app-subdomain-redirection:aperture

Apple releases Aperture development kit

Apple have released the Aperture 2.1 SDK, which will allow independent developers to create all sorts of plugins for Aperture. One of the main improvements in the new version of Aperture was specifically to open it up to programmers, in a clear bid to compete with Adobe and the wealth of plugins for Photoshop that already exist. With the Aperture SDK you can create two sorts of plugins: for Export and for Editing. The installer comes with three examples to get started and Xcode templates for both Export and Edit plugins. You will need to sign up as an ADC Member (which is free) to download the development kit.

Although probably not such a big announcement as the release of the iPhone SDK, the Aperture development kit is still pretty big news. Apple look to tighten their relationship with independent developers in what seems like a win-win situation. They get to benefit from all the great ideas out there that can bring more features to their products, and independent developers get to showcase their skills and most importantly make use of great applications like the iPhone or Aperture.

The indie development community hasn’t wasted its time and you can already check out some creations at Aperture Plugged In. You’ll see a large list of plugins including ApertureToFtp Pro, FlickrExport Lite, Lightbox XMP or Aperture Border FX. If you are an Aperture user, it’s well worth digging in and trying out some of these. If you know a little bit about coding, go on and download the SDK and try your hand at making your own plugin. All you need is a good idea and a bit of time.

A first look at Aperture 2.0

Apple’s star photo editing and management software has just been updated to version 2.

Focused on performance, simplicity and imaging, this new release brings with it more than 100 new features, a fresher interface and a completely new processing engine, now putting it on par with Adobe’s Lightroom.

Aperture can handle thousands of images, which it can display in a number of views, quick preview being one of the best. It offers support for a wide range of digital RAW formats, with new ones being added to the update. Also, Apple have made the effort to make Aperture simpler to use for amateurs. Importing your images from any source, whether iPhoto, your camera, or any folder, is easy and you can watch a few great tutorials to learn all about the program.

Projects, Metadata and Adjustments have been joined into one single inspector and Heads Up Display (HUD). You can edit metadata, such as ISO, exposure, tags, or aperture straight from a RAW file. Aperture will now even show your lens model. The adjustments tab is probably where you’ll spend the most time though, especially if you’re working with RAW. Use the sliders to play around with everything from white balance to exposure, colors, highlights & shadows or enhancements. Changes are instantly displayed onto your picture.

Aperture import screen New editing features you’ll find include highlight recovery, color vibrancy, local contrast definition, soft-edged retouching, vignetting and RAW fine-tuning. Aperture 2 now also includes support for tethered shooting, which allows you to connect a camera to your Mac via USB or Firewire and shoot directly into Aperture. We also enjoyed the Loupe tool, which lets you zoom in up to 1600%.

The most significant update has got to be the new plugin architecture though. This will allow anybody to create their own third party plugin for Aperture, so you can soon expect to see all sorts of cool effects and filters only for Aperture popping up.

Aperture allows you to save and export your edited snaps in a number of ways, from smart albums to web pages or your .Mac Web gallery, which you can then view from anywhere using your iPhone, iPod Touch or Apple TV. The library database has been redesigned and you can now easily switch between projects, even when working with a lot of images.

There’s no doubt, Aperture is a real beauty and a pleasure to work with. It’s fast, looks great and makes it easier than ever to enhance pictures. The only drawback is still the price though . Despite having dropped by a significant $100, at $200 it’s still an expensive piece of software, especially for amateurs.

Fast, extremely well designed, and offering up a lot of advanced editing tools, Aperture is an excellent photo editing and management application. Another milestone for Apple.

32 ways to speed up Aperture

Apple’s Aperture is an excellent application for professional photographers, with advanced editing tools, a stunning interface and pro photo management features. Not only can you store thousands of top quality snaps but you can also make sure they look as sharp as you want them to be. Aperture is no joke though and you shouldn’t mess around with it if you’re not serious about photography. It’s also a fairly bulky application, so if you want it to work seamlessly you need to make sure that you not only have the hardware for it but also that you have the application set up properly.

Over at Bagelturf I found an extensive list of 32 different ways to speed up Aperture. While some of these are fairly obvious (get a better Mac! get Leopard! get more memory!), others are simple but logical tips that should improve your performance, like turning off automatic version generation for adjustments, deleting Aperture’s preferences files, not using full text search or not displaying the histograms. Let us know if you have other useful ideas on how to make Aperture perform faster.