I've just returned from an Aperture 2 demo. It's not a program I've really looked at before, thinking it was solely the domain of pro photographers.

It turns out that it could be very useful for the enthusiastic amateur who owns a camera with RAW capabilities or that wants more in the way of image enhancement than iPhoto can provide.

Another capability (delivered by the recent 2.1 update) that might attract non-professional users is that the customisation available when creating photo books is greater than iPhoto offers.

Aperture 2.1 also delivered support for third-party add-ins. Apple has primed the pump with a 'dodge and burn' tool (which actually does more than that), and is working with selected developers. An Aperture SDK is expected "soon."

According to the Apple rep giving the demo, the program has been tested with libraries in excess of 750,000 images, which should keep even the most shutter-happy enthusiast happy for a few years.

The problem with prosumer tools is setting the right price. You don't want to provide professionals with an amazing deal on software if they would be willing to pay substantially more, yet charging too much might scare off the enthusiasts.

From what I've seen of Mac owners' behaviour, price isn't a barrier when buying software if it's under $100. They look more closely for value in terms of exactly what a program can do for them if the tag is between $100 and $200. Any higher, and it becomes a fairly serious decision.

At $269, I would have thought Aperture would be a no-brainer for the professional photographer, given the amount they can earn and the time it could save them.

While it might be hard to justify by the owner of a $200 camera, someone that's serious enough to buy a DSLR costing well into four figures will almost certainly be able to see the benefit too. (And if you've recently traded up to a better camera, you may be pleased to know that your existing iPhoto library is accessible from Aperture.)