Luminous Landscape Forum

Raw & Post Processing, Printing => Other Raw Converters => Apple Aperture Q&A => Topic started by: Kenneth Sky on January 02, 2013, 06:29:00 pm

Title: Aperture 4
Post by: Kenneth Sky on January 02, 2013, 06:29:00 pm
I noticed this on Amazon.ca : Apple Aperture 4: Unleashing Your Photo Workflow by John Lewell (Feb 12 2013). I can only assume that is the date of release of new software.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: Chairman Bill on January 02, 2013, 06:31:49 pm
It'll come not a moment too soon. I'm pretty fed up with the crashes & hangs, database rebuilds & the rest of the nonsense.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: CatOne on January 02, 2013, 09:40:30 pm
I'm not seeing many (any?) crashes, and I don't know that I've had to rebuild my Aperture database once since I started using it in late 2006.

So I suspect there's something else going on with your system.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: RobSaecker on January 03, 2013, 02:33:52 pm
I'm with Cat, I haven't had Aperture crash since 2009 (I looked in ~/Library/Logs), and I haven't had to rebuild the library for a long time either.

I have noticed that if I leave Aperture open for a long time (a week or more, usually) I'll see some odd behavior, like an adjustment block won't work. But quitting and restarting always resolves that. And besides, given Apple's track record with v.1 software, Aperture 4.0 might be just as troublesome, though likely in different ways.  :)
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: jonathanlung on January 05, 2013, 01:55:40 pm
I had to keep rebuilding my libraries on my old Air, but it turned out the hard drive was about to go kaput and was occasionally (silently) corrupting data.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: braeburnboy on January 05, 2013, 10:03:58 pm
Hi Bill

Using latest aperture 3.4.3 I believe and mt. Lion Mac Pro works fine for me no troubles but on my Mac air no good but on my iMac its just a little slow loading some times  - I think the graphics card in my Mac  pro helps a lot

I do a lot of books and there usually excellent has a few hiccups like font troubles and a cover printed upside doen but apple fixed for free both times and quickly

All things considered I'm ok with aperture except trying to print right from the program isn't easy so I just edit in photoshop cs6 and print
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: KirbyKrieger on January 08, 2013, 10:16:50 pm
It'll come not a moment too soon. I'm pretty fed up with the crashes & hangs, database rebuilds & the rest of the nonsense.

I'd be fed up too, but Aperture has been stable for me since 3.2 or thereabouts.  Since 3.0 - 3.2 was ... tipsy ... I myself am not looking forward to the leaping from 3.x to attempt a landing on the newly polished decks of 4.0.

If your installation is not unworrisomely afloat, something is wrong.  I run several Libraries on a few machines in a few locations, and they are all now -- and have been for some time -- seaworthy and ocean-going.

There is an skilled group of trouble-shooters over at the Apple Discussion forum for Aperture.  If you detail your problems, you are sure to receive excellent advice.  (I am a frequent contributor.)
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: Bruce MacNeil on January 09, 2013, 04:37:54 pm
Aperture is the hands down best software for managing photos and doing the prime level of adjustments and a whole raft of other uses.

C1, Lightroom and others are a few hundred miles in the rear.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: ario on January 10, 2013, 03:07:10 am
Aperture is the hands down best software for managing photos and doing the prime level of adjustments and a whole raft of other uses.

C1, Lightroom and others are a few hundred miles in the rear.
Ipse dixit. :)
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: gerafotografija on January 13, 2013, 11:33:08 pm
Don't know if this applies to the problems you are having, but I have not had a single Aperture library corruption issue since I bought a GRAID external disk and moved my libraries to it.

I run a 2011 Mac Air with external monitor and self upgraded RAM.

That being said, I am looking at the new $599 Mac Mini as a photoshop and aperture machine in the near future. This is only because I started stitching bigger files together and the Air is starting to lock up, probably because the RAM is not sufficient (scratch space is going over 120gig and things are getting dicey when I try to do anything with >500MB PSD files).

I described the minimum cost configuration and why I think it will be a reasonable short term solution (until I upgrade from CS5 and Aperture 3, not sure about Aperture 4 requirements yet, but CS6 seems to benefit from more cores at least) on another post here (http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=74130.0).

