Life After Aperture - What are you using now?

[maflynn]

In my highly unprofessional opinion there are really only two choices out there if you want a single piece of software to do your DAM, do a good job at RAW conversion, and to be able to locally edit distinct aspects of your image (masks / layers)....Capture One Pro and Lightroom / PS.

Very succinctly put. At one point, I thought I wanted superior RAW conversion, but as I was trying out C1, I found that DAM is actually a more important feature. I was spoiled by the options both Aperture and LR provided. I'm content with LR in my specific case, though I'm mulling whether DXO is in my future for RAW conversions (either for some or all of my images).

 

[simonsi]

Aperture is still working fine for me. No reason to switch until it won't work on an OS X revision or Photos does what I want. N

I thought that until trialling Capture One, except for the integration of Photostream and Facebook posting, Capture One is a big step up - just to add these are the ONLY features I ever used in Aperture that aren't there in C1, all other features seem to be a big improvement in function over Aperture). I'm almost glad its changing status prompted me to look around and I'm very grateful for VirtualRain's input...

Yesterday I removed Aperture from my Dock...

 

[glenthompson]

Your rolling the dice on two things, first if it suddenly stops working, you'll be in a mad scramble to fins a replacement or trying to roll back an update. Secondly you'll be that much more behind the curve in moving even more images over to its replacement.

While I don't knock anyone from using the app, there are risks, whether they are short term or long term risks are anyone's guess but they are there.

For me, as I've stated before, the hand writing was on the wall for Aperture, I might as well make an orderly transition over now rather then later when I may need some functionality immediately and the app failed.

I usually test new versions of OS X before upgrading my main machine. I did that with Yosemite and verified that I could do all I needed in Aperture as well as some other apps. Before doing an upgrade I also make one or more CCC clones.

There are always risks when using unsupported software. In this case I find them to be relatively minor. YMMV

----------

Aperture is working fine for me as well, but....

Here's what I think it boils down to after trying out different options.

If you mainly do simple, image wide adjustments (exposure, contrast, saturation, convert to B&W, use a filter, etc...) then stick with Aperture and wait for Photos.

If you want to control different parts of your image separately (maybe like me you are using NIK and their "control points" to do that) then it's time to move on to a new piece of software.

In my highly unprofessional opinion there are really only two choices out there if you want a single piece of software to do your DAM, do a good job at RAW conversion, and to be able to locally edit distinct aspects of your image (masks / layers)....Capture One Pro and Lightroom / PS.

If I didn't want that level of control and only applied universal edits to images I'd probably wait for Photos.

I switched from iPhoto to Aperture because iPhoto didn't have the editing capabilities I needed. i have yet to exceed the capabilities of Aperture. I just do basic editing. I've always believed it was important to get the shot right the first time and not try to fix it in the darkroom.

 

[lJoSquaredl]

Might snag a Sony mirrorless and get Capture One since it's only $30.

 

[maflynn]

I usually test new versions of OS X before upgrading my main machine. I did that with Yosemite and verified that I could do all I needed in Aperture as well as some other apps. Before doing an upgrade I also make one or more CCC clones.

There are always risks when using unsupported software. In this case I find them to be relatively minor. YMMV

If you have that option, then yeah thats a safe move. I always maintain a backup of my rMBP as well.

 

[skaeight]

Might snag a Sony mirrorless and get Capture One since it's only $30.

I've thought about that (I have an NEX-5t). I actually downloaded the free light version, but haven't messed with it yet. The only downside is the cheap Sony version only supports Sony raw files, so in I'm my case my old Cannon raw files won't be compatible. But for $30 it's prob worth having around to play with. I'll have to spend some time with it at some point.

 

[benoitgphoto]

Corel AfterShot Pro 2

I am using Corel AfterShot Pro 2 and I really like it.

Excellent file browser, you can also use Library with keywords, ratings, etc. Good Raw conversion. Blazing fast. Localized adjustments with layers. Lens correction. Non destructive plug-in. Too bad that this one does not get more love, it has great potential to be in the top 3 or 4 best raw converters

Side by side comparaison between ASP2 and LR :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX7ek7xJYJ0

 

[r.harris1]

I am using Corel AfterShot Pro 2 and I really like it.

Excellent file browser, you can also use Library with keywords, ratings, etc. Good Raw conversion. Blazing fast. Localized adjustments with layers. Lens correction. Too bad that this one does not get more love, it has great potential to be in the top 3 or 4 best raw converters

Side by side comparaison between ASP2 and LR :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX7ek7xJYJ0

I was a huge fan of Bibble, and became nervous after they were purchased by Corel. They let it wither for a very long time and went through some internal politics before letting 2.0 see the light of day. They seem to be giving it a bit more love, which is a good thing and seeing your post has reminded me that I should check out 2.0.

 

[robgendreau]

I was a huge fan of Bibble, and became nervous after they were purchased by Corel. They let it wither for a very long time and went through some internal politics before letting 2.0 see the light of day. They seem to be giving it a bit more love, which is a good thing and seeing your post has reminded me that I should check out 2.0.

