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Migration from iPhoto to Aperture 2.0

j-a-x

j-a-x

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Apr 15, 2005
1,575
290
Houston, Texas
I've got a quick question about importing from iPhoto to Aperture 2.0.

Is there any way to only import the edited photos from iPhoto and not the originals (unless there is no edited version available)? I've got a huge iPhoto library I want to import and I don't want to be stuck with duplicates (with the edited version as well as the original which I no longer need to keep - at least not in my aperture library). Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!
 
I don't have the answer, but that's a good question. I'm also considering making the change to Aperture. I'm going to try out the 30 day trial, then decide.
 
Try an iPhoto import and see if it does the same thing. I end up with the edited version plus the original version of each photo. Most of my originals are crooked or otherwise flawed, so I don't want to keep them in my library. They are backed up though.
 
stockcerts said:
Do you guys think Aperture provides much value for the average photographer, or do you think IPhoto is sufficient?
Click to expand...

I prefer the interface and general usability of iPhoto, but I must say that the adjustment tools in Aperture 2 are far superior. I couldn't believe the results of adjustment on some of my poorer photos currently sitting in iPhoto.

Currently undecided on a switch though.
 
j-a-x said:
I've got a quick question about importing from iPhoto to Aperture 2.0.

Is there any way to only import the edited photos from iPhoto and not the originals (unless there is no edited version available)? I've got a huge iPhoto library I want to import and I don't want to be stuck with duplicates (with the edited version as well as the original which I no longer need to keep - at least not in my aperture library). Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!
Click to expand...

I'm wondering the same thing. When I drag from the iPhoto Browser I see the modified and original image in a stack. I have not tried the full iPhoto import option, but I do see there's an option to ignore duplicates. I don't know if that applies to the modified versions. I would like to eventually make Aperture be my only photo library.
 
I have got bad news here. I am importing my iPhoto library to Aperture right now. My iPhoto library has exactly 27,17 GByte and the Aperture library is now at 36,04 GByte and still importing. I don't know yet where it will end up.

Those are the exact same photos ! Why does Aperture need that much space ?

Maybe it is better to export all pictures from iPhoto and then import a folder into Aperture. But if you do that then you loose all your albums and events.
 
CmdrLaForge said:
I have got bad news here. I am importing my iPhoto library to Aperture right now. My iPhoto library has exactly 27,17 GByte and the Aperture library is now at 36,04 GByte and still importing. I don't know yet where it will end up.

Those are the exact same photos ! Why does Aperture need that much space ?

Maybe it is better to export all pictures from iPhoto and then import a folder into Aperture. But if you do that then you loose all your albums and events.
Click to expand...

Are you sure your iPhoto library was only 27 GB? Did you go into directory > pictures > and check the size of the iPhoto library in finder?
 
Ok I found a way to import only edited versions, but it's a bit messy.

If you use the shell script/command line stuff listed here at the bottom of the comments section, it will move all originals to the trash if a photo has been edited and if it has not been edited it keeps the originals. Make sure you backup your iPhoto library before trying it though, because it renders your iPhoto library unusable in iPhoto 2008. BUT, even though the iPhoto library is unusable, it's still readable by Aperture, and an iPhoto import in Aperture will correctly import all edited photos plus unedited originals, with all of the meta data intact. I just tried this and after the import I trashed the modified iPhoto library (and of course I have a backup on my other drive, 2 backups in fact). The size of my Aperture library seems to be comparable to the size of my old iPhoto library and aperture seems to be a lot faster, especially when viewing photos full screen and browsing large albums.

Anyways, I hope this helps some people. PLEASE BACKUP YOUR LIBRARY BEFORE TRYING THIS THOUGH. I don't want to be held responsible if anybody permanently messes up their photo library.
 
Another question - Anyway once you have all your events into Aperture to have the events appear on the left list by order shot instead of alphabetical order?
 
No idea, that's one thing that kind of bugged me about Aperture, because in iPhoto I relied so heavily on the date sort. WHat I did to make my events (now called projects in aperture) more manageable was to move them into folders for locations (like all photos from Canada, all photos from Texas). And at the top of the left column there is an option to view all projects. That view looks similar to the iPhoto event view and it is sorted by date, although the newest events are t the bottom which really bothers me because I have to scroll down. I'd rather see the newer events (projects) at the top. If you find any way to change the sort order there I would really appreciate it if you could let me know.

Something I noticed about Aperture Vs. iPhoto is that Aperture uses WAY more RAM. I think that is the reason that Aperture is actually faster than iPhoto in a lot of ways, but it's also a reason to only use Aperture on a system with a lot of RAM. On my MacBook with 2 gigs of ram it seems to be enough, but I wouldn't even think about installing Aperture on my 12" Powerbook with only 1 gig. So Aperture is more powerful, and faster in some ways, but requires more RAM.
 
tibi08 said:
I prefer the interface and general usability of iPhoto, but I must say that the adjustment tools in Aperture 2 are far superior. I couldn't believe the results of adjustment on some of my poorer photos currently sitting in iPhoto.

Currently undecided on a switch though.
Click to expand...

I agree, the adjustment tools are pretty awesome. Really rescued some of my pics that I thought I could throw away. I am evaluating 2.0 too right now, dunno whether I'll buy it but so far it looks pretty sweet.
 
My Aperture box arrived today. Pretty fast. I ordered online from Apple on the 13th. Anyway - I have one more question. Can someone explain me the difference between projects and albums ?
 
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