help with new computer choice

ole doc

my vintage (2004) large HP notebook is coming to its end. I am in the unenviable position of choosing a replacement. My needs are simple except for photography. I can afford almost anything but am looking at an all-in-one windows machine with probably a 23 inch screen. I am also thinking of looking at Apple but would like to go with the miniMac with a large screen.
questions: what software do Mac users generally use for the post exposure work. I currently us PS7.
Is the Mac built in software enough for that level of work.
What does one look for in the monitor so that it can be adjusted?
Thanks for the help
any other wisdoms appreciated
Nick

aquaticvideographer

I use Aperture 3. iPhoto comes with new Macs and is quite nice, but not powerful enough for my needs, and last time I looked, it wasn't non-destructive.

I guess it depends on your needs, though. iPhoto might be enough for you--it includes rudimentary adjustments (global) and does facial recognition.

Aperture 3 is really great and I recommend it if you need more than iPhoto offers.

If you are looking at Macs, I would probably recommend getting a nice iMac with a large screen over a Mac mini. The new iMacs are very powerful and have nice screens, although they are glossy. You can also buy a calibration device if you want to adjust the monitor. I have the Spyder 3 Pro, it seems to work pretty well.

Hope that helps!

pathfinder

ole doc wrote:

my vintage (2004) large HP notebook is coming to its end. I am in the unenviable position of choosing a replacement. My needs are simple except for photography. I can afford almost anything but am looking at an all-in-one windows machine with probably a 23 inch screen. I am also thinking of looking at Apple but would like to go with the miniMac with a large screen.
questions: what software do Mac users generally use for the post exposure work. I currently us PS7.
Is the Mac built in software enough for that level of work.
What does one look for in the monitor so that it can be adjusted?
Thanks for the help
any other wisdoms appreciated
Nick

I moved this to the Digital Darkroom Gear thread, since it is not really a discussion of post processing.

A Mac with a large screen might be an iMac - they are available in a 21.5 in screen size and a 27 inch screen size. Get the bigger screen if at all possible - you will love the extra real estate for image editing. Gives you room for bush palettes and other good things.

PS 7 has been updated to CS4, but CS5 should be out within the month and will offer stunning abilities compared to CS 7. iPhoto will come with an iMac or any Mac for that matter, but will not offer professional level image editing. Apple offers Aperture which many pros do use for their image editing - like Lightroom2, it is basically a global editor, not a pixel editor like Photoshop.

If you use and understand layers in CS7, you will want to stick with Photoshop, I suspect.

I use Lightroom2 and CS4 for my images. If I could only have one it would be CS4 or the soon to be released CS5. Content aware cloning brush in CS5 is going to be real hit!

ole doc

thanks for the Apple information. I need to get a handle on the name of the editing products and their capabilities.
Hopefully someone who is pleased with PCs will also give an opinion.
Nick

mrbill62

If you decide to go Mac, check out Pixelmator (~$60) or Acorn (~$50). They offer more for editing than iPhoto. Pixelmator does use layers. Of course there is PS Elements 8 also.

ziggy53

The very best laptop designed for semi-portable professional photographic applications is arguably the Lenovo ThinkPad W700ds.

With "2" displays (I think this is a first in laptops), and built-in monitor calibration it is no nonsense and expensive and heavy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r0ZlmLBCjQ

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/lenovo-thinkpad-w700ds.aspx

http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/31/lenovos-thinkpad-w700ds-touched-and-reviewed/

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/notebooks/thinkpad/w-series/w700ds

The "little brother" machine, the Lenovo ThinkPad W700, lacks the second display but keeps much of the usability of the machine above.

http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/lenovo-thinkpad-w700.aspx

http://gizmodo.com/5035828/lenovo-thinkpad-w700-has-a-built+in-wacom-tablet-and-professional-grade-screen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryFHxE0WEI4

mercphoto

ole doc wrote:

thanks for the Apple information. I need to get a handle on the name of the editing products and their capabilities.
Hopefully someone who is pleased with PCs will also give an opinion.
Nick

I use the prior-model 24" iMac with 4G of RAM and the 640GB hard drive. I use Aperture 2 for 95% of my needs, and use Photoshop CS3 for the remaining 5%. The two play well together. If I need to do something in Photoshop to an image I always launch it from within Aperture. This way my Photoshop'd file is a version of a master in Aperture, so that is always keeping track of all masters and all versions of all images. It works quite nicely. The only thing I wish I had was more RAM...

