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MCAsan

macrumors 601
Jul 9, 2012
4,587
442
Atlanta
What I don't like about Raw Power is that it is not part of any organized workflow. There is no integrated DAM in front or layers with it or set of filters/effects behind it. I guess I just want one main environment to handle the workflow from import through output to screen or print.
 

steve123

macrumors 65816
Aug 26, 2007
1,151
716
I think he is heading in that direction though he may need some input to help steer him in the right direction. I think his strategy is to try and leverage photos and use as much of the Apple api that he can. He mentioned a few short comings of what Apple provides. There is a blog post on his site that gives some hints as to where he is going.
 

rmn1644

macrumors member
Dec 7, 2011
47
13
Found this as I was struggling to decide what to do with my Aperture as I finally upgraded from Mojave.

The answer: Retroactive! Turns out someone made a hack called Retroactive to allow Aperture (and iTunes as well if you miss that bloatware) to work on the latest MacOS.

So no need to migrate for the time being. The method of support doesn't look too heinous, I'm surprised Apple just didn't do it themselves.

It's been around for awhile now I'm surprised I didn't hear about it. I was trying to migrate to Lightroom during the Pandemic lockdown but it was sooooooo sloowwwwwwww and would sometimes crash that I gave up. (I had started to split my library into pieces and them importing piece by piece but ran out of energy for that too).

 

steve123

macrumors 65816
Aug 26, 2007
1,151
716
Found this as I was struggling to decide what to do with my Aperture as I finally upgraded from Mojave.

The answer: Retroactive! Turns out someone made a hack called Retroactive to allow Aperture (and iTunes as well if you miss that bloatware) to work on the latest MacOS.

So no need to migrate for the time being. The method of support doesn't look too heinous, I'm surprised Apple just didn't do it themselves.

It's been around for awhile now I'm surprised I didn't hear about it. I was trying to migrate to Lightroom during the Pandemic lockdown but it was sooooooo sloowwwwwwww and would sometimes crash that I gave up. (I had started to split my library into pieces and them importing piece by piece but ran out of energy for that too).


wow, this is incredible news. Thanks for posting.
 
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jz0309

Contributor
Sep 25, 2018
11,318
29,883
SoCal
well, you're only extending the inevitable ...I was a happy Aperture user for many years, had 1000s of keywords, Face recognition and everything, til about 2 or so years ago the db crashed on me and I was unable to restore (I do have backups and everything ...). I made my personal choice and went with Lightroom but there are obviously other choices ...
But as I said, it will not run forever, so prepare yourself for the unavoidable
 
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mtbdudex

macrumors 68030
Aug 28, 2007
2,880
5,201
SE Michigan
I just can't understand why people keep using an outdated piece of software.


well, you're only extending the inevitable ...I was a happy Aperture user for many years, had 1000s of keywords, Face recognition and everything, til about 2 or so years ago the db crashed on me and I was unable to restore (I do have backups and everything ...). I made my personal choice and went with Lightroom but there are obviously other choices ...
But as I said, it will not run forever, so prepare yourself for the unavoidable

I get what both of you are saying... but also this ....
My workflow works for very specific photography, astrophotogrpahy;
-widefield pictures on a tripod, 100's to 1,000's per single night session, my Canon 70D
-They all need some post processing, and always applied to all
-Aperture is perfect for that

What other piece of software is easy and as powerful as Aperture for the above?
 

Alwis

macrumors 6502
Jan 12, 2017
439
506
I just can't understand why people keep using an outdated piece of software.

Because even 7 years after canceling Aperture it ist still a very good software, even compared with current applications.

I switched from Aperture to Capture One. When editing images C1 gives much better results, even the C1 from 2014 was probably better than Aperture. But even today Aperture is the superior DAM, C1 is slow and lacks a lot of features in this regard.

And the Photos application ist even after all this years still a joke. I only use it for uploading some of my edited images to iCloud and it even sucks at this simple use case.
 
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MacNut

macrumors Core
Jan 4, 2002
22,998
9,976
CT
Does Aperture support newer cameras RAW files? These other programs have added features over the years. When was the last time the Aperture software was updated?
 

r.harris1

macrumors 68020
Feb 20, 2012
2,210
12,757
Denver, Colorado, USA
Because even 7 years after canceling Aperture it ist still a very good software, even compared with current applications.

I switched from Aperture to Capture One. When editing images C1 gives much better results, even the C1 from 2014 was probably better than Aperture. But even today Aperture is the superior DAM, C1 is slow and lacks a lot of features in this regard.

