[felix]

Don't expect too much of Aperture 3.5. <_<  

It does not add a lot of functionality.. At least nothing that is relevant for image editing (camera & lens profiles, perspective correction, better noise reduction, better shadow/light recovery, etc...).

I'll probably switch to Lightroom on my new MBP, because it offers way better editing options and I don't hate its interface as much as I used to.. But I'll probably keep using Aperture for non-editing purposes.

[JJ_SO]

I know and wasn't expecting too much. But since my Aperture version still remains at 3.2.4, there are some features useful to me, at least 3:


I could import the D7100 NEF-files in AA - good to have the stuff together, since Capture One is lightyears away from the DAM comfort what even my antique AA version can offer.


In AA 3.5, there's an inbuilt SmugMug uploader. I haven't seen or tried that, but if it's better than the plugIn, I'd call that "progress"


The skin tone white balance can be useful


Anyway, update to Mavericks was nearly succesful until it came to my Apple ID and the AppStore went crazy. So, no downloads, which after all is a good thing. Meanwhile I learnt, that Apple made some serious changes in the iWorks apps. Most of them are not "progress" in my eyes, just to avoid overstressing the sh.. word.


It took long until I was willing to give up my resistance against the dull, boring grey icon sadness. Now I made the step and getting no update because everything comes form AppStore, which is for some reason not working properly, is kind of a sign for me. They go iCloud and I wave them farewell...


I was just thinking, if Phil Schiller mentions Aperture together with the new MacPro racing beast, they might have AA 4 in the pipeline. But even then, 2014 will be soon enough. I was happy with 10.6.8 and I guess, I will be happy again after throwing the backup on my main drive.

[felix]

I was just thinking, if Phil Schiller mentions Aperture together with the new MacPro racing beast, they might have AA 4 in the pipeline. But even then, 2014 will be soon enough.

 

I thought so, too. And I guess they are working on Aperture 4 or Aperture X, but I'm tired of waiting. The thing with Apple is that you can never be sure when or even if they'll release an update to a product... It's annoying sometimes...

[JJ_SO]

Not only not knowing, if and when, but also not knowing how's the balance between "new but unnecessary or worse" and "new and just what I waited for". For long time, Apple was in terms of user friendliness of their OS and Apple's own apps much advanced to Microsoft and until 10.6 they always made progress. But since then, they only try to broaden the path into the cloud. I'm not ready and not willing to walk this path.


I was updating although I always said those grey icons are Stone Age again, why giving up an identification help like color only for design reasons? Now I saw the screenshots again and I thought, good to be able to switch back.


If they really get Aperture to the feature level of LR without giving up some of their standards I like, appreciate and need, I'll need to rethink. But somehow I try to avoid big expectation or hopes and am tired of waiting, too. There was a time I couldn't have too big expectations, because they always exceeded. Gone, I guess.

[Tord555]

I was toying with getting an Nikon P330 and was excited that Apple released the RAW support yesterday.  Playing with a few downloaded NRW files I realised that does not support the essential distortion correction - Images form the wide end of this look like fish-eye.

 

I since learned that Apple doesn't correct RX100 files either and read comments that the 16-50 on NEX is also not well supported. 

 

That left we thinking: What is Apple doing here?  I am actually pretty angry with them.  Do they still have a real interest in this?  Should I just cut my losses and move somewhere else?

 

Since the photoshop licnesing story earlier this year, I am not so fond of Adobe either.  So if I were to move away from aperture what would people recommend?

 

Some do the basic uploading with NX2, which I persume do the optical corrections, and then use the software of their liking. I returned to Aperture, after a long time with Lightroom, but I have tried a lot of other software as well!

 

A program I like, but not have tried in earnest, is Phocus, Hasselblad's own software, that is free to registered users — no I do not own a Hasselblad, but I registered anyway. Have no idea if it is made in-house, or what, but it seems very capable!

