caps07 Loc: Syracuse

I few years ago when I was taking one-to-one photo editing classes at Apple, they convinced me to upgrade to Aperture. I did and have used it successfully for years. Now in their wisdom, Apple has decided to get out of the editing business by replacing Aperture with the bare bones option of Photos. I don't know how much longer a can hold out on using Aperture without updates. What do you recommend? Affinity, Lightroom/Photoshop others? Thanks.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Did you miss that memo back in June of 2014 when Apple said they were discontinuing support? Many Aperture users switched back then. Many more switched right after the release of Photos.

Ok, having tried a few, Lightroom feels the most "like" Aperture to me but it is not Aperture, so expect a learning curve regardless of which program you ultimately choose.

Adobe has a pretty commanding market share and unlike Apple, they want photographers as customers. And Adobe products have a lot of community support including here on UHH and there is a lot of educational info available. But there are other programs that are fine too. You need to decide which is best for you.

So I recommend you try a few programs and see what you like rather than simply asking what to do. They all have free trial versions.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

There have been a multitude of discussions on this subject. Use the Search function at the top of the page to access them.

mackolb

Here's the good news . . . , Aperture will continue to work as long as you continue to use it. It is a 64-bit application written to work as expected in the MacOS environment. Your library will continue to grow, additional plugins from OnOne and others will continue to work and you will be able to do all you've come to expect of Aperture.
Photos has many of the same editing capabilities as Aperture and was introduced to enable users with libraries larger than iPhoto could easily address to enjoy the benefits of fast image management and editing.
But, there's no need to change unless you believe that Aperture no longer works for you. My approach is, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The fact that Apple is no longer "supporting" Aperture shouldn't keep users from continue to enjoy its elegance and power. That's what I'm doing while I'm am also one of those who have been working with Mac users to learn to enjoy Photos as an Apple Creative. Photos is great. Aperture is great. They tell me Lightroom is great. My advice, use the tools that give you the interface, power and control you expect.

Stevewayne23 Loc: Sacramento, CA

totally agree, Macolb. I love Aperture, love my plug-ins for it, and it still works so I'm still using it. (making sure I keep a couple of iPhoto library copies I can revert back to at any time). I've found no other program on the market that utilizes ease of use and easy organization like Aperture does.

Dave R. Loc: PNW

Many are fans of Adobe products and for good reason. I may be the only one but find that the changes they have made in their business practices is not always a great deal for their customer base. Again this is just my opinion. I do have LR and PS5 but in time will be looking into Affinity or Capture One Pro. My reasoning is to not be locked into Adobe. All really good software will likely have a learning curve so the decision on which direction you choose is far more important than some may think. Good luck and the idea to wait until Aperture no longer works makes the most sense to me and then try the free trials offered by most and go from there. Doing research now and reaching out to become more educated is very wise.

cyclespeed Loc: Calgary, Alberta Canada

If you use a Sony camera you can look at the large discount you receive in getting the full Pro level of Capture One 9 . $50 as of yesterday. Yes, they sell it. They don't rent it in perpetuity.
Its processing of raw images is nothing short of superb.

DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area

Don't expect Aperture to read a new camera's RAW files, though.

Dave R. Loc: PNW

If Aperture reads DNG files perhaps an extension in time can be achieved with a new camera.

Also a change in computers and/or the operating system can be a deal breaker as well. Eventually the change will be needed. Wanted or not.

mackolb

Why not read new RAW files? The coding for those files is accepted in the MacOS and available to all applications that need it. If a new camera is released and new RAW formats are created, you can count on Apple to encourage the camera manufacturer to provide the needed code so it can be used by Photos, thereby enabling Aperture to do it's thing as well.
Generally, for companies such as Adobe and Microsoft, getting it right takes a little longer and drivers need to be compiled for each new piece of hardware and software. Apple, on the other hand, is and always has been, plug-and-play for both hardware and software.
Taylor Swift, "Haters gotta hate." But, please don't confuse me with the facts, I've already made up my mind.
Not a flame, just a hope that this doesn't spiral into a religious fight.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

This is wrong and it is bad advice.

When a company announces discontinued support for a program it is only a matter of time before it will start to have problems with future OS releases. At some point as the OS marches on, it will cease to work. Then it will be too late to migrate or at a minimum, much more work.

When that will happen is unknown but it is most certainly coming.

mackolb

I understand where you are coming from. However, I've been an integral part of this as a working, professional digital photographer since 2000, traveling through several different Nikon models including D1x, D2hs, D2x, D700, D750 and loads of different software packages until landing on Aperture, as well as being a Nikon Professional and Certified Apple Trainer. My ups and downs and lessons learned lead me to have no fears about the longevity of Aperture as a 64-bit application running in a 64-bit architectured Operating System.
Aperture can open your Photos Library and Photos can open your Aperture Library. And, thanks to Adobe, there's even an export tool to migrate your Aperture Library to Aperture if you prefer.
But, when we went to all 64-bit operations, based on UNIX, we left the door open to unlimited development.
On a related note, some of my customers are still using iWeb to develop and manage their websites despite the fact that Apple discontinued support for it four years ago. And despite the fact that we no longer deliver or support either iDVD or Final Cut Pro Studio 3 and all its associated applications including DVD Studio Pro, these tools are still in wide use and satisfying those who have them. All are 64-bit, not requiring any other resources besides the MacOS and, of course, a Mac. Those applications left behind were written in 32-bit mode. That's about it until we migrate to 128-bit software, but that's probably a looooong way off.
If you want to migrate to a different OS on a different platform, good for you. But Mac users with the current operating system have nothing to fear regarding "planned or unplanned obsolesence." I think it's safe to say we'er in it for the long haul.

Lionel1954 Loc: Brampton, Ontario, Canada.

I switched over to Affinity, no regrets.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

There is a lot more to OS compatibility than 32 or 64 bit compatibility. That is only one facet of OS compatibility.

Originally you wrote "Aperture will continue to work as long as you continue to use it."

Now if you NEVER upgrade the OS, yes the current version will continue to work. But then you are also stuck with the same hardware. So forget about upgrading computers, or hardware like printers, monitors, and of course graphic cards. If you upgrade any of those things, or they fail due to age, you may be forced to do an OS update. And then the old software may not work.

But if your happy to accept all that goes along with that, by all means go that route.

But many people like to keep current. So never updating OS or hardware is a non-starter for them.

Aperture is already showing signs of incompatibilities with OS updates. When Yosemite came out there were a rash of problems reported with running Aperture on Yosemite. It still opens, for me, (under Yosemite) but it is definitely acting differently, taking a long time to open and close and crashing more frequently. One of these days after an update, it will no longer work. That will not be a problem because I adopted another cataloging and editing program in June of 2014.

For me, Photos is not even close to a replacement for Aperture, because Photos was written for a completely different target market, a different generation of users. And there are many missing fundamental features, such as being able to sort Photos by date. Photos is a non starter for power Aperture users.

I understand your reluctance to abandon Aperture. It was a fabulous program. I loved it and used it from Aperture 1.0 until June of 2014. It had database search features 2nd to none. I can still find legacy photos in a few seconds using Aperture. (they take longer to find using my new program). I was miffed at Apple for dumping Aperture. I wrote them a strongly worded letter. ;)

I really do hope it works out for you to keep using Aperture and your current setup.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

Actually, Aperture uses Apple's Camera Raw file. Camera Raw is updated periodically because it is also used by other Apple programs such as Image Capture, Preview, Photos. So provided the Camera Raw updates are installed, then Aperture will be able to handle a new camera's raw files.