The Big Apple Move Questions....HELP ? ?

mghaner

OK, sounds like the Mrs is giving the green light for the move from PC to Mac. I think I am going to go with the MacBook Pro 2.33 15" with the 160gb HDD and the 2g of RAM. I plan to get Apature for my RAW workflow.

I am now on a Pent 4 2.8ghz with 2g of RAM 160gb HDD with 1.5g of RAM in a desktop. I am using PSCS2 and Lightroom Beta4.

Can anyone let me know how these two stack up against each other? I am also wondering about Apature....those that use it what do you think of it? I think that is more along the lines of Lightroom then Photoshop but I dont do a huge amount in Photoshop and feel that I should have just got PS Elements and not the full CS version.

Am I making a smart move as am I getting improved performance and better editing with the mac...........what does apature really do and will I need to add PS to do slight blurs and zit zapping........I dont want to make a move that I will regret but I feel the Mac pulling me in.......help me please.

All the best and thanks in advance for your help.....and yes, I have searched and read many threads on here and other forums but I am looking for more pointed answers to my questions and hopefully some insight from someone that has done just what I am looking at doing.

***mike***:clap

DavidTO

I've been on a Mac for 19 years, doing digital photography seriously for a few years. I've never used Aperture. But I do have this to say: Photoshop CS2 is far more important to your workflow than Aperture. IOW, make the transition, get Photoshop, learn it, and if you still feel that you need/want Aperture, then get it. But don't start out on it unless you have money to burn. Photoshop is the thing you need.

You should be able to move your license for CS2 from PC to Mac.

I can't speak to the comparisons of your PC with the Mac, but I will say, think long and hard about getting the 17" model if this is your primary editing machine. If this is where you are going to edit your pictures, get the 17", unless there's some other mitigating factor that precludes it.

pathfinder

Lots of folks edit on laptops, but there is not much screen real estate for an image and all the palettes and brushes and tool bars with PSCS2.

I strongly prefer editing images on a large 23" LCD display. I have a 15" PowerBook, but I only use it under distress for editing; ie when travelling on the road. It is fine for surfing etc.

I used two 19" LCD displays in the Windows world before I moved to an Apple, so I actually use less screen real estate now than I did previously.

Aodobe will transfer your license from WIn XP to Mac if you just call them.

mghaner

Thanks for the answers...now more ?'s
Ok DavidTO......I think I can transfer my PSCS2 one time or something but dont I need to get the mac version??? That sounds like a stupid question but I really dont know much at all about mac. I know that the software that came with my camera lists both mac and windows on the disc but he PS says windows on the box. If I do need a different disc do you think that adobe would send me the other disc (mac version)

On the 15 vs 17 I want the 15 so it will be smaller. WOuld I be abel to hook my 19" Sony Flat Panel up to the MBP for desktop use? I also understand that you can use an HDTV as a monitor. I have a 37" LCD HDTV that has the HDMI, DVI and regular old type computer monitor plug on the back of it. 37" is a bit big but they also make a 32" that I can get for about $1000 which is about 1/2 of what the 30" cinima display goes for.

I also will get a G-Drive for backup which uses the firewire 800 which the MBP has. On another note, since the G-Drive has both firewire and usb ports on the back if I put my picture files on it would I be able to access the files with a PC as well as the mac?

Sorry for all these beginer questions but I want to know as much as I can before I dive into this. I cant afford to buy both the imac and the MBP so I am thinkign the MBP will serve fine as both desk top (with keyboard, mouse and external monitor and external drive) as well as my portable to take on shoots (I like shooting tethered for portrait and fashion with a 14ft cord) and like running slideshows during the wedding receptions after shooting the weddings.

Is this little (expensive) laptop MBP going to do all I want it to do????

JohnR

Be sure to get the ram maxed out on the laptop.

I agree with the others..15 is too small of a screen. I do mine on a 23" monitor too.

I think you should be able to hook up that 19" monitor but you may need an adaptor? Not sure.

As far as Aperture goes, I am finding that I am using Photoshop less and less. So much less that in fact I may switch to Photoshop Elements next time I am shopping.

