Apple’s Aperture 3 Released: Comprehensive Review

Apple Aperture 3 is the latest version of their pro photo software package having over 200 new features compared to the old version. If you are raising your eyebrows for the fact that it has 200 new features then you should also know that the last update to this software counts back to as long as February 2008. Other than adding new features, they have also tried to make it simpler and easier to use as they always do. The iPhoto software is a good example in connection to it.

Features

The photo editing and management software has full support for 64 bit Snow Leopard. Mac can support up to 16 TB of memory and the Aperture 3 can take full advantage of it.

The Aperture 3 comes with no less than 200 new features than the previous version. There are some features added in the new Aperture 3 edition which you are already using in the iPhoto 09 version. These features include face detection and recognition tools under the Faces option. The Places option makes it easier and faster to organize large photo libraries. You can export the photos directly to Facebook and Flickr.

There are obviously some entirely new features. The most significant of them is the Brush. You can retouch images and apply adjustments directly onto them. There are also other Photoshop stalwarts such as burn, dodge, saturation and contrast curves etc. Apple offers 15 variants for the instances Burn, Dodge, Polarize and Blur detecting edges in images. This makes the need for masking minimal even while applying effects. The new adjustment presets gives can give your photo a wide range of looks without breaking a sweat.

The Aperture 3 databases are also revamped to merge and sync libraries making it easier for professionals to take their libraries on the go. Slideshow also has gone through a significant improvement. You can integrate photos, HD videos, audios and text into a single file and export them directly to iTunes. These files can also be natively played on the iPhone and iPod Touch. I am waiting to see the slideshows on iPad, of course.

The Metadata option has a new Camera LCD Panel. The camera info such as camera settings, labels and flags are displayed in a easy to read display emulating LCD screen on many digital cameras. It also supports all IPTC Core metadata fields with a new IPTC Core metadata view. If GPS is available on your digital camera with geo-tagging capability, clicking on the map button will display a small resizable map at the bottom of the metadata pane. It will show the location of your photos with a terrain, road or satellite view.

The search function includes search by photo usage. This means you can search for photos that have been mailed, printed or ordered for prints. You can also search for photos that have any attachments like audio attachments. You can search photos by faces which have been named by you. This is a very powerful tool to search the photos and you can even use it to search the photos which does not have any face or which have faces that are yet to be named.

Price and Availability

Aperture 3 is now available for 30 day free trial version and if you like it you can purchase it for $199. If you are an existing user and want to upgrade, you can do it only for $99.