Cupertino (CA) - Apple’s new image editing and management software made its debut today with a new image processing engine at its core and a redesigned user interface on top.

Apple claims that Aperture includes more than 100 new features that include tools for highlight recovery, color vibrancy, local contrast definition, soft-edged retouching, vignetting as well as the possibility to directly post albums on the .Mac Web Gallery. There is also a new "streamlined" user interface, which Apple says is more intuitive by letting the user switch between Viewer and Browser
modes with a single key command.

Professional photographers may be more interested in the new engine in Aperture, which, according to Apple, can import, browse and search large volumes of pictures faster than its predecessor. Users can work on their images even while data is imported and exported. Apple said that RAW pictures can be browsed in "rapid succession" in a "Quick Preview" mode without forcing the user to wait for the files to load. The library now can handle databases with hundreds of thousands of images and still deliver "near instantaneous search results."

The full version of Aperture 2 sells for $199 MSRP, the upgrade is priced at $99.