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MacBook or iMac

ktskts Registered Users Posts: 145 Major grins
edited February 28, 2008 in Digital Darkroom
I've been a life long PC user but I'm thinking about making the switch now that I'm doing more photo editing, and since I'm a Unix geek I like that Unix is hiding underneath MacOSX and I can still do all the command line things I know and love.

I had been looking at a MacBook since my current Dell laptop is getting old and tired (only 512MB RAM, 40GB HD that I'm always running out of room on, and a battery that lasts maybe 1.5 hours now.)

However I was in the Apple store yesterday and looking at the iMacs I do have to say that 20" screen sure does look nice...

I would miss the flexibility of having a laptop I can take everywhere but that extra screen real estate might be worth it for really detailed photo editing. Still currently most of my photo editing gets done currently while I'm waiting for things at work to finish processing on another PC or after hours while I'm chilling in my office waiting for rush hour to die down.

Unfortunately at this time a MacBook Pro or Mac Pro are out of my price range so I'm limited to the lower models.

I work for a .edu so I do get about $100 off the models which is nice, and I'll be putting that $ right into Photoshop CS3 + Lightroom.

So Mac gurus what do you think the better route is, Macbook or iMac?

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    zweiblumenzweiblumen Registered Users Posts: 369 Major grins
    edited January 29, 2008
    Hey Kev,

    I just got the 2.4Ghz 24" iMac last night. I can't describe how happy I am with that HUGE screen. Going from 17" to 24" is just mind blowing (also going from a 1.67Ghz G4 to dual 2.4Ghz intels is astounding).

    My vote is the iMac. You just got yourself a nice house, GO HOME and use it! rolleyes1.gif
    Travis
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    darkdragondarkdragon Registered Users Posts: 1,051 Major grins
    edited January 29, 2008
    I think you'll fall in love with the Macbook if you get one, the iMac not as much love but a great machine. At least, that is what happened to me.

    My suggestion is to try and find a used Macbook Pro 15", if you can find one under a year old you can get the AppleCare warranty for $350 from Apple. That is a 3 year warranty and worth it because the DVD drive will burn out and cost almost that much to replace ($326).

    I was in the same situation as you are. I got the iMac 20" (white) last January. I like it, but it is definately far from partable. I was still using a PC laptop at the time. Every day I was more and more miserable lugging the thing around and using it. Finally I found a used Macbook Pro (needed the video card for video editing) and I snatched it up. Unfortunately it was just over the 1 year time, so no warranty. However, I really love the macbook pro and use it every day. I still use the iMac too, but I can bring the laptop with me to work and continue working on photo/video projects when I have downtime.

    Here's the problem. It is VERY difficult to find a good deal on a Macbook Pro. I managed to get mine for $1050, but I was looking everywhere for about 6 months before I found it. Most of the time deals like that are "too good to be true" and I am very untrusting of buying electronics on eBay. I ended up getting it from a forum (not this one) that I trusted the "for sale" section folks in. Craigslist is also a good place, as long as you keep it local.

    Well, I hope I've helped, but I don't know if I have. Kinda feel Like I've been rambling. Sorry about that.
    ~ Lisa
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    Van IsleVan Isle Registered Users Posts: 384 Major grins
    edited January 29, 2008
    unless you really, really need to edit photos on the go, go for the iMac. It's waaaay more computer for the buck. There is much less likelihood for damage. And you can keep it where you can monitor the kids' internet usage. Video card, screen, and bigger HD are all reason to go for the iMac. As is the more ergonomically correct screen/keyboard placement. And it's only a few $$$ more for the 24"...

    Besides you can still use your old clean PC laptop just for surfin the web on the go, or for a photo dump on location. Don't need lots of RAMs and ROMs for the interweb.

