Lightroom Vs. Aperture 192
Nonu writes "Adobe has officially released its Aperture killer, Lightroom, and the reviews are starting to come in. Ars looks at Lightroom and concludes that it's a better choice for those without bleeding-edge hardware. 'Aperture's main drawback is still performance as it was designed for bleeding-edge machines. On a quad Core 2 Duo Xeon, it is very usable but Lightroom just feels faster for everything regardless of hardware. Since Aperture relies on Core Image and a fast video card to do its adjustments (RAW decoding is done by the CPU), it's limited to what the single 3-D card can do. Lightroom does everything with the CPU and so it is likely to gain more speed as multicore systems get faster.'"
sounds about right.... (Score:5, Funny)
Bleeding edge, literally. As in, they require removal of an arm and a leg.
Lightroom and Aperture cost the same (Score:2)
However Aperture has quite a few more features than Lightroom today, including an export API actively being developed for and real multiple monitor support with a number of options for making use of a second display.
Lightroom also suffers the problem of extension. Neither Lightroom nor Aperture are really meant to be standalone entities, you still need some editor like Photoshop from time to time. But Photoshop CS3 Br
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I think he meant the machine costs were bleeding edge. Not the software. I could be wrong. :)
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Fixed (Score:2)
1) Bad RAW conversion
2) Poor performance
3) Master images had to be kept in library.
The first one was fixed within a few months, in version 1.1 of Aperture. The RAW conversion is on par with other RAW conversion engines like C1 and Bible and ACR, and some have said the Aperture colors are even a little better generally. You can also fine-tune the RAW adjustment parameters, which lets you really have a good conversion. It
Hardware woes (Score:3, Insightful)
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My laptop is a HP Turion with 1Gb RAM and LR works fine on it.
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Aperture works on a Macbook or Macbook Pro (Score:2)
For quick on-site editing, Aperture works well even on lower end hardware.
That need is overblown. (Score:3, Interesting)
There actually is not that great a difference between Lightroom and Aperture performance on most hardware, I have found - the real difference is perception. Lightroom does, as noted elsewhere, respond instantly to what you are doing - you make an adjustment and right away you see it is doing something. However, it can take as long as or longer than Aperture to actually finish what it is d
Video card limited (Score:2, Interesting)
I'd be interested to see what a system with a 7950 or (if/when they're supported) an 8800 would do with aperture. All this talk about how fast vid
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Isn't that the point? Not all of us have screaming fast computers or even top-of-the-line video cards, but I, for one, have a C2D iMac with a x160
Re:Video card limited (Score:5, Informative)
As someone who has spent much time working with pro photographers in my past life as an art director, I guarantee you that any *PRO* photographer will not think twice about plunking down some serious dough for a the latest and greatest mac, chock full of ram and sporting the best video card it will support. Computer hardware is among the *least* expensive financial commitment that a pro photographer will make:
Take a look at how much some decent digital backs for a hasselblaad will run you.
Add to that the many lenses that you need to have on hand as a pro. (Hint: this is the expensive part).
Add a bunch of fast, high-capacity memory cards.
Add a nice DSLR (or more likely, a few) and lenses for that/those camera(s) as well.
Add lighting equipment of various types to that.
Add a large studio space to that, in addition to mobile facilities.
Add makeup artists and assistants.
The costs involved in professional photography are high. A fast mac, chock full of ram with an excellent video card and a 30" cinema display costs *peanuts* in the grand scheme of things when it comes to the operating costs of a professional photographer. Aperture is a pro app, and that's why it makes the assumptions that it does about hardware. Lightroom is more accomodating for tinkerers and semi-professionals, the two occupy different segments of the market.
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It is not a little to my wife's bemusement that my camera gear (which is actually fairly modest) is worth more than her car. And it pains my wallet, regularly. Multiple SanDisk Extreme cards, multiple L le
Software worth it? (Score:2)
I don't mind spending money either on good photographic equipment and software, but I was suspicious of that package really being worth the extra you'd pay beyond just the printer cost alone.
