Apple Aperture 1.5 [Old Version]
by Apple
![Apple Aperture 1.5 [Old Version]](/images/Apple-Aperture-1-5-Old-Version-B000J1CIT6-L.jpg)
|
List Price: Category: Software See more product details and other editions |
|---|
![Buy Apple Aperture 1.5 [Old Version] at Amazon.com](/images/buy.gif)
(Click here)
Software Reviews of Apple Aperture 1.5 [Old Version]
Customer Review: Apple Aperture V1.5
Summary: 5 Stars
This is truly a professional level digital photography post-processing package. It is also excellent for handling and storing digital imagery. It sports several features that are very unique, for example if you already have a photographic file structure you can have Aperture pull the images without moving them and changes made to these images do not impact the original files.
This is a must have package if you do digital photo post processing on the Macintosh.
Customer Review: Outstanding RAW Conversion and Photo Organization/Management - Highly Recommended!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have been using Aperture since version 1.1, and love it. The few issues/disappointments I had were resolved with version 1.5.x.
In terms of my camera, it is Nikon's top-of-the-line D2X. As such, the RAW files that Aperture has to deal with are large 12-megapixel images. And Aperture handles said images with ease. (Bear in mind that I am running Aperture on a first-generation MacBook Pro 17" laptop.)
I also evaluated Adobe Lightroom -- both during Beta and after the 1.0 release -- and it is also a great program. But I much prefer Aperture's UI, as it does not "get in the way" as much as Lightroom's does. (Having to switch between Lightroom's various modules -- Library, Develop, etc. -- tends to impede my workflow.)
My personal preferences aside, both Aperture and Lightroom are outstanding applications. The only caveat is that both require powerful hardware when working with large RAW files.
Bottom line, you may want to download the trial version of each, to see which is more comfortable. Otherwise, at least as of this writing (Aperture 1.5.x vs. Lightroom 1.0.x), both are evenly matched feature-wise.
Customer Review: Switched From Lightroom
Summary: 4 Stars
When I purchased my MacBook Pro I had no intention of switching to Aperture, but downloaded it and tried it out of curiosity. I have since sold my Lightroom license and am purchasing Aperture. There are specific reasons for that decision.
First, I really like the feel of Aperture 1.5 better than Lightroom, it is more intuitive to me, and the whole project thing with light tables works great. I have ~10,000 images that I never did get organized with Lightroom and was able to do so in the first few days on Aperture.
The intergration with other apps on the Mac is great - Aperture 1.5 (not 1.0) creates hi-res previews of all my images (see speed note below) and I can work away from my files to update my website, email proofs, design, etc. I keep all my photos on an external drive and leave them at home with me. When I am out of the house working, which is most days, I have my entire library with me without filling up my MacBook Harddrive. Once I need the hi-res file to either edit or send to a customer, I plug back in at home and work seamlessl. With lightroom I was not able to work unless the files were with me.
I had expected Aperture to be slow, but it is not slow. It is very comparable to lightroom, really no difference to mention. There is ONE RALLY BIG CAVEAT ABOUT SPEED with aperture -- when I imported those 10,000 images, the import seem to go fast, maybe 20 minutes or so. BUT, it is not done at this point. In the background Aperture is creating thumbnails and hi-res previews (which can be shut off, but I need them). That is alot of processing for any program, and in the background it ran for HOURS, without me knowing. When I closed Aperture it paused the process, when I restarted Aperture it resumed the process, so for the first few days that I used it, the speed was slow. Then I realized what was going on -- look in the window menu for SHOW TASK LIST, and you will see the progress.
If others did not know this was going on and tried to get immediately to work in Aperture, they would think it was very slow. I wonder how many people have dumped thousands of photos in and used it for 30 minutes and then uninstalled it assuming it was slow? Lightroom handled this much better, showing the progress in the corner and also was faster by default with the 1:1 preview turned off.
In conclusion, Aperture works great for me on my MacBook Pro 17". I love it and I'm sticking with it. I do miss the vibrabce slider from lightroom, no question, and the develop module in lightroom is better, though not enough to stop me. I jump to photoshop cs3 when I need the vibrance controls.
The best advice I can offer when making the decision between Lightroom and Aperture (or others) is spend the 30 days with them and see which one gets you WORKING and getting things done. For me, that is Aperture.
Customer Review: This is a dog
Summary: 1 Stars
Forget about this product. Managing photo collections is a horrible slow-motion experience filled with bombs, unexplainable occurrences and incredibe inefficiency. This program was not ready for release and it shows in almost every phase of the application. The interface is terrible and the results are inconsistent and amateurish. This program DOES NOT run like the Quicktime demos which Apple shows. In action the most consistent feature is a spinning beachball as the application plods through even minor tasks. Check back again in two years when Apple either "upgrades" this to a real product or allows this pig to die a well-deserved death.Customer Review: Best raw converter combined with photo organizer
Summary: 5 Stars
I wanted a raw converter that allowed sufficient control and adjustments so that I could avoid the use of another program for printing (e.g. photoshop). Aperture provided that and eliminated the use of iView Media Pro as my photo organizer. I tried Lightroom but Adobe cleverly left out some adjustment controls (sharpening) so that you still needed Photoshop. (Gee, I wonder why ?) With the demise of iView since it was bought by Microsoft, Aperture has filled the bill. I tried Bibble but it was not able to make conversions of high key photos.