Is Aperture enough?

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bornagain

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phil
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I have decided to add Aperture to my Mac. Is this all I need to process RAW files? I see others talking about using Aperture and Pixelmator but why is this?
Does Aperture have something missing?

Please don’t tell me I should choose Photoshop or Lightroom instead as I have already decided on Aperture and just want to make sure it will do the job.

Thanks
 
Not tried Pixelmator but provided it has all the tools you need than why not. Haven't used Aperture for a while ( yes I'm a Lightroom user) but if you are happy with what both applications can do then I can't see a problem.

To me the image processing tools in Aperture are not as good as that with Lightroom, but then you may not need the amount of controls that I use. It really is horses for courses. The only option I would suggest you try before you finally opt for this combination is Photoshop Elements. I've been impressed with the functionality of Elements for a number of releases now . It's probably worthwhile trying it out for those pixel editing operations that Aperture doesn't do. ( I'd also suggest it's a good companion the Lightroom as well )
 
Nah no need for pixelmator. Aperture is enough unless you know what its limitations are for stuff you want to do. Aperture will process your files no problem, and with the brushes you can do nearly anything you ever wanted to do to a photo and not have to use that old fashioned and silly layer approach (my brain is just not wired to do it in the Adobe way).
 
I have just purchased an iMac and have previously used photoshop (CS5) Photoshop is expensive but thankfully I dont have to buy it, however, thats just for PC. If I want it for Mc then I have to dip into my own pocket. No can do! I am considering Aperture 3 and will be downloading the trial version tonight to see how I get on.

Thanks for the comments, they make interesting reading.
 
Jean-Paul and Carl have summed it up really well, Aperture will do 99% of what your going to need (it's all I use)

If you do want more heavy manipulation then Pixelmator is better than Elements but not quite up to the full CS5

Remember Aperture + Pixelmator will cost £80 which is half of what Lightroom alone will cost. :)
 
I have just bought an iMac and decided to put elements 9 on to it which ive been running on my pc. I've been using elements for years and think its great. I ditched cs as it just too much for photography and found elements does all I need,
I now have a problem that I can't get the elements organiser to work along Side iPhoto. The whole point of treating myself to an apple iMac was I was fed up of comparability issues and constant updates that buggered everything up all the time.
Has anyone else had problems setting up elements on an apple. I'm really tempted to buy aperture and you guys have reassured me it's a good alternative to adobe software.
I dream of hassle free editing and a computer that will last. I think everything apple is the way to go
 
Whilst elements is ok, you are missing (as you've found out) a big part of the osx experience which is its integration of applications and their data through other applications without the need to open or transverse file systems.

If you are a raw shooter and/or have demanding organisation needs then you can't go wrong with aperture. And if you want you can access the aperture library from within iPhoto although I can't see the point of doing that as aperture does every thing iPhoto does and more.
 
Used to use both Lightroom 2 and CS 3 on my old lap top but when I bought my iMac 18 months ago went with Aperture and haven't looked back........only to bitch when the App Store started selling it for less than £50:bang:

Recently bought a copy of Elements 9 for a tenner from Currys - only used it twice as all it gives me really is layers. But at that price I'm not complaining:thumbs:
 
I tried installing elements 9 at least half a dozen time and can't get it working so I've decided to go for aperture. The whole point of getting an iMac was I was fed up with pc updates and constant problems with contradictions is soft/hardware compatibility. I thought I would install my existing copy of elements 9 as I'm used to using it but it useless an iMac, I keep reading problems on every forum so aperture it is.
Thanks for your comments

Garreth
 
I largely use just Aperture, but I've had no problems linking Aperture to Pixelmator and PSE6.
 
Might be a silly question but if i use Aperture can i edit photos with CS5?

I have both on my PC.
 
Yes, you can set an external editor then simply use the function 'edit with ...' on the photo and upon save a new version will become available in your stack (that is if you set auto create versions :))
 
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