Cheers!
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: Kenneth Sky on January 14, 2013, 07:01:31 pm
To close the loop on this thread, I have been having colour management issues with Aperture when printing. I just downloaded the latest driver for my HP B9180 and all is corrected. Now when Aperture 4 comes out next month I doubt I'll be an early adopter.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: gfsymon on January 16, 2013, 02:50:36 pm
The colour management issues are actually as much to do with the OS as they are to do with Aperture.  Or, so it would seem.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: jonathanlung on January 28, 2013, 11:12:11 pm
I run a 2011 Mac Air with external monitor and self upgraded RAM.

How did you manage that? (The RAM. I know how to use an external monitor :D )
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: onlinedelivery on February 03, 2013, 01:26:14 pm
After loving everything about Aperture except its horrible printing, I decided to do some research and solve it. I had a huge print job coming up and didn't want to have to take everything to Photoshop to get printing I could count on and predict. I've been printing using a software driven process learned in Photoshop. Photoshop ran the profile. Even then, I always had to shift my file slightly to get it bright enough or have enough saturation.

Then I stumbled across a landscape photographer that said to let the printer drive. It can't be that simple... Does Adobe know more about my Epson printer than the company that makes it? After thinking about it, I decided not. Steve Jobs would have wanted it to be easy.

Bam! My Aperture printing has been perfect ever since. Better than anything I get out of Photoshop. In Aperture I let the printer manage the printing. In the printer driver under Mountain Lion, I have the right colorsync profile chosen for the right paper. I save that along with the usual printer settings as an Epson preset. A newer profile from ColorMunki tweaked in a slight brightness and saturation shift I had previously tweaked in Aperture. Now printing has become become automatic and straight forward.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: Kenneth Sky on February 03, 2013, 03:28:30 pm
On the other hand, a recent HP driver update for OS X 8.2.2 allowed me to use Aperture to print on my B9180 with appropriate ICC profiles.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: trichardlin on February 12, 2013, 02:19:32 am
> Then I stumbled across a landscape photographer that said to let the printer drive.

That's exactly what I found recently after getting my new Epson R3000 printer.  Because it was a new printer, I experimented with different settings, but initially always set color profiles in Aperture.  It was close, but never spot on.  Things snapped into place after I switched to letting printer manage color.   

I know many of you here might be appalled to hear this, but I use Epson Color Control rather than using ColorSync in the Color Matching tab in the print dialog.  Although there's not much adjustment needed in this setting, I can easily fine tune the color or brightness of the print using the Advanced Color Settings tab under Printer Settings. 

Richard
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: tonywong on May 03, 2013, 02:02:18 pm
*Tumbleweeds*  :-\
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: KirbyKrieger on May 09, 2013, 09:14:05 pm
*Tumbleweeds*  :-\
Beautifully expressed, bordering on the clichéd, but with a terseness that feels new.  I might have increased the contrast a bit more (on my monitor it's a bit wispy) but perhaps that was your intent.  The subject matter is well chosen -- objective correlative and all that -- but I'm left wondering if the treatment might have borne us more powerfully to the subject itself.  Just my light breezes in your stilled wind.  Well done.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: Bob Rockefeller on May 12, 2013, 12:20:11 pm
I would have thought thatAdobe's Creative Cloud announcements would have caused some renewed interest in Aperture. I guess it is not generally assumed that Lightroom is likely to follow Photoshop into the subscription-only cloud one day. But that's my bet: a photographers' cloud with Photoshop, Lightroom, Lightroom iOS and Revel. And then a subscription-only photographers's cloud.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: rgg195 on May 13, 2013, 10:39:32 am
It did for me and a couple of my fellow photographer friends. I am in the process of moving over from Lightroom to Aperture. It's not as much work as I thought and I must admit the interface and usability of Aperture is way better than Lightroom - I am surprised how much faster and smoother Aperture works. I just wish I had never converted some of my raw files to DNG - big mistake!. Not only Aperture, but a bunch of other high end high programs have problems with DNG. I would recommend to anyone not to convert to DNG, there really is no real upside and contrary to popular opinion you really are locking yourself into Adobe.

