Customer Reviews

Apple Pro Training Series: Aperture 3

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I have been a fan of Apple's Training Series from Peachpit for some time. This book is no exception, and is extremely well written and easily understood and followed.

I was more than happy to see that Peachpit and Apple collaborated quickly to get the first comprehensive instruction manual to print and it is a winner. The learning curve for Aperture is somewhat high, but the book guides you through the learning process gradually, with each chapter logically building on the last, and reducing the time needed to learn critical functions. The writing style is clear and end-user friendly, without a lot of techno-jargon complicating the process. By the end of the book, you'll have a very functional understanding of Aperture 3, and your processing time and workflow steps will be dramatically decreased.

The book has a companion DVD with the media files necessary to follow the course as designed. It is NOT included with the e-book (Kindle) version, but can be downloaded from Peachpit Press. This is NOT reflected in the book, though customer service at Peachpit states it should have been. The book is only marginally useful without the companion media files which are clearly designed to be used in conjunction with the chapters in the book.

The URL for the media files is listed in the comments to this review. (Amazon won't allow full URL's in reviews) Be forewarned... it is a 3.6GB DMG file (Macs only).

The Kindle version on the Apple iPad is STUNNING in its clarity and definition! The illustrations and pictures are phenomenal, and totally unexpected...oh so clear! This has made using the iPad for following the book next to my MacbookPro and Mac Pro a dream. It also reduces my baggage weight when traveling so that I no longer have to carry heavy manuals in suitcases to have ready reference material on the road. (I work overseas every other six-weeks). Peachpit is dedicated to offering virtually all of their books in digital form, and that's the only way I'll buy them in the future. The iPad makes it a perfect solution! (The book can also be viewed on a Kindle, but in monochrome which significantly reduces the value of photo-related manuals of this type)

Five stars for this book... and five more to Amazon for offering it at a discounted price in digital form! Get it!

UPDATE: See comments below for coded URL for the media files.

To be clear, my experience level with Aperture 3 is zero. I have never used the program before and do not have any experience with other applications like Photoshop or Lightroom 3.

Because of my inexperience, I really wanted a book that covered it all. In that respect, this book really fits the bill nicely. The author goes over aspects of the program including importing, tagging, editing and sharing your pictures. The book includes a disc with sample images you can use to follow along with his "lesson plans". I found this to be extremely helpful. It's one thing to read a book where they talk about what a function does, but to have a sample image that you can edit as you read along really reinforces what that function does ... it's immediate and positive feedback that you're doing it right.

The book is definitely geared towards the beginner. If you already understand concepts of managing your photos, basic editing, etc ... then this book may be too simple for you. I was hoping for a little more detail on some of the more advanced editing functions like using the curves brick, etc. Also, almost half the book covers just the importing and managing of your photos. I personally would have preferred a little more emphasis on editing the photos ... but that's a personal nit-pick.

Pros:
1. Great introduction to the application.
2. Includes sample images you can use to follow along.
3. Well written, easy to follow and understand.

Cons:
1. Maybe too much emphasis on file management.
2. Not enough detail on some of the more advanced functions.
3. You have to follow the book very closely, or you may find some images not immediately accessible.

All that being said, if you take the time to read this book and follow along with the lesson plans you *will* have a strong understanding of the basics and will definitely have more fun using the program.

This book is written like a training course, and to get full value you need to take the time to work through the lessons as given. This is not hard, because the book has a DVD with sample photos and disk images that you use in each lesson. When I worked through each lesson step by step with the photos they give you, I learned a lot - more than when I watched some training videos on the web.

The book is really excellent and what's far more important, both Peachpit Press and the author worked together to ensure your training experience is great.
(5) images appear to be missing if you follow the book's import instructions in pages 10-12. This is due to a recent update either to Aperture 3.1 or OSX 10.6.5. However the author has provided instructions on how to get the missing images which are really there.

To correct this follow these steps:
1. Locate the APTS Aperture book files folder on your Mac
2. Double click Lesson 01 folder and double click the Memory_Card.dmg
3. If Aperture does not open, click it in the Dock to open it.
4. Follow lesson 01 in the book (specifically pages 10,11 and 12) to import
the images that are shown and name the Project correctly.
DO NOT CLICK EJECT AS STATED IN STEP 4 ON PAGE 12.
5 Click Done instead of clicking Eject.
6. In the Mac OS X Finder, select the DCIM folder in the NO-NAME disk image
that appears on your desktop (acually you can see it in the side bar of your finder under Devices - click on it to open)
7. Drag the first five images (063, 073, 079, 081, 083) into the large
viewer.
This should import the images directly into the san diego zoo project and in
the correct order.
You can now eject the No_Name disk image.

