can't trick me.
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The fat lady has sung, and the curtain on Aperture has closed - its dead.
Gee, it loads and runs just fine with my 65,000 images.
Lets see what Cupertino says this fall...and hopeful delivers early next year. If nada, indeed time for the wake.
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Thank, you ApfelKuchen. Like most, I never really understood The Cloud. Those are some serious tech advantages.
My most of my knowledge about media formats and DLSR data came from reading Peter Kroegh's "The DAM Book - digital asset management.
By the way, AK, about that name. some of us out here can read German. I was born in Milwaukee. You can't trick me.
Cloud storage? No thanks. I just ordered the first of my 6TB drives today.
I just caught up on the news. I am glad I kept my referenced library in LR while i played with Aperture. i just deleted Aperture, its library, and the vault. It will be interesting to see if Apple thinks it can win back the hearts and minds of serious photographers next year. Likely, their business case is totally based on the millions of iOS users. Folks with serious cameras are just a small niche not worth doing anymore. Fair enough, a product has to have a profitable business plan to survive in today's world.
While I seem to have little choice for a DAM today, I will not stay with LR if Adobe tries to force all LR users into their haze, I mean cloud.
While I seem to have little choice for a DAM today, I will not stay with LR if Adobe tries to force all LR users into their haze, I mean cloud.
Not sure if this is true but I'm worried https://www.macrumors.com/2014/06/27/aperture-development-stops/
Yup, I called it a year ago as well, it was clear aperture was abandonware.
The win would be if apple transfered the source code and rights to the pixelmator boys...
Apple's business case is very logical. They have hundreds of millions of IOS photographers to bind to Apple made apps. The percentage of serious and pro shooters is likely a very small number. So Apple for the masses and Adobe for the serious shooters....I guess.
AFAIK, US law still allows warrantless access to cloud data in most cases.
Some consider that a drawback to the scheme.
If you only knew that photography as we knew is dead you wouldn't believe. So are DSLRs. Pro photographer market doesn't make Sony, Nikon or Canon money anymore that's why shift towards mirrorless.
I have already moved to m43. I will be surprised if Nikon is alive in 5 years. They are a one trick pony. Granted it is a good trick. But if they do not diversify, they will not survive.
Yup. Don't expect new photos app to have same functionality as aperture. It will probably be geared towards consumers rather than professionals.
It's Apple's strategy of unifying iOS and OS X. iWork is a good example
It's Apple's strategy of unifying iOS and OS X. iWork is a good example
Sadly Aperture is now officially End-Of-Lifed. I had hoped the delay was simply them starting over with a new code base like they have before, perhaps tying into Yosemite features, but alas no. Unless Photos retain advanced editing capabilities, and I don't see how you can have a successful combo Consumer and Pro app, I'll have to gradually learn to like Lightroom, and hopefully Adobe and Apple have worked out a way to migrate Aperture edits. Transitioning 30,000 Raw files won't be fun, so hopefully Aperture will work for a good while longer.
Before scheduling the funeral, take a few minutes to read what Thom Hogan has to say about this. His website is ByThom.com. The Aperture opinion piece is at the top. It's titled "Another one bites the duat."
Thom is considered one of the top Nikon experts outside Japan. And wrote software from the time PCs were in their infancy. His comments gave me a whole new understanding of the Cloud (it is not Darth Vador), and about Adobe (many of the staff at Apple were hired away from Adobe.)
Read it and cancel the Wake.
Thom is considered one of the top Nikon experts outside Japan. And wrote software from the time PCs were in their infancy. His comments gave me a whole new understanding of the Cloud (it is not Darth Vador), and about Adobe (many of the staff at Apple were hired away from Adobe.)
Read it and cancel the Wake.
He doesn't add anything new about Aperture, other then Apple is changing direction and going to the cloud. I don't think that is any different then what we've already heard. Aperture is not going to be developed, an iPhoto replacement with iCloud connectivity is planned. In other words, he's telling people that Aperture may be dead but trust in apple to produce something that will be great because they do a better job then Adobe because Adobe is awful and their products pale in comparison to what apple does.
