Aperture vs. Lightroom/PS

<p>I'm buying a new iMAC this weekend and I had a few questions regarding photo editing software. I am currently on a PC using Digital Photo Pro/Adobe Bridge/Photoshop 3. I download my images into Photo Pro/Bridge and then use PS only when necessary. I do most of my editing with Photo Pro on my RAW files on in Bridge when I shoot a ton of files(weddings)and want to work faster. I'm planning to get rid of Photo Pro because I need an upgrade, so I've been toying with the idea of switching to Lightroom instead of Photo Pro/Bridge but decided to buy an iMac for long term usability/stability going forward.</p>

<p>My question is: Will it be better for me to purchase Aperture 3 for my new Mac or should I buy Lightroom for my Mac. Any body with experience in this operating softwares your input would be greatly appreciated.<br>

Thanks in advance!</p>

LR has a much larger ecosystem: training, books, answers here on photo.net, etc. And, if you or a colleague ever finds

himself or herself on Windows, it's available.

 

Aperture will work fine, too, and has some things LR lacks, such as terrific photo book support.

 

If you do get Aperture, get it from the App Store, where it is only $80.

<p>There is a free trial for both, but to be honest, it might take more than 30-days to wrap your head around the applications... especially if you use a managed library within Aperture. I work with both Aperture and Lightroom and prefer Aperture. I wouldn't let Lightroom's larger ecosystem sway you, there is more than enough support for Aperture out there. If you are using the software for any type of presentation (I might sit down with clients to browse images), then Aperture is a no brainer); otherwise, it will boil down to which seems to work better for you. Neither is a <em>substitute</em> for Photoshop, but depending on the level of editing you do you Photoshop, you may find that you don't need Photoshop.</p>

<p>I recently got an iMac with Aperture 3 and I am loving it. As a side note, if you've not seen a recent thread I started on Aperture 3 performance, be advised that you will need a good amount of RAM to have it running smoothly. However, I do not recommend buying memory upgrades from Apple since what they charge is very expensive. Here in Europe they ask 400EU for 8Gb whereas I managed to buy it locally (on a brick and mortar store) for 48EU, i.e. 8x less! So, my advice is that you buy whichever model with as least RAM as possible, and then buy additional memory elsewhere. Installing memory is very simple and does not void the warranty. See instructions at http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1423.</p>

<p>Thanks for the input Marc, John, and Paulo. I definitely plan to buy it from the Apple store because it is quite a bit cheaper. My initial plan was to use it for most if not all of my editing and to use it as a viewing tool for my clients as well so I thought the interface seemed very presentable and I love the fact you can open the album up and view all the images side by side. I also really like the ability to make great albums directly from aperture with relative ease. I normally don't use Photoshop very much at all. I tend to do most of my changes in camera while I shoot and don't add much for layers or effects.</p>

<p>go with Lightroom, as you will for sure get more support on the web for it.. and for sure here. Unfortunately or fortunately.. its a fact.. theres is a bigger *ecosystem* for Lightroom.</p>

<p>Aperture turn me down with v1 for the video card need and the insane amount of ram... v2 was lacking serious tool, finally v3 have level and curve and a excellent book creation.. but it is too late for me to go back to it.</p>

<p>John, you wrote…</p>

<blockquote>

<p>"If you are using the software for any type of presentation (I might sit down with clients to browse images), then Aperture is a no brainer);"</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Can you explain why? I use LR's slide show module for presentations and I'm very pleased with the results.</p>