As far as switching your copy to the mac version, yes, you do need the Mac CD from Adobe. Not sure how it works, but I imagine if you call or email them, they will let you know what you need to do.

DavidTO

No stupid questions.

Yes, you'd need the Mac version. Adobe should be able to help you out there, I would think. I've heard of people transferring their licenses.

The 17 is not that much larger physically, but has a lot more real estate on the screen. I mean, it's just as much bigger physically as you gain space, but it doesn't seem that much bigger when you hold it, yet the screen is significantly larger. Just think about it, go look at them.

You should be able to hook up your monitor. The nice thing about that would be that you could keep all your tools/palettes on one monitor and keep the other one for your image.

I don't know about HDTV hooking up to the mac, but I wouldn't trust it for color, that's for sure. I mean, it might be trustworthy if you can calibrate it, but I know nothing about that.

Yes, you can format your firewire drive to be readable by both Macs and PCs. That's fine for data, but be careful when it's your boot drive. I think FAT32 is the format you would choose, but I'm not really well-versed on cross platform stuff.

I think the MBP will suit your needs very well. If not, Apple will take it back in 14 days, I believe.

thebigsky

Is there a specific reason why you're also changing from a desktop to a laptop, I couldn't imagine photo editing on a screen as small at 17 inches.

Mac Pro's are very competitively priced and very powerful, I've had mine for a few weeks now and it's a superb machine.

Don't forget you can run Windows on any Intel based Mac if you need to. I changed from Windows (I still run a box) a year or so ago and it takes a little while to get used to OS-X but it's well worth it.

Also Lightroom is still available as a free beta download for Mac's so I'd hold off on Aperture for a while.

Charlie

DavidTO

thebigsky wrote:

Is there a specific reason why you're also changing from a desktop to a laptop, I couldn't imagine photo editing on a screen as small at 17 inches.

Yeah, he sez he wants to be able to take it on shoots.

mghaner

I just think I want to go mac.......I also want to just be on one computer as well. I am also running my notebook now, Gateway with a 15" AMD Turion 64 mobile 1.8ghz, 100mbhd, 1g of ram....both my desktop and notebook are good machines but having everything in one place would be cool no matter where that place was. I went to the mac store today and they say that by getting a dvi-vga cable I could run my Sony 19" LCD just fine and I could also run the 32" HDTV as a monitor but could only go as high on the resolution as 16XX by ???? whatever the highest that came up on the built in display was. he said it would just like a much bigger versiojn of the built in monitor, not nearly the resolution of the Cinima Display 30" is.

The mac just seems to run so much smoother, my friend has one and I just love using it. He is running lightroom and PSE 4 and it is awesome. His does not have the core 2 duo chip, jus the core duo.

I would also be getting the g-drive 500 gig..................or I could also just stick with the headache of PC and use the money to get the new Fuji S5pro and a handfull of pocket wizards..............but I am jpretty sure I want to go with the MBP and let some other folks play iwth the new fuji cuz if I wait I would get one of the first ones and that is not always the best idea. Too many toys is always a good thing I guess.

Right now I am using the gateway to shoot into for portraits and fashion stuff where I dont have to move far as I am linked to the notebook by a 12ft firewire cable.

I cant tell you guys how much your response means to me. I put a lot into your views and opinions.

All the best and I will post some more questions when they come to mind. They did not have anything except the base model 15" and I want the 233mhz for sure as well as the 2gb of RAM.

thebigsky

DavidTO wrote:

Yeah, he sez he wants to be able to take it on shoots.

Missed that, sorry!

DoctorIt

1. definitely don't get the 17 unless you want a huge laptop sitting on your desk. the MBP has an awesome vid card and will support an extended external monitor no problem - the MBP even comes with the cable to do so (regular MacBook doesn't).

2. Just wanted to add that you don't "need" dual 23" to edit photos, especially if you say already that you don't do all that much anyway. For reference, I've been doing plenty of PS work on my 12" Powerbook for years!

Halliday

I thought you were moving in NYC