I have an Epson R800 (very little brother in that it uses roughly the same inkset) currently and love the quality, but I have to send larger stuff all out for printing and I
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Aperture is pretty good even on the Macbook Pro (Score:2)
In a pinch I have even run Aperture on a Mac mini (only runs on the intel ones). It was actually pretty good on that platform, the only thing is that it starts slowing down if you have more complex adjustments added, like multiple spot/patch fixes and shadows/highlights correction applied. But if you were
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Adobe on the other hand, like selling software and they do that on many platforms.. There is no hardware bundling incentive and they have to make a good portion of their code portable to the array of windows machines out there. This means it's CPU dependent software. We all know the future trend in computing is the "GPU", particularl
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except that if the real pro is shooting sports, then the best camera + system for them would be the 1D MkII N - that's only $3k. and to really have to go $15k+, you need to move into MF camera + digital back territory. the truth is that most of the $15k+ camera pros don't do their own post processing, but work with a specialist, and those specialists know about video cards and raw processing and so on.
and i can pretty much guarantee that the number of pros worki
Re:Video card limited (Score:5, Insightful)
You have obviously never bought lenses, my friend.
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IMHO, the key to making money at photography is to find jobs in which you can afford to charge the people contracting you either nothing or a very small amount, then make money by selling the resulting work to a large number of people. For example:
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If you're a "real pro", though, and shooting those events, you have access to Canon Professional Services, and can get hold of your lenses for
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Medium format digital backs just aren't all that common compared to the number of people who need the portability of 35mm bodies.
Now, you may be factoring the lenses into that $15,000, but that's no
Video card limited... (Score:2)
Note that the OpenGL drivers under OSX/PPC are known to be quite bad performance-wise.
Despite my config, I'm looking into Lightroom because of this performance issue.
SLI is worth mentioning here (Score:2)
Lightroom is ... nice. Really nice. (Score:5, Informative)
It's a really nice program. As a developer, the structure of the program it self, gives me a warm fussy feeling. More programs should be written like this - it's clear that Adobe has given a lot of though to responsiveness and threading. They haven't perfected it, but most of the time, the program responds very quickly, by starting on something that shows you that it's working on what you wanted it to do - like you can see the details in your thumbs-images get better and better and suddenly it's there. But the important thing is - the interface is still responsive, if you can click on a thumb and have that image load, even if the thumb is only halfway loaded (note: some people do have issue with LR performance, but it seems to be a specific issue for them).
As a photographer - well. As a work-flow program it does everything I want. As a "darkroom" it does most of what it should, but there's still some most have functions that are just not good enough (Noise Reduction/Sharpen/Clone).
Oh, and I badly miss dual monitor support!
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You must be a MacOS developer. :)
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I'd buy it in a second if I stored my photos on my PC/Mac.
However, woe unto you if your photos reside on an external server. For whatever reason, Lightroom
chokes (i.e., consumes huge amounts of RAM and swaps like mad, eventually bringing
the machine to its knees) when "reference-in-place" importing photos from non-local storage.
If you you can manage to import a small number of non-local photos, operating on t
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You can use it with the Gimp.
But last I checked it was not very good. And it's just a plain RAW converter, not a full-fledged RAW workflow tool.
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As a small side-note, I wish they would change the name from Gimp to so
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I really like GIMP, especially the scripting (Since I program in Python for living) but it just really needs 16 bit colors to be accepted by photographers (my wife belongs for ex.... I am just the lab assistant ;-).
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There is No Linux Equivilant (Score:2)
I found myself spending way too much time in VMware, so I ended up replacing my Thinkpad with a new Macbook. I still run Linux as my workstatio
Re:There is No Linux Equivilant (Score:4, Informative)
They also are fairly good about releasing new versions with new features and support for the latest cameras and lenses. Usually they release a new version every 2-3 months.
It runs on Linux, Mac OSX and Windows, which makes sense since it was based on the cross-platform QT library.
The raw converter in Bibble is very good, being based on dcraw. Similarly, it has many other plug-ins like a single click lens distortion correction based on Panarama, Noise Ninja and many more, all being very easy to work with. Of course it has all the tools for manipulating color, white balance, contrast, curves, shadow and highlight recovery, sharpening and many other features. The evaluation version is free to download.
As far as features, the only feature that I know of that does not work on Linux at this time is teathered shooting. All of the other features now work. Earlier versions did have issues with some features not working on Linux, but they have addressed that.
I did have issues with printing a while back, but it looks like it has been addressed.
Riding along with video card performance is smart (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Riding along with video card performance is sma (Score:3, Insightful)
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Better summaries please (Score:3, Insightful)
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Re:Better summaries please (Score:4, Insightful)
Both are pretty annoying.