BTW, AFP 2 and some other nice applications are on sale at Stack Social for $45US right now. It includes Snapselect, which is an interesting and promising pick/cull browser from MacPhun that integrates very well with Lightroom and/or Aperture/iPhoto, and Data Rescue, which I have used to retrieve stuff that was accidentally deleted from SD cards. And Things and ScreenFlow, which are good programs as well.

I have found AFP to be occasionally buggy, but often pretty quick (seems to get faster, maybe due to caching). I especially like the browser function. You can move photos in AFP and those moves are reflected in the Finder, and it's smart enough to move the XMP sidecars too. It's not gonna make me give up LR, but it does come in handy at times.

 

[Attonine]

I wasn't aware of Corel AFP2. Have to say it looks pretty good. I wonder if Corel can keep up the good work and make AFP2 the sleeper app that slowly gains market share to eventually become a real contender.

 

[FWRLCK]

That's fine, but the only thing I'd recommend is be careful with OS X updates. You don't want Aperture to break at the most inopportune time, i.e., needing to use it and now it no longer works. I'm not saying that will occur tomorrow, next week, next month but just keep in mind the possible worst case scenario

After the buggy Yosemite release, I think I'm going to be a slow upgrader for a while, Aperture compatibility aside.

 

[kelub]

TL;DR: Check out DarkTable.

I'm surprised DarkTable isn't mentioned more. I've been transitioning from Aperture to it over the past week or so. Learning a new workflow is a bit like learning how to walk all over again, but as a product I've been pretty happy with DarkTable. The edits are non-destructible and the software is really powerful. There's a learning curve but between reading the manual and watching some videos on YouTube I'm picking it up.

I think I'll probably export out my aperture photos to high quality jpegs eventually. I seldom ever go back and re-process old photos, so having them "locked" into jpg won't be that big of a deal.

I start by copying the RAW images into folders (via Image Capture or just using finder) using the same naming strategy I used in Aperture: YYYY-MM-DD <Description>. Then I import the folder into the software as a "roll." I'll go through the roll and reject obvious trash images, then rate the rest: images with 4 or 5 stars are obvious "good" shots, while 2-3 stars are left for later consideration. I'll post process the 4 and 5 star images to my satisfaction, then export what I want to share as jpgs to a separate folder. (At some point I'll go back over the 2-3 star images and decide whether or not they're worth keeping and working on, or if they're just duplicates of a 4 or 5 star image. More often than not, it's the latter.)

Right now I'm importing the jpg's into Aperture to share the pictures to an iCloud folder or Facebook or whatever, but eventually that will be replaced with the Photos app. It'll serve as a repository for my final product(s), keeping all of my best images synchronized across devices and to social media sites. The original RAW images with their sidecar edits will stay in their folders. (I did change Aperture to simply point to the jpg finals instead of importing them - no need to duplicate the space used.)

I'd already been trying to keep my photo storage relatively "clean," even in Aperture, by parsing down to annual "photo albums" - each completed year I'd go through and only keep 300-400 of the best pictures from that year and delete the rest. To save myself from going through thousands of photos once a year, I've been pretty good at habitually purging photos from individual shoots at the end of my post-processing workflow that didn't make the cut. It's kept my Aperture library pretty lean.

I then share the annual photo album out to an iCloud shared photo stream so that it's available online and I can share it with family if I want. If something happens to me, I know that my wife/kids/family has access to our photos without having to learn how to use a photography DAM. Again, that's where the Photos app will come in - not as a post-processing editor, but simply as a tool to share and synchronize the best photos I have.

 

[skaeight]

I'm surprised DarkTable isn't mentioned more. I've been transitioning from Aperture to it over the past week or so. Learning a new workflow is a bit like learning how to walk all over again, but as a product I've been pretty happy with DarkTable. The edits are non-destructible and the software is really powerful. There's a learning curve but between reading the manual and watching some videos on YouTube I'm picking it up.

I think I'll probably export out my aperture photos to high quality jpegs eventually. I seldom ever go back and re-process old photos, so having them "locked" into jpg won't be that big of a deal.

I start by copying the RAW images into folders (via Image Capture or just using finder) using the same naming strategy I used in Aperture: YYYY-MM-DD <Description>. Then I import the folder into the software as a "roll." I'll go through the roll and reject obvious trash images, then rate the rest: images with 4 or 5 stars are obvious "good" shots, while 2-3 stars are left for later consideration. I'll post process the 4 and 5 star images to my satisfaction, then export what I want to share as jpgs to a separate folder. (At some point I'll go back over the 2-3 star images and decide whether or not they're worth keeping and working on, or if they're just duplicates of a 4 or 5 star image. More often than not, it's the latter.)

Right now I'm importing the jpg's into Aperture to share the pictures to an iCloud folder or Facebook or whatever, but eventually that will be replaced with the Photos app. It'll serve as a repository for my final product(s), keeping all of my best images synchronized across devices and to social media sites. The original RAW images with their sidecar edits will stay in their folders. (I did change Aperture to simply point to the jpg finals instead of importing them - no need to duplicate the space used.)

