Aperture - How Serious Do You Need To Be?

[JulesK]

Apologies if this has been covered elsewhere, but is Aperture (or Lightroom, for that matter) worth it if you are not shooting RAW? My version of iPhoto is a couple of generations old, and I'd be interested in seeing the program in the next version of iLife, but I was curious as to Aperture as an alternative. I shoot a lot of pictures, but mainly JPEG. Also, my computer is a 3-year old MacBook Pro, and I'm concerned that it won't be sufficient to handle the program.

Any thoughts are much appreciated.

 

[robbieduncan]

It is certainly better if you are shooting raw as there is significantly more room to adjust the image without the adjustment looking weird. Beyond that it's down to whether the additional tools and control are worth it to you. You could always play with the free trial and see...

 

[mlblacy]

you don't have to shoot RAW to use Aperture...

I use Aperture professionally. That being said the image adjusting control you get is SO superior to iPhoto, and WAY easier to learn than photoshop. I could teach someone to use pshop in 3-5 days, I could teach someone to use Aperture in 3-5 hours. I have been using pshop since 1.0, but these days 95% of my imaging is done in Aperture (unless there are layers, type, or I have to convert to CMYK).

Also, we shoot in jpeg format due to the huge amount of images we have (around 75k, and we add another 15-20k more each year). The thought of managing the storage of those in raw boggles my mind, lol. While the raw format gives you more tonal latitude, we get exceptional results with the jpegs.

Download the trial and try it. The interface is a little more complicated than iPhoto, but easy to pick up. Also, I would highly recommend the NIK suite of plug-ins for Aperture. I have completely redone our imaging workflow around nik & aperture, and the results are awesome. I am able to recover images that would be otherwise lost if I have to, and good images soar with their use. If you want I can post some examples, but I urge you to check both out for yourself...
cheers,
michael

 

[JulesK]

Thank you!

Many thanks for the replies. I really appreciate it.

Has Apple made the program more efficient via updates? I have a 17" MBP (I forget the exact processor speed) that's about two years old, and I'm hoping that Aperture is not too slow on it. Seem to be a lot of threads about how much resource-intensive v3 is. Any thoughts on that?

 

[mlblacy]

I am currently running Aperture2 on a 4+ year old White 24" iMac. It runs fine, and I use Aperture just about every day. I was a little leery about upgrading to either A3 or Snow Leopard given the huge size of our image library, as I knew I was upgrading to a new 27" i7 which is arriving today

There is a new version of iLife which is due soon, however I can't see that the image adjusting is going to be revamped extensively. Your MBP should have enough chops to handle A3, but you can always call Apple support or visit a store and ask. As for the boards, take everything you hear with a grain of salt, around here folks could attend the Last Supper and then complain afterwards there was only bread and wine to eat, lol. Download the trial versions and see for yourself how it performs. As with all imaging, sufficient RAM is key to performance. I only have 3gb on my iMac and it is fine. (although my new machine will have 16gb). You may have to suffer a few beachballs here and there, but it does work ok.

I will add some sample pics if you would like, and links to NIK (which is cheaper if you buy the whole suite).
michael

 

[mtbdudex]

I use Aperture professionally. That being said the image adjusting control you get is SO superior to iPhoto, and WAY easier to learn than photoshop. I could teach someone to use pshop in 3-5 days, I could teach someone to use Aperture in 3-5 hours. I have been using pshop since 1.0, but these days 95% of my imaging is done in Aperture (unless there are layers, type, or I have to convert to CMYK).

Also, we shoot in jpeg format due to the huge amount of images we have (around 75k, and we add another 15-20k more each year). The thought of managing the storage of those in raw boggles my mind, lol. While the raw format gives you more tonal latitude, we get exceptional results with the jpegs.

Download the trial and try it. The interface is a little more complicated than iPhoto, but easy to pick up. Also, I would highly recommend the NIK suite of plug-ins for Aperture. I have completely redone our imaging workflow around nik & aperture, and the results are awesome. I am able to recover images that would be otherwise lost if I have to, and good images soar with their use. If you want I can post some examples, but I urge you to check both out for yourself...
cheers,
michael

Mike;
As a Photo Enthusiast - ie hobby - I've used Aperture 3 for almost 3 months now and can attest to its ease of use, and power. Honestly I have CS5 and barely touch it.

I feel that I have a decent command of the complete tool set. Curves/Levels I'm still learning their "deepness usage" beyond simple stuff. I really like the ability to brush effects on/off, edge/feather, etc.

Those NIK suite of plug-ins, http://www.niksoftware.com/completecollection/usa/entry.php , $220 for complete collection via Amazon.
As a pro/business that's pennies and tax deductible, as home user my own coin.
Guess I'll download the 15 day free trial and see how they improve my productivity and images, http://www.niksoftware.com/site/

 

[mlblacy]

links, samples...

The whole suite of NIK products is $299, yes... as much as A3. I will tell you it is worth every penny. NIK + Aperture is incredible.
You can find the trials here, which are fully functional for 15 days:
http://www.niksoftware.com/site/

You don't really need the NIK suite for both pshop and Aperture, that would be almost silly. Just buy the aperture plug-ins.

