I tried finding some FAQ or past post about this subject, but if it is there, could not find it.
What’s the best path to follow here: I have LR RAW [CR2 with xmp sidecar] edited files and want to move my editing procedures to Aperture?
I know the original files are supposed to be left alone by Aperture, and by LR (I think), but still, I’m concerned about mucking up the works.
Best to xfer all at once via import from the Finder? Or one by one as needed. I only use referenced files in my workflow. Eventually, I hope to have an all Aperture all the time setup.
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Also of concern: what if Lightroom has a unique feature useful for an edit? Can back and forth work? Do these programs pick up each other’s mods, or change them? Is Aperture using the xmp file generated by LR, or creating a new one?
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Possibly related: In a forum discussion, I was a bit confused about the necessity to export the RAW file from Aperture, to do the edit in LR - why would that be necessary if there is a sidecar file in the Finder?
I may be bringing in a separate issue here, but this back and forth seems fraught with potential problems.
“the best you will get is some IPTC metadata being transferred”
Yes … any RAW development/processing done in Lightroom will not be recognized by Aperture … or the other way around either. The xmp sidecar files are proprietary in that respect … though some user added metadata can be recognized.
What I did when I moved to Aperture, is I let all my previous work in Lightroom. If I need an image(s) from that date backwards … I still use Lightroom to fulfill the order … All work since that date is in Aperture …
It is not the ideal situation, but since I use a library for each calendar year … it’s not much of a hassle.
I made the decision to move to Aperture about 18 months ago. My archives were all in Adobe DNG format and had been processed in Adobe Lightroom or ACR/Bridge. All of the metadata and the raw image info came right into Aperture without any issues. Any raw files had to be re-processed in Aperture. I still have the vast majority that have not been re-processed, but I also still have all the original DNG files outside of Aperture so I can get to them via Lightroom anytime I need them.
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Let’s start with the “bad news”…
Edits in LR are not compatible with edits in Aperture. If you import your CR2+XMP files into Aperture, the best you will get is some IPTC metadata being transferred. All of the editing steps from LR are not understood by Aperture (and vice-versa, BTW).
The only way I know of to get your edits transferred would be to export the photos from LR in TIF format, and import those TIFs into Aperture. You would have the edited version available in Aperture, but your editing history would not be available.
Based on what you said, have no idea what that forum was talking about. Once you have your stuff in Aperture, forget about LR.