Latest versions of Elements or Aperture? Choosing between Elements or Aperture. Being fairly new to digital photography but having a pretty good base in 35mm film, and being a long...

Clif Loc: Central Ca.

Choosing between Elements or Aperture. Being fairly new to digital photography but having a pretty good base in 35mm film, and being a long term Apple user, I am curious about your thoughts as to which might be best for me as I go forward with this hobby. Nature and scenic would be where I would want to do the most manipulation. I don't think I would sit and fiddle with a photo for a long period to get it just right, just to quantify that, say to get it to 85 or 90%. People photography is more a "serious snap shot", not art. I am using a D5100 and Mac book Pro. I was never a film burner I try to pick and choose before I shoot. Sort of like hunting with a single shot rifle. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Cdouthitt Loc: Traverse City, MI

Neither...Lightroom 4

MtnMan Loc: ID

Clif wrote:

Choosing between Elements or Aperture. Being fai... (show quote)

Elements 11 was released a few weeks ago and is available in Costco now for a couple of weeks for $49.

mcveed Loc: Kelowna, British Columbia (between trips)

There really is no choice between Aperture and Elements. They do different things. Aperture has an excellent storage, cataloging, and retrieval system. It also allows adjustment of all critical settings in RAW conversion. But is doesn't do layers and its editing capability is limited. Elements is an editing program which does layers and is good for cloning etc. I use both. 90% of what I do is in Aperture. But for the other 10% I need Elements.

treehugger Loc: Eastern Idaho Highlands

Think Iphoto! And, as a Mac user, you already have it...

MtnMan Loc: ID

mcveed wrote:

There really is no choice between Aperture and Elements. They do different things. Aperture has an excellent storage, cataloging, and retrieval system. It also allows adjustment of all critical settings in RAW conversion. But is doesn't do layers and its editing capability is limited. Elements is an editing program which does layers and is good for cloning etc. I use both. 90% of what I do is in Aperture. But for the other 10% I need Elements.

Elements is also a very powerful storage, catalog, and retrieval system. Too bad many users never learn how to use it's Organizer.

I bought my wife Elements 11 today. I am impressed with what they have done with the user interface. It is quite different from all former releases.

I'm no longer a good tester because I learned how to work the old system. But I predict new users will have much better success and less frustration from here on.

martinfisherphoto Loc: Lake Placid Florida

Mac user also. I started with aperture. Great storage and library. Also good for editing your photos. You have two routes to take here. Some people learn how to take good photos and need very little help with editing to make photos be the best. Other folks learn all they can to edit photos and use this skill other than learning how to use the camera. I don't mean everyone, but you get my drift. Just learning the camera is enough to start with, and if your limited to how much you can edit, you just might learn how to use the camera to it's fullest. Once you have learned the camera, you will start to develop a sense of the type of editing you would like to apply to your photos, then get the Better editing software to tweak your photos. By then you can spend time learning the new software to help your photos, not to make up your lack of photography skill. All of your better editing software will run with aperture. Photography is a journey that may last your lifetime. You don't have to buy everything today.IMHO

treehugger Loc: Eastern Idaho Highlands

Very well said!
Anasel Adams tought us that the most important step in creating a great photograph was a perfict negative. I believe that same thought applys in creating the best digital file you can.

MtnMan Loc: ID

treehugger wrote:

Very well said!
Anasel Adams tought us that the most important step in creating a great photograph was a perfict negative. I believe that same thought applys in creating the best digital file you can.

I understand that Ansel Adams taught us that it's also about the post processing. He kept good records and did many, many things to get to his final prints.

He'd be a Photoshop Guru today.

mcveed Loc: Kelowna, British Columbia (between trips)

treehugger wrote:

Very well said!
Anasel Adams tought us that the most important step in creating a great photograph was a perfict negative. I believe that same thought applys in creating the best digital file you can.

Don't know if Ansel ever actually said that. I do know that he never, by his own standard, ever shot a perfect negative. He spent hours in the darkroom burning and dodging his prints. In one book I saw an image of a straight print he had made with all the circles drawn on it with the amount of burning and dodging each 'not quite perfect' area would need. His famous Zone System had more to do with the darkroom than the field.

mcveed Loc: Kelowna, British Columbia (between trips)

fstop22 wrote:

Mac user also. I started with aperture. Great stor... (show quote)

I agree 100%. I think a lot of beginners are mesmerized by the capabilities of editing software and put themselves in danger of becoming graphic artists rather than photographers. I draw the line at what I could have done in the camera or darkroom. I could spot out dust spots, I could adjust contrast and I could dodge and burn. With colour I could adjust the colour with filters. But I couldn't replace the sky with a more dramatic one. I couldn't make my print any sharper than my negative and I couldn't move a tree to a better location in the picture.

steveo52 Loc: Rhode Island and Ocala Florida

Clif wrote:

Choosing between Elements or Aperture. Being fai... (show quote)

You may want to check out this podcast in the link below. Photographer Derrick Story compares the latest updates to Aperture and Lightroom. I'm a Mac user and found this podcast very helpful:

http://thedigitalstory.com/2012/10/aperture-34-vs-light.html

mvy Loc: New Hampshire

I'm well pleased with the current version of Aperture. I've compared it to Lightroom and PSE 10, and I keep returning to Aperture.

The things I like:
a. easy installation of onOne and NIK software.
b. easy use of above items.
c. new version's inclusion of iPhoto tools--don't miss this one
d. excellent integration of PSE or Pixelmator for external edit
e. Pixelmator has color channel mixer for IR.
f. Much simpler file management v Lightroom's
The things I don't like:
a. For some reason Aperture still seems to be a bit unstable. Although these glitches are a pain, they are not so bad that I can't tolerate them considering the benefits that come with Aperture.

BTW, I've owned them all, CS5, Gimp, PSE5 through 10, and several that I can't remember. As of today, Aperture works best for me.

All the best,

Martin

Patw28 Loc: PORT JERVIS, NY

MtnMan wrote:

treehugger wrote:

Very well said!
Anasel Adams tought us that the most important step in creating a great photograph was a perfict negative. I believe that same thought applys in creating the best digital file you can.

I understand that Ansel Adams taught us that it's also about the post processing. He kept good records and did many, many things to get to his final prints.

He'd be a Photoshop Guru today.

You never saw his wate basket.

Iduno Loc: Near Tampa Florida

Lightroom 4