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Apple has introduced Aperture, a unique all-in-one post production tool that provides a sophisticated workflow that's designed to make working with RAW images as easy as dealing with JPEG files. Aperture features powerful compare and select tools that enable photographers to easily sift through massive photo projects to quickly identify their final selections. Aperture has the unique capability to automatically group sequences of photos into easy-to-manage "stacks" based upon the time interval between exposures.

Aperture also allows photographers to navigate through entire projects in a full-screen workspace that can be extended to span multiple displays--tiling images side-by-side. Portions of images can be examined in fine detail with Aperture's Loupe magnifying tool, without having to zoom and pan across large files.

RAW images are maintained natively without any intermediate conversion process, and can be retouched using a suite of intuitive adjustment tools. Aperture's nondestructive image processing engine doesn't alter the original image file, so photographers have the power and flexibility to modify or delete changes at any point in the workflow. Users can create multiple versions of a single image without duplicating files, enabling them to experiment freely without risk of overwriting the master image or using up large amounts of hard drive space. Aperture images can also be launched directly into Adobe Photoshop for compositing and layer effects.

Aperture will be available in November through the Apple Store (www.apple.com), Apple's retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $499. Full system requirements and more information can be found at www.apple.com/aperture.