    Wow, do I spend time at the Mac store much? rolleyes1.gif

    VI
    dgrin.com - making my best shots even better since 2006.
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    SloYerRollSloYerRoll Registered Users Posts: 2,788 Major grins
    edited January 29, 2008
    Home machine = imac
    Mobile = macbook

    Your needs should drive this purchase..
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    DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited January 29, 2008
    SloYerRoll wrote:
    Home machine = imac
    Mobile = macbook

    Your needs should drive this purchase..


    True, but I would lean towards iMac if it's close. The displays on the notebooks just don't cut it for me when it comes to color correction. If you need mobile, get it, but if you're on the fence, go iMac.
    Moderator Emeritus
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    ktskts Registered Users Posts: 145 Major grins
    edited January 29, 2008
    zweiblumen wrote:
    You just got yourself a nice house, GO HOME and use it! rolleyes1.gif

    rolleyes1.gifgood point! :)
    Van Isle wrote:
    And you can keep it where you can monitor the kids' internet usage. Video card, screen, and bigger HD are all reason to go for the iMac. As is the more ergonomically correct screen/keyboard placement. And it's only a few $$$ more for the 24"...

    Fortunately I don't have kids so that's not a concern for at least a few more years.

    The screen and bigger HD would be nice, but I figure even with a 250GB in the laptop I should be ok for a while and I can dump old stuff onto an external.

    SloYerRoll wrote:
    Home machine = imac
    Mobile = macbook

    Your needs should drive this purchase..

    That's what I'm still sorting out. My laptop is on it's way out so I will need a new laptop at some point, however a better digital darkroom at home sure would be nice too. Maybe I should look at getting one of the Apple LCDs and keyboard/mouse for at home.

    I forgot to mention I just inherited a G5 MacPro (Power PC) at work so I guess I could use that at work and the iMac at home...

    Too many decisions.... maybe I should wait for my tax return and get both. ;)
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    KEDKED Registered Users Posts: 843 Major grins
    edited January 29, 2008
    kts wrote:
    rolleyes1.gifgood point! :)



    Fortunately I don't have kids so that's not a concern for at least a few more years.

    The screen and bigger HD would be nice, but I figure even with a 250GB in the laptop I should be ok for a while and I can dump old stuff onto an external.




    That's what I'm still sorting out. My laptop is on it's way out so I will need a new laptop at some point, however a better digital darkroom at home sure would be nice too. Maybe I should look at getting one of the Apple LCDs and keyboard/mouse for at home.

    I forgot to mention I just inherited a G5 MacPro (Power PC) at work so I guess I could use that at work and the iMac at home...

    Too many decisions.... maybe I should wait for my tax return and get both. ;)
    I have three kids whose educational institutions require the purchase of MacBooks. In total, I'll bet no fewer than 10 of those have passed through my house over the past few years. We also have two iMacs in the family, one of which (24") I used for photo editing until I upgraded to Mac Pro late last year. The monitor is just killer on the iMac and you would appreciate it greatly for image processing. The other thing I would add is that, of the 10 or so Mac Books that we have owned, at least half of them have had serious issues, whereas I never had a hardware-related issue that took my iMac out of commission for any longer than it took me to get on the phone with Apple Care. I'm sure that my kids weren't as gentle as they could have been with their machines, but even so I think the problem ratio is pretty high.
    KED
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    colourboxcolourbox Registered Users Posts: 2,095 Major grins
    edited January 29, 2008
    I don't think it's a clear choice between MacBook and iMac. There is a third way, to do what I did for a few years:
    Mac laptop with large external monitor.

    The MacBook can drive an external monitor of up to 1920 by 1200 pixels, which is typical for 23-27 inch widescreen LCDs. You can have both portability and a large, high-quality external DVI LCD that you can calibrate. If you go this route and run Photoshop, Aperture, or Lightroom, it will be a good idea to max out the RAM at 4GB, in part because the machine gets its video RAM from the main RAM.
    kts wrote:
    The screen and bigger HD would be nice, but I figure even with a 250GB in the laptop I should be ok for a while and I can dump old stuff onto an external.