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Do they know anything about Aperture? (Score:5, Interesting)
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I don't think it works exactly like that. My understanding is that Core Image uses the video card if it supports pixel shaders (i.e., the ARB_fragment_program extension). For the specific case of the GeForce FX 5200 it defaults to the CPU [apple.com], but I don't think that it would otherwise detect that using the video card is suboptimal.
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http://developer.apple.com/macosx/coreimage.html [apple.com]
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Do... (Score:2, Insightful)
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You're new to the wacky RAW world, aren't you? RAW formats are pretty much always closed. The SDKs come with NDAs the size of Roseanne.
Of course, companies like Adobe or Apple have some kind of leverage and the resources (==legal teams) to get
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But you probably still won't be able to import pictures from your new Nijitson S-D900D with the HyperCMOS-sensor, because it uses an octagonal color pattern with an IR channel in the gaps. The issue here is that the program needs to understand the physical characteristics of the sensor, and EXIF data only tells you a part of the story.
Wrong (Score:3, Informative)
That is 100% Wrong.
The ONLY support DNG offers for Foveon is that you can do what is called a "Linear DNG", which is basically a glarified TIFF file. That means you are not holding RAW data at all, but a rendered version of your original RAW which goes totally against the concept of a digital negative (if better algoritms for RAW conversion arrive, you cannot make use of t
What converts to DNG? (Score:2)
Which it cannot do if it cannot read them. Updating ACR to a version that converts a RAW file to DNG also means that Lightroom and Photoshop will be able to read the file directly.
Conversion to DNG can mean the potential to use other, older, programs that do not understand a particular RAW format. However that also means using an older demosiacing algorithm in said program to work with the image, which doesn't seem like a
Please, make it stop! (Score:4, Insightful)
Can we please stop assigning the "killer" label to abso-freaking-lutely EVERYTHING? iPod killer, Flash killer, Aperture killer, ad nauseam. Have any of these so-called "killers" actually killed the product they were supposedly released to kill?
I guess the word "competitor" doesn't make for sensational copy.
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whats the deal with this killer thing (Score:2)
bleeding-edge... you know, i bet i have an easier time reading english from the 1700s than people 100 years from now will have reading our interesting version here.
yeah yeah, guilty, i do it too. i guess when i read something that's as horrible sounding as something i wrote myself, i cringe.
Single-monitor workflow is a deal breaker (Score:5, Informative)
I love Lightroom's "develop" controls but the productivity aspect is much more important. Simply allowing the Manage and Develop tabs to used as separate windows would have done the trick (not well, but "good enough").
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I prefer Aperture (Score:5, Interesting)
But, probably the main thing that I like about Aperture is the full-screen editing/viewing mode. iPhoto 6 also has this, and when you're working in the smaller real estate of a 15" laptop display, it makes a huge difference. Maybe if I had a 20-30" external display it wouldn't be such a big deal. But, for laptop users, full screen mode is a must-have.
Also, iPhoto 6 doesn't have all the capabilities for workflow stuff. But, it's a pretty good alternative for non=professionals.
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That's true, considering that iPhoto6 is free, but even non-professionals can have tens of gigabytes of pictures (I do) and iPhoto crawls when it has even a few thousand pictures. The scrolling gets jerky, thumbnails do not update fast enough and the worst part is that it doesn't have the simple feature of being able to monitor folders. That is inexcusable since I'm sure there a
Real full screen (Score:2)
With Lightroom you are not using the full screen for editing though. In Aperture the image fills the screen edge to edge, and you can make use of a HUD overlay to make adjustments, you bring it up and hide it with a single keystroke. The filmstrip can be hidden as well so it only comes up for display when you move to a side of the screen (like Dock hiding).
The more the better, and I imagine
What is a... (Score:2)
I still prefer the Darkroom (Score:3, Informative)
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But my darkroom is only for developing
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I'm no expert but I suspect the difference is that film grain isn't laid out on a grid. The grains face every which way and are randomly arranged. This pro
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The real deciding factor was cost; ~$900 vs ~$1200. I figured I'd get the cheaper
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If your goals are to take 1000s of pictures of your cat (like my wife does), then I completely agree. And obviously digital makes a lot of sense for the professional who
Aperture 1.5 is much improved (Score:2)
Aperture still gets my vote (Score:2)
For those who don't know, both of these applications are RAW-image-based, non-destructive photo editing and workflow tools. They are targeted at both pro and serious amateur digital photographers. They are not meant to replace Photoshop (although for digital photo management and editing parts of my job
Bleeding Edge Workstation (Score:2)
I'm quite surprised Apple would release such a poorly implemented software product, especially considering its price and the 1.5 version number. After playing around with both products, I will
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killer must die (Score:2)
Hence, I propose Bastian's Law to fill the gap:
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I'll very, very few people use either Lightroom or Aperture and don't use Photoshop.
