New iPhoto

[miloblithe]

So what do people think of the new tools apparently available in iPhoto? Apparently there are shadow, highlight, and noise reduction sliders now, a selector for chosing a white spot on the picture to set white balance, and the histogram gives you the ability not only to set the end points but the mid-point as well. Seems great to me. Those are all features that made me want to upgrade to something other than iPhoto. I realize that more serious users probably only edit photos in a real photo editor, but to me, iPhoto has seemed acceptable. I would still like a better retouching tool and access to color channels, but this seems like it will satisfy me for a little longer.

 

[AdeFowler]

I'd have liked o have seen auto-red-eye correction added... I believe Adobe Elements has it.

 

[-hh]

The iphoto updates look fairly reasonable...and I agree with the comments about 'event' clustering as a means of organizing stuff.

not sure about the other tools, but with Photoshop on the side, its not all that particularly important to me...

...but what I would say is important is the likely very good integration with the updated .mac service, which at 10GB of storage space is starting to become a reasonable amount at a reasonably competitive price. I can of course still go to fatcow and get 300GB for $99 too, but the trade-off is in the degree of convenience from integration of the other .mac services...all I know is that either one is cheaper (and with more storage space) than what I'm paying for my domain right now, where I'm getting only 200MB of total space for around $150/year.


-hh

 

[Tumeg101]

I really love the new iPhoto updates, I love the events idea, and the other updates (like the ones stated in the original post) all remind me of Aperture, I was planning on buying that after I get my MacBook Pro, but now that the new iPhoto has most of Apertures features, I will just save myself the money and use iPhoto

 

[job]

The new features seem great, but do we know if the editing is non-destructive (as it is with LR/AP?)

Regardless, iPhoto seems great for casual users.

 

[miloblithe]

The new features seem great, but do we know if the editing is non-destructive (as it is with LR/AP?)

Regardless, iPhoto seems great for casual users.

It's non-destructive in that iPhoto makes a copy if you make any changes. You can always revert to the original. This does mean that there are two files on your hard drive for the "one" picture, which is cumbersome, plus the thumbnail, so three files. Aperture (and Lightroom I assume) only save the original file and the instructions for the changes you've made, plus the thumbnail (I think).

 

[mbcracken]

Rotating?

Does the new iPhoto allow rotating photos at any degree 1, 3 15, 23, 90? I find at times I tilt the frame a little when pushing the big red button.

Cheers,
Mike

 

[miloblithe]

Does the new iPhoto allow rotating photos at any degree 1, 3 15, 23, 90? I find at times I tilt the frame a little when pushing the big red button.

Cheers,
Mike

Yup. Actually, the previous version did this too, and maybe some before that.

 

[mbcracken]

Yup. Actually, the previous version did this too, and maybe some before that.

Thanks dude!

 

[freebooter]

I'm not impressed.

IPhoto still can't display my NEF (ie RAW) files from my Nikon D40 in the edit window properly (weird color distortion).

Second, I briefly tried the new editing tools and any changes took a looong time to process on my 24" 2.16 iMac. I think I'm going to have to ditch iPhoto for good.

 

[miloblithe]

I'm not impressed.

IPhoto still can't display my NEF (ie RAW) files from my Nikon D40 in the edit window properly (weird color distortion).

Second, I briefly tried the new editing tools and any changes took a looong time to process on my 24" 2.16 iMac. I think I'm going to have to ditch iPhoto for good.

I just went and played with it in the store and it seemed reasonably snappy, although I noticed that most of the files on the computer were 2-4 megapixels. I played a bit with the adjustments with a 10MP file and it seemed quick. I don't think there were any RAW files on there though.

as for weird color distortion, that sounds like a show stopper right there. I haven't put too many RAW files into iPhoto '06 on my home computer, but the few I did seemed fine. I just don't know how well iPhoto is really going to do with applying sharpness, saturation, etc. to RAW files. On the other hand, excepting a few applications, I'll probably stick to JPEGs. So for RAW, I may stick to Canon's (incredibly clunky, unergonomic) software.

What are you thinking of ditching iPhoto for?

 

[job]

What are you thinking of ditching iPhoto for?

I'm honestly thinking about switching to Lightroom.

I don't need an updated iMovie, or iWeb, so there's little incentive for me to upgrade iLife. On the other hand, I have about 3000+ pictures in iPhoto and I'm starting to shoot RAW. I can get Adobe Lightroom for $99 with my student discount, so it's a no-brainer.

 

[JeffTL]

I'm honestly thinking about switching to Lightroom.

I don't need an updated iMovie, or iWeb, so there's little incentive for me to upgrade iLife. On the other hand, I have about 3000+ pictures in iPhoto and I'm starting to shoot RAW. I can get Adobe Lightroom for $99 with my student discount, so it's a no-brainer.

