Aperture Viewer – The „secret“ Viewer

Recently (not to say today) I came across an article on redit about a viewer that was unknown to me at the time. The focus here is supposed to be on advanced (and improved) photo tools. My curiosity was aroused and I followed the link to the report on New World News about the “Aperture Viewer” to find out more.

First of all, there is a “website” that links directly to the GitHub (but I only discovered it later), from where you can get the viewer. So far, we can only find a Windows installation file and the source code there, but also all the necessary information about the project, the thinking behind it and documentation. The project is still quite young, the first “beta” was released in January 2025 (according to the Github repro). William Weaver is responsible for the project and has only been listed as a “third-party” viewer by Linden Lab since March 21.

Reading through the “features”, I was quite fascinated by the possibilities and the optimizations that have been made “under the hood”. Although the “ApertureViewer” is based on Firestorm, I was more than pleasantly surprised after a first test run. I usually use the Alchemy viewer (which was last updated in January). However, I have struggled quite a bit with the FPS, especially in detailed places like our “Forest Art Walk”. Especially when it comes to photographs, which I always take at the highest setting. The Alchemy also has photo tools, as does the BlackDragon. I list the differences in the table on end of this Article.

All the viewers mentioned here also have a Poser tool with which you can “manipulate” your avatar or animesh. Aperture has several options for manipulation. The same applies here as for the viewers already mentioned. Essentially, they all perform the same task. But the operating concept is different (see screenshots). Personally, I like the Aperture concept best here. Cleanly organized according to “body regions”, control via the “ball” or with the “build tools” similar selections. BlackDragon and Apertures also offer the option of selecting the corresponding body part directly via “hotspots” (blue circles on the body). Alchemy lacks this function. The question always arises (at least for me) who “borrows” the features from whom and then develops them further. The Poser tool originally came from BlackDragon, found its way into Alchemy and was then passed on. Some Firestorm functions can also be found in the other viewers.

Aperture Functions

The list of functions is long, which is why I am only listing a few of the positive features that caught my eye. If you want to know more, you should follow this LINK to see all the features.

Cache

Compared to the Alchemy and the BlackDragon, the Aperture offers the option of reserving up to 64 GB(!!!) of cache. This applies to both the texture cache and the object cache (i.e. a total of 128 GB). The Alchemy “only” offers 16GB per cache (32GB in total). The BlackDragon has just 9 GB without distributing this individually. I have a second SSD in my laptop to which I outsource these caches, which brings a little extra speed because the reading/writing of the cache does not run over the same data bus as the system/program communication. This also works with the established, as well as the Legacy Viewer.

Aperture Photosuite

Even if the Aperture does not have as many HDR shaders as the Alchemy or the BlackDragon (see table), the setting options are extensive and tidy. You can find everything immediately and it is intuitive to use. As you can already see from the screenshots, the “representations” are quite different. Even if the ACES tone mapper is used everywhere. Ultimately, it’s all a matter of settings. However, Aperture makes it particularly easy to select the appropriate display layers. These can be found in the graphics settings and saved there as presets.

Particularly noteworthy is the option to save the camera positions. The BlackDragon also offers this, but not 12 times.

It’s also really fun to play with the DOF (Depth of Field / background blur), which you can see in the following pictures.

The “field of view” can be creatively set very wide or very narrow (range 0.1° – 179.9°). The camera smoothing and the settings for the zoom speed enable “smooth” camera movements, which is particularly advantageous for machinima users. The days of “hectic” camera movements are over. However, you should not overdo it, otherwise the movement will take too long and you will lose the actual focus or forget it. The default values can be reset using the “D” button. The Black Dragon also offers this option, but it is (again) hidden in the general program settings and relates more to the global camera control.
I really enjoy the Screen Space Ambient Occlusion in particular, especially because it is really finely “adjustable”. So you don’t really have to bake AO maps any more, except for users who don’t have the performance.

Of course, all settings made can be saved as a separate preset and loaded again. These are saved separately from the “General” viewer presets and are therefore not found in the program settings. This makes it a little clearer and also more context-related.

Aperture Performance

I was really amazed by the performance of the Aperture. Of course, you can’t tell immediately after the first start. But it is already fast at what it does. Of course, a lot depends on your own hardware and settings. But here too, you have to try, try and try again. In general, however, I can say that it is really fast and works reliably without any significant drops. By increasing the bandwidth in particular, I can quickly identify recognizable structures and people. Reloading is extremely fast.

Aperture Operation / Usabiltiy

Anyone who is familiar with the Firestorm will also find their way around the Apertures. The settings are more advanced in some places. The maximum bandwidth in the network settings will suit those with fast Internet access. Here you can set this to up to 300 Mbit/s. Everything “new” has been carefully and neatly put together. The camera control is also stored in the Phototools suite, so you will find everything in one place. As usual, it is also available as an independent floater (CTRL-K). Many settings that are otherwise found in the depths of the countless menus (highlight transparent) can also be found in Phototools. This means that, at least as far as daily use is concerned, a lot is also summarized here.

Special features of Aperture

I find the option to set the draw distance to 1m particularly “fun” in Aperture. Maybe you only need this for a new profile picture without a background? It is possible here. Incidentally, the draw distance range also goes up to 2048m. Ideal for “aerial shots”. The BlackDragon offers a similar option, but only in the range of 4 – 1024m. The Alchemy is limited to 32 – 1024m.

The LOD goes up to 8 in the Apreture, which is much higher than the other viewers mentioned. The Reflection-Probes resolution has also been increased to 2048px.

The animation speed (so far only tested on your own avatar) can also be slowed down or sped up. Think of it like a slow motion or time lapse. According to the GitHub documentation, you can set this globally, i.e. for all animations in the environment, so you can simply “pause” or “speed up” the scene until the next pose and take your photos in peace (or reduce your lag without missing anything).

The “starry sky” has been revised and now offers many more options. This “system” has not been changed for 20 years. Who hasn’t always wanted their own star in the night sky? It’s not a photomontage, it really works.

However, I have not yet tested whether this is also “seen” by the other viewers. But it’s always a nice feature for a special photo.
The privacy settings have also been changed a little. Features like LookAt/selection beacon transmission and external data/metrics reporting are disabled by default.

Summary

The ApretureViewer has what it takes to give Alchemy and BlackDragon a good alternative. Very performant, extensively adjustable, clear and easy to use. It also offers a little more security in daily use. The only thing I miss is a cinematic mode. But perhaps this will be added later.

Comparison table

The data collected here refers to the respective current versions of the SL-Viewer BlackDragon (5.0.9), Alchemy-Beta (7.1.9.2516) and the Apreture (Version 1.0.0) and has been compiled to the best of our knowledge.