Maculous > Adobe Lightroom vs Apple Aperture

I own registered copies of both Adobe’s recently released Lightroom and Apple Aperture version 1.5. After using Lightroom for a week or so, I find that I like it much more than Aperture, and it also seems to be a superior tool for working with photos.

The user interface for Aperture is butt-ugly, dreadful, very unpleasant to look at, and this is quite unusual for an Apple product. Adobe Lightroom, on the other hand actually seems to have a better user interface than I typically expect in an Adobe application.

But the user interface is not the only consideration, obviously. Anyone who has ever used a computer knows that programs and operating systems sometimes have unexpected user interface issues.

The main concern when comparing these two programs is the way they let the user work with large batches of photographs, and the usefulness of the tools they provide for working with your photos. Lightroom has some fascinating capabilities, things I had never even imagined that a photo app could do. In Lightroom you use the Develop tab to modify images, it offers a right-hand sidebar to access the most the photo manipulation options, such as:

• Vignetting – adjusts for dark corners caused by your lens
• Chromatic Abberations – colored shadows around objects, also caused by lenses
• Vibrance – color intensity and differentiation
• Individual level adjustments for 8 different color bands
• A number of Histogram adjustment tools
• Display of the Histogram with individual peaks shown for different colors

And there is more. I’ve been amazed at the amount of improvement I’ve been able to achieve in various types of photos using Lightroom. I wonder if I’ll even bother using Aperture or even upgrading it as new versions appear.

If you are really into photography, like I am, and you are considering the purchase of one of these programs, do give Lightroom a try, we think you’ll be very pleased. As of the date of this blog entry, Adobe is offering Lightroom at an introductory price of $199. The software license allows you to install the software on 2 computers per license. Lightroom is available for both Windows and OS X, while Aperture is OS X only.

Have you used either of these? What is your opinion?

Technorati Tags: Software, Review, OS X, photo software, Apple, Aperture, Adobe Lightroom