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Apple released Aperture 3.0 today. I'll update this post after I have a chance to read through the full list of updates, watch some videos, and play with the demo (I've already ordered my license but that will arrive later - why can't they give me a license now?).

One thing that makes me somewhat concerned: that Apple seems to view Aperture as an upgrade from iPhoto and is actively trying to push people that way. Simplicity is good, but I also don't necessarily need a "dumber" Aperture, so I hope that's not what we've got.

I also don't see myself using Faces or Places very much at all. But that's me, and the types of things I shoot are limited, and I tend to organize and name the albums and photos fairly simply and to remember those names, too.

Update: in no particular order, some thoughts…

The Good

Brushes look great. At first I thought they were, well, a poor imitation of what you can find in Lightroom, but if you watch this video ("Using Brushes to Apply Adjusments") the real power is exposed. Sweet. Selective desaturation, baby! 🙂

Additionally, the brush tool itself - with the solid outer line and the dashed inner line - is great.

Slide shows look nice. I've never printed a book, but I hear it's nice.

GPS from iPhone photos is nice. I doubt I'll use it much, though, because I see little value in adding 10,000 little pushpins within a 30-mile radius. 🙂

Color labels? Flags? I'm not sure how much I'll use it, but I like the option. Might be a good way to code things outside of using the actual ratings.

Search seems to be expanded and includes some nice new tweaks.

I don't have to rush to see if Rivet is broken. That's someone else's job now. Bwah ha ha ha! 🙂

I love that I can now apply an adjustment preset when I import. I like Definition of about 0.5 as a starting point for a lot of images. Now I can do that every time.

The Bad

Not giving me a serial number immediately after I buy. Booo. The trial wants to create a demo library - I want to upgrade my existing library. I realize it's tough to email a code while shipping a DVD, but maybe Apple could just email a code to you and not put one in the stupid box.

Checkboxes to select the images to import? Ugh. The target is so much smaller. What was wrong with dragging to select like in Aperture 2?

The path navigator in full-screen is also a menu? What?

Keywords still don't really seem to be hierarchical. Adding "Baleen" from the path "Animals > Mammals > Whales > Baleen" should make the image show up in searches for "Animals" and "Mammals" and "Whales."

I don't like that I can't apply an adjustment ("Recovery" for example to every image I've selected. I still have to use the stamp tool (or something equivalent).

The Indifferent

CURVES!?!? We don't need no stinkin' curves! OK, I don't care about curves, but I'm glad the tool exists because it'll help quiet some of the people who love their curves and couldn't figure out how to work with the tools Aperture provided in prior versions.

I should try to remember to create different libraries rather than use the one massive one I've been using. I'll have a library for my photography, one of the kiddo, and one for golf (product shots, tournament photos, etc.).

Faces, Places. Again, I just don't see myself using them much at all. Is this something professional photographers really care about?

I will not import my iPhoto library into Aperture. iPhoto is for snapshots. JPEGs. Pictures Carey takes. 🙂

Facebook and Flickr. Eh.

Plugins have to be 64-bit to not require a re-launch. That's good in the long haul, but bad right now.

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