Photos app vs Aperture, for adepts?

From what I have seen of Photos, I know it is not for me. The adjustments are no way near to what either iPhotos or Aperture can do. It is basically a way to get your photos onto the cloud which I don't want to do.

I currently searching for a non-Apple replace for Aperture now.

Are all Aperture adjustment tools available to a semi-adept like myself who migrates to the Photos app? Can I adjust my images in Photos to the same level of precision and have as many options (and stay within the Apple universe), or do I have to look elsewhere, like Lightroom? I need high-end software.

The adjustments that are applied globally to all pixels of the image are quite nice, but curves adjustments are missing. The global adjustments are partly automatic; for example to straighten the horizon, Photos try to locate the horizon, but we have less control over the parameters. You cannot undo adjustments individually, after an image has been edited.

There are no brushed adustments at all, only a retouch brush, but no blur brush, or dodge and burn, not even a skin smoothing brush.

Lightroom is not the only alternative. Have a look at Capture One as well, if you consider to leave the apple Universe.

I started out with that same mind set about sticking with Aperture to the bitter end.

Then I read a post by another user who said that Apple has killed Aperture now. If you continue to use it that will only make the migration job later that much harder as your library grows over time. You will probably be better off to make you break now before it gets any larger.

As I was sitting there thinking about his comments, it suddenly dawned on me that I have two very large jobs coming up in the not to distant future that will in all likelihood add well over another thousand RAW photos to my library. So if I hold off for with the migration for even a few months my migration job will only grow.

So now I am getting serious about looking for a replacement just to reduce the job of migrating the library over to the replacement.

Hi Raphael,

With the _coming_ demise of Aperture, users are either:

- staying with Aperture for a bit: it works well; migrating the database is, _at best_, tricky, incomplete, and inefficient; Aperture will continue to work well under Yosemite for as long as you have a Mac running Yosemite, or

- using another program/programs for the digital asset management and digital camera image editing that they used to do in Aperture.

Those who are moving are either:

- putting only or mostly new/recent digital camera files into another program(s), and developing a workflow with the other program(s), or

- porting all of their Originals, all of their adjusted Versions, and as much of the database as possible into another program.

The other programs that are most often mentioned as being useful to Aperture users are:

- Adobe's Lightroom. Functional overlap with Aperture is nearly 100%. Widely used. More support and resources than you can use. Aperture users general don't like being constrained by a modal interface, and don't like the actual interface.

- Capture One Pro. Functions similar to Aperture. Well-liked by those who use it. Strong editing tools. Less strong digital asset management tools. Very much smaller installed user base. Imho, a more Aperture-like experience than LR.

- Apple Photos for OS X. Properly understood as the successor program to iPhoto (it is _not_ a successor to Aperture). The design emphasis is on ease of use. Adequate editing tools. Strong but non-customizable digital asset management tools.

All three feature non-destructive workflows (your digital camera files are never over-written). All of them — like Aperture — store _the information needed to create new files_, rather than new files themselves.

rshammaa wrote:

If I am to switch, I would like to switch to a software that is elegantly thought out, that offers at least as much control as Aperture does, and that is widely supported and understood; and that has a forum like this one with competent people responding.

An excellent list. Imho:

- LR is the least elegant of the three.

- LR and C1Pro offer as much editing control as Aperture. Neither offers as much digital asset management options/utility.

- All are (or will be) well supported. LR is much more used and discussed, and has many more supporting materials available, than any of the others.

- This forum provided — not just my opinion, and something I'm proud of — a rare combination of quick response, high-quality content, and little chaff. There are (afaik) good forums for both LR and for C1Pro.

HTH,

—Kirby.

Allan Eckert wrote:

So now I am getting serious about looking for a replacement just to reduce the job of migrating the library over to the replacement.

Hi Allan,

While I, too, am looking into all options now, I don't think your reasoning here applies. The actual migration will be automated as much as possible: the size of the job is _not_ determined by the size of the database — it's determined by the relationship of the data tables between the source and target database. Migrating data from one database to another is, except for the smallest of datasets, a big job. The marginal cost of additional data is marginal or less.

Nonetheless, I recommend everyone start developing a new system as soon as is feasible. There is a lot to learn (a lot of mistakes to be made), a lot of customizations to be worked out, and your new database will be more usable, longer, than your old (Aperture) one.

The demise of Aperture is costly to Aperture users.

—Kirby.

I would keep using Aperture, but eventually it'll become entirely outdated.

In 3-5 years.

Apple just don't have respect to all of us, we invest in this software. All our image, adjustment, book and so on are in there.

There is no real migration path. Photos... you say Photos... so bad... it kind of a iOS application on our Mac... A toy software!

No we are stuck to the wall. No alternative than use the Photos... This is a good software for Mommy and Daddy. But for us, who make our salary with this software (Aperture)... nothing.

APPLE JUST HAVE NO RESPECT FOR ALL OF THERE CUSTOMER WHO BELEVE IN THEM AND FOLLOW THEM IN THERE IDEA...!!!

AT LEAST APPLE HAVE TO TRANSFER APERTURE TO A PUBLIC LICENCE MODEL. THIS WAY PEPOLE WHO STILL BELEVE IN APERTURE WILL BE ABLE LET IT GROW AND MAKE IT BETTER AND BETTER.

HOPE APPLE WILL CONSIDER THIS IDEA

I'm not sure the idea that the longer you hold out the harder it will be to migrate elsewhere is right. When the time come that apeture is truly dead, which is either when photos is out of beta, or when Yosemite is replace, I'm thinking the alternative companies will by then have developed better tools to do the migration than at this early stage.

well fingers crossed anyway