Aperture 3 or Photoshop Elements 8

[standingquiet]

I do amateur photography and have never been into the big photoshop cs4 editing ( it all so confusing and expensive ) i just like to do as much on the camera then small tweaks after.

On PC i used to use elements but Aperture seems to be that little bit better especially as it keeps everything organised as well.

I have Photomatix for HDR and exposure blending and i dont shoot in RAW that often.

Whats people views

Regards

Matt

 

[elppa]

Go for Aperture 3.

 

[firestarter]

Lightroom 2.5 / 3

 

[jampat]

Aperture is primarily a photo-management system that also does some editing. Elements is a photo-editing program. Lightroom is primarily a photo-management system, but with more powerful editing tools than aperture. (I have Aperture 2, a friend has lightroom). Other than exposure, vignette and spot healing, I do almost all my photo-editing in PS. Aperture 2 just doesn't have the control or options to do what I need (I have not used Ap 3 which supposedly is better). My friend can do most of his editing in LR with only occasional trips to PS (LR has gradients and region specific corrections that Aperture 2 does not have (or does not do well)).

If you primary purpose is photo-editing, Aperture is over-priced and under-performs. If the organization is important to you, Aperture is a decent choice. Personally, if I was only buying one piece of software, lightroom is the best all around (not the best at everything, but the best combination of editor and filing).

 

[cosmokanga2]

Aperture is primarily a photo-management system that also does some editing. Elements is a photo-editing program. Lightroom is primarily a photo-management system, but with more powerful editing tools than aperture. (I have Aperture 2, a friend has lightroom). Other than exposure, vignette and spot healing, I do almost all my photo-editing in PS. Aperture 2 just doesn't have the control or options to do what I need (I have not used Ap 3 which supposedly is better). My friend can do most of his editing in LR with only occasional trips to PS (LR has gradients and region specific corrections that Aperture 2 does not have (or does not do well)).

If you primary purpose is photo-editing, Aperture is over-priced and under-performs. If the organization is important to you, Aperture is a decent choice. Personally, if I was only buying one piece of software, lightroom is the best all around (not the best at everything, but the best combination of editor and filing).

Whoa. Sorry, Aperture defence here.

OP, download the trial versions of Aperture 3 and Lightroom 3 and try them for yourself. With Aperture 3 Aperture has taken a huge leap forward in editing. As a professional who lives in Aperture all day I only uses PS for major edits where layers and masking is really needed. Compared with PS, Aperture 3 has curves, levels and a whole bunch of new tools, all which can be selectively applied to any part of an image. The above post is talks about Aperture 2, the older version.

You're best bet is to download the Aperture 30-day trial and the Lightroom 3 Beta 2 and give them both a shot. It comes down to a matter of preference.

 

[elppa]

Photoshop Elements = £63.46
Aperture 3 = £169.00
Lightroom 2 = £232.65

Based on that I think price would be a consideration.

 

[John.B]

Mac version of Elements includes Bridge and Camera Raw. If your workload is fairly small, that might be the way to go. For anything where the number of pictures is into the hundreds or thousands, you'll be happier managing the workflow in Aperture or Lightroom. And, although Aperture and Lightroom have gotten some nice adjustment features, you'll still need Elements (or full-blown Photoshop) to do things like edit out unwanted objects, etc. It's not at all uncommon to have Aperture or Lightroom to manage and enhance your images but still do editing in Elements or Photoshop.

 

[Westside guy]

Even with Aperture 2, I didn't find myself using Photoshop much at all. I think the editing capabilities of Aperture and Lightroom sometimes get undersold a bit - plus the hyperbole that often comes out of the two camps (dissing the opposition) doesn't help.

I don't like how Aperture's watermark handling works, so I do that in Photoshop. If I'm constructing a composite image out of multiple photos, that's done in Photoshop. When I had to add a colored gradient band to an image, that was Photoshopped. But for most everything that falls under the category of actual photo editing... I don't use Photoshop at all anymore.

Having said all that - I agree with John B. You can construct a perfectly good workflow using Bridge and Elements. You know how to use Elements, but you may not know how to fully exploit the capabilities of Bridge. For a non-RAW workflow that may be the best way to go (and the cheapest).

 

[standingquiet]

Thanks alot guys, some real good advice

I store my pictures on a external HDD and only keep my most recent on computer.

I edit around 40-60 photos usually after a shoot

as for Prices i can get

PSE8 - £35
Aperture 3 - £99


I think i will try the trials

Cheers

Matt

 

[Gold89]

The simple way to decide if you need Lightroom/Aperture is if you shoot RAW, if you do then they are for you.

 

[StarTzar]

you'll still need Elements (or full-blown Photoshop) to do things like edit out unwanted objects, etc. It's not at all uncommon to have Aperture or Lightroom to manage and enhance your images but still do editing in Elements or Photoshop.

Will Elements be sufficient for editing out unwanted objects?

 

[wirelessmacuser]

Did a search & found this thread with the exact question I have.

I'd like some more feedback from those of you fellow photographers.

Thanks!

 

[mattyb240]

Thanks alot guys, some real good advice

I store my pictures on a external HDD and only keep my most recent on computer.

I edit around 40-60 photos usually after a shoot

as for Prices i can get

PSE8 - £35
Aperture 3 - £99


I think i will try the trials

Cheers

Matt

Definately try the trials of both, but I couldn't help but notice what you said, you should look at getting another external. If your current one dies then you are only left "with the most recent" on your computer!