Cheers
Guy
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: Bob Rockefeller on May 13, 2013, 05:04:25 pm
I just wish I had never converted some of my raw files to DNG - big mistake!. Not only Aperture, but a bunch of other high end high programs have problems with DNG. I would recommend to anyone not to convert to DNG, there really is no real upside and contrary to popular opinion you really are locking yourself into Adobe.

I agree! You lose some functionality in the conversion (for example, Aperture can't find the focus points in a DNG) and I just can't find any real advantage to just using the vendor's format (Nikon, in my case).
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: ButchM on May 14, 2013, 05:54:41 pm
I don't have any worries about the DNG files I have created in the past ... though I no longer have the confidence to create any more in light of last week's policy change by Adobe. Though it would solve a great deal of issues if the camera makers would settle on and use a universal file format for ALL digital cameras ... even if it had to be a few different types for the various types of sensors used, it would be better than the constant addition of a new file format for EVERY camera made ...

On Aperture 4 wishes ... I'm not all that concerned about specific features ... but that there will be the next step from Apple ... for me, my photography is my only source of livelihood and it has been that way for nearly 40 years ... a business has to be able to plan ahead ... uncertainty is not an element that one likes to embrace for planning for the future ... again, in light of recent events, I will never again keep all my eggs in one basket for my RAW processing workflow so if Apple doesn't wish to step up (and I hope they do in a really big way) I'll be forced to seek out another option ...

If Apple doesn't make an official announcement at WWDC next month, or at least a serious indication of something to come later this year ... confidence among Aperture users will surely dwindle ... and likely very rapidly ...

It's too bad that we are forced to jump through all these hoops created by billion dollar corporations that depend upon our financial support to survive ... one would hope they could become just a bit more responsive to our concerns ... since without us ... they have no reason to exist. I know I couldn't survive at all by taking my customers for granted ...
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: David S on May 24, 2013, 10:17:52 am
When this thread started in January, the OP thought that 4 might be released soon. I haven't seen any definite news. Have I missed something?

Dave S
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: CatOne on May 25, 2013, 09:58:08 pm
Nope.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: Wills on June 15, 2013, 05:26:09 am
WWDC came and went with not a hint of Aperture 4, disappointed.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: john beardsworth on June 15, 2013, 06:22:16 am
I found this post about an updated SDK (http://www.apertureexpert.com/tips/2013/6/14/aperture-sdk-updated-to-34.html) intriguing. Sync the release of Aperture 4 to the new high end hardware?
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: Bob Rockefeller on June 15, 2013, 07:50:06 am
WWDC came and went with not a hint of Aperture 4, disappointed.

Me, too. But the prospect of an updated FCP together with the new Mac Pro hardware gives another opportunity. Aperture has always depended, to some extent, on GPU as a supplement to CPU. Maybe the Mac Pro will give Apple the chance to show off Aperture vs Lightroom speed on that hardware.

And there's no real reason to have updated the SDK unless they are thinking something.

Bob
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: KirbyKrieger on June 15, 2013, 09:15:50 am
I found this post about an updated SDK (http://www.apertureexpert.com/tips/2013/6/14/aperture-sdk-updated-to-34.html) intriguing. Sync the release of Aperture 4 to the new high end hardware?
Agree. Thanks for the link. It makes sense (but so did Apple introducing new Pro apps alongside the new Mac Pro). Alas, we still won't know until we know.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: Bob Rockefeller on June 15, 2013, 09:24:18 am
Agree. Thanks for the link. It makes sense (but so did Apple introducing new Pro apps alongside the new Mac Pro). Alas, we still won't know until we know.

Ultimately, that's right and how Apple is; they've "doubled down" on secrecy. I guess they feel like too many have copied their ideas and don't want to give anyone a head start.

I'd sure like a big update to Aperture to cap off all the smaller changes over the past year, or so. But I still get done what I want to get done, in the way I like doing it, with Aperture today.

