Apple Aperture 2.1.1 [OLD VERSION]

Being new to a MAC...I picked up this program to help me manage and edit my photos. Overall, its a great application and easy to use. Much better then iPhoto.

I was tired of the enormous cost of upgrades to Photoshop (and InDesign and Dreamweaver from Adobe) for managing publication, brochures and web site for a small business. Decided it was time to go cold turkey. Adobe is now in my rear view mirror and I am speeding away. I use Aperture for photo editing (no special layering effects or special effects - just organizing and touching up photos). The functions are exceedingly easy to understand and use. It also does a terrific job of organizing my photo library (I love the batch edit and smart folders). Grouping into projects is logical and useful. Integrating distinct color profiling into web pages and printing is slick and easy. Software is very speedy and responsive and my projects average about 1,000 images each (and it feels like much larger projects would be just as easy to manage). I'm using this on a 27'iMac with the i7 intel processor.
Goodbye and good riddance to Adobe !!!

Have since moved on to Lightroom 2 ($299)and Photoshop Elements 8 ($99)on my Macbook Pro as Aperture could not handle all of my editing requirements such as Compositing or Layering. However I do use Aperture as an intregal part of my general workflow. Aperture has great promise and in certain circumstances such as web distribution of photographs, is an exceptional program. Also has some really good blending and cloning brushes. Brushes easy to use and easy to adjust. One of the main complaints I have about Aperture 2 is the Zoom. You must rely on a "Loupe" which does have a powerful zoom but is nearly impossible to use correcting brushes to make adjustments. Not nearly as hard in other programs that have simple "Zoom" capabilities. All in all I guess it is a pretty cool program, but after using Lightroom and PSE8 along side with Aperture, and would rather rely on Apple Product, but would select Lightroom and PSE8 even for the extra dinero.

Program is fast using a duo-core processor, and 4g Ram. No issues over performance.

Lightroom has the best Print capabilities of any program I have ever used. I print a lot of my work, so naturally I would favor this quality. (Also important to note that i use Epson printers)

I love aperture 2, and it is a great photo editor, but if you are looking for an editor like photoshop, where you can put photos together, and do some crazy editing, this isn't for you.

I have used Aperture when version 2 first came out. It has allowed me much more control with photos than using iPhoto. Being able to change 20 to 500 images with the same adjustments is one big thing over iPhoto. It really is the next step when working with lots of photos. This isn't Photoshop but has a handful of adjustments that work really well. Some of these same adjustments are in iPhoto but I see much better control in Aperture 2. The adjustments in iPhoto are more for consumers and are not meant for amateur to pro use. You won't be disappointed with Aperture 2.