Openings 2

"Aperture 2" is a photo editing software from Apple. The program was developed exclusively for the Mac OS Xoperating system for the Apple Macintosh. Unlike the iPhoto photo software, which is included with the Macintosh and is primarily suitable for home users, Aperture was developed for photographers with professional requirements. According to the manufacturer, Aperture 2 also handles photo collections with more than 100,000 shots.

The main functions of Aperture: manage photo libraries, photo editing, customize images and export photos to MobileMe as a gallery on the web or for printing. The user interface shows the photo library, metadata of individual images, and adjustment sliders for editing. The Light Table feature lets you compare or select multiple shots.

In Quick Preview mode, the search function allows quick viewing of extensive libraries. When editing photos in RAW format, adjustment tools are available for restoration, vividness, vignetting, and retouching. Selected subjects can be uploaded to a MobileMe gallery on the World Wide Web(WWW), which can be viewed from a stationary computer or from the iPhone and iPod touch. Aperture's photo library can also be accessed from Apple's iLife and iWork applications, as well as from the Leopard Mail client.

Aperture 2 supports the digital cameras of major manufacturers, the JPEG, Tagged Image File Format( TIFF), PSD and DNG image formats of most cameras, and the RAW formats of more than 100 digital cameras and backs. To work with Aperture, you need an Apple Macintosh with an Intel processor and the Mac OS X 10.4.11 ("Tiger") operating system or later.