The nice thing about the current crop of iMacs is they are expandable to 16G, whereas mine maxes out at 8G. And the bigger display.

oldmanemu

You seem to keep you equipment for a long time so I would tend to look at the Mac, but which ever way you go get a system with the latest i5 proccessor and as much DDR3 ram as you can afford, 4gb is minimum 8 would be so much better. As for software the standard Mac software is ok for basics but you will need to purchase new software if you need more as the PC based software will not run on the Mac, your three main choises are PS4/5, Aperture or Photoshop Elements if you don't use all of the features of PS4. The iPhoto software on the iMac is great for image handling and display. I have been building and selling PC's for 25 years and am considering a i5 27" iMac as my next home computer.

Eclipsed

I have to agree with ziggy...

michswiss

Eclipsed wrote:

I have to agree with ziggy...

Except that the W700ds is no longer generally available. I used to love Thinkpads as all around business laptops, but the consistency and quality has dropped a fair amount in recent years.

Richard

michswiss wrote:

Except that the W700ds is no longer generally available. I used to love Thinkpads as all around business laptops, but the consistency and quality has dropped a fair amount in recent years.

I use a ThinkPad T61 and I love it--except that it has crapped out completely twice in less than three years. The first time, the hard disk failed, the second time it was (I'm pretty sure) the GPU and the motherboard had to be replaced. Fortunately, the standard three-year warranty covered both repairs, but it was a PITA nevertheless. It is still the most physically solid laptop I have ever owned, the screen and keyboard are great and it runs quietly. Now if only it would stop crapping out completely....

chrisjohnson

Get an apple - any apple. I switched from PC 9 months ago and am not looking back. The transition is easy, much easier than you think.

We also bought a recent Windows 7 pc because a family member did not want to switch. It works fast and fine but any time we need to Skype, access media, read a strange attachment - I have to get up from the sofa and do first line tech support. The Apples just work.

I refuse to buy yet another copy of Office for our PC, so every time I get a word document I have to get up, copy it into works, and then it can be edited. Every time this happens I get even more fed up with Microsoft and their way of doing business. Maybe I'll get fed up with Apple one day but so far not.

The Aperture program is great for post. Lightroom supposedly works equally well - question of taste. When you want to go further you will need Photoshop which is available on both platforms.

Buy an Apple - I bet you will be satisfied.

Jane B.

goldenballs wrote:

Get an apple - any apple. I switched from PC 9 months ago and am not looking back. The transition is easy, much easier than you think.

We also bought a recent Windows 7 pc because a family member did not want to switch. It works fast and fine but any time we need to Skype, access media, read a strange attachment - I have to get up from the sofa and do first line tech support. The Apples just work.

I refuse to buy yet another copy of Office for our PC, so every time I get a word document I have to get up, copy it into works, and then it can be edited. Every time this happens I get even more fed up with Microsoft and their way of doing business. Maybe I'll get fed up with Apple one day but so far not.

The Aperture program is great for post. Lightroom supposedly works equally well - question of taste. When you want to go further you will need Photoshop which is available on both platforms.

Buy an Apple - I bet you will be satisfied.

I personally hate Word (by M$) and have stayed with WordPerfect on PC. The have added features over the years but have not changed file formats like M$ does at every blink of an eye. But . . . WordPerfect, which I prefer anyway even if they didn't stay with the same file format, is NOT available for Mac.

Of course, I have the advantage of not having to be support for anyone else.

Jane B.

BradfordBenn

As a power user I can say that all computers and operating systems will have issues and challenges. I have a MacBook Pro, I have a Lenovo ThinkPad for work (I am on my third one in six years). The key is to find one that makes you happy. Each OS can do it, each computer can be good or bad, the key I would say is to look at the construction of the machine and then think about the OS. I prefer the MacBook Pro to the MacBook. It is not just processing power it is that the Pro has a metal case, that I then enclosed in a Speck Case, thinking it will hold up better than the plastic cases I have used. I also liked the feel of the keyboard better.

