Do I want Aperture?
Author
Discussion

CommanderJameson

Original Poster:

22,096 posts

255 months

Saturday 12th May 2012
quotequote all
Or Lightroom?

Currently, my workflow goes something like this:
  1. Take loads of hamfisted pictures of dubious quality
  2. Put the SD card into the iMac, being careful not to post it into the DVD drive
  3. Use the Canon image loader thing to slurp the RAW files into a directory on my desktop (cunningly called "RAW Files"), with subdirectories being created datewise
  4. Chuck away all the pictures that are of my feet and/or thumbs, the ones that are ruinously out of focus, etc
  5. Use Adobe Camera RAW to convert the images and do basic corrections, including noise reduction
  6. Do other fixes in Elements 10
  7. Save completed JPEG image in another directory on my desktop (cunningly called "JPEG Files"), with subdirectories for each event or topic
  8. When I've done all the images for a particular event or topic, drag the directory into iPhoto, from where I upload it to Flickr
  9. Slop all the RAW files and their corresponding XMP files, in their datewise directories, onto my external HD
Is Aperture/Lightroom going to streamline any of this for me?

RobDickinson

31,343 posts

283 months

Saturday 12th May 2012
quotequote all
Hell yes.

I dont use lightroom but have had a fair play with it.

Tasks will be:

(1) Ham fisted photo's of seascapes
(2) Stick SD card into slot, try again this time with the right slot.
(3) Lightroom sucks in data according to whatever rules you have told it for filing
(4) keyword, process, sort, export , all the crap you mostly want to do, do it in lightroom
(5) Back to DPP for dlp for that one good shot...

flat-planedCrank

3,697 posts

232 months

Saturday 12th May 2012
quotequote all
CommanderJameson said:
Or Lightroom?

Currently, my workflow goes something like this:
  1. Take loads of hamfisted pictures of dubious quality
  2. Put the SD card into the iMac, being careful not to post it into the DVD drive
  3. Use the Canon image loader thing to slurp the RAW files into a directory on my desktop (cunningly called "RAW Files"), with subdirectories being created datewise
  4. Chuck away all the pictures that are of my feet and/or thumbs, the ones that are ruinously out of focus, etc
  5. Use Adobe Camera RAW to convert the images and do basic corrections, including noise reduction
  6. Do other fixes in Elements 10
  7. Save completed JPEG image in another directory on my desktop (cunningly called "JPEG Files"), with subdirectories for each event or topic
  8. When I've done all the images for a particular event or topic, drag the directory into iPhoto, from where I upload it to Flickr
  9. Slop all the RAW files and their corresponding XMP files, in their datewise directories, onto my external HD
Is Aperture/Lightroom going to streamline any of this for me?
Either sounds fine wink

Lightroom feels like ACR with extra bits (such as library management), so if you like the ACR settings then you should feel at home with Lightroom.

You can always just try the demo and make sure it's for you smile


....though interested to know why you need a Canon app to copy the raw files from the sd card to your desktop? Can't you just open the mem card directly and copy them across?



[edit] Need to learn how to type faster, Rob is always a min ahead hehe [/edit]


Edited by flat-planedCrank on Saturday 12th May 21:41

Simpo Two

92,708 posts

294 months

Saturday 12th May 2012
quotequote all
I think mine would be quite similar:

  1. Take loads of pictures
  2. Put the CF card into the PC
  3. Copy/paste the RAW files into a directory
  4. Use C1 Pro to convert the images and do corrections and save completed JPEG image in another directory
  5. Do other fixes in PS
  6. Burn JPGs to disk.
That's it.

CommanderJameson

Original Poster:

22,096 posts

255 months

Saturday 12th May 2012
quotequote all
flat-planedCrank said:
....though interested to know why you need a Canon app to copy the raw files from the sd card to your desktop? Can't you just open the mem card directly and copy them across?
The Canon app automatically creates directories and copies RAW files into them according to the date.

RobDickinson

31,343 posts

283 months

Saturday 12th May 2012
quotequote all
Windows can do thai without the canon app, cant osx?

CommanderJameson

Original Poster:

22,096 posts

255 months

Saturday 12th May 2012
quotequote all
RobDickinson said:
Windows can do thai without the canon app, cant osx?
Dunno. I've got the app, so I've never tried; no need, see.

AndWhyNot

2,359 posts

228 months

Saturday 12th May 2012
quotequote all
Aperture was great for me when it came to workflow management and image cataloguing but I was never that impressed with its processing capabilities. Having used ACR & PS recently and seen how much more high quality detail that combo is able to extract from even a half-decent raw file, I'd suggest LightRoom over Aperture.

markmullen

15,877 posts

263 months

Sunday 13th May 2012
quotequote all
As Simpo I use Capture One, I can't recommend it enough.

My workflow;

1) Create Capture One Session (this creates session folders, eg selects, output etc)
2) Import photos from CF card, C1 then applies my usual IPTC information, copyright tags etc as it imports
3) Rate pics and delete howlers
4) Work on selected pics
5) Complete info, keywording etc
6) Output in variety of formats, full size tiffs for archive, jpegs for web etc.

Craikeybaby

12,090 posts

254 months

Monday 14th May 2012
quotequote all
Another vote for Lightroom here. I've used Aperture and it is much the same, however now that it is on the app store, they don't seem to offer the free trial any more.

K12beano

20,854 posts

304 months

Monday 14th May 2012
quotequote all
If there's no free trial of Aperchewer, get down to your local Apple Store, have a play.... Also ask if there's any of the team with more extensive knowledge to give you a proper walkthrough.

(Prefer Lightroom too - I think it does things better and with more control. Capture - and Nikon for NEFs - is probably technically better software, but ATEOTD it's more to do with what you can work with.)

CommanderJameson

Original Poster:

22,096 posts

255 months

Monday 14th May 2012
quotequote all
Hmm. Capture One Pro (rather than the Express version) seems to be where the magic happens, and €230 is a lot of lolly.

€230 is halfway to a Canon 10-22mm...

On the other hand, it does seem to tick all the boxes. And then Lightroom does look good, but that's a hundred nicker, too.

Argh.

Wish I've never thought about this now!

>rocks back and forth<

flat-planedCrank

3,697 posts

232 months

Monday 14th May 2012
quotequote all
CommanderJameson said:
Hmm. Capture One Pro (rather than the Express version) seems to be where the magic happens, and €230 is a lot of lolly.

€230 is halfway to a Canon 10-22mm...

On the other hand, it does seem to tick all the boxes. And then Lightroom does look good, but that's a hundred nicker, too.

Argh.

Wish I've never thought about this now!

>rocks back and forth<
Just download the demos and see which you prefer?

TBH, Lightroom feels like a bit of a bargain at it's new £100 price...

markmullen

15,877 posts

263 months

Monday 14th May 2012
quotequote all
Have a look on my facebook page www.facebook.com/markmullenphotography where there is a link to a 40% off voucher for Capture One.

coxyuk

111 posts

177 months

Tuesday 15th May 2012
quotequote all
CommanderJameson said:
Hmm. Capture One Pro (rather than the Express version) seems to be where the magic happens, and €230 is a lot of lolly.

€230 is halfway to a Canon 10-22mm...

On the other hand, it does seem to tick all the boxes. And then Lightroom does look good, but that's a hundred nicker, too.

Argh.

Wish I've never thought about this now!

>rocks back and forth<
I've used C1 for many years and it's great. However I've recently downloaded LR4 and I'm impressed in a way I've never been previously with LR or Aperture trials. There's still things C1 is better at but, really, for the price LR4 would be my recommendation for folks looking to start using a 'proper' raw converter today.