Bob
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: ButchM on June 15, 2013, 05:06:49 pm

And there's no real reason to have updated the SDK unless they are thinking something.

Yes ... I don't ever recall a developer issuing an updated SDK for an end of life product, which many had feared Apple was considering ... while I wanted to hear more by now ... this little nugget about the SDK has me feeling better about the future ...

Guess we'll just have to wait patiently for confirmation of something extremely bold for Aperture to come ...
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: john beardsworth on June 15, 2013, 06:33:20 pm
Well, don't forget the architect of Adobe's cloud joined Apple in March.....
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: ButchM on June 15, 2013, 06:55:48 pm
Well, don't forget the architect of Adobe's cloud joined Apple in March.....

What you sayn' John? ...  :o
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: Bob Rockefeller on June 23, 2013, 07:15:30 pm
At least there is plenty of speculation to go around now about the future of Aperture. It doesn't sound like its quite dead, yet.

Consider the possibility that the next Aperture will be even more optimized for splitting off processing to the GPU. And then look at the GPU powerhouse the new Mac Pro will be.

It may not be hard to imagine an Apple pro user event this fall with the Mac Pro, upgraded MacBook Pro Retina models (with Thunderbolt 2), FCP X and Aperture (X?). If desktop retina displays could be available by then, a Mac Pro running the new Aperture (and FCP X) on a pair of such displays might well run circles around Lightroom, and the rest of the competition, making a powerful "show the pros" presentation opportunity for Apple.

Bob

Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: Wills on August 06, 2013, 01:47:23 am
It's now August and not a hint of Aperture 4, October seems to be the next event with Mavericks and new hardware what's the chance they are too busy to look at updating Aperture.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: Bob Rockefeller on August 06, 2013, 10:11:16 am
It's now August and not a hint of Aperture 4, October seems to be the next event with Mavericks and new hardware what's the chance they are too busy to look at updating Aperture.

It is very likely that the next version of Aperture, probably Aperture X, will happen. Aperture does not appear to be dead.

It could come out "by surprise" most any time much like Logic X did.

Or it could be tightly coupled to Mavericks and/or iOS 7 capabilities and be ready then.

An even longer shot is that it will so efficiently make use of the dual-GPU design of the new Mac Pro that it will be released at the same time as a showcase for that machine.

Bob
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: fhammond on September 05, 2013, 07:42:55 pm
Well, don't forget the architect of Adobe's cloud joined Apple in March.....

(I came across this thread looking for something else, so I'm replying very late.)

I think you're referring to Kevin Lynch. I worked in Kevin's team and have a lot of respect for him and was definitely sorry to seem him leave. Fortunately for Adobe, he was not the architect of the Creative Cloud or the internal platform that Creative Cloud runs on. I don't think there is one single architect for these things but probably the closest person is someone who is still definitely at the company (and is my boss!). Kevin definitely was the driving force behind the themes of mobile, social and cloud at Adobe but many people have been involved in architecting and implementing his vision.

Regards,
Fergus
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: john beardsworth on September 06, 2013, 02:53:48 am
Fergus, I used "architect" in a loose sense to pull Butch's leg over Apple offering him shelter from the Creative Cloud. "Driving force" would do equally well!

John
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: peterpix on October 18, 2013, 01:32:20 pm
Several new pieces of software to be announced by Apple next week. dare we think Aperture will be one of them?
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: ButchM on October 19, 2013, 01:34:17 pm
Several new pieces of software to be announced by Apple next week. dare we think Aperture will be one of them?

Well ... I have seen more than one rumor report that FCP X is to receive a significant update to coincide with Mavericks ... If Aperture does not receive similar attention that would be extremely disconcerting for more than a few folks. I am holding onto the hope that Apple is aware of this and will satisfy their users with a fresh, new offering this coming Tuesday. **Fingers crossed**
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: kirkt on October 22, 2013, 02:00:46 pm
No new Aperture in the kool-aid presentation going on right now... at least in the app portion of the event.

bummer.

kirk
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: peterpix on October 22, 2013, 02:45:59 pm
Over at MacRumors several people say they saw a mention of a new Aperture in the live presentation for the new MacPro. Let's hope!
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: jduncan on October 22, 2013, 02:49:37 pm
Over at MacRumors several people say they saw a mention of a new Aperture in the live presentation for the new MacPro. Let's hope!


