Mac users:

Do you use the Apeture program for PP?

If so, what kind of "powers" does it have. I'm looking at purchasing a MacBook, and am interested in this software....

Thanks

Chris R/T wrote in post #2195558
Do you use the Apeture program for PP?

If so, what kind of "powers" does it have. I'm looking at purchasing a MacBook, and am interested in this software....

Thanks

I currently use iView Media Pro and I just bought Aperture.

On a MBP, it will run very well. Make sure you have a lot of memory (2GB is nice).

Aperture has some really great features - and some really dumb misses for a pro program.

1. Aperture does not capture - or allow you to access - the lens name in the EXIF (i.e. 24-105 mm).

2. Aperture performs best if you use it with 'managed files' - files that Aperture sucks in and manages directly in its monolithic library (actually a package). However, you cannot span a volume with managed files but it will allow you to back up using vaults to another volume. In order to take images out of the library, it is a bit problematic - you have to export projects and then re-import them to look at them. It is not easy to take a managed file and make it a referenced file.

3. If you use referenced files, it loads up those directories with all sorts of xml files. So, if you are using this with another library program or if you like nice clean directories of just your images, it will totally litter this up with xml files.

4. The loupe is very very nice.

5. HUDs are great.

6. The ability to save your RAW files and just track the mods are great.

7. Stacks are great.

8. Cannot change rendering intent for printing (i.e. saturation, perception, absolute colormetric, and relative colormetric). This is just plain ridiculous. They have this great color managed workflow, and then they forget this basic piece?

Overall, I think that even v1.5 (latest) is still sort of a v1.0 program. There are some absolutely spectacular features (loupe, huds, etc..) and then there are some real misses too.

If your library is small and you can easily keep it on your MBP, then it will probably do just fine. If you anticipate this being a problem (and it is for me) then look at something else. I've got 10,000+ images that I keep that are many GB's. I'm not having great luck migrating to Aperture because of the library issues.

J.

I wish aperture had a feature to just send the current photo to an external editor like Photoshop. Right now you have to make a version and send that which is a pain if you merely want to take the image in to PS to use as part of another image. The only way to do it if you let Aperture control your library is to export a version or master to then open in Photoshop. A quick open option would make this much less of a hassle.

For point #2 above, you can export a master, reimport it as a managed file and then lift & stamp all your changes from old to new and delete the old. Seems like a pain, but it ain't all bad.

You don't have to make the version, it does. However, unless you are on new intel hardware, it is pretty doggone slow doing that.

on your second point -
it is pain if you are doing it with 5000 files (which will be my problem). there ought to be a way to have aperture move files from being managed files to referenced files. that would solve the problem nicely.

J.