Ready to let Aperture go

[drralph]

I have been a devoted Aperture user since it's introduction, and didn't see a suitable replacement when Apple orphaned the app.  I subscribed to CC when a new camera was not supported by Aperture, but continued to use Aperture for all other purposes.  I now have over 2 years of experience with LR, and am prepared to say that it is indeed a suitable replacement, and in the years since Apple has not supported the app, that LR has exceeded Apertures capabilities.

While it was not intuitive as a novice, experience and training has allowed me to develop a DAM strategy that is capable and acceptable.  I have explored alternatives in the marketplace, and there is nothing else that holds a significant advantage.  An important factor is that I do not want to be faced again with an orphaned software solution.  The prospect is just too painful.  Adobe seems to have the highest likelihood to succeed going forward.  This year I began to import all new images into LR alone.

I am left with a huge catalog still in Aperture.  With a few hiccups, it has continued to function satisfactorily.  It is just a matter of time until an OS update breaks Aperture going forward.  I have researched the options for bringing my Aperture catalog into LR, but the process seems daunting and problem prone.

I am sure there are others facing the same dilemma.  What are your thoughts for dealing with your back catalog?

[Chairman Bill]

I switched to Capture One Pro. Apple missed a trick by abandoning Aperture and I'd still prefer to be using it, but the time had simply come to start getting used to an alternative.

[BobShaw]

I am still using Aperture.
The problem with Lightroom for me is that it doesn't run on a shared drive.
Also I just don't like it compared to Aperture.

Being able to import the Smart Albums is important for me.
I am hoping that Photos goes a little bit further. It is almost there as a catalogue since the High Sierra upgrades.
Aperture is 64 bit so it may go for a while.
I was pleasantly surprised that it supports the FFF files from the X1D so I can continue on.

[HywelPhillips]

I'm still using Aperture for my skin retouching-healing brush pass and final export. I've had to cobble something together so that it'll support A7RIII raw files in the older version of the OS I'm still using (I use EXIF-tool to relabel the files as A7RII).

I tried High Sierra on my test system and Aperture/Portraiture plugin didn't run 100% stably, which is why I've stayed using the old configuration on my production machines.

At some point soon I will need to make the final jump and upgrade OS and probably change processing finally     

I quite like Capture One, but I don't think it's skin retouching tools are up to scratch for my purposes. I wish they'd add the ability to use plugins for it- adding Portraiture would solve 90% of my issues with C1.

Sigh. I'm going to miss Aperture!

Hywel

[john beardsworth]

I have researched the options for bringing my Aperture catalog into LR, but the process seems daunting and problem prone.

I am sure there are others facing the same dilemma.  What are your thoughts for dealing with your back catalog?

That it's not as "daunting and problem prone" as you imagine. Obviously, the bigger the library the more likely there will be some exception (it's not as if Apple helped Adobe or anyone reverse engineer their library).

I would suggest making all your files "referenced" in Aperture, then using LR's import from Aperture plugin. People also report good results with the ApertureExporter app, then manually importing into LR.

Do this when you are not in a rush, and ensure you have proper backup. In the LR import look at the options - rather than the default copy method which requires lots of hard disc space, choose the option to import everything in its current location.

[Robert Roaldi]

I finally let go too. I switched to Corel's After Shot Pro 3 (formerly Bibble) and occasionally use Affinity for individual pictures. ASP3 does what I need, which is less than what pros probably need. I can get away with not caring about my Aperture library, it's infrequent that I need to go back to older photos, and when I do, I don't mind re-processing them in the new tools. Obviously, this ad hoc workflow doesn't apply to everyone.

There haven't been any update to ASP3 by Corel in a while though, which is not a good sign. I have a bad feeling about it, and I hope I'm wrong.

[Gigi]

Still not ready to let go - the ease of filing and storing images is a delight. But letting go has raised its head as a future possibility. Aperture Export does well in making a set of "importable folders" of all my projects and albums, so that's good.

Problem is with one of the libraries in Aperture - its >100gb, and Aperture Export chokes on it. I tried to split it in half (make a copy and delete half of each) but this didn't work, as Aperture didn't get any smaller. Anyone got any hints on how to get rid of the deleted files or shrink the beast?

Thanks,
Geoff

[Jeremy Roussak]

I switched to Capture One Pro. Apple missed a trick by abandoning Aperture and I'd still prefer to be using it, but the time had simply come to start getting used to an alternative.

On Kevin's urging, I gave C1 a trial during and after our Antarctic trip. I like its speed and many of its other features, but the killer for me was its lack of a history palette. If (when?) it gets one, I'll leave LR for it.

Jeremy

[tonywong]

Still not ready to let go - the ease of filing and storing images is a delight. But letting go has raised its head as a future possibility. Aperture Export does well in making a set of "importable folders" of all my projects and albums, so that's good.

Problem is with one of the libraries in Aperture - its >100gb, and Aperture Export chokes on it. I tried to split it in half (make a copy and delete half of each) but this didn't work, as Aperture didn't get any smaller. Anyone got any hints on how to get rid of the deleted files or shrink the beast?

Thanks,
Geoff

Have you tried selecting a Project and then exporting as a New Library?

[Gigi]

Have you tried selecting a Project and then exporting as a New Library?

Works like a charm. Didn't know about that, thanks a bundle!

[Aram Hăvărneanu]

The problem with Lightroom for me is that it doesn't run on a shared drive. [...] I am hoping that Photos goes a little bit further. It is almost there as a catalogue since the High Sierra upgrades.

Well, Photos still can't run from a network drive, or can it?

[tonywong]

Works like a charm. Didn't know about that, thanks a bundle!

You're welcome.

Still soldiering on with Aperture here. 

Everything seems to still work on Mojave (ie. nothing further broke from High Sierra upgrade)...

[BobShaw]

Well, Photos still can't run from a network drive, or can it?

That appears to be no problem.
You just move the catalogue to the shared drive. Then navigate to it and double click.
The much bigger problem with Photos is that it doesn't have star ratings. Another showstopper.

Since making the statement that I need a network drive I have modified my workflow to have everything on a Drobo drive attached to my main computer. I could move the drive to another computer if necessary.
So Lightroom is now a possibility, (but one I will avoid until I have to).

My backup system is now another Drobo plus three rotating 6TB drives. Seems to work well after several months.