I'd already been trying to keep my photo storage relatively "clean," even in Aperture, by parsing down to annual "photo albums" - each completed year I'd go through and only keep 300-400 of the best pictures from that year and delete the rest. To save myself from going through thousands of photos once a year, I've been pretty good at habitually purging photos from individual shoots at the end of my post-processing workflow that didn't make the cut. It's kept my Aperture library pretty lean.

I then share the annual photo album out to an iCloud shared photo stream so that it's available online and I can share it with family if I want. If something happens to me, I know that my wife/kids/family has access to our photos without having to learn how to use a photography DAM. Again, that's where the Photos app will come in - not as a post-processing editor, but simply as a tool to share and synchronize the best photos I have.

I actually did look at Darkroom, but I pretty quickly realized its really just a knockoff of Lightroom (even the name). The interface is very reminiscent of Lightroom. I found a lot of stuff just didn't work very well though. If I ever had to switch to Linux for some reason I'd probably be able to make it work, but I'm on the Mac so I'll use Lightroom instead.

 

[v3rlon]

I actually did look at Darkroom, but I pretty quickly realized its really just a knockoff of Lightroom (even the name). The interface is very reminiscent of Lightroom. I found a lot of stuff just didn't work very well though. If I ever had to switch to Linux for some reason I'd probably be able to make it work, but I'm on the Mac so I'll use Lightroom instead.

As someone who couldn't stand the darktable interface, bordering on an allergic reaction, I guess Lightroom is probably not for me either then.

 

[skaeight]

As someone who couldn't stand the darktable interface, bordering on an allergic reaction, I guess Lightroom is probably not for me either then.

Lightroom is better, but its similar. The interface to move between the modules is basically a complete rip off - as are the previews. Darkroom's adjustment panes are really awful though. Lightroom is much much better - much more similar to Aperture in that they're all available without having to go to different screens.

 

[soulreaver99]

Still using aperture. I can't get used to how Lightroom organizes photos.

 

[kelub]

Lightroom is better, but its similar. The interface to move between the modules is basically a complete rip off - as are the previews. Darkroom's adjustment panes are really awful though. Lightroom is much much better - much more similar to Aperture in that they're all available without having to go to different screens.

DarkTable allows you to customize the adjustment section - you can select which adjustments are on which tabs, or just add the adjustments you use onto a "favorites" tab. The adjustments themselves can be modified using the scroll wheel, right clicking and using a "curve" for granular control, dragged back and forth, or the setting can be typed in directly. There are multiple adjustments that overlap so you can choose which works best for you - maybe you'd rather use "exposure" instead of "tone curve" or whatever.

I can't compare it to LR because I haven't used it (collective gasp, lol). I created a Creative Cloud account, and got *thisclose* to installing it, and just... didn't. At that time I decided I'd just stick with Aperture for a while longer. It wasn't until about 3 weeks ago that I decided to actually start transitioning away from it as my primary DAM/editing suite, and really thought I was going bite the bullet and go with LR. Figured I'd give DarkTable a try before I spent the money.

DarkTable runs great on OSX and is open source. I get that LR is essentially the industry standard, but as C1 and DxO are discussed as alternatives, I just think it's worth tossing in the conversation. At its latest build it's really powerful, has a lot of great tools, and it's free.

 

[robgendreau]

Still using aperture. I can't get used to how Lightroom organizes photos.

That probably depends on how you organize them

I wouldn't let anybody organize mine but me; letting software do it is what causes so many conniptions when people have to use new software. As you have to eventually.

 

[lJoSquaredl]

I've thought about that (I have an NEX-5t). I actually downloaded the free light version, but haven't messed with it yet. The only downside is the cheap Sony version only supports Sony raw files, so in I'm my case my old Cannon raw files won't be compatible. But for $30 it's prob worth having around to play with. I'll have to spend some time with it at some point.

Luckily my portfolio isn't all that large yet so even if I did have to work on old files I could just download a trial of something for a month But I can see that as being a concern for someone with a lot of prior work, especially if they allow customers to recontact for files, etc.

 

[UniDoubleU]

Still using Aperture here. We create a lot of photo books for our clients and Aperture's photo book creation is lightyears ahead of Lightroom's. As a backup, can anyone suggest a great photo book creation app for Macs with nice templates?

 

[simonsi]

Still using Aperture here. We create a lot of photo books for our clients and Aperture's photo book creation is lightyears ahead of Lightroom's. As a backup, can anyone suggest a great photo book creation app for Macs with nice templates?

Unless Apple are dropping that facility I assume Photos must have that capability?

 

[UniDoubleU]

Unless Apple are dropping that facility I assume Photos must have that capability?

Photos does have it, as I recall. Doesn't look like it'll work in Projects though, would certainly be difficult to share the work with others. Wait and see what comes up I suppose. Aperture hasn't failed me yet, it even received new RAW processing capabilities.

 

[simonsi]

Aperture hasn't failed me yet, it even received new RAW processing capabilities.

If you mean the RAW updates that is because OS X handles that in the OS so it will still receive updates, it isn't an Aperture update as such.