It don't seem to be the case.
I hope that we will see a good update with the release of the new mac pro.

Best regards.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: kirkt on October 22, 2013, 02:58:49 pm
Over at MacRumors several people say they saw a mention of a new Aperture in the live presentation for the new MacPro. Let's hope!


Not exactly - during the showcase of the upcoming MacPro (to be released in December, according to the presentation), there was a case study of a pro photographer that was using the new MacPro with a version of Aperture that was modified to take advantage of the new machine's features.  I am paraphrasing from memory.  They did not specifically say anything like the "preview version of Aperture 4" or something tantalizing like that.

If they are going to release new versions of the Pro applications, I would imagine that they will coincide with the launch of the new MacPro.

kirk
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: StuartOnline on October 22, 2013, 04:58:07 pm
Ok it took me just under 95 minutes from download to installing of Maverick via MacBook Pro Retina Display 15" with 16GB Ram. Had no issues when installing. Both Aperture, iPhoto and along with Lightroom 5.2 opened and ran with no issues as far as I could tell. Aperture Library/Lightroom Catalog are stored on a Drobo 5D via Thunderbolt. Also did some fast testing with Nik Software with Aperture and had no issues. Now need to test other plug-ins.

Stu
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: KirbyKrieger on October 22, 2013, 08:58:58 pm
The Aperture 3.5 is a minor upgrade.  Details all over, but also at https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5466796
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: StuartOnline on October 23, 2013, 10:21:20 am
If you check out this article the photographer Lucus Gilman using the new Mac Pro with Apeerture he states he is using Aperture 3.5:

http://9to5mac.com/2013/10/22/interview-with-photographer-lucas-gilman-one-of-the-only-pros-already-using-apples-next-gen-mac-pro/

Stu
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: ctz on October 23, 2013, 11:50:25 am
If you check out this article …... he states he is using Aperture 3.5:

Stu

oh, God…
so still no sign of any closer meaningful update.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: Graham Clark on October 23, 2013, 02:34:19 pm
I noticed this on Amazon.ca : Apple Aperture 4: Unleashing Your Photo Workflow by John Lewell (Feb 12 2013). I can only assume that is the date of release of new software.

If I had to guess I'd say the release of Aperture 4 will coincide with the Mac Pro release in December, along with (hopefully!) the new Apple Retina Cinema Displays? : )

Aperture is actually less compatible with 10.9 than Lightroom, so I've switched until Aperture 4!

Graham
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: Kenneth Sky on October 24, 2013, 08:25:10 am
As the OP of this thread, I thought I should update. Although Amazon has since removed the page, I pre-ordered the book. Every 6 weeks Amazon sends me a query if I still want the book and if so they will send as soon as it is released. As for the release of Aperture x, it was mentioned at the recent introduction of Mavericks & Mac Pro. So a good guess is Dec. when the Pro is released.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: Bob Rockefeller on December 19, 2013, 10:39:49 am
The latest missed opportunity to update Aperture with the new Mac Pro makes me sad.

We Aperture users have been waiting and hoping for so long now. At each opportunity for Apple to release a significant new version of Aperture, they don’t. And so we predict the next big media event, or the next OS release, or the next hardware release, or, or ,or… will be The One. And then it’s not.

Certainly I have to imagine that there will be an “Aperture X” at some point. But how far behind Adobe is Apple falling in basic image adjustment technology?

Apple is the undisputed king of interface design and hardware/software integration. And today’s Aperture shows that. But are they also the king of imaging technology? It would be hard to argue for them as Adobe’s years of Photoshop experience would seem to give them a near insurmountable lead.

But perhaps Apple can disrupt even Adobe?

Hopefully they can before the few remaining Aperture users move to Adobe for more features, more open communication and a solid history of updates.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: Daniel Salazar on December 20, 2013, 02:32:05 pm
..... Amen.
I am also as you waiting and hopping, but if moving, Adobe (LR) will not be the winner, instead C1.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: Bob Rockefeller on December 20, 2013, 02:36:11 pm
..... Amen.
I am also as you waiting and hopping, but if moving, Adobe (LR) will not be the winner, instead C1.

