Aperture 3 - AppStore download - further evaluation?

[wkmacy]

I discovered yesterday that Apple's AppStore has a $79 price to download the current version of Aperture 3. At this price it's a steal. My question concerns whether or not the major issue raised to date ( a few months back), namely directory view being lacking, has been resolved/fixed? I currently use EM2 and Photoshop CS5 with Adobe's DNG converter to manage my digital assets, mostly based on underwater RAW images that I obtain with my Canon A720IS using the freeware CHDK to make this feature available. I have the latest OS 10.6.6 software running on my new MacBook Air, w/ a 256gb SSD and 2 GB RAM. This is a great unit for traveling, weighing only 3 lbs and having a ca 7h battery life. I updated to the new version of EM2 when I bought the DAM book, having used the original IM for years, but not appreciating the cataloging and asset management features that are now and were available in the pre MicroSoft  versions.

TIA Bill

[johnbeardy]

I had previously decided not to upgrade, as my use of Aperture is more a question of keeping myself informed, but the £45 AppStore price in the UK was cheaper than the upgrade price. So I agree it's a bargain, and I bought it myself. It runs quickly enough on my MacBookPro, though still a lot more sluggishly than Lightroom.

The AppStore experience was what struck me most. I imagine those who have an iPhone/Pad wouldn't have been so impressed, but all I had to do was open the 10.6.6 app, find Aperture, and buy. It then installed itself. Loved it!

I still don't like Aperture though! The lack of proper visibility and control over physical folder locations is a big minus, and remains unchanged. The Relocate Masters command is a useful enough utility if you ever want to restructure your folders, but unneeded, and no substitute for Lightroom's combination of direct access to Finder folders and virtual folders (Aperture only has the latter). And even though I've had it since v1, I still find it a remarkably pedantic program (eg it took me ages to find that the country IPTC field was labelled "Image Country") and so fiddly I find it hard to believe it's an Apple rather than a Microsoft product. There are things I do like - Places, loupe, smart folders, slideshow - but overall there are too many big negatives, not least the fact that unlike Lightroom it fails to run on other brands of computer, something I think important.

It'll be interesting to see what happens to Aperture. I have to wonder if a price of $79 will generate enough profit to sustain its development as a pro tool? That's hard to know without factoring in the hardware revenues and without knowing what kind of sales volume they anticipate. The advertising in the App Store was very much towards iPhoto users (given my view of it as a fiddly program, I suspect it'll scare a lot of iPhoto users), so I wonder if it's a last gasp attempt to ramp up the user base before it becomes a kind of iPhotoPro. Time will tell.

John

[wkmacy]

Thanks John for the prompt response.I guess the old adage that if it seems to good to be true it probably is. That said, I'll save my money and continue to plug along with EM2 and PhotoshopCS5. The DAM book is really enlightening me about useful ways to organize my images, etc., etc.
Thanks again, Bill