I am considering purchasing Aperture.

See here.

What is the deal with the possibility of it being discontinued? Is that possibility real? (February 2015)

If so what would be an alternative photo application for my iMAC?

Yes, Apple has announced, that there will be no further development of Aperture. That means, we will not see a new, paid upgrade Aperture 4, only bug fixes and compatibility updates to Aperture during the life cycle of Yosemite.

And it is the last chance to buy Aperture, if you want it. Once Apple releases a new operating system, that no longer supports Aperture or iPhoto, it will no longer be possible to buy it.

I am considering purchasing Aperture.

It may be worthwhile to buy Aperture now, if you already have compatible photolibraries, as a long time iPhoto user. Migrating from iPhoto to Aperture is simple - just open your iPhoto Libraries in Aperture and you can use all advanced features or consolidate your iPhoto Libraries.

Aperture 3.3: How to use Aperture to merge iPhoto libraries

But if you are currently using other photo software, it will probably too much work to invest into Aperture this late.

Apple will release a new Photos.app for the Mac later this year. I would wait, what this software will be like. We do not know anything about it yet.

If you have to migrate now, look at Capture One Pro or Lightroom, digicam, just browse the web. I am reluctant to use any third party software, that does not integrate well with the Mac ecosystem.

Top 10 Reasons Why I Chose Capture One Pro over Adobe ...

You're welcome! 🙂

I've been using Aperture & only Aperture since I bought my IMAC back in mid 2011. This is the first I've heard that something is about to replace Aperture 3. I only hope whatever it is that the conversion from Aperture 3 to the new, is seamless with my 10.8.5 Mountain Lion OS

I only hope whatever it is that the conversion from Aperture 3 to the new, is seamless with my 10.8.5 Mountain Lion OS

As long as you are staying with Mt. Lion, nothing will change. The successor for Aperture and iPhoto will only be available on Yosemite, since it will need the new iCloud Drive and iCloud Photo Library features that come with Yosemite.

If you are considering to upgrade to Yosemite, you should do it soon, at least before Apple launches the next MacOS X version, while Aperture 3.6 for Yosemite is still available at the App Store.

Hi Léonie

I was about to buy Aperture today because 1) my mate 'uppnorth' was so positive about it over Christmas and 2) i thought it would be good risk approach in case the new Photos isn't as good 3) i tried LR on trial and found it a bit unintuitive and 4) i love iPhoto but realise now that my photography needs more darkroom help 😟

Then I read this review on App store (dot com)

Terrible, plus a total rip off

by bonham417

This new version [3.6] of Aperture if absolutely horrible. It is a stripped down version of the older Aperture program. Fewer adjustments, functionality is spotty at best. The worst part about it is if you had any photos in the old version and you upgrade to the Yosemite operating system you are screwed. You cant open the old Aperture with Yosemite so to be able to even access your photos Apple forces you to buy this version. Thanks for the forced rip off Apple. You tricked me into having to buy a sub par program just to get to my own photos. If I was just rating the program alone, it might get two or three stars but the whole experience of upgrading to this poor excuse of an editing program makes me wish I could give it negative stars. Thoroughly dissapointed.

Then I read your post above.

I would be very grateful if you would comment on the review above. I am not concerned obviously about his gripe re old to new migration as I haven't got aperture already.

Basically I don't want to miss the boat; if new Photos doesn't cut it I will have Aperture and if new Photos is wonderful well what's £55 between friends?

Oh, and Happy New Year!

Paul

Hi Paul,

Let me do some of the easy lifting for Léonie ...

Terrible, plus a total rip off

by bonham417

This new version [3.6] of Aperture if absolutely horrible. It is a stripped down version of the older Aperture program.(1) Fewer adjustments(2), functionality is spotty at best(3). The worst part about it is if you had any photos in the old version and you upgrade to the Yosemite operating system you are screwed(4). You cant open the old Aperture with Yosemite so to be able to even access your photos Apple forces you to buy this version. Thanks for the forced rip off Apple. You tricked me into having to buy a sub par program just to get to my own photos. If I was just rating the program alone, it might get two or three stars but the whole experience of upgrading to this poor excuse of an editing program makes me wish I could give it negative stars. Thoroughly dissapointed.

(1) False. Apple has removed almost no features ever from Aperture 3. The one or two that have been removed have been replaced by compatible features with the same functionality, and often are still available: for example, the Highlights & Shadows adjustment, which was completely re-worked, can be used alongside the old one.

(2) False.

(3) False. Tens of thousands of users run Aperture with no problems at all. I use Aperture for dozens of hours each week, keep several hundred thousand Images under management, and have had very very few problems for years. The last version of Aperture that had any appreciable functionality issues was 3.2. They were relatively minor, and were fixed.

(4) Misguided. Here we might have stumbled on the poster's problem: it seems s/he upgraded from Aperture 2 to Aperture 3 without preparation. The upgrade of the OS from 10.9 to 10.10 did not cause any serious problems for Aperture 3.

—Kirby.

Thanks Kirby

One step closer to that click... 🙂

Great, Kirby, thanks. I never used Aperture 2, but I thought like you, that this might have been an Aperture 2 user.

4) i love iPhoto but realise now that my photography needs more darkroom help

One step closer to that click...

Keep iPhoto installed, if you decide to upgrade. You can switch seemlessly between both programs, and it is nice to be able to fall back on iPhoto for a few things.

And don't upgrade to Yosemite and iPhoto 9.6 and Aperture 3.6 without a full backup of your Mac as it is now.

iPhoto 9.6 has a horrible bug, that can wreck an iPhoto library beyond repair during the upgrade, if the Mac crashes during the upgrade. So better play it safe.

Thanks Léonie

Already on Yosemite and 9.6 - the bug missed me!

Looks like I'm spending money 🙂 unless Mr Devlin pits his boot in tonight 😁

Regards

After receiving a certain Seed invitation this evening I panicked and am now the happy owner of Aperture 3.6 - just in case!

Great! I hope you will become a happy user. 🙂

Here is a link to the User Manual: Aperture 3 User Manual: Welcome to Aperture

And Kirby's great user tip:

The Well-Trod Path: a Beginner's Guide to how Aperture's major parts inter-relate

And my two cents 😉

Keep iPhoto - It May Come in Handy!

New to Aperture? Some Considerations when Designing your First Aperture Library