I've messed with C1 some. It does some nice stuff and the digital back guys seem to swear by it (but maybe because that's the only choice they have).

But I found it to be even less Mac-like than Lightroom. For Lightroom, once I get away from the library/organizational functions and get to develop and print, it's a fine program.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: Daniel Salazar on December 20, 2013, 03:41:11 pm
you are right, but ....... "je ne sais pas", it has something that does no make sense to me. I have tried LR since v1 and after some tries I still do not find it correct, it is not "natural", e.g. changing modules.  Training..... it is not an issue, I have bought and read several books with every author and the LuLa videos, which are great by the way, however even though I understand it and know it, it is not in my "hearth".
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: Whitney Dunn on December 20, 2013, 03:41:45 pm
It's hugely disappointing. Final Cut Pro, Motion, Compressor, and Logic Pro all got significant updates yesterday. I wouldn't consider the Aperture 3.5 update of a few months back in the same ballpark, and Aperture's starting from a much older code base. Final Cut Pro and Logic, I think, are Apple's statement what a video and a music editing program should be. I can't say the same for Aperture now - it's just gone a bit stale.

I can think of a few reasons for the delay in Aperture 4/X, none of them good:

1. It's not ready. Probably the most likely explanation. But if not now, when? The team surely knew about the December deadline for months. The other "pro" app teams all managed to hit it. Aperture 3.x is almost four years old; the last major-ish update - 3.3 - was more than a year ago. If 4/X wasn't good to go now, what's the earliest possibility?

2. They're waiting on some iPad companion app. Possible, but then who knows when everything will be ready? This is potentially the best explanation as the delay could just be an announcement timing issue: Mac Pro and the other "pro" apps now, Aperture and companion sometime in the new year.

3. Apple thinks Aperture 3.x is fine. It's a very good program, but I sure hope they don't think it's complete. The Aperture team are surely not dummies, and they're well aware of what Lightroom - and Final Cut! - can do, so I don't find this likely, but it would be hugely disappointing if true.

Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: KirbyKrieger on December 20, 2013, 05:24:55 pm
Well, as long as we're just watering in a gust … I wouldn't discount that there has been some kind of battle within Apple about Aperture.  It was a great program, brilliantly conceived and stringently executed (imho, obviously), and then it's had it's center moved closer to iPhoto and iOS.  I suspect there are a lot of Apple employees yanking on the edge of that big hole (Aperture).  I worry that the ROI for a top-level photographer's RAW workflow tool has been determined to be small.  Final Cut may sell Mac Pros; Aperture, not so much.

I'm pessimistic that Aperture 4 will be a worthy extension of Aperture 3.  I think it more likely it will be an inclusive, multi-platform, super-iPhoto (with something like automatic eye-detect and sharpening).  Apple does a great job of maximizing revenue.  The market of cameras and digital development software has "matured" in the sense that what is available is more than most people use.  The revenue all lies in capturing and isolating the big fat middle.

But I'm looking forward to being wrong.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: Bob Rockefeller on December 20, 2013, 05:29:23 pm
I'm pessimistic that Aperture 4 will be a worthy extension of Aperture 3.  I think it more likely it will be an inclusive, multi-platform, super-iPhoto (with something like automatic eye-detect and sharpening).  Apple does a great job of maximizing revenue.  The market of cameras and digital development software has "matured" in the sense that what is available is more than most people use.  The revenue all lies in capturing and isolating the big fat middle.

I suspect that, as others have said, we’re waiting for Apple’s major re-write of what Aperture even is. Maybe it is taking SO LONG because they have been sharply criticized for past releases of other major software that dropped features and only slowly began bringing them back a point revision at a time.

Regardless, it would be hard to say that Apple is nearly as concerned about the creative professional today as it once was. Their market focus has shifted more toward the consumer both in their software and their hardware. Lightroom is roundly criticized for having too few new features to call it a full version upgrade each time they go from 3 to 4 to 5. But add features, refine edges, fix bugs and continue to march ahead they do.

