Right now Aperture doesn't support the raw format coming from the new Nikon D3 and D300. Is that going to be resolved in the near future? Or do die hard Nikon fans have to convert to other workflow software (ie Lightroom/Adobe CameraRaw) that is compatible? It's a huge dilemma, for me. I had planned to buy the new nikon, but as I shoot in RAW and rely on Aperture, I am stuck!
Well the new Sony Alpha-700 IS released since mid September and still no support of the RAW format for it! And it is already supported by all Adobe software.
So yes, I was a Nikon user waiting for the D300 or the D3 I would worry a lot!!
The Sony A700 has been available since late September and has not seen RAW support in Aperture yet. Sony is also a key Apple partner - so Steve Jobs has said.
This is a bit depressing. I've grown fairly dependent on Aperture over the past year, but my D300 is arriving on Friday, and I'm not going to be using my D70 much after that. I'm sure Apple is working on support, but it's not like I can stop working and wait for them. People are laughing at the idea of supporting the RAW format before the camera is released, but Adobe managed to do it.
As a software engineer, I find it difficult to imagine that support for a new RAW format requires a new Core Image release. Entangling the various RAW handler modules with the main body of code would be poor architecture indeed.
Anyway, I'm an Aperture fan, and I've recommended it to others, but if Apple's standard practice is to let early-adopter types twist in the wind for months on end (my sympathies to you A700 folks), that may be a fatal blow against my continued use of it...
Well here I am with my new D300 no Raw support in Aperture, and now that I upgraded to Leopard Nikon transfer or Nikon view will work with the new operating system. I love Aperture but I think I will learn Lightroom and see where that takes me.
Be aware, Lightroom may have D300 support, but they still haven't got printing working under leopard on most printers. (Also, if it has the same nasty white balance that it does for other nikon models, I'm pretty sure you'll be back ; ) ) Can't hurt to learn, though. If it were me I'd use Capture NX to develop them until apple gets their act together, which I agree they should do a heck of a lot faster than they usually do.
Pretty exciting getting one of the first D300s! I'm envious.
Replace "Nikon D300" with "Olympus E-3" and you have my situation. We have a Barbados vacation in the beginning of December and I'm photographing a wedding toward the end. JPEG isn't going to cut it for these events.
Time to check out the competing programs that already support my camera. Apple will hopefully release a fix before the 30-day trial on them runs out, as I really do want to stick with it.
My plan for D3 arrival if Aperture's not up to speed yet is to shoot in RAW+JPEG, store the RAW files separately, manage the JPEGs in Aperture, and if I need to work on a RAW file before Aperture is compatible, do it in Capture NX. After Aperture is compatible move the RAWs into the library and compare the one's I've worked on in Capture to what Aperture can do to be sure that Apple got the RAW developing right.
i bought my d300 yesterday,( do not get your hopes up i have been on the waiting list for 4 months). i have both aperture and lightroom and i can say that i prefer aperture and use it as my default. but aperture DOES NOT recognize D300 raw files. so until it does i am forced to use the lightroom. i do not know what is wrong with apple and these updates but i believe if they want to be stable in this industry they have to catch up with the technology. Nikon D3 and D300 are on backorder for at least 3 months. this means there will be a lot of pros who have these cameras in the near future and i bet the ones who use aperture will be ******, as i am.
I too purchased my D300 yesterday and have tried a few test shots and imported them into Aperture. as previously indicated there is no RAW support for this new format, but it does of course support JPEG. now I am shooting in RAW/JPEG and both files import, however JPEG photos appear normal and RAW photo's appear w/ the notation unsupported format on each frame.
My thought behind using the dual format is that when Apple supports this RAW format, the unsupported files already imported will be visible and usable. In the interim I will still see the photo's in JPEG along side the unsupported RAW file. This way I won't have to use yet another program and everything will be imported and in place when the new format is supported...then I would delete all the JPEGs.
photog999, I think that sounds like a great strategy. You can still apply keywords and ratings to unsupported files, and you can lift and stamp any adjustments made from the jpegs to the unsupported files, so as soon as D300/D3 recognition comes, you'll be golden.
I'm one of the lucky ones that scored a D300 yesterday (got the last one at a local dealer). I've been waiting a long time to make the jump to a DSLR, and the D300 was the camera with the right mix of features, performance, and price to make me take the leap.
I'm using Lightroom now for my RAW processing and workflow, but was REALLY hoping to give Aperture a try -- it has plugins that I'd really like to use (Flickr, Gallery, and FTP) that aren't available for Lightroom.
I sure hope Apple is on top of this and releases and update SOON.
Guess I can use the Nikon software to convert to TIFF first to see what Aperture's like, eh? Seems like a crappy workaround hack...
The D300 does shoot in TIFF file format and can be imported to Aperture. You would not need to use the Nikon software to do this. Go to the "Camera" icon fm your D300 menu, select "Image Quality" and then select TIFF (RGB". That should help you and save you a few steps.
