Is Aperture being discontinued?

Yes. Apple announced that it was going to discontinue development of Aperture after they make it compatible with their soon-to-be-released new operating system, Yosemite. Yosemite is due to be released in early autumn of this year.

There are thousands of comments on threads on this site and elsewhere regarding the demise of Aperture. The announcement has created quite a stir.

I would not recommend buying Aperture at this point. Wait until Apple releases more information about their coming photo-management application.

Photos will not "operate in the Cloud". It's an app on your Mac and an additional service will allow you to put your Library in the Cloud, if you wish.

I hear that an alternative, albeit a little "heavy" is Lightroom 5 from Adobe. I am current using Aperture and need to switch to something else - anyone using Lightroom 5?

I am current using Aperture and need to switch to something else - anyone using Lightroom 5?

Do you need to switch immediately? Aperture will be updated to work with the next MacOS X version Yosemite. You will be able to use it for more than a year at least, all through the Yosemite life cycle. And by then you will have been able to explore the new Photos.app, the successor to Aperture and iPhoto. It is supposed to have advanced photo editing features.

Leonie has provided you with the best advice. If your mac platform(s) will be able to install the new MacOSX version Yosemite - do so. Yosemite will be designed to support Aperture 3.5.1 as well as the new Photos app. Zero reason to move to lightroom now when you will have that same choice in a few months, if you do not like the new Photos app.

Is the right answer.

Still discontinuing a great app like Aperture is a shame. Apparently Apple have stopped putting any effort in it since a long time. And, yes, maybe Aperture will still be running in Yosemite, but there will be zero development and eventually it will not be possible to use it anymore.

It will very much depend on what Photos will look like, but if it will be just a kind of iPhoto I will certainly go somewhere else. I didn't migrate from iPhoto to Aperture for no reason and I do not intend to loose functionality because of a new app I did not ask for. It would be nice if Apple would offer more continuity in their products

I wish I'd have known all of this before I upgraded to Yosemite. I've lost over 300 photos and have an assignment due. What can I do?

Upgrading to Yosemite doesn't delete photos. So, unless you provide more details, there is no way anyone can help you.

You should make your own posting, as the subject of this one doesn't relate to your issue.

If you upgraded without a backup, then that is a precaution you should have made, especially on a work production machine.

As long as the yet-to-be-released 'Photos' app can edit RAW and as long as Apple continue to add new camera models to their RAW Compatibility list, we should be okay. Afterall, too many cooks spoil the broth and what more would we want from Aperture anyway? - You can over post-process and spoil images in my opinion.

Good, sounds encouraging that the new Photos has advanced editing. I tried Lightroom 5 before Aperture as it came free with my new camera , Canon 6D, I really didn't like Lightroom 5 so bought Aperture 3.5.1 which I much prefer. I use Photoshop for layers and framing but maybe the new Photos will have these functions.

Aperture still works and was even just updated by Apple for Mavericks and Yosemite (but I am not updating to Yosemite for some months). No rush to update Aperture to any other program like a crazed maniac. Take a year to learn your options, try them out. Keep using Aperture since, it works and all your data is (presumably) kept by it.

Right now, the best pro future replacement options for Aperture (I am not rushing), are between DxO Optics Pro vs Capture One Pro vs Lightroom (I hate that Adobe subscription model, which would knock Adobe out if that becomes the only version updated in the next year).

There are also a few more (ACDsee - good price now, etc.) but the RAW conversion is not as good or price too high or DAM function less powerful, etc. Capture One Pro was and is probably the most “pro” replacement to look at and try. All of these have free trials. Many also have student pricing for photo majors but, you may have to buy direct for the discount or (in the case of Capture One Pro) only via a reseller (who does the discount).Keep in mind that the RAW converters and features in these are constantly being improved so, some might jump ahead or fall back then come back on top. Also, some is personal preference. Most pros seem to like Capture One Pro RAW converted images over all others. But some pros still use Lightroom or other programs for file management. Some pros use a dedicated RAW converter (like the free one from Nikon or other) and the rest is less important for them.

