Rumor: Aperture 3 release imminent?

Girls & guys.. the wait is over. Aperture 3 is out, including a downloadable trial:

http://www.apple.com/aperture/

Aperture and LR are really head to head in most areas. The big difference is LR is tied more to the CS system (I used to say I ran the Photoshop OS when File Browser shipped with PS 7), while Aperture is tied in with OS X. Otherwise, Plugins considered, they're equally powerful. The rest is just personal preference based on personal needs.

I used both for a while in trials and bought Aperture. I like the UI and workflow logic, and preferred integration with the OS rather than Photoshop/ACR. I think this was based on bad experiences with xmp sidecar files being lost in PS7 and so I didn't care about metadata editing. Even though that's not an issue anymore, the Aperture database works just fine for me, never a problem. Nevertheless, if I could avoid Adobe altogether I'd happy do so. PS is a necessary evil, and my "mastery" of it gives me no pleasure. Really it's a dinosaur.

So therefore my wishes for Aperture 3 are better editing tools, preferably non destructive, better handling of versions, and browsing, naming (sometimes the line between "master" and "version" is unclear after external editing). Also built-in FTP, better gallery building, a "pro" MobileMe which I'd gladly pay for. And presets, presets, presets.

Oh, and wtf with printing. Here, LR has the upper hand. Apple needs to get with the program on printing.

I have high hopes for Aperture 3. I always keep my fingers crossed that Apple will remember the "pro" in their Pro Apps.

Damm some people love to troll…
Go to a Lightroom 3 article and troll there yah gahoots!

I have used Both Aperture and Lightroom since versions 1 of both products,
I use Lightroom for the quick and not well paying jobs that I don't really care about, apply a quick setting, make my picks, photoshop emu's and I'm done (Cheating/Amateur Style), I would never implement my top notch photographic jobs or own photography into Lightroom, I currently run about 18 Aperture libraries (Press option during start up) on my system (1 of which is 268GBs of RAWs) and only 2 Lightroom libs which I often flush back to virgin states. I just love the adjustment delicacy of Aperture and would never expect to find the subtleness and control I get in Aperture in Lightroom.

My Aperture is just so customed out, it literally rock and pops! How can anybody compare the workflow of Aperture to Lightroom, the modules are just pathetic in Lightroom, back and forth, forth and back.. I also really dislike how Lightroom handles color, namely white balance adjustments. Aperture seems so real and convincing in it's exposure and color correction were Lightroom seems really heavy-handed and false.

The 3rd Party Plugs I have in Aperture almost make APS obsolete, exaggerating but pretty spectacular!! Tiffen Dfx, Portraiture, NoiseNinja, FocalPoint, GenuineFractals, Color Efex Pro, Dfine, Sharpener Pro, Silver Efex, Viveza, PhotoFrame, PhotoTools, Topaz Fusion... Could never do without Photoshop but Lightroom and Bridge are a joke compared to Aperture!!

I have high hopes for Aperture 3, Better Noise reduction, Chromatic Aberration correction, Soft proofing matching PS, Speed/64 Bit, TimeMachine Support, Library Aware as iPhoto is now (opt+launch sees all iphoto libs on system), Ability to write metadata changes to the files themselves, Aperture Server, Non-MobileMe template support for Web Exports, Ability to maintain a keyword hierarchy.. Blah blah..

A few will make it and we can only hope for the rest in version 4 ;)

I always thought that a tablet would make a perfect portable tether device.
Something tells me that my prayers won't be answered this month however.

This reminds me of Keynote, not updated for ages and I thought Apple would drop it. But instead they launched Pages and then Numbers and actually made a suite of applications. Aperture, like Keynote, is really fantastic, plus it does everything I need at the moment and is a pleasure to use. I've always found LR to be sluggish and clunky. Don't really need an update but it's always nice to get one!

I can just see it
Apple launches aperture with tablet complete with finger touch sensitivity. Just think of it the ability to edit your images on an apple touch screen laptop optimized for Aperture3

Thank goodness! I have been hoping a new aperture would come out since last year when I spoke to an apple employee at 2009 macworld and he mentioned it was coming...

Looks like tablets, iPhones, and os upgrades took software priority at our favorite fruit!?

I for one hope Aperture comes out as version 3.0 soon. Some of the comments comparing LR to Aperture really don't say behind things like 'yucky' why.