Apple's track record of new applications is horrid, look at FCPx, it had less features then its predecessor, Pages, Numbers, and the rest of iWork - same thing. I think FCPx maybe at feature parity of its old version but it took a long time.
To use your verbiage, the wake is still on, because nothing has changed. Aperture is a EOF, and I'd much rather trust Adobe with a long history of image management then Apple who's track record is much more checkered, to say the least (when it comes to pro apps)
I went and had a read at Aperture Expert, he is very optimistic about the future to the point of looking for a new name for his site. Not that he has any additional info, but it is heartening nonetheless to have a positive spin on the situation.
The basic facts seem to be that iPhoto and Aperture will cease in favour of the cross-platform iCloud product named Photos, which features non-destructive editing which syncs automatically across all devices and keeps smaller copies suited for whichever device is being used so as not to fill it up. Apple says iPhoto and Aperture libraries can be imported complete, which indicates all edits and metadata.
A statement from Apple indicate that the iCloud storage is available if enabled, meaning it is not mandatory. It seems the cross-platform non-destructive editing works by keeping a master copy of edits in the cloud, and syncing to all devices from there, which is the best and most secure way of doing it, unlike how they have done it previously.
The one demo we have is from the iOS version, which features simple master sliders which enacts several changes across the more traditional sliders. The one screenshot we have of the Desktop version shows a sidebar with a lot of the controls (bricks) we know from Aperture, far more control than iPhoto currently affords, topped with these master sliders. If this is an indication of the final product, then Photos on the Desktop will be fairly powerful with seemingly the same controls we are used to. Not shown is if you can manage local content the way we are used to.
Also not shown or mentioned is metadata management and other advanced features, but it is clear they allow for a plugin architecture, so if they don't provide the facility, a 3rd party app can leverage PhotoKit to manage the features not included, which might mean photo filters like the Waterlogue example in the demo, or it might be Nik plugins.
Another article on Aperture Expert talked about the WWDC workshops which have been made available online, and what they might reveal for the future. It shows that things like advanced noise reduction and lens profiles are part of the system Raw converter in Yosemite; remember the current version powers Aperture and gives it the limited lens profile support it does have, namely certain Micro Fourthirds cameras which embed them. What was demonstrated for developers leveraging the Raw converter and PhotoKit was very powerful, showing how 3rd parties can plugin to the raw converter at the beginning of the pipeline to create a far better result than ever before.
So a lot of the advanced features we are looking for is not to be found in a successor to Aperture, but in OSX and iOS themselves, available across the board to any app. The power of those 64-bit A7 chips and its successors might find a use which no Android tablet or Lightroom app can match. The question is if Photos will expose the controls for them, or if a future 3rd party app will. It promises the possibility of leveraging iPads for the sort of advanced editing on the go in the field we have been craving, all non-destructively and all automatically synced to the cloud and any linked Macs in the office.
Whether Photos itself does it all or require a 3rd party app, the power is built into the system for both Apple and other developers to leverage. That is the real takeaway message out of all this. So not all is Doom-and-gloom let's begrudgingly learn Lightroom, there is a lot of fantastic potential in all this.
Yes, Apple has a spotted history with some of it's apps, but even Final Cut X has turned out to be a fantastic app after a shaky half-baked start, so quite likely if their record with FCX and Pages is a guide, Photos v1.0 will not be fully-featured with all of Aperture's power, but it might well gain them in time.
In the meantime, they have promised a compatibility update for Aperture, so we can bide our time waiting to see how Photos turns out or if a better Pro app leveraging the underpinning powerful photo frameworks in OSX and iOS turns up; it might even be a future Lightroom.
The basic facts seem to be that iPhoto and Aperture will cease in favour of the cross-platform iCloud product named Photos, which features non-destructive editing which syncs automatically across all devices and keeps smaller copies suited for whichever device is being used so as not to fill it up. Apple says iPhoto and Aperture libraries can be imported complete, which indicates all edits and metadata.
