Toronto Photography Meetup Group

Ok ok, yes i know there have been threads about this comparison before (although not with the latest LR). it seems the vast majority of people on the forum use LR (and are quite happy with the latest edition). I am starting to wonder if I should make the switch, especially with LR 4 now available on the Mac App Store. And yes I know many of you will say to download the trial version. And once I get home from my business trip I will do that!

My query is because I do not know the more advance features that LR 4 offers and so may be hard to compare it against Aperture 3 (which to be honest is starting to feel long in the tooth compared to LR). For those of you who have used both - is LR 4 now to the point that I should be making the switch. With LR 3 I didn't feel some of the extra features warranted it (especially with being comfortable with Aperture).

Thanks for the input.


Cheers,

J.

Aperture is only for Mac users, right?
Maybe it could be because many ppl here are not using Mac OS on their computer or do not have the Ipad, so Lightroom becomes the default.

I'm still using (and learning) Lightroom 3. Will google later to see how much changed in LR4 as opposed to LR3...unless someone wants to summarize? (/end of laziness)

Jordan, while I am by no means an expert my Lr foo is decent and don't mind running you through a side by side some time. A larger part of this is in the Adobe raw processing in terms of noise and dynamic range.

I am a fan of LR3 and LR4 has brought along some much need improvements.
Aperture works well, but, the tool set is lacking when compared directly with LR.

P.S. I would suggest purchasing the "retail" box version of LR instead of getting it through the App Store.
- When you purchase the retail box you get both the PC and Mac serial numbers (only get the Mac serial from the App Store)
- Adobe has said that they will not guarantee and "upgrade" price (ie. from LR 4 to LR5) for people who purchase from the App Store

Lightroom has a screwy data base interface everything else about is good to great. With ver 4 I find my self hardly ever having to use an editing program like PS

Personally I'm not one to jump on the popularity bus. You have to decide whats best for your needs.

Unless your dealing with a large amount out photos from with detailed metadata and tags the choice is a tough one. Both are very capable in colour correction. I found LR has better image filing options. If your a sports or wedding shooter this may be a big plus, as sorting and filing thousands of images per day are the norm. Aperture (last time I used it) stored images in packets which made for an overly complicated folder system.

If your a hobby shooter then its a toss up. Both offer a lot of retouching options and none will offer as in-depth control as photoshop.

While I don't mean to sound like an ass, I probably will.
What Jordan has specifically posted about, very few have responded to.

So to re-iterate: anyone with experience using both Aperture and Lightroom, any advice to offer that might make Lightroom a compelling switch?

Not to sound like an ass but answering questions about aperture vs lr4 are pointless, like answering the question: why do you buy pepsi when coke is more popular? Jordan has not gone to the trouble of telling us his current workflow so whats the basis of comparison. As he said we would tell him just try the darn thing and make up your own mind.

Jordan's question is a bit vague, nothing wrong with that. Unless he is looking for a feature list comparison which is easily found through google. Most responses are going to be vague in kind. Nothing wrong with that.

On the topic the biggest difference and most important difference is going to be the raw processor. Adobe's kicks butt. Raw files processed through Lr are going to have less noise and you will be able to push the dynamic range more than you can with Aperture. Particularly with Lr 4 apparently.

Thanks Chris,

Yes I know it is a bit vague - only because I've only used Aperture (for many years) and while I enjoy the workflow - there are not a lot of websites with good tips and tricks, etc (plus the advise from those on this forum). Plus like I said Aperture hasn't upgraded in a while (if I know a version 4 was coming out and would match LR then i'd stick - but right now - there is no rumours or anything). I guess I am just curious if its worth the time and effort to migrate over (while I know i'll never have time to reprocess old files (just keep those on Aperture) - I have tons of new stuff not yet processed. I guess the best advice would be to download the trial version and see what it offers and process a few photos with Aperture (my normal way) and a few with LR4 and see what, if any, differences there are. At least the Nik plugins I purchased recently are both Aperture and LR compatible.

Thanks for the input everyone (any additional is very much welcomed).


Cheers,
J.

I think you should download a trial and work with it side by side

If Mr. Jobs were still around the advance the world of Photography like he claimed he wanted to do, you might have been in for some software surprises.
But alas, Apple is seemingly less interested in developing good software, and there are now far more companies out there releasing good software on the Mac that you might be better suited to a software switch.
Is Lightroom the go-to? I don't personally believe so. BUT you are looking for resources and some of the most used software in the world will afford you these resources and that is where lightroom will suit you.
However I think there is something more to be said about milking these resources and adapting them to your software of choice, as quite often it is the technique and the thinking behind a process more-so than the software powering the process.

I think you should edit the raw files by hand in a HEX editor.

Thanks Alex, some good advice. I will test out LR, but maybe I'll wait a bit and see if aperture gets a good update. Plus with my Nik plugins I can do a lot of edits beyond what both LR and Aperture can do.

Qualdoth - maybe I should just burn my raw files - give me similar results

You can still use them within LR