Adobe’s bread and butter is the creative professional. They simply must move their products ahead, even if by small amounts and at higher than user-pleasing costs (and don’t get me started on the full Creative Cloud). But how many among us Aperture fans would not be willing to pay for more signifiant upgrade more frequently?

What I do think I know is that Apple will need to really wow the Aperture crowd with it’s next major update, whenever it is, to avoid the end of Aperture as a professional's tool and the start of Aperture as a upwardly mobile prosumer's tool. And there may be nothing wrong with that for Apple. But professional photographers will go elsewhere.

I hope we don’t ever see a “life after Aperture” website surface. :(
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: Wills on December 22, 2013, 07:23:07 am
With the long long wait for Aperture 4 and having raised our expectations to such a high level will it be a big disappointment  :o
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: Bob Rockefeller on December 22, 2013, 10:42:05 am
With the long long wait for Aperture 4 and having raised our expectations to such a high level will it be a big disappointment  :o

Yes. I, too, am fearful will may see such a complete re-write that many features are lost, rather than gained, until the point revisions start. And then how fast will those be made? :(

Sometimes not knowing is worse than finding out that it's bad.
Title: Lightroom experience
Post by: trichardlin on January 04, 2014, 11:18:36 am
I really had no complaints about the current version of Aperture, until I got my Lumix GX7 recently.  Aperture seriously messed up shadow details of higher iso images (iso 800 or higher, see attached image).  With Adobe offering both Lightroom and Photoshop for $10/mo, I couldn't resist. 

Well, I hated using Lightroom.  The whole experience just feels really clunky to me.  The interface is messy and speed slow.  If Apple fixes the GX7 processing issue alone, I'll stick with it.  Photography is just my hobby, I don't have patience for bad user experience.
Title: Re: Lightroom experience
Post by: Bob Rockefeller on January 04, 2014, 12:28:48 pm
I really had no complaints about the current version of Aperture, until I got my Lumix GX7 recently.  Aperture seriously messed up shadow details of higher iso images (iso 800 or higher, see attached image).

Does the loss of detail appear to be from Aperture's noise reduction algorithm? Or have you turned that adjustment off?
Title: Re: Lightroom experience
Post by: Bob Rockefeller on January 04, 2014, 12:36:56 pm
Well, I hated using Lightroom.  The whole experience just feels really clunky to me.  The interface is messy and speed slow.  If Apple fixes the GX7 processing issue alone, I'll stick with it.  Photography is just my hobby, I don't have patience for bad user experience.

In a different direction, have you tried the Capture One Pro demo? Its still not as polished as Aperture, but has more adjustment features, including lens correction and better noise reduction. And it "feels" better to me than Lightroom. But it is a more "professional" solution and may not as quickly support the cameras and lenses used by "the rest of us." I doesn't appear to support my micro four thirds lenses, for example (although I'd be happy to be corrected on that).

Title: Re: Lightroom experience
Post by: trichardlin on January 04, 2014, 03:32:42 pm
In a different direction, have you tried the Capture One Pro demo?...

Thanks for the suggestion, Bob.  No I haven't looked at Capture One.  I might, during one of those sleepless nights.

By the way, I have been storing all my photos in a couple of managed Aperture libraries.  This recent issue with GX7 had led me to re-think my photo management/storage strategy.  My current thinking is to move the photos out of Aperture libraries and store them in a referenced folder so that I can use both Aperture and Lightroom to access them.  Any comments on that?
Title: Re: Lightroom experience
Post by: Bob Rockefeller on January 04, 2014, 03:44:37 pm
By the way, I have been storing all my photos in a couple of managed Aperture libraries.  This recent issue with GX7 had led me to re-think my photo management/storage strategy.  My current thinking is to move the photos out of Aperture libraries and store them in a referenced folder so that I can use both Aperture and Lightroom to access them.  Any comments on that?

There's no problem I'm aware of in having some photos managed and others referenced. If/when Aperture get's its GX7 raw decoding fixed to your liking, you can always move them back into managed.

