Apple releases Aperture 1.5.1, RAW support updates

Apple Computer on Thursday issues an update to its Aperture professional photography workflow application and also made available for download a fully-functional free trial of the software.

Aperture 1.5.1 (125MB), which is recommended for all users, addresses more than 100 issues related to overall reliability and performance in all areas of the application, Apple said.

Specifically, the update offers improvements to keywords, loupe, cropping, previews, metadata presets, versions, file renaming, iPhoto Library import and watermarks.

In an effort to get Aperture "in the hands of as many photographers as possible" the Cupertino, Calif.-based Mac maker also offering potential customers the opportunity to take Aperture 1.5 for a free test drive.

The trial provides users with a fully-functional version of Aperture 1.5 that they can use and experiment with.

"While it includes all the features available in a licensed copy, the trial version will expire 30 days after you launch it for the first time," Apple said. "Try it, and you’ll see how easy it is to import, manage, edit, catalog, organize, adjust, publish, export, and archive your RAW, JPEG, TIFF, and PSD images."

Separately on Thursday, the company released digital camera RAW support updates in PowerPC (1.4MB) and Universal (2.4MB) formats.

The updates improve RAW file format compatibility for certain digital SLR cameras, including the Nikon D80, Pentax *ist DS, and Canon Digital Rebel XTi / 400D / Kiss X Digital. It also addresses issues with handling of large Canon RAW files, DNG compatibility on Intel-based Macs, and lines that sometimes appearing in images exported from Aperture.