    Your hard disk philosophy is sound, because the MacBook is one of the easiest laptops to change a hard drive. It can be done in about a minute. Whenever you feel ready to upgrade, it's ready.
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    DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited January 29, 2008
    Some good points, CB.
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    schmooschmoo Registered Users Posts: 8,468 Major grins
    edited January 29, 2008
    colourbox wrote:
    Mac laptop with large external monitor.

    Agreed, I did this for a while in transition from laptop-->desktop and it worked very, very well. And speaking completely completely un-technically, it made the financial shock of upgrading to a Mac Pro a little less ouchy.
    SmugMug Editor / News Flash!
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    SloYerRollSloYerRoll Registered Users Posts: 2,788 Major grins
    edited January 29, 2008
    schmoo wrote:
    it made the financial shock of upgrading to a Mac Pro a little less ouchy.
    Why? Because you were already used to spending too much on a laptopheadscratch.gif
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    zweiblumenzweiblumen Registered Users Posts: 369 Major grins
    edited January 29, 2008
    SloYerRoll wrote:
    Why? Because you were already used to spending too much on a laptopheadscratch.gif

    More because the purchase of the monitor was not at the same time as the mac pro.
    Travis
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    SloYerRollSloYerRoll Registered Users Posts: 2,788 Major grins
    edited January 29, 2008
    zweiblumen wrote:
    More because the purchase of the monitor was not at the same time as the mac pro.
    Ahhhh
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    ktskts Registered Users Posts: 145 Major grins
    edited January 30, 2008
    If only the MacBook could drive the 30" Apple LCD.

    And if only I could afford the 30" Apple LCD. rolleyes1.gif


    I'm thinking I'm going to go with the MacBook and shortly afterwards an LCD for when I'm at home. Now I just need to rob a bank or two to pay for this...

    Thanks for the advice everyone! :D
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    colourboxcolourbox Registered Users Posts: 2,095 Major grins
    edited January 30, 2008
    kts wrote:
    If only the MacBook could drive the 30" Apple LCD.
    And if only I could afford the 30" Apple LCD. rolleyes1.gif

    If you could afford an 30" Apple LCD, then you would also be able to afford a refurbished 15" MacBook Pro to drive it. There are refurbished MacBook Pros for $1699 at the Apple online store right now, equipped with 2GB RAM. That's just $250 more than a new MacBook with the same processor speed, RAM, and hard drive capacity, but that $250 gets you dedicated video RAM, 30" display support, an LED screen with more pixels and superior color reproduction over the MacBook (though still not as good as a desktop monitor) and many other features. My friends and I have had excellent experiences with refurbished Apple deals.
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    ktskts Registered Users Posts: 145 Major grins
    edited January 30, 2008
    A coworker of mine who is one of the big Apple folks on campus was recommending a refurb'd MacBook Pro to me as well since it's the same warranty as new and he's had great luck with the past few he's gotten that way.

    I still find it a tough call since for $1401 I could have a 2.2ghz MacBook w/ a 120GB HD and I could get 4GB of RAM for it for $100 aftermarket. More RAM and HD space for less.

    Or for $1577 I can have the same MacBook with a 4 year AppleCare warranty through my school where if I have a problem I can drop it off w/ my Helpdesk which is on the 1st floor of my building and most likely get it fixed same day. Not that I plan to use this sucker for that long, but my current laptop is approaching 4 years so maybe I will use it for that long.

    (Prices are what's listed when I go through my University's Apple store.)

    Still the better graphics card in the MacBook Pro does sound nice. I'm still not sure how much that will benefit me for photo editing since I thought that was more CPU and memory intensive than video card intensive. I mean it's not a 3D shoot 'em up but maybe I'm wrong.
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    DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited January 30, 2008
    I just don't see you getting a 30" display, call me crazy, but if you're on a budget, then 23" is great, and much less expensive. I wouldn't worry about supporting the larger display. Not that you shouldn't think hard about the MBP, but not because of a 30" display, is all. thumb.gif
    Moderator Emeritus
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    ktskts Registered Users Posts: 145 Major grins
    edited January 31, 2008
    Yea the 30" is a pipedream.