And the Photos application ist even after all this years still a joke. I only use it for uploading some of my edited images to iCloud and it even sucks at this simple use case.
Yep, if people want an "all-in-one" for DAM+raw processor, C1 can get clunky on the DAM front, though they've gotten much better over the years. Even with Aperture, I essentially kept my DAM process separate and mostly used Photo Mechanic. Still do today, but with PM+, which is fantastic. I don't spend a lot of time on the DAM side of things though.
 

Alwis

macrumors 6502
Jan 12, 2017
439
506
Does Aperture support newer cameras RAW files? These other programs have added features over the years. When was the last time the Aperture software was updated?

As far aa I know it does nit support new cameras, even if you manage to keep it running. One of the reasons I switched to C1.

Still do today, but with PM+, which is fantastic. I don't spend a lot of time on the DAM side of things though.

I use PM for culling and tried several beta versions of PM+, but never really liked it. Maybe I should try it again. But in general I prefer to have an „integrated“ DAM.
 

r.harris1

macrumors 68020
Feb 20, 2012
2,210
12,757
Denver, Colorado, USA
As far aa I know it does nit support new cameras, even if you manage to keep it running. One of the reasons I switched to C1.



I use PM for culling and tried several beta versions of PM+, but never really liked it. Maybe I should try it again. But in general I prefer to have an „integrated“ DAM.
I didn't care much for PM+ initially during beta and it does take getting used to. It works really well for me in combination with C1 sessions, which is the only way I use C1. Search is very powerful and very fast.
 

mtbdudex

macrumors 68030
Aug 28, 2007
2,880
5,201
SE Michigan
Does Aperture support newer cameras RAW files? These other programs have added features over the years. When was the last time the Aperture software was updated?

I think aperture last update supported the canon 80D.
Some time in 2-3 years, when I go mirror less , yea then I’ll move on.
Till then, it works , paid for ...
 

Ledgem

macrumors 68020
Jan 18, 2008
2,042
936
Hawaii, USA
I get what both of you are saying... but also this ....
My workflow works for very specific photography, astrophotogrpahy;
-widefield pictures on a tripod, 100's to 1,000's per single night session, my Canon 70D
-They all need some post processing, and always applied to all
-Aperture is perfect for that

What other piece of software is easy and as powerful as Aperture for the above?
I also switched to Capture One. In addition to being able to do bulk edits, Capture One has another feature that I don't recall in Aperture, which is automatic edits based on your preferences. For example, I shoot with two cameras from different manufacturers and always need to up the saturation and contrast on one of them to match the other. It became tiring to constantly make that adjustment, so I saved it as a profile. Now all photos from that camera automatically have that adjustment applied as a starting point. I could probably get even fancier and make profiles based on specific factors (adjusting the noise sliders based on the ISO the image was shot at, for example) but I haven't felt the need to so far.

But yes, the DAM component of Capture One is weak compared to Aperture. I have to do my geotagging in a separate app (I like HoudahGeo), whereas I used to do it all in Aperture. Similarly, face tagging and image searching is something I don't do in Capture One. Capture One also bogs down, so I have one major library with all of my photos, and then an intake library where I import the photos, cull, and edit them, before exporting the finished images to Photos (which isn't perfect but has enough of Aperture's DAM functionality to be usable) and the originals to the main Capture One database. It's kind of like having a photo album and a book of negatives... it's become more complicated than when Aperture was around, but the image results are superior, and I don't have to worry about an OS update making things unusable. Plus, in the process of exporting my Aperture files into Capture One and Photos I discovered a surprising amount of image corruption - not a ton, but enough to make me feel a bit better about moving away from it.
 
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zpjet

macrumors newbie
Jan 17, 2005
25
27
I came back after those few years. RAW Power is fine, but the makers started Nitro which seems very nice and has very good pricing, including very reasonable monthly fee which I hope will push me to finally get these Aperture libraries sorted.
 

Ledgem

macrumors 68020
Jan 18, 2008
2,042
936
Hawaii, USA
Still using Capture One but unhappy with their new licensing structure - initially they were going subscription-only, but after their user base complained, they continued to offer a static license - but with the terms that you'd basically get the features available at the time of your purchase, and nothing further unless you bought another license.

To speed up culling, I now first run my photos (almost exclusively family photos now) through Narrative Select. Narrative seems designed for wedding photographers, so it allows you to quickly see and compare faces for sharpness and also rates whether eyes are mid-blink or closed. This allows me to very quickly identify and possibly discard imperfect photos. I then import what's left into Capture One for final image selection and editing. It has sped up my process significantly.

I'm still waiting on Photomator to mature a bit. This is a DAM from the makers of Pixelmator, which I've come to prefer over Photoshop these days. Photomator still has a way to go, but if Pixelmator is anything to go by, I believe it'll be superior to Capture One for my workflow - and with a more favorable licensing and cost.
 
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