Aperture 3 – An Overview

 
by Curtis Joe Walker

After a year of waiting, Apple has released an update to their professional photo editing and management software. Aperture 3.0 is a major update, including over 200 new features. Interestingly, Apple has integrated the functionality of many of the most popular plugins from Aperture 2, so upgrading right away won’t result in an anticlimactic wait for third party developers to catch up.

The most important update in Aperture 3 is the switch to 64-bit code. This enables the program to operate at peak efficiency and to address up to 16 terabytes of RAM [Editors note: 16 terabytes??!! Ho-leeee sh...]. In short, this is an under the hood performance upgrade, but it requires the Snow Leopard OS and a Mac with a Core 2 Duo processor. While Aperture 3 will work with 32-bit Intel machines, users with 64-bit processors will experience the greatest performance benefits.

Importing files has been enhanced in a few ways. The most important of these is the ability to apply adjustment presets at import, saving a round of preview generation. Aperture is also smart enough to manage images created in cameras with a JPEG+RAW option, allowing the user to download both or either file format as desired. Backup can be set to occur automatically at import, eliminating the need for a manual backup. Finally, projects can be built automatically as long as photoshoots have at least 2 hours in between them.

One feature Aperture users have been clamoring for since the first version of the app is the ability to have multiple libraries. This is a hassle-free process now, accomplished by simply pressing the Option when launching the program. Having multiple, smaller libraries makes disk space management easier and allows the program to run more efficiently.

Numerous interface enhancements have been made, too. Chief amongst these is the new metadata HUD (Heads-Up Display), which Apple calls the “Camera ‘LCD’ Panel.” (see below) This display presents exposure data in an easy to read manner. Image sizes are given both in standard pixels as well as a megapixel value. This saves the user some math and is important when choosing images to upload to stock agencies with minimum pixel count requirements. The HUD can be toggled on and off by holding the Shift key and a zoom navigator has been added to ease closeup inspection of images.

Search has been greatly improved. Aperture now offers search options like the ability to search for photos of people based on facial recognition, file type and photo usage, amongst others. Facial recognition was debuted in iPhoto and seems like technology aimed at consumers, but it certainly isn’t going to hurt anything. Searching for files by type and usage is a bigger deal. The latter will help photographers find unused images that might be worth a second look.

Geotagging is now supported directly in the application, with a Google Maps HUD, support for iPhone GPS, GPS receiver track logs and built-in camera GPS encoding.

Also brand new is the ability to edit video. With more and more DSLR’s capturing HD video, it makes sense to add this functionality. In addition to trimming, playback and grabbing JPEG still frames from movies, it is also possible to detach the audio track, or export everything into the full featured video editor of one’s choice.

Aperture takes a cue from Lightroom and adds brushes for selective enhancement of images. Prior to this, applying a filter to an image was an all or nothing proposition. Brushes allow dodging, burning, and skin smoothing as well as contrast, saturation and tint adjustment. This is the meat of Aperture and this release really bulks up its muscle. Adjustment presets will allow photographers to quickly adjust photos to their liking, but perhaps more importantly will also allow preset gurus to create and provide custom settings for less experienced users.

Overall, Aperture is a very solid update for people already familiar with the app. It catches up to Adobe’s Lightroom in every important way and raises the bar with its unique features. It might not pull people away from Adobe, but it will certainly keep Aperture Users happy while providing the best option for Apple owners just jumping into photo management.

Aperture is available now as a free 30 day trial download. The retail price is $199 and Aperture 2 owners can upgrade for $99.

Apple Aperture 3 Announcement & Press Release >>

 
Curtis Joe Walker is a freelance writer and photographer based in Las Vegas, NV. He is currently awaiting the results of his grad school application at UNLV where he hopes to earn an MFA in Photography. You can see more of his work at www.curtisjoewalker.com.

 
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