    A guy who works down the hall from me has one on his desk and it just makes my jaw drop. I can dream right? rolleyes1.gif

    A 20" or 23" is what I will be sticking with.
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    Twisted ImageTwisted Image Registered Users Posts: 110 Major grins
    edited February 8, 2008
    I picked up a 24" Imac a few weeks ago...It's wonderful...
    I'm still getting used to it as I am new to the Mac world.
    http://des-studios.smugmug.com/
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    ktskts Registered Users Posts: 145 Major grins
    edited February 27, 2008
    Just a small update for anyone who might care, I just ordered myself one of the new 2.4ghz MacBooks w/ a 250GB HD. Came to $1370 after my University discount and then with including tax. Not bad! I'm glad I waited a few weeks to order it, paid off nicely. :)

    I'll probably look into an external monitor in a few months once I figure out how I'm using this (and I can clear some room up on my desktop for it next to my older Dell desktop.)

    Nothing like spending your tax refund the same day that you drop off your
    taxes in the mail. rolleyes1.gif
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    Van IsleVan Isle Registered Users Posts: 384 Major grins
    edited February 27, 2008
    kts wrote:
    I'm glad I waited a few weeks to order it, paid off nicely. :)

    So uh, Oracle...bowdown.gifbowdown.gif

    When are the new Apple displays coming out? ne_nau.gif

    VI
    dgrin.com - making my best shots even better since 2006.
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    DavidTODavidTO Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 19,160 Major grins
    edited February 27, 2008
    kts wrote:
    Just a small update for anyone who might care, I just ordered myself one of the new 2.4ghz MacBooks w/ a 250GB HD. Came to $1370 after my University discount and then with including tax. Not bad! I'm glad I waited a few weeks to order it, paid off nicely. :)

    I'll probably look into an external monitor in a few months once I figure out how I'm using this (and I can clear some room up on my desktop for it next to my older Dell desktop.)

    Nothing like spending your tax refund the same day that you drop off your
    taxes in the mail. rolleyes1.gif


    Congrats! clap.gif
    Moderator Emeritus
    Dgrin FAQ | Me | Workshops
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    ktskts Registered Users Posts: 145 Major grins
    edited February 27, 2008
    Van Isle wrote:
    So uh, Oracle...bowdown.gifbowdown.gif

    When are the new Apple displays coming out? ne_nau.gif

    rolleyes1.gifI wish I was an Oracle. I just got lucky and by delaying my purchage I got a faster machine for less than I originally expected to pay.
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    schmooschmoo Registered Users Posts: 8,468 Major grins
    edited February 27, 2008
    kts wrote:
    Just a small update for anyone who might care, I just ordered myself one of the new 2.4ghz MacBooks w/ a 250GB HD. Came to $1370 after my University discount and then with including tax. Not bad! I'm glad I waited a few weeks to order it, paid off nicely. :)

    I'll probably look into an external monitor in a few months once I figure out how I'm using this (and I can clear some room up on my desktop for it next to my older Dell desktop.)

    Nothing like spending your tax refund the same day that you drop off your
    taxes in the mail. rolleyes1.gif
    HEY congrats! Now Imma gonna be skeered at the awesome photographic output that will result. thumb.gif
    SmugMug Editor / News Flash!
    Photos that don't suck / 365 / Film & Lomography
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    ktskts Registered Users Posts: 145 Major grins
    edited February 28, 2008
    schmoo wrote:
    HEY congrats! Now Imma gonna be skeered at the awesome photographic output that will result. thumb.gif

    Gotta get back out there first, I've been too busy. :(

    Plus now I need to learn Photoshop. I've played with it a bit and it's ALOT different then what I'm used to with The Gimp.

    But now that I'll have all this extra laptop horsepower I might even start shooting in RAW. :jawdrop
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