Ruthlin Loc: Long Island New York

I just downloaded the 30 day free trial of "aperture" I also bought a book on how to use it. It is a little complicated. I have been taking my pictures in JPEG and RAW. When i download them the RAW comes out black saying unreadable format. ???????? Help

jw32003 Loc: Oklahoma

Sorry you've not received any response. I don't use Apertue but would guess it's something to do with compatibility. Check and see if it supports the raw feature of your camera. If it doesn't you may be able to update the software.

gessman Loc: Colorado

I'm have limited experience with raw, limited to Canon, and I have heard that there are some software like Photoshop can read all the different raw images (each camera yields a different raw format) but what you're using now to pull them in doesn't seem to want to read the raw format your camera produces. Just a thought without knowing any more. I've seen black raw images too.

Ruthlin Loc: Long Island New York

Thanks I do have a canon program that reads RAW, but some said Aperture was a great program. Not so sure now.

janab

It's a great "quick" product especially on a Mac to organize,catalog and do small manipulation to your photos. It doesn't give the full response like Photoshop would. What are you trying to achieve from your photos? Catalogging? or just quick and easy "photoshopping"? Are you a digital photographer and use a Mac? iPhoto is great for quick stuff but to do professional work try CS5

gessman Loc: Colorado

It could be that there's a "switch" you have to flip to get Aperture to look at Canon raw. I'm just not familiar with it. The Cannon program DPP is pretty strong and feature rich up through the necessary things we do but stops short of all the magic stuff that Photoshop and others permit us to do. Like most folks, I didn't really give DPP and the other Canon programs a chance or a comprehensive look-over until just recently. I've been real lazy and just been shooting .jpg so I hadn't been in DPP in a few years but I did go to CanonUSA and download the updated version and went through it just last week. I'm going to get a little more serious about it and that's a good place to start.

All four of the Canon modules were updated this year, the two main ones as recent as August. If you haven't, you might want to go in and download the programs and update yours. There was also a raw codec update which you'd want to get, making 5 downloads and, there may also be a firmware upgrade for your camera.

We had a discussion about this last week and I'm about to paste in the directions to where you find the software in case you need it. If not, then please pardon and ignore me.

I think you will find what you're looking for under Consumer & Home Office then Cameras, then digital SLR, then pick click on whatever your camera is in the lineup of cameras on the right, then drivers and software and you will get a list of the software that has been upgraded on top of the list. Check for the latest dates and only download those. 2011 stuff it usually up top while previous versions are below. After downloading, you'll want to run those downloaded programs so they'll update what is on your computer at present.


There is perhaps also a list of "firmware" updates available. Firmware is the software inside your camera that makes it all work. You have to download firmware updates into you rcomputer, run them and then put the resulting file that unzips onto your memory card and stick the card back into the camera. From there, you'll need to find the "firmware" entry on your camera's menu and activate that selection and don't touch any buttons until it tells you it's finished. I would caution you to make sure you've got a freshly charged battery in your camera. If the battery should give up in mid update, your camera could and probably be totally useless and have to be sent into Canon to be fixed. Not a happy choice.

I'm not real crazy about this editor and prefer email if a conversation has the chance of getting extended. Let me know if you need a little "hand holding" through the updates. My email is gessmansr@gmail.com. I'll be happy to help if needed. Later, Gene

ShakyShutter Loc: Arizona

I'm sure Aperture will read Canon RAW files just fine. You just need to download a RAW update for Canon. Not sure about the actual procedure but it shouldn't be a problem.

What type of computer are you using?

Ruthlin Loc: Long Island New York

Thank you very much for your detailed response. I have downloaded the Canon software. I have not had the time to explore it. I am getting Adobe Elements 10. I am not sure what its capabilities are.I do not take many pictures in RAW. I use mostly JPEG. However, with the fall here on the East Coast I want to try and capture the foliage in RAW. Thanks again I will read your note more carefully and I am sure it will be helpful.
Have a good day

davidintexas

I use Aperture with Canon raw files all the time. Very sorry to hear that you are having this issue? Which Canon camera are you shooting with? Hard to believe that it isn't working unless it's a brand new camera. My latest version is V3.1.2 and it says under this that it is using Digital Camera Raw 3.8.0 Build 5770000.1. Perhaps calling Apple support? I'm not sure if they would provide support during a trial period. I would think that they would. Their support is strong.

As for the product itself, it compared more to Adobe LightRoom than Photoshop CS5.

I evaluated both and found Aperture's user interface to be much easier to work with in Aperture vs LightRoom 3. There is a little learning curve to learn the keyboard shortcuts and your most frequently used commands, but it is a great program. It is also less expensive than LightRoom. There are several video tutorials on the Aperture web page which might be helpful to you.

As a reference point, I have used raw files with Aperture with a Canon 40D and my current, Canon 7D. Good luck to you.

anroj

Hi, I found this link on camera models and compatibility with Aperture: http://www.apple.com/aperture/specs/raw.html. Also the suggestion to contact Apple support is probably going to get you going quicker than anything. I use Aperture and love it. I recently downloaded a trial of Lightroom and ended it because I find Aperture much easier to use and to work with.

gessman Loc: Colorado

That link is broken, anroj.

anroj

Hmmm. Sorry about that. It seems to work for me if I copy and paste it.

gessman Loc: Colorado

Okay. We can do that. Thanks.

Ruthlin Loc: Long Island New York

Hi Thanks for responding. I use the Canon T3I. It is a upgrade camera for me. I have bought the book on directions how to use Aperture. I am still exploring it. I have the 30m day free download. I am getting Elements 10. I am not sure what it offers. I am now using Elements 8. I also downloaded the Canon software and that has the ability to edit in Raw. Again thanks it is a process for me and I appreciate all the input I can get. Have a good day.

Ruthlin Loc: Long Island New York

I will continue to explore the possibilities Aperture offers until the free trial expires. I willl decide after that if I want to buy. it.

Thnaks again for you input.