[X4U] Aperature vs. Lightroom & Photoshop CS

[Zane H. Healy]

> Zane: in my experience, the biggest obstacle with Aperture is that it  
> has high video card requirements. If your current machine (and video  
> card) can't meet the specs, it won't work. I had a G5 iMac which I  
> assumed would have the horsepower to work with Aperture and it  
> flunked the video card requirements. (Any of the current line of  
> intel macs will work with Aperture.)
> 
> Lightroom is much less demanding and will work well under both PPC  
> and MacIntel machines, although a newer machine will make the  
> experience much more enjoyable.

The video card is my largest issue, as I have the stock Video Card that came
with the original G5 Dual 2Ghz (it was their top of the line system 4 years
ago).  I think the only time it has felt slow is under iPhoto and the latest
version of Adobe Acrobat Reader (what a pig that is).

I'm not even sure my wife's MacBook 2Ghz w/2Gb RAM (the max) could really
cut it for Aperture.

> Of the two, Lightroom may therefore the better option for you. Be  
> aware that both programs have a much steeper learning curve than  
> iPhoto -- they are really design for professional or prosumer  
> photographers who have or need a rigorous workflow. One of the pluses  
> is that they do store images in a much more intuitive (and  
> manageable) fashion than iPhoto.

I'm only slightly concerned about the learning curve, as I'm used to using
professional apps.  Realistically from a workflow standpoint, Lightroom
might be the better fit for me since it is an Adobe app, and a majority of
what I use are Adobe App's.  It is just that Aperture sounds like the better
app for organizing my photo's, which is what I'm most concerned with.

> You will still need Photoshop or Elements to make any adjustments to  
> your photos.
> 
> Like Shawn, I prefer Lightroom.
> 
> Jeff

I have Photoshop CS (as part of CS Premium), but do not want to have to
upgrade at this time to CS3.  What it would cost to upgrade to CS3 is a
sizeable part of the cost of a Nikon D300, or more than a good Tripod, both
items I would much rather spend my money on right now.

Still need to find the time to free up some disk space and download the
demo's.  That or I need to figure out how to make iPhoto more usable.  I'll
see what I can come up with over the next few days, if I have any free time.
:^(

Zane