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6 Months Since Aperture (& iPhotos) Death

Am I happy with the direction Apple is taking? Uhm, yes, no, maybe, sometimes, and undecided. That about covers my answer.

Some things are really good (cleaner OS look, Siri knows sports, FCP X after the initial speed bumps). Some are just meh (iPad pro, iWatch). Some are annoying (long wait to Photos, bugs of all flavors).

But will it be any different at Microsoft? (no, been there). Linux? (no, been there too). Free BSD? ChromeOS? Amiga OS? ANYTHING? If there is a software company out there making products exactly how you like them, why the blazes aren't you using them instead?

There are tradeoffs with all of them. Pick the ones that work best for you.
 
Ya I agree, I actually am mostly happy with the direction they've chosen, obviously with the exception of Killing Aperture (completely agree the integrated SoC design for the iOS devices is stellar). I absolutely love my RiMac and I like the design and intended direction of both iOS 8 and Yosemite. But I agree it's just the execution of this plan that is lacking in certain areas. That is really what my gripe is about, and in my view releasing the watch hasn't helped the execution of other things.

No I'm not considering switching to another platform. I'm to the point where I basically don't have to use windows anymore (even at work) and it makes me very happy. But things need to work.

Apple is trying to do a lot right now. They just need to slow down and not add more things until everything they've already shipped works. Hopefully after the watch ships that is the direction they take.

Also, I'm guessing Photos will be released at the event where they release the watch, so the sooner that comes the better.
 
The Photos app section is back up on Apple.com.

https://www.apple.com/osx/photos-preview/

You can still make Photo Books!

Re/Code write up:

While Photos offers some advanced settings like white balance and level, it lacks some of the professional-level tools found in Aperture. For example, it doesn’t have brushable or curve adjustments and doesn’t support splitting and merging libraries. And you can’t add custom metadata fields in the app.
Click to expand...

http://recode.net/2015/02/05/first-look-apples-photos-app-for-mac-os-x/

Like I said, a Soccer Mom app.
 
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I'm still good with Aperture. My needs have grown simpler over time. I think Photos will be OK along with Vertus for extracting features and Pixelmator and Acorn for a few other things.
 
VirtualRain said:
Yeah, disappointing... looks like an iPhoto replacement... not going to cut it for me as an Aperture replacement.
Click to expand...

hmmmm....ya I'm not sure. I'm going to have to think about this more. At least we have SOME information now, not just one screenshot.

One thing do see that I was hoping for is there is the option to optimize storage (not download all full size images) like on the iPhone. This would be great for my air and work laptops.

The big wild card in all of this is 3rd party extensions. They could theoretically add in lost functionality.

I am also happy to see that projects, albums, and the ability to print books are in tact.
 
so now "The end is nigh" posters will have to come up with something new. I am sure the icon will not be pretty enough or something.

We will have to see how the extensions shape up.
 
v3rlon said:
so now "The end is nigh" posters will have to come up with something new. I am sure the icon will not be pretty enough or something.

We will have to see how the extensions shape up.
Click to expand...

I'm waiting for that and specifics about tagging. Really, it's all about tagging. I'm suspicious that the tagging isn't going to meet my needs.
 
FWRLCK said:
I'm waiting for that and specifics about tagging. Really, it's all about tagging. I'm suspicious that the tagging isn't going to meet my needs.
Click to expand...

I can't imagine it won't do keywords (which is what they're called in photos; I assume you aren't talking about OS X tags). The re/code previews shows an info window where you can add a keyword; but whether you can do hierarchies, keep custom lists, etc is unknown right now. The Verge reports you can't geocode or star rate, which doesn't bode well.

Every preview article I saw says it's got more than iPhotos, less than Aperture, which was what a lot of people predicted. I could use something like that, but I'm not gonna sell my copies of other software. And BTW, even if it doesn't have robust keywording capability, just get something that does do a good job of that. Graphic Converter, for example.
 
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https://www.macrumors.com/2015/02/05/photos-for-os-x-first-impressions/

I'm sure everyone is reading through all the info.

This quote isn't very comforting (but perhaps expected)...

"Advanced users, particularly those operating on 5K iMacs or Mac Pros, may be happier eventually switching to Adobe Lightroom—though most of them probably have done so already. But for most of us, particularly recent Mac converts and people who may not fancy themselves serious photographers, Photos is a welcomely humble way to approach image editing."

Looks like a great step up for iPhoto users but a step down for Aperture users. The editing tools are pretty much what you have on the IOS version of Photos. I like the new Photos app on my iphone but it's nowhere near as good an editor as Snapseed or Photoshop Express. I like all the idea of the iCloud and images being available on any device but the real killer for me is no roundtrip editing with third parties. Perhaps that will come later and there is time to wait and see how Photos develops but....

Perhaps I'm headed for a future where I do all my post processing in one "system" and then manage/access my content in another. That's sad because Aperture is pretty much perfect for me right now and with plugins it does everything I need.

