[quote author=Paul Perreault
I'm a bit surprised there aren't more DAM solutions out there on par with Aperture. Anyone who claims LR is that tool doesn't know what they are missing
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Paul and Bob hit on something that mystifies me as well. Aperture invented the integrated the non destructive DAM / Converter / Editor /Print workflow App which was a brilliant invention. It's analog like workflow (Inviolet Masters = negatives, Versions =print recipe (s) Projects = Job Jacket etc. It made perfect sense to me.
So Like Bob, I learned my approach from Aperture. Apple announced it with great fanfare, and then dragged their feet ever since.
V1 was roundly criticized of the Managed library only design , It was modified to allow Referenced Libraries. I for one think the managed library approach is brilliant.
I keep a main library for personal work, and annual libraries for commercial work, and never lose anything. I love it
It mystifies me also that no one else has offered anything similar as a front end.
My daughter uses lightroom I use Aperture. I own lightroom and have had to use it several times when Aperture became unusable during certain version upgrades.
I really hate using it. I realize it is partly that I learned Aperture first, because many more folks use lightroom than Aperture.
I've upgraded Lightroom continually and have purchased v5.5 but pointing lightroom to a catalog you have to design and maintain yourself seems like a huge step backwards. As does the the module system.
So I'm going forward with Aperture, Lightroom and Capture 1 and waiting to see what Apple does with Photos though it is doubtful that Apple would have felt it necessary to announce a cesation of development of Aperture if their intent was to duplicate all of it's functionality in Photos.
I wish they would sell the Aperture DAM to Capture1 and we might have something.