Aperture 2 Impressions from an iPhoto User
Posted by Will Holmes on 02/24/08 in Apple, Featured, Graphics
I’ve been a long time iPhoto user, but I’ve also been a long time amateur photographer. When Apple introduced Aperture, I was, of course, very interested.
I tried it out, was promptly confused by the interface, and turned off by the price tag. Now Apple has introduced Aperture 2, I thought I’d take another test drive. I’m a happy with iPhoto, so I went into the free trial with a few things in mind.
- What does Aperture have that iPhoto doesn’t?
- What does Aperture not have that iPhoto does?
- Would Aperture be worth the $199?
The first thing I noticed about Aperture when I opened it up was the unique interface. Everything is tweaked from the usual OS X interface for a sleeker, grayer, more professional feel. This includeds “a custom menu color scheme (dark grey graphite-ish), a custom window bevel width, custom window controls, and a different rounded corner radius.” This definitely takes some getting used to. Not so much that things look different, but that there are lots of little buttons, some of which with functions that aren’t quite clear from looking at them.


So then I started looking at what Aperture has over iPhoto. Mainly I was looking at the editing tools, which are quite more numerous than those of iPhoto. I’m not going to pretend that I have a good grasp on all of them, but they are definitely more sophisticated. As well as many more sliders to mess around with, you can also nudge them decimal by decimal. These options are available from the left side of the usual interface, or from a different HUD window that is mainly useful for the fullscreen mode.
Another great tool is the “Loupe” that shows you a certain part of the image really close up.
Aperture definitely beats out iPhoto with its editing tools. It also has “Projects,” which you can use pretty much the same way as “Events.” iPhoto though, wins on some of the more “fun” aspects of photo management. Aperture has slideshows, but all you can do is choose from a few effects and watch it go without music. iPhoto also wins when it comes to ordering Greeting Cards, Calendars, and Photo Books.
So that brings me to the final question, is Aperture worth $199?
Sorry to be so wishy-washy, but the only real answer is: it depends. If you’re a professional, then hell yeah it is. If you’re just taking pictures of your kids at their birthday parties, then probably not. As for me? I’m going to finish out my 30-Day Trial. If I really get the hang of the editing tools and see a difference in how my photos look, then maybe I will plunk down the cash.
Are any of you photographers? Will you purchase Aperture 2? Post a link so I can see your photos as well. I’ll start it out with my Flickr page, including the example photo I used.
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