Aperture, are you there?

[jadot]

So. Lots of updates coming: Lion, iCloud (no more MobileMe Galleries), FCPX, and so on.

Aperture once again seems to have been forgotten about. Aperture 3 is starting to look a little tired and is in need of some updating. It's still an amazing application and my preferred 'all rounder' when it comes to my photography workflow, but there are some issues that are due for that update.

For example, the mobileMe galleries are presumably going to be disappearing. Apple has been implementing UI changes system wide as Lion approaches, making Aperture's look dated and toy-like.

My question is this:
Even the dedicated Rumour sites offer no insight, so does anybody know what's on the horizon for Aperture? Apple haven't responded to this simple question, and once again their Pro Users are left wondering whether or not it's time to reluctantly look at competing apps. There's plenty out there.
Is there a road map for Aperture updates, or have I missed something?

 

[maflynn]

I expect an update to deal with the whole iCloud thing, but I don't expect any major updates. The update cycle for apple's pro apps are really really long, plus what specific features are you looking for that are missing.

FWIW, LightRoom hasn't gone through a major update in about the same time frame. Adobe has been making minor updates as apple as but I think they add functionality at times to a X.X update where as apple does bug fixes and such.

 

[MattSepeta]

For example, the mobileMe galleries are presumably going to be disappearing. Apple has been implementing UI changes system wide as Lion approaches, making Aperture's look dated and toy-like.

Based on the recent "upgrades" we have seen with the OS X an FCP, I hope they don't touch Aperture 3.

-I have no desire to see iOS features implemented in my OS X program. (Lion)
-I have even less desire to see iPhoto given a few "pro" features then relabeled Aperture X.

 

[OreoCookie]

Based on the recent "upgrades" we have seen with the OS X an FCP, I hope they don't touch Aperture 3.

-I have no desire to see iOS features implemented in my OS X program. (Lion)
-I have even less desire to see iPhoto given a few "pro" features then relabeled Aperture X.

I'm really glad Apple has the balls to rewrite its apps to take advantage of the new technologies they have introduced. Aperture, for one, could really make use of the gpus and the many cores modern systems have. I haven't used Final Cut X, but it seems to me that they have taken quite a few cues from Aperture. Hence, even if they redesign Aperture, I expect that the UI won't change as radically as Final Cut did going from version 7 to `version' X.

 

[MattSepeta]

I'm really glad Apple has the balls to rewrite its apps to take advantage of the new technologies they have introduced. Aperture, for one, could really make use of the gpus and the many cores modern systems have. I haven't used Final Cut X, but it seems to me that they have taken quite a few cues from Aperture. Hence, even if they redesign Aperture, I expect that the UI won't change as radically as Final Cut did going from version 7 to `version' X.

Well of course I would open a performance upgrade with open arms, I just doubt that's all it would be.

Mark my word, the next iteration of Aperture is going to be "dumbed" down to the point of eliminating iPhoto. A3 is already only $30 more than the "iLife" if you want iPhoto....

We are going to see the upgrades we all want, like support for all the new processors, capable of using all the ram we can throw at it, more efficient rendering, etc... BUT we are also going to see lots of craptastic consumer features, like faces and places and all sorts of neat "presets" akin to the ridiculously passe/cheesy "effects" included with FCPX that a working pro would never in a million years consider using in a paid project.

I would be happy if they simply added "exposure" to the brush set so you could brush it in and away like you do with the other adjustments, as well as some speed boosts.

 

[VirtualRain]

I suspect we will see a point release shortly to deal with Lion compatibility that will add the new full-screen option (click in the upper right) at the very least.

Beyond that, I'm happy if Apple chooses to focus on Aperture as their photo management app of choice and drop iPhoto. I have no problem with places and faces types of features. I would absolutely use them if my camera had GPS. But it's also easy to ignore those features too. It would be great from the perspective of not having to divide development resources between two apps.

There are only a few issues with Aperture the way it is that I hope they address in an upcoming release:

- My key wish list is for a gradient filter/brush... so I can easily burn or dodge portions of my picture without having to paint.
- I think a new noise reduction technology should also be high on the list.
- There are still a few bugs with the program that should be ironed out.

I would be happy if they simply added "exposure" to the brush set so you could brush it in and away like you do with the other adjustments, as well as some speed boosts.

Isn't that what Dodge and Burn do?

 

[MattSepeta]

Isn't that what Dodge and Burn do?

Nope. AFAIK, "dodge" and "burn" replicate the "Shadow/highlight" adjustments, which are a far cry from the quality you get when you change the RAW exposure, export and mask in PS.

-NR needs addressed. Doesn't do much of anything in it's current state.
-Would also LOVE to see gradient filters.
-Auto selective color would be bitchin
-The bugs do need ironed out. I still crash about once an hour, sometimes twice.

 

[OreoCookie]

Well of course I would open a performance upgrade with open arms, I just doubt that's all it would be.

I'm more optimistic here. The speed enhancements of Final Cut X are possible since it has been rewritten from the ground up. And if you start from the ground up, I think it's a rare opportunity to change the interface. I'll watch a first look of Final Cut Pro X tonight, so I'll be in a better position, but as I said, it seems to me that the Final Cut team has taken a few cues from Aperture -- which should put some of your worries at rest.

Mark my word, the next iteration of Aperture is going to be "dumbed" down to the point of eliminating iPhoto. A3 is already only $30 more than the "iLife" if you want iPhoto....

