Aperture in macOS High Sierra...

Just thought I would update: I have Aperture on my iMac running High Sierra. I think it is actually running much better than under Sierra - in the past I'd be looking at images and it would skip ahead one or two every now and then...not a biggie but irritating. Other things work just fine. I do have MacPhun's Luminar and use it frequently and since I have Lightroom and PSElements [on computer, not online] it would work with those two as a plug in but works fine with Aperture.

So I am going to wait a bit longer before I move = in the meantime I am going to be using my time reviewing and upgrading older ApLibraries and trashing anything that absolutely doesn't need saving = I tend to keep too many images but I know they are not all wonderful...Time to cull.

Hi Again

Yes I had some of the same questions that you do and I won't know for sure till it is installed on my desktop but I Looked at several training tutorials and it looks like you can do many of the same basic edits and more. By looking at these tutorials for Luminar I already feel like I could work with it fairly easily. Plus you can use it as an external editor for Aperture. I already use Affinity photo as an external editor for Aperture and it has been a big help there. Good luck to you. Ron

Downloaded Luminar 2018 too today. Was a bit of a hassle to get it. And I had expected it to be able to organize my photos as well, but that is not possible (yet). You have to import photos from files or folders, then 'develop' them and organize them somewhere else.

Moreover, it doesn't seem to be recognized by Photos as an extension. But that may be because I only use Photos on my mac without cloud. Photos is not really meant for avid photographers.

Luminar has possibilities, but it cannot import RAW RW2 images without the need to apply lots and lots of adjustments (so you have to convert those files into dng first). So Luminar seems a good 'developer', but has its limitations.

I'll continue using Capture One 10.

In High Sierra you can store your photos in Photos and edit them in other apps, like Photoshop, maybe also in Capture One. But I haven't checked this yet. If we could use Photos as a catalogue with albums and all that and edit in an other app that would provide a possibility.

"Open a Photo and edit in Photoshop

As of High Sierra, the Photos app lets you make edits using Photoshop and other third-party editors.

From Photos right click on the image you wish to edit and choose Edit With > Other, and then select Photoshop from your applications (or any other photo editor you might prefer)."

That is certainly true. I was only checking out the possibilities with editing apps and Photo, which I don't use by the way. Today I started it up for the first time, to see whether it could export to other apps in High Sierra. It does. But as you said, it doesn't make much sense.

The problem with Capture One is that some RAW formats (like the latest RW2 - strangely enought the first RW2 format from Panasonic was supported) are not supported, so you have to convert the files to dng. Silkypix has a cheap app that can handle this new RW2 format, but it doesn't have a catalogue with albums. I noticed that High Sierra is able to see/preview this new RW2 format, which Sierra couldn't. It even took me some time before I realized that Panasonic had in fact two different RW2 formats. Capture One hasn't added support for the latest one as yet.

Copying large picture folders from Sierra to High Sierra can take some time. And the more pictures one has, the faster and larger you want your internal and external drives.

I have been working happily with Capture One Pro for some time now as a replacement for Aperture. I like it, though I would wish the CO crew added RAW support for some compact cameras.

I use Luminar [Neptune, 2017?] now as a plugin with Aperture and like it a lot = but since I just bought Luminar not that long ago, and Aperture still works, I'm not sure I'll do the early upgrade....I would have to relearn almost everything = I like and use its presets but if I were to rely totally on Luminar, I'd have to learn to adjust them plus use the DAM process = more than I want to learn right now = but I look forward to seeing the reviews and your experience.

The keywords will be embedded in the IPTC data when you export from Aperture, but if you are using hierarchical keywords like "Plants > Araceae > Arisaema", it will be unlikely that the new application you are migrating to, will understand them. You will have to test this before making the move. if necessary, flatten your keywords hierarchy before exporting your photos.

Luminar has great potential. What I don't fancy in it is the rather weird colour shifts that are considered artistic these days, but which I am not going to use. You know, the kind of cinematographic colours, mostly gloomy.

I've run into several problems with brushing in adjustments on 10.13.2 (which may or may not have also been present in 10.13.1) that forced me back to Sierra. This is a fairly big problem for me that stands as an obstacle to replacing my 2013 27" iMac with the new iMac Pro.

With respect, is there a replacement for Aperture?

Not by Apple. Apple did not provide a new professional application, suitable for photo professionals or discerning amateurs.

You will have to find a third-party application that will suit your needs, and where you can rely on the third-party vendor to be dedicated to support Apple platforms for many years to come.

. I guess I'll export all the photos onto an external drive just to be sure

And create a Photos Library from each of your Aperture Libraries while you still can, even if you are not planning to use Photos as your replacement. But with Photos you will at least be able to keep the edited versions and the original paired and have have access to the metadata you added and your albums and folders. The converted Photos library may soon be the only way to access your Aperture libraries as a library and not only as a set of image files. And who can tell, if migration to Photos will be possible in the systems to come.

The Luminar DAM has been announced for early 2018. Perhaps it will be released long before the Affinity version comes out. I prefer working in Luminar.

FWIW - I still have 150,000 images in Aperture that I don't have a great migration plan for, so I was gratified to see your post. Thank you.

If it helps you, on a day-to-day basis I moved to CaptureOne Pro. Tried LR for 6 months in 2016... it just didn't click with me (I know 'everyone' uses it), so have been using C1P for over a year. Pretty happy with it.

The point is people are looking for an app that can import and catalogue all their images and at the same time edit them.

Not only edit them but do so non-destructively.

Both Photos and Capture One do exactly that - catalogue and process non-destructively. One is a give-away freebie app, the other is a pro-grade one. Using them together makes no sense. Why you would use a freebie when you have a pro grade app is one only you can answer.