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Lightshop isn't a replacement for Photoshop. It's an alternate interface for working with photos. Without doubt, Adobe will continue to develop Photoshop, and many photographers will continue to use it - it's still the best tool for most. Adobe also released a seperate tool you have the option of buying - or not.
The story write-up is a mystery. Aperature is not a market leader, i
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Aperture is a reasonably-priced piece of software for managing your photography library and doing lightroom-style adjustments. I don't don't think there's much competition within the given price range.
Lightroom is the new kid on the block, and I've been using it throughout the beta cycle. I guess I'll have to pay up, because I quite like it. It certainly beats iPhoto, and Aper
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I the hobbyist space this is not such an issue because you are not going to spend the
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Moreover, you can select software too
Re:How Professional are You? (Score:4, Informative)
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So it's basically (again, for me) just a $200 Bridge upgrade.
It's called market segmentation (Score:2)
My impression of Photoshop is that it has been a general purpose product aimed at the mass market (meaning everyone from your grandma who just wants to get rid of some red-eye to people who want to put horns and a beard on photos of George W. Bush). Professional photographers apparently have been using different software targeted directly at them or businesses that serve pro photogs. As the Ars article states, "Professional digital photography has been a reality for a while now but the big-name developers
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Look at it this way: if you've got a CF card full of a 100 shots taken at one event, Lightroom is where you can take care of the fact that your camera's fluorescent setting left you with a white balance that isn't what you want. You fix all the shots a
Not true with CS3. (Score:2)
That was true before Photoshop CS3. In CS3 Bridge, you now have access to all of Lightrooms Develop features (and I mean all). You have the ability to keyword and rate and stack. And it is much faster than previous versions of Bridge.
So to me, the li
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Try the beta (Score:2)
Come to think of it, I have to wonder if the end of the Lightroom discount is not timed specifically around the release of Photoshop so that people cannot make a full evaluation beforehand and tend to purchase
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What these two programs to for you is streamline the handling of hundreds of digital images. They can do work in batch mode and have features for catalogging ork. Photoshop on the other hand is intended to making extensive edits to ne image.
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Lightroom only handles camera image formats in its database. It's not going to organize
Lightroom is a shooters app. You bring it on set with your laptop... If you're in a studio, you'll have your lappy hooked up to a nice large screen...
You basically will shoot your shots, and i
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Lightroom *is not the same kind of program as Photoshop*.
It is not an image editor in the same way *at all*.
Lightroom is intended to let you sort, do basic manipulation and very minor fixes on, and organize thousands of photos. It is designed to let you plug your Compact Flash card in, scan through all couple-of-hundred images on that card, pick the ones that you like, adjust their contrast, and mark them as Something The Client Might Like. That's it.
Pho
Re:About Apple (Score:4, Informative)
To give you a hint: Apple's current system already is setup to do what you say they will never do. If your CPU would better do the job, then your CPU will do the job. If it would better be put to your SIMD unit (Ativec or MMX/SSE2/SSE3/SSE4) then it will go to that unit. And if the graphics card is sitting idle and can better do the job... well...
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Maybe he's talking about the fact that the two-button emulation doesn't emulate all the things you can do, in fact need to do, with two buttons? Yeah, I think that might be exactly what he's talking about, considering the last time that bit me was ten minutes ago.
Cool feature: While sizing an area selection with left button down, pressing the right button releases the area selection's anchor and you can re-position the entire area selection, as drawn. When you release the right button, the anchor locks
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s/b " You can now go on re-sizing or applying the area selection"
[more coffee]!!!
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The new generation of photo editors - Lightroom, Aperture - do not act directly on the bits. They layer non-destructive correction instructions on top of the original bits, and don't actually change the original bits. This is called nondestructive editing. When you want a
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Aperture and Lightroom are photo management programs. The are essentially pro versions of Apple's iPhoto and Adobe's Album software. When you download your photos from your camera, you do so into these programs. You store your photos in them, organizes them, do minor modifications, all to figure out which of your photos you want to bother to take into p