Mac Software and PC Software

tipsinartok

We are shortly going to have both a Mac (with iLife '09) and a PC with which I can work. I want to choose either one or the other that will be my "main" computer for working with my photos, as I assume switching from Mac to PC (even with an external drive, which we'll probably also invest in as well) would be inefficient. (Though please correct me if I'm wrong!)

I don't really want a Mac vs PC argument, but I'm wondering if anyone could either point me to a thread or just let me know of the pros and cons for the software for each one. I'm relatively familiar with the PC software, though I've never used CS or Lightroom as my current computer can't run the trials. I don't really know anything about the Mac software though I've read some neat things about iPhoto 09 and I've been trying to read as much as I can about Aperture. I want software that can organize the photos well, batch process, and then do finer edits if needed (and I realize I'd probably need more than one program to do all that). I've been using DPP for editing raw photos right now and then using my ancient version of Photoshop 6 to fine tune if needed. I'm planning on buying new editing software to replace Photoshop 6 in the next little while which is why this question comes about!

I just don't want to start on one computer and then decide a few months down the road I'd rather be using the other platform and have to redo the organizing work and learning process (plus once I buy the software, I'm sort of stuck with it anyway!). I'm leaning towards the PC, unless the Mac is significantly better, because most of the tutorials I have found are Photoshop, I'm already familiar with Elements, and my husband needs the Mac for his work (which is why we're buying it) so if we both wanted it at the same time that could cause problems! But we can certainly work around that if there's some reason the Mac software might be a better choice for me.

colourbox

tipsinartok wrote:

I don't really know anything about the Mac software though I've read some neat things about iPhoto 09 and I've been trying to read as much as I can about Aperture...using DPP for editing raw photos right now and then using my ancient version of Photoshop 6...

All the software you mentioned is available on both Mac and PC, except for iPhoto and Aperture. But, you could easily substitute the very similar Lightroom instead of Aperture, leaving iPhoto as the only software you mentioned that doesn't also exist on the PC. The interesting, unique features of iPhoto 09 are face recognition and geotagging, so if those are critical to you, iPhoto might be a reason to get a Mac, however, I don't think it's very much fun to integrate iPhoto into the more professional photo software. Therefore, if the consumer features of iPhoto aren't that important to you, there's a strong argument to stick with the PC on your end.

However, if the Mac is going to be way more powerful than the PC, then that might be a reason to use the Mac as the main machine. Even as a Mac person I don't use iPhoto very much, especially if raw files are important, because it's so consumer-oriented. I would not use iPhoto as a replacement for DPP. I would still go with DPP+Photoshop, Lightroom+Photoshop, or Aperture+Photoshop as the working software.

If both machines are comparable in performance, then I would go with the one with more RAM and drives attached to it.

arodney

colourbox wrote:

But, you could easily substitute the very similar Lightroom instead of Aperture, leaving iPhoto as the only software you mentioned that doesn't also exist on the PC.

Right but who needs iPhoto <g>. If you've got Lightroom or Aperture, LR being my first choice, you really don't need iPhoto which is kind of a brain dead DAM (I don't like the way it builds multiple resolutions of the same image).

To the OP, if you've got a Mac, you can run all the PC software you want under Bootcamp. Best of both worlds. If you want to go back and forth (not reboot), Parallels is a worthwhile investment. And you can use the same serial number for Lightroom and run it Mac or PC if you so desire

WingsOfLovePhoto

I agree that with photos the MAC is definately your better choice. The Mac is less likely to have crashes and/or get viruses. (thus loosing your photos) The monitor colors etc are unmatched. If you invest in photoshop CS (which ever number..I use 3) for the Mac you won't need much of anything else. I have lightroom but rarely use it.... I actually deleted Iphoto off my MAC. It was useless once you have photoshop/bridge. And as was said before if you have bootcamp you have the best of both worlds. For safety I backup to an external hard drive (western digital ibook) and upload to smugmug and with really important photos I place on DVD. Good luck with your purchase!

colourbox

WingsOfLovePhoto wrote:

The Mac...monitor colors etc are unmatched.

No, not really. Even as a hardcore Mac guy I say no serious photographer should use a PC or Mac out of the box. Always use a calibrator on your monitor and have it make a custom profile. If you use a Mac straight out of the box you'll get Apple's bluish gamma-1.8 default generic monitor profile...still not optimal, even if it might be better than a PC out of the box.

Once you have a monitor profile you will find that color management is pretty much the same quality on Mac and Windows these days, especially within Adobe photo apps which are all equally and fully color managed on both platforms.

WingsOfLovePhoto

colourbox wrote:

No, not really. Even as a hardcore Mac guy I say no serious photographer should use a PC or Mac out of the box. Always use a calibrator on your monitor and have it make a custom profile. If you use a Mac straight out of the box you'll get Apple's bluish gamma-1.8 default generic monitor profile...still not optimal, even if it might be better than a PC out of the box.

Once you have a monitor profile you will find that color management is pretty much the same quality on Mac and Windows these days, especially within Adobe photo apps which are all equally and fully color managed on both platforms.

Sorry, I should have mentioned that.... I do have a calibrated Mac (I use and xrite i1 display 2) and just notice the huge difference from viewing the same thing on my PC that is not calibrated....

tipsinartok

Thank you all so much for the information and advice! For some reason I thought iPhoto was similar to Lightroom, so it's good to know in advance that that's not so. The face recognition sounds nifty, but certainly isn't a necessity for me. I think since LR and PS can be used on both PC and Mac I'll stick with DPP + Photoshop on the PC for now and try out the trials of LR and CS4. (I'm getting a much-upgraded PC once the Mac is set up, and in fact the PC will be more powerful than the Mac since we're getting a Macbook not an iMac). Thanks for the mention of Bootcamp and Parallels too, I'll be sure to look into both as it sounds like they could come in handy, especially for if I want to use the PC software while traveling.