I typically don’t post news items, but this is pretty big. Today Apple has released an update to Aperture that brings it up to v2.1. Besides many bug fixes it has some significant added functionality. Namely, official support for third-party plug-ins and a sample plug-in: Dodge and Burn.
Besides dodge and burn the plug-in adds brush-based contrast, saturation, sharpen and blur functions.
Apple also mentions in their press release that they are working with companies already to bring popular plug-ins to the platform.
This is big news for people wishing to remove external editors from their workflow and keep everything non-destructive.
Quoted from the press release:
Nik Software’s Viveza plug-in, powered by U Point technology, which provides a powerful, precise and easy way for photographers to selectively control and adjust color and light in their digital images;
PictureCode’s Noise Ninja plug-in that delivers advanced high ISO noise analysis and reduction;
Digital Film Tools’ Power Stroke plug-in that features a simple, stroke-based interface to quickly mask and intuitively perform targeted adjustments;
The Tiffen Company’s Dfx plug-in that provides an expansive suite of creative filters and effects;
dvGarage’s dpMatte plug-in, which is a high performance chroma key tool for creating seamless composites, and the HDRtoner plug-in that enables the selection of multiple photos to create a single high dynamic range (HDR) image; and
Image Trends’ plug-ins that include Fisheye-Hemi to quickly and effortlessly correct fisheye lens distortion, ShineOff which automatically removes shine from faces and PearlyWhites that automatically whitens and brightens teeth.
From Apple Update:
Aperture 2.1 updates various features of the application and addresses issues related to performance and overall stability. The updates include the following:
Dodge & Burn Plug-in. A sample plug-in is pre-installed, taking advantage of the Edit API introduced in Aperture 2.0. The plug-in adds brush-based tools for Dodge (Lighten), Burn (Darken), Contrast, Saturation, Sharpen and Blur.
Customize Default Adjustment Set. You can now specify which adjustments appear by default in the Adjustments Inspector/HUD.
Updated Crop Tool. A simplified UI makes it easier to preserve an image’s original aspect ratio, match the aspect ratio of your display, or use one of the standard preset aspect ratios.
Sorting in All Projects View. A contextual menu allows you to sort the All Projects view in ascending or descending date order.
Show on Map. A contextual menu allows you to choose the Show on Map by right-clicking (or Control-clicking) on an image that contains GPS data.
Access to Toolbar on Second Display. When using multiple displays in Full Screen mode, the Full Screen toolbar is now accessible on a second display.
“Snapshots” book theme. This additional theme includes new “photo border” frames in which to place images.
Flip Images. You can now flip images horizontally or vertically within Aperture.
Vignette. The range of gamma and exposure settings available has been expanded.
Save Books as JPEG or TIFF images. Automator actions have been added to Save as PDF pop-up menu in the Print Book window to automatically generate JPEG or TIFF images from book pages.
Update EXIF from Master. This command allows Aperture to reread EXIF from a master images after they have been imported.
Extended AppleScript support. The “Reveal” verb in the AppleScript dictionary has been extended to include containers such as projects and albums.The update includes fixes that impact the a number of areas, including:
Image import
Image migration
Erasing memory cards after import
Quick Preview
Batch Change
Auto-stacking
All Projects view
Tooltips
Smart Albums
Tethering
Adjustments inspector
Viewer
Loupe
White Balance
Definition
Lift & Stamp
Handling of externally edited images
Reconnecting referenced files
Keyboard customization
Deleting images
Metadata presets
Book themes
Borderless printing
Web Page/Web Journal export
Exporting versions
Export Plug-in support
AppleScript support
For further information about this update, see Late-Breaking News About Aperture 2, available at http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/Aperture_2.0_lbn_z.pdf
The Aperture 2.1 Update is recommended for all Aperture 2 users.
Noise Ninja alone is a killer addition, and the HDR plugin will be a huge bonus. Looks like Apple is serious about competing. About time…
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