A statement from Apple indicate that the iCloud storage is available if enabled, meaning it is not mandatory. It seems the cross-platform non-destructive editing works by keeping a master copy of edits in the cloud, and syncing to all devices from there, which is the best and most secure way of doing it, unlike how they have done it previously.
The one demo we have is from the iOS version, which features simple master sliders which enacts several changes across the more traditional sliders. The one screenshot we have of the Desktop version shows a sidebar with a lot of the controls (bricks) we know from Aperture, far more control than iPhoto currently affords, topped with these master sliders. If this is an indication of the final product, then Photos on the Desktop will be fairly powerful with seemingly the same controls we are used to. Not shown is if you can manage local content the way we are used to.
Also not shown or mentioned is metadata management and other advanced features, but it is clear they allow for a plugin architecture, so if they don't provide the facility, a 3rd party app can leverage PhotoKit to manage the features not included, which might mean photo filters like the Waterlogue example in the demo, or it might be Nik plugins.
Another article on Aperture Expert talked about the WWDC workshops which have been made available online, and what they might reveal for the future. It shows that things like advanced noise reduction and lens profiles are part of the system Raw converter in Yosemite; remember the current version powers Aperture and gives it the limited lens profile support it does have, namely certain Micro Fourthirds cameras which embed them. What was demonstrated for developers leveraging the Raw converter and PhotoKit was very powerful, showing how 3rd parties can plugin to the raw converter at the beginning of the pipeline to create a far better result than ever before.
So a lot of the advanced features we are looking for is not to be found in a successor to Aperture, but in OSX and iOS themselves, available across the board to any app. The power of those 64-bit A7 chips and its successors might find a use which no Android tablet or Lightroom app can match. The question is if Photos will expose the controls for them, or if a future 3rd party app will. It promises the possibility of leveraging iPads for the sort of advanced editing on the go in the field we have been craving, all non-destructively and all automatically synced to the cloud and any linked Macs in the office.
Whether Photos itself does it all or require a 3rd party app, the power is built into the system for both Apple and other developers to leverage. That is the real takeaway message out of all this. So not all is Doom-and-gloom let's begrudgingly learn Lightroom, there is a lot of fantastic potential in all this.
Yes, Apple has a spotted history with some of it's apps, but even Final Cut X has turned out to be a fantastic app after a shaky half-baked start, so quite likely if their record with FCX and Pages is a guide, Photos v1.0 will not be fully-featured with all of Aperture's power, but it might well gain them in time.
In the meantime, they have promised a compatibility update for Aperture, so we can bide our time waiting to see how Photos turns out or if a better Pro app leveraging the underpinning powerful photo frameworks in OSX and iOS turns up; it might even be a future Lightroom.
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^^^ PARAGRAPHS!!!
I wonder if there will be a new application in the fall? I might just wait a little until I buy Lightroom just in case apple have something up their sleeve.
I wonder if there will be a new application in the fall? I might just wait a little until I buy Lightroom just in case apple have something up their sleeve.
Dude, please use paragraphs, that wall of text is hard to discern.
I agree that site is very optimistic over the prospects of what may be coming and the direction that apple is taking. By the same token, we've been seeing the direction of Apple, and for the pro apps, it has been less encouraging.
I think majority of pros have already fled Aperture for LR, so what's left (for the most part) is some pros, more Prosumers, and some consumers. Aperture has been a very good product for apple, consistently at the top of sales for them on the MAS. So one can only hope that what ever comes from them will have similar features.
With that said, I'm a bit jaded and I'd rather not have to deal with version 1.0 bugs and issues, and lack of features. I'm making my jump to LR now, its a safer bet since LR is a known quantity, I know what I'm getting and I have a better feeling that LR will be supported longer then what apple provide.
That is, given their behavior, who's to say they won't change directions yet again a few years down the road and release a new image management app. Am I over-reacting on this? Probably, but my point is that adobe has been consistent in its support and improvement of LightRoom, where as Apple has not.
Sorry, I am on my iPad, should have composed in something else than the browser window; I always worry that hitting Return will post it. I tend to start out with a small thought, and it runs away from me and becomes War and Peace (with or without paragraphs).
Edit: Added some paragraphs.
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