I forgot, there is also the free program for management and RAW conversion that comes with Canon, Nikon and other brands. But, usually, these are not as good as a third party with the exception of RAW conversion. Usually, they are superior. But the other issues with it, UI, UX, crashing, etc. make them not worth it.

The exception is the free Capture One Pro for Sony camera users. If I shot only Sony, that is an incredible deal!

Note that Capture One Pro was the first with a way to move your Aperture (and Lightroom!) collection into Capture One Pro. Weeks later, Adobe also offers this option of moving Aperture into Lightroom.

In the mean time, I use Google Nik, Perfect Effects, and other plug ins for processing in Aperture and they work great. So Aperture mostly continues working for me as a file managementprogram or DAM.

Oh, and Apple Photos is another option. But, that is also a wait and see. Will it be be robust enough for pros? Word is, no. But for enthusiasts, it could be great and free!

Joseph Coates wrote:

Note that Capture One Pro was the first with a way to move your Aperture (and Lightroom!) collection into Capture One Pro. Weeks later, Adobe also offers this option of moving Aperture into Lightroom.

Hi Joseph.

The current "database migrators" offered by C1Pro and Adobe are so basic as to be little more than "proof-of-concept" demos (imho). I recommend against using _any_ of them without _completely_ preparing for the migration. Every Aperture user should list all of the places in Aperture that data is currently held, and determine where in any other program that data will be held, and set up a system that will get it there. Afaict, this will require significant effort up-front.

In the mean time, I use Google Nik, Perfect Effects, and other plug ins for processing in Aperture and they work great. So Aperture mostly continues working for me as a file managementprogram or DAM.

Aperture's tools remain broadly under-appreciated. At the pixel level, there is little processing that can't be done (short of mapping pixels to other locations). I wouldn't sell it short as a converter or developer, and it remains unsurpassed as a single-user DAM.

—Kirby.

In response to Kirby,

- Users need to be realistic about migration. This is like open heart surgery on many patients (each edited photo) at once. Almost all things specific or proprietary in image editing in Aperture or other program you move from to LR or COP others in future will be lost. (With Apple Photos, we’ll have to wait and see.) Any manipulations will simply move over as a second copy of the image. Not all or none of the non destructive image editing data will make it across and some of the designations like portfolios/collections/etc. versus whatever it is called in the receiving program, will be renamed or dumped into something different. (Personally, I wish they would just let the user name these things! If I want to call portfolios “books”, I should be able to. Note: your book is another term for portfolio in the biz. Also, to be able to add on new forms of organizing. Like maybe file folders to hold misc work you are not filing away yet. IOW: more of a finder with customization.)
Be realistic about migration. There will be losses and name changes.
- My mentioning my personal use of Nik, PE, etc. should not be taken as a comment that Aperture is deficient tool wise. Although, be realistic, as time goes by, improvements by others will/have mostly or entirely superseded Aperture and, that is probably at the point one should personally decide to move on. (Me, I am less eager [and cheap] for latest and greatest if I simply work better in something that is 75-95% or so just as good. [Leica users?] I am still using InDesign/PS CS5. For my needs, I see no reason to update yet or pay rent to Adobe.) Many pros find Aperture's RAW converter (and DxO, and others) to not be up to snuff. COP RAW converter and much of the program was just updated to great acclaim. Apertures, not ever again.
Technology marches on. As a designer and art director for over 25 years, I have seen many great design programs come and go. Letraset made a great image editing program, but it is long gone. It did and could have competed with PS at the time but, they decided to kill it. Pagemaker got a bad rap. It actually could do a lot but you had to understand how to do it. Nobody bothered to learn. It is (basically) gone. Freehand was terrific. Gone (along with easy multipage documents of any multiple size for a drawing program).
Photographers, now, finally fully working digital from camera to screen, are going to have to get used to change. Unfair or frequently as it may happen. Designers went though about a decade of bitiching about computers. To photographers great credit, they shortened this to only a few years of analog v. digital. Now, its over and, we can all move on…