The Aperture3 trial is here, fully functioning as well but for 30 days:
http://www.apple.com/aperture/trial/

Here are a few samples, the first is one of our own pics, the latter ones are from clients, and all had some issues that needed work. Pardon the quality, these are just screenshots, but you will get the drift...
michael


Click for full size - Uploaded with plasq's Skitch


Click for full size - Uploaded with plasq's Skitch


Click for full size - Uploaded with plasq's Skitch


Click for full size - Uploaded with plasq's Skitch

 

[VirtualRain]

The whole suite of NIK products is $299, yes... as much as A3. I will tell you it is worth every penny. NIK + Aperture is incredible.
You can find the trials here, which are fully functional for 15 days:
http://www.niksoftware.com/site/

You don't really need the NIK suite for both pshop and Aperture, that would be almost silly. Just buy the aperture plug-ins.

I've been looking at the NIK stuff... and am very interested, but they were very slow to support Aperture 3 and still don't appear to support 64-bit Aperture 3 and have been extremely slow in updating their products in general. What's your experience? Do you run in 32-bit mode?

 

[mlblacy]

Mike;
As a Photo Enthusiast - ie hobby - I've used Aperture 3 for almost 3 months now and can attest to its ease of use, and power. Honestly I have CS5 and barely touch it...Those NIK suite of plug-ins, http://www.niksoftware.com/completecollection/usa/entry.php , $220 for complete collection via Amazon.
As a pro/business that's pennies and tax deductible, as home user my own coin.
Guess I'll download the 15 day free trial and see how they improve my productivity and images, http://www.niksoftware.com/site/

MT, I thought that was about what I paid as well. I still use pshop, but honestly only for about 5% of my imaging needs. I have taught photoshop and advanced imaging to other professional designers and photographers, and the learning curve is daunting. No kidding, using Aperture someone could get the basics in an hour or two, and be off and running. Batch processing of images is amazingly simple and fast too. Plus, using it seems more like play, and less like work. I enjoy making better images out of good ones...

There are a lot of good demos on the NIK site. Once you get the NIK interface down it is pretty easy, and produces some amazing results...
cheers,
michael

 

[mlblacy]

currently run in 32bit...

I've been looking at the NIK stuff... and am very interested, but they were very slow to support Aperture 3 and still don't appear to support 64-bit Aperture 3 and have been extremely slow in updating their products in general. What's your experience? Do you run in 32-bit mode?

Using Aperture you get "accustomed" to being patient, lol. There were a number of A-users who went to LightRoom because they were afraid it was being shelved. But v3 did come out, and it was worth the wait, much as when v2 came out. Nikon is indeed upgrading to 64bit, and Viveza2 is already out.
I never did think about switching to LR, as I was very happy with the results of A+NIK, and didn't want to go back to pshop. Adobe on the other hand seems thrilled to "update" their software on a more regular basis, lol. Which is good, and bad.

This is what is on their site now:
With the completion of our 64-bit framework, we are now finalizing updates to the entire product line. Rather than waiting for all 5 products to be updated before releasing them, we have chosen to release the products as soon as they are ready. The 64-bit Viveza 2 is now available as a free update to all Viveza 2 customers. Frankly, updating our products has been an involved process. Much of this is due to the fact that the core technical framework (the foundation that our products are developed upon) needed to be rewritten entirely for 64-bit compatibility. Updating the Nik Software line-up for 64-bit compatibility has been an important project within our company. I want to assure you that we are very aware of the impact to those of you who have invested in new hardware and software for an all-64-bit workflow. We sincerely appreciate your patience and continued support as we undergo this transition.

 

[VirtualRain]

Using Aperture you get "accustomed" to being patient, lol. There were a number of A-users who went to LightRoom because they were afraid it was being shelved. But v3 did come out, and it was worth the wait, much as when v2 came out. Nikon is indeed upgrading to 64bit, and Viveza2 is already out.
I never did think about switching to LR, as I was very happy with the results of A+NIK, and didn't want to go back to pshop. Adobe on the other hand seems thrilled to "update" their software on a more regular basis, lol. Which is good, and bad.

This is what is on their site now:
With the completion of our 64-bit framework, we are now finalizing updates to the entire product line. Rather than waiting for all 5 products to be updated before releasing them, we have chosen to release the products as soon as they are ready. The 64-bit Viveza 2 is now available as a free update to all Viveza 2 customers. Frankly, updating our products has been an involved process. Much of this is due to the fact that the core technical framework (the foundation that our products are developed upon) needed to be rewritten entirely for 64-bit compatibility. Updating the Nik Software line-up for 64-bit compatibility has been an important project within our company. I want to assure you that we are very aware of the impact to those of you who have invested in new hardware and software for an all-64-bit workflow. We sincerely appreciate your patience and continued support as we undergo this transition.

Thanks!

 

[HBOC]

I use A3 in conjunction with ACR/CS4. I use A3 as an "iTunes" for my photos, and usually use ACR and CS4 to PP.. Money well spend, lol.