Now in terms of the OS, in my opinion for creative things the Macintosh environment handles it a little better. CS3 seems to run faster for me on my Mac than on my work Win machine. The base programs that are included seem to be better, and the color seems to be truer. However using some of the "productivity" programs such as Microsoft Office and comparing it to iWork, is no challenge. Microsoft Office blows iWork out of the water in terms of power and for me ease of use.

The key is to actually try them out if possible.

I have written more about the topic at http://bradfordbenn.com/2007/09/interesting-changing-computer-operating-systems/ or http://bradfordbenn.com/category/technology/computers/

ole doc

again thanks to everyone. I obviously have not made a decision (just like buying a car for me) One day I lean to the iMac the other to a PC. I like the looks of the Acer that is an "all in one" with a 23 inch screen and a quad processor. Acer has a checkered history. It seems I would be paying about the same for a comparably equiped Acer and iMac so cost is not a problem. I guess all my legacy stuff bothers me, but I have the discs for Windows XP which can run on the iMac as a clean boot. Just more to think about.
thanks again
Nick

chrisjohnson

The Acer PC we have is running fine - very powerful, well integrated, and great value for money. Windows 7 is pretty good too.

I think it will be difficult to switch away from a notebook unless you have a replacement on hand.

The main thing for photo editing is the display - almost any pc or mac will handle the processing requirements unless you are very extreme. If I had the budget I would get a >1000$ monitor from eg Eizo which ships with calibration on-board and drive it from a Macbook for the convenience that offers. (I might actually wait or look to see what CS5 needs as a sanity check).

On the legacy issues of moving to Apple, I also spent a lot of time worrying - needlessly. I do a lot of work for corporates and compatibility with MS was a big issue. I bought Office for Mac and that does the job - never needed to go as far as installing a Windows partition.

The only thing that does not convert is my invoice - so I am still shipping those from a PC until I find the time to redesign for Mac or finally retire. My intention now is to learn I-works. It seems to do everything I need - the beauty of Apple is that you tend to get what you need and not 101 features that you don't use.

@Jane. You strike a chord with me. Word has never been a beautiful word processor - shame after all the billions MS has earned over the years. I blame Steve Ballmer. After killing all the good old WP programs, MS had a duty in my eyes to create something wonderful and they never did. Maybe Iworks will reignite my fire.

Jane B.

goldenballs wrote:

The Acer PC we have is running fine - very powerful, well integrated, and great value for money. Windows 7 is pretty good too.

I think it will be difficult to switch away from a notebook unless you have a replacement on hand.

The main thing for photo editing is the display - almost any pc or mac will handle the processing requirements unless you are very extreme. If I had the budget I would get a >1000$ monitor from eg Eizo which ships with calibration on-board and drive it from a Macbook for the convenience that offers. (I might actually wait or look to see what CS5 needs as a sanity check).

On the legacy issues of moving to Apple, I also spent a lot of time worrying - needlessly. I do a lot of work for corporates and compatibility with MS was a big issue. I bought Office for Mac and that does the job - never needed to go as far as installing a Windows partition.

The only thing that does not convert is my invoice - so I am still shipping those from a PC until I find the time to redesign for Mac or finally retire. My intention now is to learn I-works. It seems to do everything I need - the beauty of Apple is that you tend to get what you need and not 101 features that you don't use.

@Jane. You strike a chord with me. Word has never been a beautiful word processor - shame after all the billions MS has earned over the years. I blame Steve Ballmer. After killing all the good old WP programs, MS had a duty in my eyes to create something wonderful and they never did. Maybe Iworks will reignite my fire.

There is also the issue, which M$ is not responsible for, of the lack of updates to the very early version of WordPerfect for Mac. I am not sure of who of the different companies that have owned WordPerfect is responsible for this. What I do know is that it was the last straw in my decision of how seriously to look at Mac when I updated to a new computer in 2007. Settled on a Lenovo ThinkPad R60 (think this was one of the early Lenovos and probably still a IBM design as it has the name Lenovo on it and I got a Lenovo invoice but it also has the IBM logo on it) and have been happy with it as only computer.
Jane B.