[JJ_SO]

Now I look back to 14 months using two DAMs, "managing" files from new cameras in Capture One and all until D800 in Aperture. It's less pain than using Mavericks and new AA to me, but still... I don't want to use Media Pro for Capture One. But I have to do something about photo management, the starting time (for clicking the icon until being ready to work on a picture) in C1 has become 3 minutes, while Aperture (antique) is ready to work in about 25 seconds and keeping 7 times more pictures in it's biggest library. Oh, and the newest Capture One version doesn't support OS 10.6.8 any longer. I tried it, it was not working as C1 7.1.6 - so no more updates for me, once more.

 

So I tried Supreme Photo although such a name triggers some of my prejudices.

 

There's a trial version of 30 days and it's nothing I install and delete again after first glance.

I do feel at home because the interface is well done and reminds me to some of AA's better features. It's fast - after 20 seconds I can start editing.

Edit tools are not as sophisticated as in C1 or AA, but managing pictures is neatly done. Geotagging and keywording are very good as far as I can tell after only two hours playing with it. There's a Mac version and two Windows versions - the bigger one has networking capabilities. I can add as much external editors as I want - unfortunately I'm a fan of "one should do all I need", keeping the RAWs and editing procedures separately and only by exporting the final picture it will become JPG or tiff.

 

My first impression is "something like a better iPhoto", more connectivity to non-Apple products, very fast, better UI than MediaPro (at least at the look of their screenshots) and some potential to become an interesting DAM. Good for people who shoot in RAW, want to tag their photos and find them again. Not so good for people who sometimes need a great tool set to edit - that's where C1 and AA do shine. Nothing for people who need lens-profiles. Nothing for people who want face recognition - is there only AA able to do that? Really?

[felix]

I guess now it's officially time to switch.

 

http://www.macrumors.com/2014/06/27/aper...ent-stops/

[JJ_SO]

Believe it or not: Aperture became the main reason I stuck with Apple. And this decision is the last proof to me, they are these days nothing more than another greedy, visionless bunch of stupid blokes like any other IT related company. My next PC will be an ordinary, grey, unsexy and cheap Windows machine. It's pointless to pay their mad prices anymore. At the moment I hate those suckers in Cupertino and feel sorry for them at the same time. How sad it must be to work in a place which once was the motor of computer innovations and beyond, was really influencing a lot of people's life.


And now?  Next boring iPhone, next lame iMac, next overpriced laptop, chewing Steve's ideas to death until the last bit of taste disappeared into a huge desert of absent phantasy and spirit. The countdown towards "meaningless company" started when Mr. Jobs passed away and I'm convinced today, they have nobody to turn the wheel into an interesting perspective.


Very sad. Goodbye, Apple 

[stoppingdown]

My sympathy, JoJu. I've never bought any Apple hardware other than my laptop for the reasons you state. I'd like to leave them too, but I still must admit that Mac OS X, while not perfect, is the most efficient operating system for me (and I'm a software engineer, so I routinely work with other computers running Windows 8 or Linux). But I understand this is subjective.

 

Glad I also never paid attention to Aperture and picked Lightroom. But neither Adobe leaves me totally at ease - I don't see any surprise in the very next years, but for the longer term... who knows? The truth is that we became digital and put large parts of our lives into the hands of those IT companies.

[JJ_SO]

That's just too true, stoppingdown.

 

The first break happened when D7100 came out and was not supported, the next was the change of a lot parts of Mac OS X interfaces to grey - remember the spot where the runner slammed down the grey screen?

 

So far the iMac is still working fine after 4 years and still capable to handle 40-50MB file size. I try to ignore the day I will have to look for another solution.

 

Adobe goes cloud as all - I'll never become a fan or user of Adobe stuff at home. Different story in the office, where IT has to bother and the big bills are paid by our customers. They still need a reboot when there's an update of Acrobat. Flash and PDF are security risks, big f..k you very much, Adobe.

 

Of course, there will be solutions - but no one as elegant as even my totally outdated Aperture still is. Who knows, maybe one day I go into an Apple store and discover Photos as acceptable. There are dozens of RAW converters, but I still don't understand why  all these are so crippled in managing pictures?