Hand on: Two packages to manage image libraries

Reader Brian Nuttal, who describes himself as a serious digital photographer, emailed asking whether he should choose Lightroom or Aperture to manage his image library.

The debate between the two has been ongoing since Adobe released Lightroom 1.0 and the market in professional image-management applications became more than just a one-horse race.

So, which is better, Aperture or Lightroom? The answer, of course, depends on a lot of things. If you’re in the market for a serious photo-management application, you’ll have to decide, based on your circumstances.

I’ve used both quite a bit and, as is nearly always the case in this kind of comparison, there is no outright ‘winner’; both have their strengths and weaknesses. There’s no room here for an in-depth review, but the following comparison of the way Aperture and Lightroom work may be useful if you’re having to make such a decision.

The editing and image adjustment features of these applications are the focus of attention, but this being Hands On, I’ll finish with a demonstration of the way each deals with recovering blown image highlights.

Hardware
The first issue is, of course, hardware. Whereas Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, to give it its full title, runs on both Windows and Mac OSX, Aperture is a Mac-only application.

This will be a deal-breaker for most Windows users, but doesn’t rule out Aperture for professional use in a commercial environment, where the cost of an iMac could be justified or if, like Brian, you’re upgrading your hardware and aren’t locked into Windows.