minnesota51

Q: Please analyze my current Aperture/hardware situation

First of all I'm a bit depressed about this whole death of Aperture reality. I'm not sure what to switch to in the future so I would like to use Aperture a little longer.

 

Please give me some hardware recommendations so I can get the latest Aperture version to use. I'm currently running Aperture 3.2.4 on a 2010 iMac, 10.6.8, with 12 gigs of RAM. It runs almost flawlessly with this setup.

 

I am a photographer who relies on Aperture. I currently have about 35,000 managed (95 percent jpeg) images in mainly two library's. I use Time Machine. I am not super computer literate. Although I have a lot of experience, I have no formal computer training. Can you give me a checklist as to what would be the most efficient way for me to continue using Aperture?

 

Mike

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8), 3.06 ghz, i3, 12 gb ram

Posted on Mar 8, 2015 11:18 PM

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Q: Please analyze my current Aperture/hardware situation

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  • by Allan Eckert,

    Allan Eckert Allan Eckert Mar 9, 2015 9:13 AM in response to minnesota51
    Level 9 (53,640 points)
    Desktops
    Mar 9, 2015 9:13 AM in response to minnesota51

    Upgrade to Yosemite and then upgrade to Aperture 3.6.

     

    Backup first.

     

    While you are doing that you can start research what you will replace Aperture with when the time comes. Three possibilities are Lightroom, DxO and Capture One.

  • by minnesota51,

    minnesota51 minnesota51 Mar 13, 2015 9:21 AM in response to Allan Eckert
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 13, 2015 9:21 AM in response to Allan Eckert

    Okay.

     

    The only other detail (and I brought it up here before) is that I would like to keep using iMovieHD. Can I download Yosemite and worry about that later?

  • by torreypines,

    torreypines torreypines Mar 13, 2015 10:01 AM in response to minnesota51
    Level 1 (74 points)
    Mar 13, 2015 10:01 AM in response to minnesota51

    You are still running a version of snow leopard 10.6.8 ?
    Since you have not stayed current with the many various OSX software and Aperture updates, my recommendation would be for you to buy a new Retina iMac with at least 16gb of RAM. Then install the latest version of Aperture 3.6 (which you will need to purchase from the Mac App store) onto your new iMac. Then import your old Aperture 3.2.4 version library from your still perfectly functional, snow leopard platform, to your new iMac yosemite platform and have your newly purchased Aperture 3.6 version convert your old 3.2.4 version library for use. You should also then purchase a new 3T Time Capsule for faster backups and more storage and use it with your new iMac. You have far too many other upgrade hoops to make at this point for me to feel comfortable about your chances of success with a straight upgrade on your current platform to the latest yosemite OSX.

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Mar 13, 2015 10:58 AM in response to torreypines
    Level 10 (107,220 points)
    iCloud
    Mar 13, 2015 10:58 AM in response to torreypines
    Then install the latest version of Aperture 3.6 (which you will need to purchase from the Mac App store) onto your new iMac.

    Why purchase?  Since minnesota51  already owns Aperture 3.2.4, the update to Aperture 3.6 is  free.

    The only problem is to convince the AppStore, to allow the free update.

    I'd migrate or install the 3.2.4 version on the new Mac, and then try the update from the App Store.  And hurry, before Apple pulls Aperture from the App Store and it can no longer be purchased.

  • by minnesota51,

    minnesota51 minnesota51 Mar 13, 2015 11:41 AM in response to minnesota51
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 13, 2015 11:41 AM in response to minnesota51

    Oh the timing. I'm buying a car this month. Can I not get by for a while with my 2010 iMac?

     

     

    torreypines, are there really that many upgrade hoops? I thought my biggest concerns would be software issues like my old Word, iWatermark, iMovieHD, etc. I know they will not jive with Yosemite.