At least more info should start flowing since it's out in the wild.
 
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The Verge also reported this:

It’s worth noting that Photos for OS X obfuscates the file system even more than iPhoto or Aperture do — once you import photos from your camera, it seems to be impossible to locate the original file in the Finder, even if you have Photos set to store the original, full-size images on your computer rather than only keep them in iCloud. Those who want to maintain absolute control over their images will probably want to save original files in Finder and then import the best shots into Photos for further work and sharing.
Click to expand...
 
This is from the Yahoo Tech writeup...

Missing features

As noted in my companion story, moving to Photos 1.0 means giving up some familiar features, too. From iPhoto, you’ll miss these:
•Flags

•Star ratings

•Events

•Round-trip editing in another app (like Photoshop)

•Sort album by keyword, title, rating

And these Aperture features (among others) are missing:
•Flags, star ratings, color labels

•Projects

•Merge/split libraries

•Split view

•Loupe

•Camera tethering

•Stacks

•Brushable adjustments

•Adjustment resets

•Curves

•Metadata batch adjustments

Apple will add most of these features, and more, to Photos over the years that’s its usual routine. But at the outset, you’ll have to muddle through without them.

I'm willing to wait and see how this develops (unless I discover a non-apple total solution that I'm happy with). I like some of the things I'm reading about asset management across all devices (and non destructive editing). But the two things I really, really want are third party extensions (i.e. the zenfolio uploading extension) and round trip editing with plugins (NIK!!!).

I'm not sure these things will come though as I think Apple wants a unified experience across all the devices. So that may drive a more homogenous (generic) set of capabilities that are common across both OS and IOS.
 
JDDavis said:
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/02/05/photos-for-os-x-first-impressions/

I'm sure everyone is reading through all the info.

This quote isn't very comforting (but perhaps expected)...

"Advanced users, particularly those operating on 5K iMacs or Mac Pros, may be happier eventually switching to Adobe Lightroom—though most of them probably have done so already. But for most of us, particularly recent Mac converts and people who may not fancy themselves serious photographers, Photos is a welcomely humble way to approach image editing."

Looks like a great step up for iPhoto users but a step down for Aperture users. The editing tools are pretty much what you have on the IOS version of Photos. I like the new Photos app on my iphone but it's nowhere near as good an editor as Snapseed or Photoshop Express. I like all the idea of the iCloud and images being available on any device but the real killer for me is no roundtrip editing with third parties. Perhaps that will come later and there is time to wait and see how Photos develops but....

Perhaps I'm headed for a future where I do all my post processing in one "system" and then manage/access my content in another. That's sad because Aperture is pretty much perfect for me right now and with plugins it does everything I need.

At least more info should start flowing since it's out in the wild.
Click to expand...

As I've said, it's an iOS world and everything the Mac has been getting lately are iOS features and compatibility. Serious photogs and pros are left out in the dust, as I predicted.

Photos will be great for my already processed family photos output (which goes through LR anyway), but I stick to LR for my serious work. Nothing changes for me.
 
robgendreau said:
I can't imagine it won't do keywords (which is what they're called in photos; I assume you aren't talking about OS X tags). The re/code previews shows an info window where you can add a keyword; but whether you can do hierarchies, keep custom lists, etc is unknown right now. The Verge reports you can't geocode or star rate, which doesn't bode well.

Every preview article I saw says it's got more than iPhotos, less than Aperture, which was what a lot of people predicted. I could use something like that, but I'm not gonna sell my copies of other software. And BTW, even if it doesn't have robust keywording capability, just get something that does do a good job of that. Graphic Converter, for example.
Click to expand...

I'm also hearing that it doesn't support round-tripping to an external editor, which is a deal breaker for me.
 
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/everything-worth-knowing-about-switching-to-os-x-110129491789.html

A decent article about "converting" to photos. The nice thing is it doesn't do anything to your Aperture or Iphotos libraries but it can access them. You could conceivably use all 3 at the same time. Unlike the worst upgrade of all time I ever experienced (iMovie). That was the first Apple product I uninstalled and went back to an older version.

These words are from the Yahoo article...

"Apple intends to move Mac fans from iPhoto to Photos in much the same way it moved from Final Cut Pro to Final Cut Pro X. At first, it will offer a very basic, clean, 1.0 version that’s missing many advanced features of its predecessor. Then, over the months and years, it will restore old features and add new ones, bit by bit, until the new program is even more capable than the old one."

----------
FWRLCK said:
I'm also hearing that it doesn't support round-tripping to an external editor, which is a deal breaker for me.
Click to expand...

That seems to be the word so far. Of course you can still manually "round trip" but that's not the point since you end up with extra copies and have to do the extra work yourself.