I really don't think so, Final Cut X has eliminated Final Cut Express, but not iMovie. Also, when designing a simple app for the consumer, some of the UI paradigms would be very different than if I were to design a pro or even a prosumer app. So I'm not really worried. What I see could happen is more shared code, e. g. that the database used by Aperture and iPhoto were compatible in a sense or even that you could load an iPhoto library with Aperture directly. Or that the code that is responsible for image manipulations is shared. But this would be code that goes from Aperture to iPhoto rather than the other way around.

To be honest, the lousiest enhancements of Aperture 3 are those taken with apparently little modification from iPhoto (in particular faces).

Furthermore, I don't think `simplify' and `dumb down' are synonymous: pros, prosumers and beginners alike appreciate if common operations (whatever that means) are easier and take less time and effort. The Finder, for instance, isn't a dumbed down version of the command line. I'm very comfortable with the latter, but I still use the Finder for most operations regarding files. The feedback regarding Final Cut Pro X' UI from people who have used it seems very positive and the bad reviews on the App Store are rather of the type `Feature x is missing, how can this be?!?'

I would be happy if they simply added "exposure" to the brush set so you could brush it in and away like you do with the other adjustments, as well as some speed boosts.

There are a lot of things Apple could do to improve Aperture. Buy Nik and Picturecode with 0.00001 % of the assets, for instance, and integrate Viveza and Noise Ninja into Aperture, for instance But this is rather independent from the problem of a new interface.

 

[VirtualRain]

Nope. AFAIK, "dodge" and "burn" replicate the "Shadow/highlight" adjustments, which are a far cry from the quality you get when you change the RAW exposure, export and mask in PS.

Hmm... not sure what you mean by export and mask in PS... never used that. But as far as I can tell all of these controls (Exposure, Shadow/Highlights, Burn/Dodge) are adjusting exposure. They way I see it is that, exposure is just moving the histogram left or right. All of these controls do that, but with different portions of the histogram...

Exposure: Move the whole histogram left or right
Shadow: Move the left side of the histogram right
Highlights: Move the right side of the histogram left
Burn: Move the painted portion right
Dodge: Move the painted portion left

 

[Battlefield Fan]

How about a simple stitch function. That'd be great!

 

[gaz81]

Hmm... not sure what you mean by export and mask in PS... never used that. But as far as I can tell all of these controls (Exposure, Shadow/Highlights, Burn/Dodge) are adjusting exposure. They way I see it is that, exposure is just moving the histogram left or right. All of these controls do that, but with different portions of the histogram...

Exposure: Move the whole histogram left or right
Shadow: Move the left side of the histogram right
Highlights: Move the right side of the histogram left
Burn: Move the painted portion right
Dodge: Move the painted portion left

I understand what he means. I used to uses it in Ligtroom 3. You could drag a box open that would have a graduated ND filter in it.

That way only editing a small section, not adjusting for the whole image.

 

[unclet]

Does anyone here know if Aperture 3 will run as is in OSX Lion, or will they need to issue some kind of an update to make it compatible? And will Nik Plugins continue to work, or will they need to be updated as well?

 

[jadot]

There seems to be a general consensus here (and elsewhere) that Apple are about to dump Aperture in favour of more 'consumer' features/apps.

Is this simply because of the recent problems with FCPX?

Sure, there are a bunch of things that skid of the tracks there, but Apple are in the processes of fixing those problems, and will probably end up with a new industry standard. I guess they might have waited to get those things right before release, but this BETA release programme isn't a new thing for Apple consumers. Early adopters seem to suffer with nearly all major Pro releases.
Aperture itself had massive problems initially, but now Aperture 3 is mostly stable and reliable and efficient in every day workflow. I use Aperture to edit and catalogue thousands of images, so I'm pretty close to it.

It's pretty fashionable to assume that a big company like Apple aren't looking after you, the 'pro', because they appear to be focussed on all kinds of different consumer technologies (IOS, OSX, iLife, and so on), and the long time sufferer in us all wants a fight with 'the man', or something. But I doubt Apple are at all interested in pi55ing people of for the sake of it, or just to show us that they're the one's calling the shots. "Oh, you like Aperture do you? - Well we're going to pull all of the good features and cripple it, just to prove a point that you want to believe we're trying to make.."

...I doubt it.

There are things wrong with Aperture, or at least features and core abilities that need updating. It's true that Aperture never needed Faces, or to a similar extent, places, but they're there if you want them. You can turn them off.

But there are also a lot of things that work really well with Aperture. It's a superior app in many ways, not least because of the way it handles libraries and vaults, and integrates with OSX (and up until now, Mobile Me). Some of the Adjustment settings need to be looked at, and the UI changes are overdue. A smarter finder within Aperture would be nice.

Some people never really like things to change. OSX Lion will once again become your standard and will inevitably be a step in the right direction. The same people would have complained about Snow Leopard perhaps, but couldn't argue that OSX Jaguar was preferable. Each iteration brings further stability, performance improvements, better hardware integration, and less overheads, along with a few hiccups early on. Some of the changes are risks, and some things don't work, but Apple doesn't strike me as a computer company that is famous for playing it safe. Sure, they know what they're going to sell, and they're going to pump that straight into your brain, but they also seem to innovate and stretch what's possible today with both hardware and software, and ethical production (within the parameters of global production).

There's some positive suggestions for what might be next generation improvements for Aperture 4/X here. Have a look and contribute before crying about what Apple hasn't done for you today.