  • by torreypines,

    torreypines torreypines Mar 14, 2015 10:50 AM in response to minnesota51
    Level 1 (74 points)
    Mar 14, 2015 10:50 AM in response to minnesota51

    You are using a 2010 iMac platform, which functions for you just fine, with your currently installed software. The hardware differences between your 2010 iMac and a current Retina display iMac are reason enough to upgrade to a new platform. I would suggest you sit tight and continue using your 2010 platform - until you can find a way to acquire a new iMac Retina platform - and then you can later deal with all the other software upgrade issues and file transfer issues. BUT you will still have your old 2010 iMac machine as a useable backup, without worrying about the inevitable OSX upgrade risks to old Aperture libraries and other important files on your old platform.
    Leonie has a good point in that Apple will likely soon pull the current version of Aperture 3.6 from the Mac App store. But you cannot even access the Mac App store from your obsolete OSX snow leopard until you first 'risk' updating that platform to OSX yosemite.

  • by minnesota51,

    minnesota51 minnesota51 Mar 14, 2015 11:18 AM in response to torreypines
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 14, 2015 11:18 AM in response to torreypines

    I can access the App Store just fine.

     

    Sure, I should buy a brand new computer and brand new cameras too. I'm not sure if that is in the cards now. I don't think I'd get the Retina display anyway. I'd just get the 21.5" with NVIDIA graphics.

     

    My system works great but without the latest Aperture I can't shoot RAW images with any of the new cameras. In fact, I can't even shoot RAW with my D7100 now as my Aperture won't recognize it.

     

     

    So my options are:

     

    1. Do nothing and soldier on with my current setup. Although I realize I can't do this forever.

     

    2. Backup current drive, wipe it clean, and install Yosemite on existing machine.

     

    3. Buy new machine along with Yosemite and Aperture 3.6

     

    4. Buy new machine along with Yosemite and start over with completely new photo software as alluded to above.

     

    5. Throw entire setup into river because I'm sick of staring at a screen everyday.

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Mar 14, 2015 11:25 AM in response to minnesota51
    Level 10 (107,220 points)
    iCloud
    Mar 14, 2015 11:25 AM in response to minnesota51
    2. Backup current drive, wipe it clean, and install Yosemite on existing machine.

    I'd recommend to make a regular Time Machine backup and to make a bootable clone of your current system drive. Then upgrade to Yosemite.The notable clone will get you going again quickly, if something should go wrong.

     

    The problem is, you cannot drag your foot forever about the decision, to update to Aperture 3.6 or not, for Apple announced, that with the coming release of MacOS X 10.10.3 aperture will be withdrawn from the App Store. Only, they forgot to mention the date.

    If you think you may want the newest Aperture, get it now, while it is still available.

  • by Peter Mullett,

    Peter Mullett Peter Mullett Mar 15, 2015 10:45 AM in response to torreypines
    Level 1 (80 points)
    iPhone
    Mar 15, 2015 10:45 AM in response to torreypines

    I am running Aperture 3.4.5 on my late 2009 27" iMac that's running OSX 10.8.5 and I really don't want to upgrade this iMac to any higher OSX because I need to protect the usage of my FCP7 Studio on that machine……….But I would like to know what the differences / "improvements" are with Aperture 3.6, if it's significant enough I could download a copy to my 15" Retina MBP. So is it worth it other than to be able to get the "final" release of Aperture?

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Mar 15, 2015 11:02 AM in response to Peter Mullett
    Level 10 (107,220 points)
    iCloud
    Mar 15, 2015 11:02 AM in response to Peter Mullett

    See the Release Notes at this link:   Aperture 3.6 Release notes - Apple Support

     

    Aperture 3.6 is the only version compatible with MacOS X 10.10.

     

    If you ever want to us Aperture with a recent MacOS X version, make sure, you have the update installed somewhere. It will soon vanish from the AppStore.

    The recent improvements are:

    • Aperture 3.3 brought the unified iPhoto-Aperture library, so you can losslessly import iPhoto libraries to Aperture.
    • Aperture 3.4 brought the integration with iCloud.
    • Aperture 3.5 improved the iCloud compatibility and made it possible to import photos from iOS devices with filters applied, as well as many bug fixes.
    • Aperture 3.6 adds compatibility with Yosemite.
  • by Peter Mullett,

    Peter Mullett Peter Mullett Mar 15, 2015 11:14 AM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (80 points)
    iPhone
    Mar 15, 2015 11:14 AM in response to léonie

    Thank you Leonie!

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Mar 15, 2015 11:22 AM in response to Peter Mullett
    Level 10 (107,220 points)
    iCloud
    Mar 15, 2015 11:22 AM in response to Peter Mullett

    You're welcome, Peter!