Paul Inskip Photography

The anticipation for Aperture 3 seems to be reaching fever pitch, with big rumor site now posting anything regarding an upcoming release, even vague links to possible pre-order books on Amazon (http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/10/23/book_listing_implies_apple_to_release_aperture_x_in_2010.html).

There are a few things that are definitely clear from all of this:

1) there is a huge appetite for a new Aperture release
2) The Aperture community is live and well despite what certain software companies would have you believe(…Adobe…) the level of anticipation and the level of interest for any tiny bit of news is proof of that
3) Adobe are worried…I think this because I think that Lightroom 3’s sudden beta release is Adobe trying to spread Lightroom before Aperture 3 comes out, trying to steel some of its thunder!
4) THE BIGGIE! - No-one who is close to Aperture or a beta tester can tell us when its due out, and therefore no-one really knows, but i’ve been into enough forums on various sites discussing Aperture to have picked up a few little bits of info which points to its release in the not to distant future. Apple has a real chance to blow Lightroom clear out of the water with Aperture 3 and subsequent releases of Aperture if it wants to. Apple doesn’t have to protect Photoshop sales so can be a single photo editor with a tool set aimed squarely at photographers that uses some of the everyday features we use from photoshop. Lightroom and Photoshop will always co-exist unless the price of Lightroom quadruples but Apple can add half a dozen key functionalities into Aperture and make something that means we no longer need photoshop.

Apple has the skill and the money to do it, whether they have the desire to develop something that has nothing to do with iphones/ipods is another matter. But give us layers, brushes, enhanced sharpening and the few key tools that we regularly need to go to photoshop for and all of a sudden Aperture comes of age and does something that Lightroom can never do…remove the need for Photoshop. All that however are merely the dreams of a self-confessed Aperture fan. Give me extra speed, better print packages and more/editable web templates and I’ll be a very happy camper :)…most of all just give us a real clue as to when!!

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