Importing Aperture into Lightroom Classic

[BobShaw]

I am finally and regrettably going to have to move from Aperture.
It really does not work well under Big Sur.

The import fails into Photos and so now looking at Lightroom Classic.

It says in the Lightroom / File / Plugins / Aperture
"Your (Aperture) libraries are automatically detected.
You have the option to select a different library, if applicable.  Your images will be copied to a new location. A default location is listed, however you can also choose a different folder."

All of my images in Aperture are referenced and so I want to stay that way.
It seems that Lightroom wants to copy them into the Catalogue, which won't work as there are over 3TB of images and I don't want copies and don't have space anyway.
I can see no way to make them referenced.

Am I missing something please?

[digitaldog]

LR doesn't copy photos into any catalog. It references their locations.

[MDL_SD]

I believe that all you need to do is to click "Import" at the bottom left of Lightroom.  You will then see the import screen where you first select the source on the left (wherever your 3TB of images are).  At the top of the screen select "Add" which it says "Add photos to catalog without moving them".  The other choices are:
"Copy and covert to DNG"
"Copy"
or finally "Add"

I have the photos automatically put into folders by date, but you can decide how you want to have the images in the catalog after you import them.  I have no idea what Lightroom does with a structure from Aperture since I use a PC and have never seen Aperture.

Good luck; I would try this with a subset to see for sure exactly what it does and how you want to use it.

[BobShaw]

The update on this is that you select "Options" once it finishes the initial process and then you can Tick “Leave Referenced Files in your Aperture Library in their current location”
You can also tick “For images which have been adjusted in Aperture import full size previews from the Aperture Library … “ as Lightroom does not carry over adjustments. This may make the catalogue very big.

Unfortunately however it did not progress past 3% after 12 hours. So still working on what might be going on there.

[kers]

Maybe the import works better with an older OSX; can imagine not everything in LR is working perfect on Aple silicon..

Then, you can also make a clean break using an other program since LR does not take over the adjustments. ( that is painful if you depend on them)

I use Neofinder for finding everything in my archive...  they can import Aperture but it is just a catalogue program not a raw converter.
It is a bad thing Apple pulled the plug on Aperture just like that.

https://www.cdfinder.de/en/en/en/sample_switcher.html

[BobShaw]

Maybe the import works better with an older OSX; can imagine not everything in LR is working perfect on Aple silicon..

It is an Intel machine but I am not at all impressed with Big Sur on a brand new 2020. It is slower than Catalina on my 2013 model with less RAM.

I think the migration tool was designed by an Adobe sadist.
Every single change you make to the Options then locks you out for about 20 minutes without even clicking OK.
You have to make 3 changes to leave the originals where they are and save a copy of the adjusted files before OK.
The import then has failed after about 6%.

I have had a play with Lightroom doing a basic thing like adjusting an image and then pasting it to the remainder of the selected images.
Plain copy and paste does not work like Lift and Stamp in Aperture.
What a stupid process to have to right click an image to get a different command as the menu copy and paste only apply to one image.
A long dark road paved with broken glass and bare feet I feel.

[Rhossydd]

What a stupid process to have to right click an image to get a different command as the menu copy and paste only apply to one image.

You can copy and paste settings to as many images as you want. Just select all the images you want to apply the settings to and paste.

You might want to spend some time with the tutorials on Creative Cloud to get you started with LR if you've no experience of it.

[kers]

...
I have had a play with Lightroom doing a basic thing like adjusting an image and then pasting it to the remainder of the selected images.
Plain copy and paste does not work like Lift and Stamp in Aperture.
What a stupid process to have to right click an image to get a different command as the menu copy and paste only apply to one image.
A long dark road paved with broken glass and bare feet I feel.

Sorry but every program has its 'logic'. don't jump to conclusions after 1 hour working with it.

I came late to LR and still have to learn, but i like the way you can past settings.
It is easy and very transparant. ( Not everything is however)
I have a problem with captureOne, but i know it is because i have to learn a lot.

[digitaldog]

On Mac, Command/Shift C: copy edits. Command/Shift V, paste into selected images. Simple.

[BobShaw]

Ok. So the Import is complete. Started on December 20 2021 and finished on January 9 2022. 167,900 images.
There were a few things that had to be changed in Aperture to make it happen. Lightroom apparently does not allow punctuation in Keywords or nested Keywords.
I might attach a process with the details.
Now the real fun begins.

[digitaldog]

Lightroom apparently does not allow punctuation in Keywords or nested Keywords.

Check your preferences>File Handling and it allows this if that's what you mean by "nested keywoards."

[BobShaw]

Check your preferences>File Handling and it allows this if that's what you mean by "nested keywoards."

Thanks, that would have been helpful and looks to provide what was needed. I don't know if the importer supports it.

Anyway, I have attached a PDF of my migration experience that may help someone attempting it.

[BobShaw]

Sorry but every program has its 'logic'. don't jump to conclusions after 1 hour working with it.

