Can aperture reduce my iPhoto library size?

Question

Hi, I have spent hours reading lots of discussions and whilst, maype part of my questions have possibly been answered somewhere else, I cannot get a definitive answer to everything I need to know.  I undrestand that aperture is different to iphoto, but I am confused by some of the answers regarding libraries that I have read! Any opinions or answers are gratefully received...
I have read that aperture organises the photo library differently to save space when compared to iPhoto that I understand makes duplicates for every change/edit that you make to a photo. My current photo library is nearly 120GB and I want to get some space back! I have external drives that I could move my iphoto library onto, but I want to keep my photos (well, certainly half of it) on the internal drive as I work away from plug sockets often and my 3TB drive needs power.
If I purchase aperture, do I import my library into aperture and will it then reduce my library down in size?
I know that iphoto and aperture can share a library, but can I split my library into photos onto my hard drive that I don't often need and keep the ones that I want on my internal drive?  Would iphoto and aperture be able to work fully if the external hard drive wasn't connected? My thinking is that only aperture can cope with having multiple libraries on multiple drives to work with at the same time, and that iphoto needs one complete library on one drive
I am happy with many of the photos that I have edited from years past ie rotation, red-eye correction and can't see a reason for every wanting to revert to the original.  Can I just export these as full size jpegs to my external drive and then delete them from iphoto to reduce the multiple versions of each photo it keeps, before re-importing them into iphoto which means it will only make retain 1 copy of the photo (the one that I need)?
Huge thanks for taking the time to read this!
Neil

Answer 1

I have read that aperture organises the photo library differently to save space when compared to iPhoto that I understand makes duplicates for every change/edit that you make to a photo.
It uses the same Library format as iPhoto, so no, it doesn't organise the library differently. It gives no thought to saving space. Digital photography with a non-destructive workflow uses a lot of space. iPhoto makes no duplicates. It has a preview of an edited version. One thing that Aperture can do is not generate the preview. But that means no integration with other apps, and you'll need to export the shot everytime you want to email or use an image in a document etc.
Frankly, I don't think that space would be a reason to migrate to Aperture.
My current photo library is nearly 120GB and I want to get some space back! I have external drives that I could move my iphoto library onto, but I want to keep my photos (well, certainly half of it) on the internal drive as I work away from plug sockets often and my 3TB drive needs power.
Split the Library. It's cheaper:
Make sure the external drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
Now you have two full versions of the Library.
3. On the Internal library, trash the Events you don't want there
Now you have a full copy of the Library on the External and a smaller subset on the Internal
Some Notes:
As a general rule: when deleting photos do them in batches of about 100 at a time. iPhoto can baulk at trashing large numbers at one go.
You can choose which Library to open: Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library'
You can keep the Library on the external updated with new imports using iPhoto Library Manager
If I purchase aperture, do I import my library into aperture and will it then reduce my library down in size?
No you just open it. It doesn't change it in any way without further intervention from you.
I know that iphoto and aperture can share a library, but can I split my library into photos onto my hard drive that I don't often need and keep the ones that I want on my internal drive?  Would iphoto and aperture be able to work fully if the external hard drive wasn't connected? My thinking is that only aperture can cope with having multiple libraries on multiple drives to work with at the same time, and that iphoto needs one complete library on one drive
See above. I don't think you need Aperture. iPhoto can have the same number of Libraries as Aperture - i.e as many as you want.
I am happy with many of the photos that I have edited from years past ie rotation, red-eye correction and can't see a reason for every wanting to revert to the original.  Can I just export these as full size jpegs to my external drive and then delete them from iphoto to reduce the multiple versions of each photo it keeps, before re-importing them into iphoto which means it will only make retain 1 copy of the photo (the one that I need)?
Yes you can, but you might want to ask yourself why you're using a non-destructive workflow at all, if you're going to that bother to try and defeat it?
IMHO: there are many excellent reasons for moving on from iPhoto to Aperture - and they are all to do with the limited nature of iPhoto's tools. You mention one of them. I think that the suggestion I have above is the way to go forward, with multiple libraries.