Using Mac for photo editing


Kirei

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Feb 22, 2007
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www.beaniecowphotography.com
Hi anyone have experience with using Mac for photo editing? Care to share your experience? Windows user here using lightroom as my main workhorse. Am thinking of switching to mac but would appreciate any views provided. Thanks in advance.
 

I switched from Windows to Mac since end of last year... No regrets, Mac OSX is a solid platform.

There will not be any difference in your workflow, Lightroom is still the same look-and-feel on either platforms. Only difference is the user experience where you need to relearn the interfaces and fundamentals.
 

Thanks for ypur feedback. May i know what type of mac u using? I'm thinking of changing to the imac 21.5 inch or 27 inch type
 

Kirei said:
Thanks for ypur feedback. May i know what type of mac u using? I'm thinking of changing to the imac 21.5 inch or 27 inch type

Given now the roadmap for macpro is vague, that will not be a good buy. If you like portability, you can choose mbp, if not iMac will be your next good choice. Mini will not be a good choice for graphic intensive works. As for screen size, as long as you can afford and desktop footprint is not a problem for you, the larger the better :)
 

Given now the roadmap for macpro is vague, that will not be a good buy. If you like portability, you can choose mbp, if not iMac will be your next good choice. Mini will not be a good choice for graphic intensive works. As for screen size, as long as you can afford and desktop footprint is not a problem for you, the larger the better :)

Yep my intention is to go for the iMac series as I'm trying to keep my desk clean and tidy and of course being budget conscious and hoping for early ROI. Thanks for your feedback too
 

Thanks for ypur feedback. May i know what type of mac u using? I'm thinking of changing to the imac 21.5 inch or 27 inch type

Currently using a Mac Mini (2010 model) with 8GB RAM and dual-500GB disks on Raid0 output to dual Dell Ultrasharp monitors. Initially I wanted to get the iMac but the glossy screen and lack of upgrade options put me off.

One thing Mac excels is its very efficient memory allocation. Even on a Mac Mini I can open Photoshop CS5, Lightroom on both screens, with Outlook, VMware Fusion, iTunes, Safari in the background without lag at all. All my files (RAW, music, movies, virtual machines) are stored in FW800 boxes though.
 

Currently using a Mac Mini (2010 model) with 8GB RAM and dual-500GB disks on Raid0 output to dual Dell Ultrasharp monitors. Initially I wanted to get the iMac but the glossy screen and lack of upgrade options put me off.

One thing Mac excels is its very efficient memory allocation. Even on a Mac Mini I can open Photoshop CS5, Lightroom on both screens, with Outlook, VMware Fusion, iTunes, Safari in the background without lag at all. All my files (RAW, music, movies, virtual machines) are stored in FW800 boxes though.

Wahaha think its too much of a killer for me. Thanks for sharing your setup. I guess I will just go for a iMac with decent specs and lots of RAM for sure. Thanks again :)
 

One thing Mac excels is its very efficient memory allocation. Even on a Mac Mini I can open Photoshop CS5, Lightroom on both screens, with Outlook, VMware Fusion, iTunes, Safari in the background without lag at all. All my files (RAW, music, movies, virtual machines) are stored in FW800 boxes though.

That's why unix variants of computing excel in. Good memory management :) Though I must say Windows Server class also improved a lot to go in par. :) Before Mac OS X, the older memory management of Mac is really distasteful :)
 

thought of getting an iMac too. any idea if the new series of iMac will be coming out soon ?
 

oh. mac is not superior to windows in the photo editing right ? afterall they are the same.
 

If you already have a monitor you can consider getting the Mac Mini 2011. I'm using the one with AMD graphics for my photo editing work. Pop in an SSD and it is fast enough to do anything. I can even play Call of Duty 4! I think it saves a lot of space and looks awesome. LOL!
 

oh. mac is not superior to windows in the photo editing right ? afterall they are the same.

Not really. If you compare Mac OSX SL/ Lion to Windows 7 they are comparable as long as you keep your Windows machine clean.

For the same amount of money you can get a pretty decent Windows machine. If you are on PC make sure you load up the RAM.
 

Not really. If you compare Mac OSX SL/ Lion to Windows 7 they are comparable as long as you keep your Windows machine clean.

For the same amount of money you can get a pretty decent Windows machine. If you are on PC make sure you load up the RAM.

so if im using a imac. the 4gbram is sufficient ?
 

for Photoshop should be OK. RAM upgrade on an iMac is pretty straightforward anyway. 4GB RAMs are dirt cheap nowadays ($30)... no harm whacking another 8GB into your iMac :bsmilie:
 

I thought adding ram on iMac is expensive? Like hundred over at the apple store
 

I thought adding ram on iMac is expensive? Like hundred over at the apple store

Why buy from Apple for such things ? If you are buying a new system and would like to get up to a certain amount of ram, then it is advisable so that you can prevent from wasting H/W.

If you are upgrading later, then just purchase from elsewhere. You don't need to buy from Apple. In any case, it's not like Apple manufacture those chips, they are from other manufacturers like NEC, Samsung etc too. Just make you you buy the right speed and type for your iMac. I'm not sure which though, but information are available all over the net or just look at the label on the DIMM.
 

Oh. So I assume that goes for hard disk and Gfx card as well?
 

so if im using a imac. the 4gbram is sufficient ?

More is better but also depends on whether you will end up using them :) Typically for nowadays anything between 4GB and 8GB is more than enough for desktop users unless you are working on really large videos or images where more memory will bring you more benefits. As you go up the slope you will find the benefits are not as pronounce.

If you can afford or willing to splurge on a SSD, you will experience a much more happy user experience versus RAM. Most users experience of sluggishness or slowness are during application start up, resources loading such as images and video, saving of resources. Here large would be working set of more than >300 MB and so forth. Of course your mileage may varies depending on your configuration. Working on large images will also result in virtual memory which will read/write on your disk should memory is insufficient. SSD will helps a lot in this area where scratch disk or temporary disk are concern.

Faster processor speed wise will bring about better performance obviously, but that is unless you are on video processing or intensive filters on images etc. Though I must say normally most filters on images aren't that intensive for modern processors nowadays and quite a fair number of them have GPU off-loading too.

Unless you are playing a lot of 3D games, if not, GPU for a lot of normal users are fairly utilized. They serve more on ensuring faster 2D/3D updates for the desktop and offers multi desktop more often than running intensively on rendering.