This is a great instructional product that goes way beyond the manual that comes with the program. If you are a serious photographer and/or editor, and you are willing to be diligent with your studies this is the trainer for you.
I did run into some trouble with what seems to be a malfunction of the disk. It is not obvious where to go for help. Once I worked through that I was treated cordially and was supplied a new disc or download (my choice) without any hassle.

I am fed up with Kindle versions of books costing almost as much as the physical book and yet being significantly less valuable. In this case the book includes a DVD of examples. The Amazon book summary says:

1) DVD-ROM includes lesson and media files for over 20 hours of training
2) Focused lessons take you step-by-step through professional, real-world projects
3) Accessible writing style puts an expert instructor at your side
4) Ample illustrations and keyboard shortcuts help you master techniques fast
5) Lesson goals and time estimates help you plan your time
6) Chapter review questions summarize what you've learned and prepare you for the Apple Certified Pro Exam.

So clearly the DVD content is integral to the value of this book. However in the Kindle version it talks about "inserting the DVD that came with this book" ect - I had assumed that the publishers would put the digital content online somewhere so that we could download it and do the lessons, but there is nothing like that.

So - physical book (with DVD) = $34.64 (Paperback)
Kindle Edition (no DVD) = $31.18

How can this be value for money? And how can the Kindle edition be sold as 'equivalent' when clearly it is not?

I haven't completed reading this book but I would like to comment on other reviewers issues in the 1st chapter.

For the book itself, it is typical Apple training. One seems to forget that Apple programs are usually more friendly to the user than Windows programs are. So this book walks you thru navigating the screens, shows you easy shortcuts along the way and makes sure you understand how to complete every task that Aperture 3 has to offer. I would have never found the "easy" way to do things without reading this book. (Sometimes Apple makes things so easy that you don't expect it.) I have used other books for Apple Pro Training and each has helped me to be very knowledgable of the program it was written for.

OK....The reviews say there are items missing on the CD. The only problem is with "Lesson 1" photos but they are all actually on the CD. The problem is that you have to find them. The procedure to find them can be found on the Peachpit Press website.
[...]

Look under products tab, find this book by it's "ISBN" number and click on the "Updates" tab. The instructions will walk you thru the procedure. No additional downloads required!

Good luck, hope this helps.

I bought this book and the Josh Anon "Genius" book. I am a amateur who "outgrew" iPhoto.... 250 events, 12000 images, etc. I just wanted a better way to categorize the images and sort them. This book is geared to professional photographers--who shoot lots of images, and "process" them... touch them up. for my needs the "Genius" book is much better; it is written more clearly, and I can find what I need to do what I want easier.

I got the Kindle version and after contacting the publisher downloaded the Lesson Files and Images from their website (the URL is at the end of the book... why they didnt put it at the beginning is anyones guess).

The printed content of the book is good and I am sure the training would be great - if only the lesson files worked. The first lesson has a file called "Memory Card.dmg" but does not load. The other lessons have picture files which will not open on my Mac (with the latest Snow Leopard software version).

Without the lesson files being able to work the book is next to useless so I returned it. Amazon were good and told me that anyone can return a Kindle book in 7 days if they dont like it.

Shame though - it could have been very good. Back to the drawing board.

I've been going through the book Aperture 3 by Dion Scoppettuolo, and following each lesson completely.
The lessons start falling apart around "working with stacks," which you can kind of work around
but the wheels completely leave the bus when you get to Chapter 4.
The disc loads images on to your existing iPhoto, where you Browse and import the images from there.
Unless you have a recent version of iPhoto the "lesson" version will not import from the older iPhoto to the lessons.

Before I purchased the book, I was using Aperture 3 and had no problem migrating all of my images from earlier iPhoto versions, to
Ap. 3.

After purchasing the current version of iWorks so I can upgrade my iPhoto and get through the lessons, everything fell into place.
Ap. 3 is a tremendous tool.

Still no word from PeachPit Press on the disclosure.