I like and prefer Aperture for many reasons, For me, I will stay with Aperture through 2010. I am a NAPP member and attend the Photoshop conference once a year in Las Vegas. Last year I had a chance to sit in on a few Lightroom classes. Based on this, I decided to run Lightroom in parallel with Aperture for new projects.

This was relatively easy and took up virtually no more space since I use referenced masters and the only incremental HDD space was the lightroom library itself. ( I shoot 5D MkII and 40D cameras )

I used Lightroom for 6 months and in January of this year went back to using Aperture ( along with Photoshop for the real heavy lifting and speciality stuff ). I tried to like Lightroom but overall I prefer Aperture and hope Apple continues to develop and support the application.

My work flow includes several excellent plug ins from NIK software that work well in Aperture. I am fortunate that I don't seem to be plagued by any ( or should I say, relatively few Aperture quirks ).

For those that may be interested in my comparisons ( I know many have already commented on this before ), here goes:

The one area I really, really like in Aperture is the abstract way I can manage projects, folders, books, web galleries etc compared to where the files live on my HDD. I really tried hard to get the same experience with Lightroom and collections but simply could not get the same experience. Others mileage may vary, but my opinion is that Apertures project structure, organizational tools provided me a much better experience and a sense I had full control over how my assets are organized and viewed.

I also prefer significantly the user interface in Aperture, I usually work in full screen mode with the floating HUD. I use a 30" Cinema screen and I feel I am taking full advantage of the available real estate. I also us my Macbook pro for location capturing, cataloging etc and think Aperture allows better use of the interface on smaller screens. I am not a big fan of the 'modules' used in Lightroon.

As for the actual adjustments in each program I have found they both perform well and provide essentially the same tools, both need Photoshop and some plugins for some effects . I would really like Aperture to have localized adjustments ( Adjustment brush in Lightroom ). I think this is a big plus fo Lightroom. That said, for the most part I find Aperture produces excellent adjustments to 99.9% of my work.

I have found both programs can be sluggish and show strange behavior when editing/adjutsing very large files. I have experienced 'spinning beach balls' with both programs ( I have also seen this with most complex pro type applications including Final Cut, Motion etc )

I think Lightroom and the preset management is better than Aperture and seems well supported in the general community.

In terms of of output, the lack of on-screen profiling for me in Lightroom is a big issue. I use red river paper for my prints to my EPSON 3800 and can get spot on color accurate prints using Aperture and the red river profiles ( I am not running snow leopard and don't plan to, until a new version of Aperture is announced or I know Aperture will not get any updates in 2010 )

I think the output module in Lightroom is capable but simply not something I liked messing with.

There are plenty of plug-ins for both programs and my tools include, NIK Sharpner, Silver EFX Pro and a number of export plugins for various sites.

Other features that keep me with Aperture

- Light tables ( really allows me to visualize how photos will flow in books, etc and other media )

- Integrated book tool ( I don't buy Apple books but use blurb.com. I produce all the pages in Aperture and export to Blurb book smart software )

Integration with other Apple apps
Vaults ( I really have not had issues I hear from others since updates last year ). I have two vaults one on my drobo and one on another internal HDD.
If any are interested Rob Boyer at http://photo.rwboyer.com/ has some excellent essays and tutorials on Aperture. I recently purchased from him two PDF files on Aperture file management. They are worth the few dollars being asked and are highly recommended.

So, I will stay with Aperture through 2010 and see what Apple has in store. I really hope we see a new improved version with new features such as adjustment brushes, better RAW support and better overall performance. Lightroom is a very capable and well supported application, it's just not Aperture.

I have been an aperture user but lately I have been playing with the Lightroom 3 beta and I am considering making the switch. they both have pros and cons. I will wait till Aperture 3 ships to make up my mind.

Ugh... my problem is that I have issues with both Aperture and LR.

I actually like Aperture's organization scheme a LOT: folders (think date or category), projects (think a single photo shoot or event), and albums (multiple intersecting sub-divisions of a single project, like "sent to print" or "client's favorites") is exactly what I was always looking for in building a photo library. Aperture also has better native OS integration and more intuitive versioning (as I see it). I also hate LR's artificial "module" separation—Aperture lets you switch between modes of working much faster.

But LR has faster support for new cameras, BETTER CORRECTION TOOLS, and doesn't depend on a package database file (i.e. you can read photos directly off the file system). It also makes some categorization and tagging actions much faster.

I've gotten really used to Aperture, so it's hard for me to find my way around Lightroom (and the delay switching between "modules" is grating). Maybe Aperture will get improved correction tools (chromatic aberration and distortion correction, please??).