Aperture Lightroom Leica M8 Raw File Comparison

[lovelyleica]

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Here is a comparison between Aperture 1.5.4 and Lightroom 1.1 about the development in JPEG of a Leica M8 Raw File (FW 1.107) - made with a PowerMac G5.

 

My preference goes to Lightroom which I find more subtle, less harsh in contrast and sharpness treatment, with more realistic colors. But this is just a matter of personal taste. It depends on a lot of things, and eachone has its own preferences in terms of image capture, rendition and workflow.

 

All Aperture and Lightroom development parameters were set to their default values.

The JPEG was generated with highest quality (Q12 in Aperture, 100% in Lightroom) and Adobe RGB profile.

 

File sizes :

RAW file = 10.10 Mb

Aperture jpeg = 9.2 Mb 2622x3904 (actually some pixels are missing on the borders of the image, strange)

Lightroom jpeg = 6.4 Mb 2634*3916

Capture One LE jpeg = 6.2 Mb 2634x3916

 

Comparison is made under PS CS3.

 

The picture was taken with a Tri-Elmar 1:4/16-18-21 at 16mm, without any filter, at ISO 160, 1/1500, f4

 

 

Full picture : general color comparison

 

Detail 1 : Lightroom is more subtle in the low contrast, with a better separation of tones.

 

Detail 2 : the real situation red is the one from Lighroom. Aperture red is too dark.

 

Detail 3 : A lot of contrast for Aperture in the chains, but a better contrast for Lightroom in the back of the green chair which transmits in a better way the real situation warm sun light.

 

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[Pedro]

Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

 

I use Aperture and many times wondered how it would compare with Lightroom.

[Eoin]

Now take your best of breed and pit it against Capture One V3 and you'll realise how bad LR is in comparison to C1 . But hey! life is full of compromises, I choose to compromise with Aperture, it's print output, DAM & dual display support wipe the floor with LR .

[MarcRochkind]

Since producing a JPEG from their default parameters is not how either of these programs were designed to be used, what purpose do your results serve other than to compare the default parameters?

 

What matters is how effectively you can achieve the results you want with these programs (or others). Not what they do with their defaults. That's the starting point... what matters is the ending point.

 

(Don't worry... you are not alone! It seems that using default parameters to level the playing field is a common method for comparing raw processors. Seems logical enough... but it's wrong.)

 

--Marc

[lovelyleica]

The goal of this comparison is not to judge default parameters and jpeg, which I agree doesn't mean anything. But, as for any process of raw conversion, it is critical to now WHERE you start from and how difficult will be the path to the image that will 100% meet your expectations. How powerful is the Leica M8 Raw file converter, that is an essential question for me.

 

If the program makes you start by default on a higher level, you will only need a few adjustments to get THE picture you like at the highest quality you could get.

 

But that's only personal experience, based on tests and photography experience. Each one is the only one to be able to judge his own work, and prefer one application to another for many many reasons.

 

[MarcRochkind]

... prefer one application to another for many many reasons.

That's what I would have wanted to hear about.

 

I'm not sure I even agree with you that a default that's gets you closer to the final result saves time or results in a better end point. The sliders are extremely quick to operate. For example, in Lightroom, when I adjust the exposure sliders, which is usually my first step, the starting point is of no concern whatsoever.

 

--Marc