Thanks but after working with it for two weeks and having searched the web for reasons for slow imports with no progress on the import bar and other basic problems I have came to the same conclusion as others on the web as below. I really don't know how Lightroom Classic became the industry standard.

[digitaldog]

Thanks but after working with it for two weeks and having searched the web for reasons for slow imports with no progress on the import bar and other basic problems I have came to the same conclusion as others on the web as below. I really don't know how Lightroom Classic became the industry standard.

You are implying that the industry by large is wrong. You are entitled to that opinion, not much more. 

[BobShaw]

You are implying that the industry by large is wrong. You are entitled to that opinion, not much more. 

If you read the biography of Steve Jobs you realise that the majority of people can be wrong about most things, they just don't know it (;-)

I hope to eventually get Lightroom to at least a usable programme that I can import a card of files, do a few edits, crop them all the same pixel size, centre them and export them in a few minutes like I can still with Aperture. At the moment it is a long way from that. (The only problem with Aperture under Big Sur is lots of crashes.)

Simple things in Lightroom like no pixel dimensions on crop except when you are actually doing it and no X and Y start points, an import files progress bar that just sits there without feedback even though the Activity Monitor is at 100% and why would anyone want to control their files from an application instead of the operating system anyway?

[digitaldog]

If you read the biography of Steve Jobs you realise that the majority of people can be wrong about most things, they just don't know it (;-)

Indeed: "If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."-Bertrand Russell
You tell us LR is an industry standard. Maybe you don't fit well into that industry or like Steve, you think different and need another product.
LR has no pixel dimensions for very good reasons; it isn't a pixel editor! Pixels result from rendering the parametric edits and you the user can define the number of pixels only at that point (export) and in fact, you can export a dozen different number of pixels from the source and parametric instructions at the same time! So considering this fact, what pixels would you expect the user to be shown?
Part of the problem is misunderstanding how a product actually works and assuming it should act like a different product (for example Photoshop). LR was actually designed by the former Photoshop architect NOT to behave like Photoshop. Look up its history and the work of Mark Hamburg.   

[Rhossydd]

I hope to eventually get Lightroom to at least a usable programme that I can import a card of files, do a few edits, crop them all the same pixel size, centre them and export them in a few minutes

It's an easy enough program to use if you can be bothered to learn the basic principles. There are very many great books and videos explaining it all.
The problem here isn't Lightroom, but your failure to learn about it.

[digitaldog]

There are very many great books and videos explaining it all.

One of my Favorites: https://www.lightroomqueen.com

[BobShaw]

Indeed: "If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."-Bertrand Russell
You tell us LR is an industry standard. Maybe you don't fit well into that industry or like Steve, you think different and need another product.
LR has no pixel dimensions for very good reasons; it isn't a pixel editor! Pixels result from rendering the parametric edits and you the user can define the number of pixels only at that point (export) and in fact, you can export a dozen different number of pixels from the source and parametric instructions at the same time! So considering this fact, what pixels would you expect the user to be shown?
Part of the problem is misunderstanding how a product actually works and assuming it should act like a different product (for example Photoshop). LR was actually designed by the former Photoshop architect NOT to behave like Photoshop. Look up its history and the work of Mark Hamburg.

Well I guess we could all go back to the Sony Walkman, the Blackberry and Motorola FlipPhone and the Rotadex but let's move forward. (:-)
I use Photoshop extensively and understand the difference between a pixel editor and a catalogue.
Is it too much to ask that a catalogue be intuitive? I guess so considering it was made by the same people as Photoshop.

Knowing the pixel dimensions of a crop to me is really important because I shoot product regularly for the same customer and the products need to have the same relative size as last time. I am sure that others have the same need. It is also really easy to do. I asked Nik from Gentleman Coders to do it for Raw Power and he did quite easily.

Also is it too much to ask for a progress bar on import? This hasn't moved all morning but Activity is 100% Ciao

[digitaldog]

I use Photoshop extensively and understand the difference between a pixel editor and a catalogue.

So you say, but this has nothing to do with catalogs. ACR has no such catalog, and it too is a parametric editor identical to LR without a catalog! In fact, you can bounce back and forth between the two if on version parity, using the same settings and engine. And again, pixels never come into play until an image is rendered from the edits and part of the rendering is specifying the number of pixels you want rendered.
I think you need to study the product(s) a lot more before continuing to provide your opinion of how they should operate.

Knowing the pixel dimensions of a crop to me is really important because I shoot product regularly for the same customer and the products need to have the same relative size as last time.

And in EITHER product, you'd produce a export preset (in ACR, a workflow option) to produce exactly the pixels, big depth, color space and more you desire.
A crop in either product crops nothing, it produces an instruction alone. The resulting pixels must be defined and then rendered, from a crop or without a crop.
This isn't Photoshop! Nor Aperture. If you can't get hip to the workflow as designed, find another product.

Also is it too much to ask for a progress bar on import?

There is one. If you don't see one, either you don't know where to look or you have some issues of which we can maybe look into, but one exists.