When Photos was updated in IOS I thought there was a hint in where this could be headed with the "expandable" edit capability. You can use the simple "do it all" slider for "Light" for example or expand that into more detailed sliders. My hope was that Photos on OS would take that farther and offer a simple interface with magic sliders for those who want that and the ability to expand into more sophisticated control for "power users". It does that but it doesn't go any further than what Photos in IOS does. Without 3rd party plugins, extensions, or round trip capability to stand alone apps it may be DOA for me. Which is a shame because I really like the idea of "one library to rule them all".
 
JDDavis said:
Missing Features

•Round-trip editing in another app

•Flags, star ratings

•Brushable adjustments

•Adjustment resets

•Batch adjustments
Click to expand...

I use these in every photo editing session and probably can't live without them. I'll either continue using Aperture as long as it runs on OS X or switch to Capture One Pro.

It's a shame that Apple doesn't take pro photography as serious as they do audio and video production.
 
JDDavis said:
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/everything-worth-knowing-about-switching-to-os-x-110129491789.html

"Apple intends to move Mac fans from iPhoto to Photos in much the same way it moved from Final Cut Pro to Final Cut Pro X. At first, it will offer a very basic, clean, 1.0 version that’s missing many advanced features of its predecessor. Then, over the months and years, it will restore old features and add new ones, bit by bit, until the new program is even more capable than the old one."
Click to expand...

Note that they said from iPhoto to Photos. Even if they added every single iPhoto feature (geolocation, flags, stars, etc etc) and more it is very very very different than saying they're going to add Aperture features. But note that's just Yahoo; I doubt they are any more privy to Apple's plans than your average poster here.
 
JDDavis said:
This is from the Yahoo Tech writeup...

Missing features

As noted in my companion story, moving to Photos 1.0 means giving up some familiar features, too. From iPhoto, you’ll miss these:
•Flags

•Star ratings

•Events

•Round-trip editing in another app (like Photoshop)

•Sort album by keyword, title, rating

And these Aperture features (among others) are missing:
•Flags, star ratings, color labels

•Projects

•Merge/split libraries

•Split view

•Loupe

•Camera tethering

•Stacks

•Brushable adjustments

•Adjustment resets

•Curves

•Metadata batch adjustments

Apple will add most of these features, and more, to Photos over the years that’s its usual routine. But at the outset, you’ll have to muddle through without them.

I'm willing to wait and see how this develops (unless I discover a non-apple total solution that I'm happy with). I like some of the things I'm reading about asset management across all devices (and non destructive editing). But the two things I really, really want are third party extensions (i.e. the zenfolio uploading extension) and round trip editing with plugins (NIK!!!).

I'm not sure these things will come though as I think Apple wants a unified experience across all the devices. So that may drive a more homogenous (generic) set of capabilities that are common across both OS and IOS.
Click to expand...

I'm assuming that's supposed to be "Adjustment Presets" (if so, poorly edited article, I noticed some other typos).

Not having presets or round tripping are likely going to be deal breakers for me. The only thing that could mitigate loss of round tripping is extensions - Pixelmator will likely be on board soon, but it's unlikely Photoshop will be.

I have a couple of Aperture presets I've developed that help give my photos a consistent look that I'm currently fond of, so with this I'll have to manually do this on each photo? That just plain sucks.

David Pogues article was very clear to say that most of the above features will be added. It's good to hear Apple will be adding more features much like they did with FCPX, but I don't know. I don't think I can live without some of these core features with no idea which ones will be added or when.

To me this seems worse than what they did to FCPX. I know that was missing a lot of features that FCP users were accustomed to (multicam, xml import), and it used a very different editing paradigm, but it was a pro app. The equivalent would have been if they released a new version of iMovie as their only NLE and said that they'll eventually add most of the pro features back.

I guess I can't blame apple for doing this, this is going to be perfect for the vast majority of their users, but as it stands now this is not a suitable replacement for Aperture. The pro photography market must just not be lucrative enough for them to focus on anymore (I'm assuming that means they've made more money on FCP than Aperture over the years).

I need to keep reading about this and do some more thinking about it, but I think I'm likely going to be signing up for the Adobe Photography Creative Cloud package soon.
 
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skaeight said:
I guess I can't blame apple for doing this, this is going to be perfect for the vast majority of their users, but as it stands now this is not a suitable replacement for Aperture. The pro photography market must just not be lucrative enough for them to focus on anymore (I'm assuming that means they've made more money on FCP than Aperture over the years.
Click to expand...

I have no problem blaming Apple for this at all. From what I recall Aperture was their #2 selling app on the store. And it's not just Aperture users that have been screwed, Photos seems like even an evolutionary step backwards from iPhotos. It's 2015 and they come out with a photo management system with no round-tripping to more capable apps, or even geolocation support?!?

The only thing that makes sense is that they are going to try to make Photos the app to push traffic to iCloud -- which they eventually hope will be a huge cash cow. Aperture was profitable, but sacrificed in hopes of bigger profits.... greed will get Apple again I fear, as it has several times in its history. Don't learn from history, relive it.
 
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