Aperture 2.1 Adds Open Plug-in Architecture [Updated]

Apple announced the immediate availability of Aperture 2.1 on Friday. The update for the professional image editing and management application added a new plug-in architecture that supports third-party adds ons for specialized application features.

Along with support for third party plug-ins, the update included Appleis Dodge & Burn plug-in with brush-based tools for dodging and burning images, adjusting contrast and saturation, and applying sharpen and blur effects.

The new version also improved overall stability and performance, and addressed issues with importing and exporting, printing, Quick Preview, All Projects view, image adjustments, and books.

Aperture 2.1 is priced at US$199. The update is free for version 2 users and is available via Software Update.

[This article has been updated with additional information about the Aperture 2.1 update.]