Aperture aims to serve photographers who need to rapidly manage large volumes of images in bulky file formats such as Raw. The Raw format is popular because of its high resolution, but few current software tools deal gracefully with the format's huge file sizes.

The new program streamlines the management of massive photo files by offering a variety of speedy multi-image viewing options as well as the ability to automatically organize photos into "stacks" according to how closely together in time the shots were taken.

There is also a loupe tool that allows you to examine the details of each photo with a virtual magnifying glass that enlarges part of the image by up to 800 percent, including images displayed in thumbnail mode.

Click here to read about how Raw format files are handled in Apple's iLife '05.

Even while transferring files from flash media to your hard disk, Aperture allows you to preview photos so that you can compare and organize them for quick reference.

A set of standard image processing tools are included in the package, including color correction, gamma adjustment and white balance, and all adjustments are applied non-destructively, allowing reversion to the original master shot any time.

Each revision of a photo is saved as a collection of changes to the master, which requires much less disk space than storing a full-resolution version of each shot. In addition, adjustments to one shot can be "painted" onto other shots, which is handy in cases where several similar shots need similar corrections.

Read the full story on PCMag.com: Apple Aims Aperture at Photo Pros

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