Apple has released a new update for Aperture, its professional photo-editing program. The v2.1 patch incorporates two major changes, among these the inclusion of a Dodge & Burn plug-in, which adds brushes not only for dodging and burning, but also contrast, saturation, sharpening and blur. These elements are often one of the primary reasons for turning to more complex editing programs, such as Photoshop.

The plug-in comes as a part of v2.1's new open architecture, which lets users install both first- and third-party add-ons for different tasks. Apple says it is already working to bring some well-established plug-ins to Aperture, such as PictureCode's Noise Ninja, Tiffen's Dfx filter tool, and dvGarage's dpMatte.

The update is free to all current owners of Aperture 2.0.