timbono1
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: Is Aperture the tool for me?

Afternoon all,

 

Following on from a separate forum thread I've got here in iPhoto https://discussions.apple.com/message/20902055?ac_cid=op123456#20902055?ac_cid=o p123456, I wondered whether the Aperture thread could also help me out.

 

I'm looking to have a single product to use as a central catalogue and referencing tool for the 000s of photos I've already got but also the 000s yet to be taken. I'm intending to have these photos stored on a NAS with appropriate backup measures, but accessing them through this as yet unknown product through wi-fi. I'm likely to do minimal photo manipulation other than the basics and enjoy the features of iPhoto so the main benefit is the ability to reference the images from a networked location. TD has kindly advised that iPhoto isnt the right product due to various limits due to networking.

 

My question is simple: Is Aperture the tool for me?

 

I look forward to hearing from you.

Tim

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8)

Posted on Jan 16, 2013 4:28 AM

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timbono1

Q: Is Aperture the tool for me?

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  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Jan 16, 2013 5:50 AM in response to timbono1
    Level 10 (108,884 points)
    iCloud
    Jan 16, 2013 5:50 AM in response to timbono1

    If you read TD's answer carefully, it says

     

    It cannot have the Library on a networked location, such as a NAS. iPhoto needs to have the Library sitting on disk formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled). Users with the Library sitting on disks otherwise formatted regularly report issues including, but not limited to, importing, saving edits and sharing the photos.

     

    The main problem is the formatting of the drive - for Aperture holds the same: The library needs to be on a disk formatted MacOS X Extended. Otherwise you are risking inconsistencies in your Aperture library  and open a can of worms, see:

    Use locally mounted Mac OS X Extended volumes for your Aperture library

     

    If you absolutey want to store your Photolibrary on a NAS, you can create a writable diskimage formatted MacOS X extended on your NAS and store the library on this disk image. You will have to take care to automount the diskimage before you access Aperture. This will be tedious and slow.

     

    The question, if you can put your Aperture library on a network volume is open to a debate, but I would not do it.

    • For a good performance the access to the Aperture library needs to be very fast - I'd put the library on the fastest drive you have, with a very fast port, Thunderbolt, for example. My library sits on a second internal drive.
    • Your network needs to be very stable, if you want reliable database transactions for your Aperture library.

     

    2. While you can run iPhoto in Referenced mode, with the Masters on a NAS and the library on a local disk, this is inherently unreliable. Here has more:

    This is better in Aperture. Other than iPhoto Aperture has built-in tools to deal with referenced original files. So you can move the bulk of your image files to an external volume and keep only the Aperture library on your internal volume.

     

    Regards

     

    Léonie

  • by Kirby Krieger,

    Kirby Krieger Kirby Krieger Jan 16, 2013 5:56 AM in response to timbono1
    Level 6 (12,522 points)
    Jan 16, 2013 5:56 AM in response to timbono1

    From the limited information given, I suggest using Finder as your picture files database storage and browser.  Combined with Quick View and Preview (all of which are now integrated in useful ways), it has developed into a quite usable picture files management tool.