Just remember, if files are referenced, Aperture won't back them up in a vault, if you're using vaults.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: trichardlin on January 05, 2014, 01:49:25 am
Great.  That's what I thought.  I'm backing up with Time Machine, BTW.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: Jim Funston on January 09, 2014, 03:44:33 pm
Am I the only one who had to stop using the auto enhance button in my workflow since Maverick roll out? For my RAW's auto enhance used to get me really close to what I liked but now it totally over expose's all my RAW files regardless of the Sony camera I am using. Anyone else experience this? I even did a total reset of this function and still it overexposes by 2-3 stops.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: RobSaecker on January 14, 2014, 01:41:45 pm
Am I the only one who had to stop using the auto enhance button in my workflow since Maverick roll out? For my RAW's auto enhance used to get me really close to what I liked but now it totally over expose's all my RAW files regardless of the Sony camera I am using. Anyone else experience this? I even did a total reset of this function and still it overexposes by 2-3 stops.

I didn’t want to see this just hanging without any answer, though I can’t offer any help. I’ve never liked the results I got from auto enhance, so I’ve almost never used them.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: ario on January 14, 2014, 10:07:56 pm
I am not a fan of autoenhance but I just tried it on a few files (including Sony A7r files) and I have not detected any overxposure problem neither visually nor on the histogram. I am presently running OSX 10.9.2.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: Jim Funston on February 08, 2014, 12:16:39 am
I found out that MAC is aware of a problem with auto enhance with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M 4096 MB video card in their new iMac with  3.5 GHz Intel Core i7 processors........ supposedly they are working on it; using the auto enhance will blow out the curves by over two stops.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: dseelig on April 01, 2014, 04:12:56 pm
Will there be a real update? I AMN IN NYC and went on the apple website to get a free class at the soho store and noticed no aperture classes any where. Not a very good sign.
David
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: KevinA on April 10, 2014, 05:02:46 am
I'm not seeing many (any?) crashes, and I don't know that I've had to rebuild my Aperture database once since I started using it in late 2006.

So I suspect there's something else going on with your system.
I've had to rebuild my Library twice this week, something in all the years of using Aperture I can't remember ever doing. My computer just freezes ( a 2012 MBP), I have to power down. I suspect it might be something to do with Spotify, that's the only change I can think has been made recently.
To play it safe I've just ordered another backup drive I'm going to copy the library to. This will be a Thunderbolt not usb, just incase there is some problem there. Another copy (I have 2 copies already) will not be a mistake and a move to Thunderbolt should be a nice upgrade. Still not sure why the computer freezes.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: westfreeman on May 18, 2014, 10:08:40 pm
WOW !!
This tread started Jan 2013 and there is still no Aperture 4 yet. ... Apple and the pro Photographer, what a odd relationship.  I love my 30" display but the next one will not be an Apple if they don't bring back the antiglare screens. 

there are many things that Lightroom does better and that is why I use it.  But at the same time I will not use any software that I have to subscribe to.  We could all go on and on.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: trichardlin on May 24, 2014, 12:17:47 pm
WOW !!
This tread started Jan 2013 and there is still no Aperture 4 yet. ... Apple and the pro Photographer, what a odd relationship.  I love my 30" display but the next one will not be an Apple if they don't bring back the antiglare screens. 

there are many things that Lightroom does better and that is why I use it.  But at the same time I will not use any software that I have to subscribe to.  We could all go on and on.

Apple is really in a deep new products funk right now.  No new significant hardware, no new significant software.  As a long time fan, it is getting really long in the tooth.

The sad thing is, no one else is stepping up to the plate.  Lightroom has a great imaging engine and a great feature set, but it still feels like a half baked product in its user interface.  I wish Adobe just be like Samsung and copy Aperture's interface and smoothness already.
Title: Re: Aperture 4
Post by: Kenneth Sky on May 25, 2014, 12:42:47 pm
What I've done to re-invigorate this app is to to purchase Perfect Photo Suite 8.5 as a plug-in. The workflow is efficient and although not parametric by creating a PSD of a copy and working in layers all corrections can be re-edited.