By: Erik Vlietinck
Wed, September 27, 2006 - 11:34:00
Pros: 0

http://www.apple.com
Score:

Apple is about to release Aperture 1.5, claiming it delivers compelling new features. The company did so when Aperture was first released, with a lot of disappointment on the side of photographers as a result. Still, it looks like Apple has listened. The ‘compelling new features’ include flexible library management. Aperture’s library management was a major stumble block, but now the application should allow you to store images anywhere you’d like.

Aperture 1.5 is a free update. Except for the freedom of library management, the update introduces third-party extensions that let you use Aperture as the front end to expanded workflows. Apple’s photo management system now offers RAW support for more than 50 camera models from a wide variety of manufacturers (including Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm, Sony, and others) and extends support to all Intel-based Macs — from the Mac mini and MacBook to the Mac Pro. The latter is a hint to the second major dislike of most users: Aperture’s performance in terms of speed.

Apple very cleverly announced the update at the start of Photokina week. With few new cameras released at this Photokina, it is software like Aperture and Adobe LightRoom that gets all the attention. Of course, Apple is also present with a lot of hardware to convince photographers of the Mac’s superiority when it comes to managing and manipulating images.

In all, the update delivers more than 20 new features and feature enhancements, including a surprising integration with iLife ’06 and iWork ’06. The integration means you can browse your entire Aperture Library — including both offline and online photographs — using the Media Browser in iLife ’06 and iWork ’06. You can also browse photos by Album or Smart Album, importing them with a simple mouse click. You don’t even have to be running Aperture at the time.

How Professional is Professional?

The question that I asked myself when I read this, was how professional Apple wants Aperture to be. I don’t see many photographers using this new feature.

On the other hand, the expanded metadata capabilities are sure to appeal to photographers. When you export RAW images, Aperture 1.5 automatically exports the associated IPTC data and ratings, storing them in an industry-standard XMP sidecar file. All Adobe applications, such as Photoshop can access and use the exported metadata.

The new Colour adjustment controls in Aperture 1.5 will have to prove their worth. Apple says you will be able to fine-tune colour with much greater precision than previously possible. Using the new controls, you will be able to adjust hue, saturation, and luminance on a colour-by-colour basis via separate Red, Green, Blue, Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow controls. It remains to be seen how accurate the underlying engine is.

Another really professional feature is Aperture 1.5’s ability to let you create pre-filled IPTC presets for copyright, captions, and other fields. Once you’ve created them, you can assign them instantly when you import images or perform batch changes. Aperture 1.5 lets you create different presets for different projects, and before assigning the metadata, you can decide whether they should be added to or replace existing metadata.

Aperture 1.5 also offers new Loupe options, including onscreen controls. Using the Scroll Button in Mighty Mouse, you can easily control loupe size and smoothly increase magnification from 100% to 1600%. The Loupe’s “centered” mode lets you verify sharpness in precisely the area you’d like to check. You can even position the new Loupe off-image, set it to “Focus on Cursor” mode, and move the mouse to the area of an image you’d like to check. The area you mouse over will appear in the loupe at whatever magnification you set and without the Loupe blocking any other parts of your image.

Finally, one of the last ‘grand’ novelties is the capability to save individual exposure or white balance adjustments as presets in the Adjustments Inspector and Adjustments HUD. Once saved, they can be quickly applied whenever needed.

I’m sure Aperture 1.5 is going to turn quite a few heads. But I’m not sure it will turn the right heads. I know from previously conducted interviews with photographers that most of them use a Digital Asset Management system that is hosted and managed by their employer or the association they belong to. Those photographers only use Aperture out of curiosity and as a sort of toy instrument.

One of the major criticisms was Aperture’s RAW conversion behaviour. Will Aperture 1.5 do better? We’ll soon see. How about converting and exporting large files? Here as well, there’s no reference to the troubles users were having with the previous versions of the product.

Still, Aperture has such a nice and intuitive ‘feel’ about it, you would almost use it no matter what. But then again, if you depend on it for your daily business, what is beneath the surface should be just as carefully designed as the interface, if not better. Perhaps Aperture 1.5 will be the first version that has both the looks and the power. If that is going to be the case, then Adobe might as well forget about Lightroom.