Definitely do it. I went Lightroom and haven't looked back

 

[miloblithe]

I'm in a similar no-brainer situation: I'm buying a new computer, and I'm not a student, so free vrs. $250-300 is an easy choice, despite my 10,000+ photos and interest in shooting some things in RAW.

 

[ChrisA]

I can get Adobe Lightroom for $99 with my student discount, so it's a no-brainer.

And as a student you can get Aperture for $150. The difference in price is trivial. Get the one you want. Both offer a 30 day free download so try before you buy.

The worst thing would be to buy one and then decide to switch. Not only do you loos some money but more importantly your time. So use both for 30 days.

I tried and found I did not like Lightroom's workflow but I will wait untill I have a more powerful Mac before I get Aperture. Until then it's iPhoto and Photoshop combo.

 

[ChrisA]

IPhoto still can't display my NEF (ie RAW) files from my Nikon D40 in the edit window properly (weird color distortion).

iPhoto and Aperture share the same underlaying software for working with NEF files (actually for working with all types of image files) the RAW conversion is down in Core Image with is part of Mac OS X.

 

[freebooter]

I just went and played with it in the store and it seemed reasonably snappy, although I noticed that most of the files on the computer were 2-4 megapixels. I played a bit with the adjustments with a 10MP file and it seemed quick. I don't think there were any RAW files on there though.

as for weird color distortion, that sounds like a show stopper right there. I haven't put too many RAW files into iPhoto '06 on my home computer, but the few I did seemed fine. I just don't know how well iPhoto is really going to do with applying sharpness, saturation, etc. to RAW files. On the other hand, excepting a few applications, I'll probably stick to JPEGs. So for RAW, I may stick to Canon's (incredibly clunky, unergonomic) software.

What are you thinking of ditching iPhoto for?

Yes, the distortion is very bad. The weirdness manifests as a granular, laddered, red/green solarization which partially swamps the original colors/tones.
I'm not sure, but probably Lightroom. I shoot RAW only now, and "they" say Nikon's NX Raw converter is the best for NEF. I've been using iPhoto to as a catalogue/viewer before I convert in NX and edit tifs in Photoshop. I may just test LR again to see how its conversion is in comparison. I think Graphic Converter may be a viable cataloguing option since I don't ever use the iPhoto bells and whistles Steve Jobs wants to get me excited about.

iPhoto and Aperture share the same underlaying software for working with NEF files (actually for working with all types of image files) the RAW conversion is down in Core Image with is part of Mac OS X.

Interesting. The D40 NEF problem in iPhoto is experienced by a number of users as a search I did uncovered. Oddly, it wasn't present originally, but popped up after some update, I think. It only happens when displaying the NEF in the edit window, and disappears when magnifying with the 100%+ zoom function. The work-around is to reprocess the RAW twice in succession. A pain, especially since any changes brings the problem back.
b-bye iPhoto
ps: I never use the other iLife apps.

 

[job]

I'm in a similar no-brainer situation: I'm buying a new computer, and I'm not a student, so free vrs. $250-300 is an easy choice, despite my 10,000+ photos and interest in shooting some things in RAW.

Yeah, without the student discounts LR and Aperture can get a little pricey.

And as a student you can get Aperture for $150. The difference in price is trivial. Get the one you want. Both offer a 30 day free download so try before you buy.

I've tried the LR demo on my home computer and Aperture in the Apple store.

The worst thing would be to buy one and then decide to switch. Not only do you loos some money but more importantly your time. So use both for 30 days.

I tried and found I did not like Lightroom's workflow but I will wait untill I have a more powerful Mac before I get Aperture. Until then it's iPhoto and Photoshop combo.

I like the fact that LR relies less on the GPU and it will work on my eMac. Aperture has no chance of working on my eMac and I'm not going to buy a new computer simply to run an application that's a hobby, not a profession. And regardless, LR will likely run faster on any machine, and I'd prefer the "snapiness."

 

[Abstract]

I'm not impressed.

IPhoto still can't display my NEF (ie RAW) files from my Nikon D40 in the edit window properly (weird color distortion).

That's not an iPhoto issue. That is related to the built-in RAW converter in OS X. If you bought Aperture or something, you'd get the same issue, me thinks (assuming Aperture was a software you were looking at).

Second, I briefly tried the new editing tools and any changes took a looong time to process on my 24" 2.16 iMac. I think I'm going to have to ditch iPhoto for good.

Really? I heard it was pretty fast.

I'm honestly thinking about switching to Lightroom.

I don't need an updated iMovie, or iWeb, so there's little incentive for me to upgrade iLife. On the other hand, I have about 3000+ pictures in iPhoto and I'm starting to shoot RAW. I can get Adobe Lightroom for $99 with my student discount, so it's a no-brainer.

Lightroom is "da bomb".