First announced on February 9 2010, Aperture 3 includes a couple of hundred new features, including face detection and recognition, geocoding support, and a selection of adjustment brushes. Priced at US$200 for new users, or $100 when upgrading from a previous release, Aperture 3 is compatible with Mac OS X v10.5.8 / v10.6.2 or later.

The previous Aperture 3.0.1 update was released just two weeks after the debut of Aperture 3, improving overall stability and fixing bugs in importing / upgrading libraries, importing photos, printing and displaying images, face recognition, geolocation, and a variety of other areas.

Aperture 3.0.2 brings one new feature -- support for Apple's upcoming iPad tablet computer which is due for release in just over a week. The update also squashes over sixty bugs related to iPhoto library import, image import, the Aperture library, image and library export, image adjustment and printing, face recognition, geocoding, and more.

Apple Aperture v3.0.2 is available for download immediately from the company's website. The download comes in at just slightly under seventy megabytes, and requires the application to be installed first. Courtesy of the official release notes, the full list of changes made in Aperture 3.0.2 is as follows:

• iPhoto Library Import

  • Fixes an issue that could cause Aperture to erroneously report the amount of hard drive space required to import an iPhoto Library.

  • Aperture now displays an estimate of the amount of free hard drive space needed to import an iPhoto Library.

  • Addresses memory management issues when importing large iPhoto libraries.

  • Rotation of iPhone photos is now preserved when importing from an iPhoto Library.

  • Fixes an issue that could cause Aperture to stop responding when attempting to play a slideshow imported from an iPhoto Library.

• Image Import

  • During import, Aperture now correctly reads image ratings, color labels, and GPS data stored in XMP sidecar files.

  • Fixes an issue that could cause Aperture to stop responding if both the Auto-split projects and Auto-Stack options were used together during import.

  • Addresses an issue that could prevent the Import window from automatically opening when a memory card is mounted.

  • Aperture now provides correct options when importing hierarchical folders of photos into a library.

• Library

  • The amount of free hard drive space required to upgrade an Aperture Library is now displayed if sufficient space is not available.

  • Fixes an issue that caused Aperture to overestimate the amount of free hard disk space needed to upgrade an Aperture 1.x or 2.x library.

  • Fixes an issue that caused thumbnails to take up more disk space than needed.

  • Addresses stability when importing an Aperture 2 library into an Aperture 3 library.

  • Addresses some performance issues when opening and closing libraries.

• Export

  • Addresses an issue that prevented Library Albums from being exported properly as standalone libraries.

  • Fixes an issue that could cause the Email command to use an incorrect export preset when attaching photos to an email.

  • Canceling a library export now correctly moves the cancelled library to the Trash.

  • Color labels on non-image files, such as video and audio clips, are now preserved in the Finder when exporting versions.

• Adjustments

  • Addresses issues with retouching 16-bit images.

  • Fixes an issue that caused the Straighten tool to work incorrectly on flipped images.

  • Fixes an issue that caused Aperture to quit unexpectedly when Curves was used on JPEGs with a custom printer profile.

  • Adjustment presets that include brushed adjustments are now correctly rendered when imported into another copy of Aperture.

  • Fixes a temporary slowdown or potential unexpected quit that could occur when canceling the Reprocess Masters command.

  • Images are now stacked in the correct order when using the "Create new version when making adjustments" option.

  • It is now possible to pause preview generation.

  • Preview generation for adjusted images is now faster.

  • Addresses an issue where using a large number of Spot and Patch adjustments could cause Aperture to quit unexpectedly.

• Printing

  • Fixes an issue that could cause custom print presets to be displayed in the wrong order in the print dialog.

  • Print presets now correctly retain printer choice, paper size, orientation, and other printer settings when saved.

  • Addresses an issue that prevented custom print presets from retaining color profile settings.

  • The Print dialog now correctly defaults to the last print preset that was used.

  • Settings such as Image Size, Rows and Columns, Resolution, and Rendering Intent are automatically remembered for next use when choosing Cancel in the Print window.

  • Addresses an issue that could prevent custom print presets from being saved.

  • Addresses an issue that prevented custom margins from being saved in print presets.

  • The Image Size pop-up menu now includes a 4 x 5 setting.

• Trash

  • Fixes an issue that could result in a slowdown when emptying the Aperture Trash.

  • Fixes an issue that caused the progress indicator to display inaccurate data when emptying the Trash.

• Faces

  • Fixes an issue that could cause a spinning wait cursor to appear when attempting to move snapshots on the Faces corkboard.

  • Fixes usability issues with auto-completion from Address Book when adding names to Faces.

  • Aperture now correctly remembers the state of the Faces and Photos buttons when matching photos in the Faces view.

  • Addresses an issue that slowed performance when using Confirm Faces.

  • Fixes an issue that could cause Aperture to quit unexpectedly when browsing rapidly in the Viewer with the Names overlay turned on.

  • Addresses a face correlation issue that could sometimes prevent Aperture from suggesting potential matches.

• Places

  • Addresses an issue that could cause Aperture to report an incorrect number of items when the Show Unplaced Images option was chosen In the Places view.

  • Addresses an issue that could cause Aperture to stop responding when opening Places with a large number of locations assigned.

  • Fixes an issue that could cause Aperture to quit unexpectedly when importing a GPS log file.

• Metadata

  • Addresses compatibility issues affecting XMP sidecar files exported with masters.

  • The Duplicate Preset command now correctly duplicates the data in all fields when duplicating a metadata preset.

  • Fixes an issue that could cause a spinning wait cursor to appear when creating or duplicating metadata presets.

• Audio/Video

  • Fixes an issue that caused externally-edited video and audio clips to lose their original date/time stamp.

• Books

  • Fixes an issue with saving changes to custom books when the custom theme is not present.

• Search

  • Fixes an issue that could cause the built-in smart albums listed under the Library Albums to filter images incorrectly.

  • Search by the Flash EXIF field now returns correct results.

  • Addresses the reliability of searches for text containing special characters.

• Flickr publishing

  • Fixes an issue that could prevent the Cancel button from working when setting up an export to Flickr.

• Watermarking

  • Watermarks are now correctly saved as part of an export preset.

  • Watermarks now remain unscaled when the Scale Watermark box is left unchecked.

• General

  • Addresses an issue that prevented View modes from being changed using keyboard shortcuts while in Full Screen view.

  • Restores the ability to navigate photos in the Viewer by scrolling. (Turn this option on in General Preferences).

  • Fixes an issue that caused the Query HUD to overlap the Filmstrip in Full Screen view.

  • Double-clicking on a project name in Projects view now displays the contents of the project.

  • Fixes an issue that could cause projects to be appear under the wrong year header when using Group by Year.

  • The name of the version or master being processed is now displayed during face detection, export, and preview generation.

  • Resolves performance issues when using zoom in Viewer.

• iPad Compatibility

  • Enables support for importing photos from iPad to the Aperture Library, as well as syncing of photos to iPad.