MAC or PC for digital imaging and WHY?

Gouri · July 21, 2006

I'd like to buy a desktop dedicated for digital imaging. My dilemma - MAC or PC :scratch

Rather new to the world of digital photography and would like to know what most professional photographers prefer and more importantly why?

DavidTO · July 21, 2006

Gouri wrote:

I'd like to buy a desktop dedicated for digital imaging. My dilemma - MAC or PC

Rather new to the world of digital photography and would like to know what most professional photographers prefer and more importantly why?

Either one will be fine. I'm a Mac fan, and most creative professionals are Mac users.

Macs are not as prone to malware problems and OSX is a joy to use.

Gouri · July 22, 2006

Can you recommend a link/site that details on the basic specifics required etc...

DavidTO · July 22, 2006

Gouri wrote:

Can you recommend a link/site that details on the basic specifics required etc...

Can you give us more of an idea of what it is you're after?

Are you new to photography? Or are you an old-school darkroom rat looking to modernize? Are you new to computers in general, or just digital photography and imaging applications? Are you a hobbyist? How serious are you?

I ask these questions because if you're relatively new to computers and digital photography, then pretty much any computer will be fine.

Gouri · July 22, 2006

Well, I see me as a serious hobbyist. Would love to be a professional but not there yet. Yes, new to digital and imaging applications. I'm more familiar with PCs than MAC but I do hear that MACs are better at handling digital imaging. I want to invest (if you will!), in a system that is robust, easy to work with and will last for awhile - I'm thinking hassle free and long term.

W.W. Webster · July 22, 2006

Gouri wrote:

I want to invest (if you will!), in a system that is robust, easy to work with and will last for awhile - I'm thinking hassle free and long term.

It is widely expected that Apple's new generation of (Intel-based) pro desktop computers could be announced on the morning of Monday 7 August.

JamieC · July 22, 2006

A good friend of mine is also making this decision. Is the same software available for the Mac as is available for the PC when it comes to photo management and manipulation, including some RAW processor for Canon? Another worry is that if he runs into problems trying to figure something out and asks one of his friends for help, will the user interface to the software be the same? Will he be comparing apples to apples so to speak?

Jamie

SpeshulEd · July 22, 2006

I think theres a small learning curve for either choice, so you may want to factor that in. I'd say if you didn't want to spend a week or two learning a mac and all its functions, it may be worth it to stick to a PC...or vice versa. At the same time, it probably wouldn't hurt to be familiar with both devices.

As for programs, most anything on a mac is also on pc. Their may be some slight differences in programs, but I wouldn't imagine they would be too hard to figure out.

I don't own a mac, but I'm sure I heard that you can run windows applications on a mac now which might be another factor to add to the equation.

claudermilk · July 22, 2006

Gouri wrote:

Well, I see me as a serious hobbyist. Would love to be a professional but not there yet. Yes, new to digital and imaging applications. I'm more familiar with PCs than MAC but I do hear that MACs are better at handling digital imaging. I want to invest (if you will!), in a system that is robust, easy to work with and will last for awhile - I'm thinking hassle free and long term.

Then go PC & get the best equipment your budget will allow. I hear Dell is having some firesales on their boxes, otherwise DIY is the best bang for the buck. IMHO the "Mac is better at digital imaging" is :bs -- the technical advantages they had when making a foothold in the market evaporated years ago.

Yes, there is less malware out there--the writers are simply going for the biggest target for the risk they take. A competent users taking reasonable precautions will not run into trouble (the only virii I've ever had to deal with have been co-worker's machines...starting with a Mac network virus)

DavidTO · July 22, 2006

Even the anti-virus companies are suggesting that you buy a Mac.

gus · July 22, 2006

DavidTO wrote:

Even the anti-virus companies are suggesting that you buy a Mac.

David that barrow will need a new wheel bearing shortly.

DavidTO · July 22, 2006

gus wrote:

David that barrow will need a new wheel bearing shortly.

0 of 71 vulnerabilities are unpatched in OSX

28 of 143 vulnerabilities are unpatched in XP Pro, the worst being highly critical

I think the choice is easy.

gus · July 22, 2006

DavidTO wrote:

0 of 71 vulnerabilities are unpatched in OSX

28 of 143 vulnerabilities are unpatched in XP Pro, the worst being highly critical

I think the choice is easy.

....yawn

Nikolai · July 22, 2006

Either will do just fine

Gouri wrote:

I'd like to buy a desktop dedicated for digital imaging. My dilemma - MAC or PC

Rather new to the world of digital photography and would like to know what most professional photographers prefer and more importantly why?

Being a known Wintel zealot (hi David!

:-), I can honestly say that in your case (I mean, being kinda new, etc.) it does not matter.

Canon or Nikon, PC or Mac, they all will allow you to take pictures and process them. And on this forum you'll get plenty of advisors for both platforms.

So just pick one and start processing...

DavidTO · July 22, 2006

Nikolai wrote:

Being a known Wintel zealot (hi David! :-), I can honestly say that in your case (I mean, being kinda new, etc.) it does not matter.

Being a MacAddict, I already said the same thing, in my first post!

gus · July 22, 2006

If mac was better than PC then they would be more poplular...which they are not.

DavidTO · July 22, 2006

gus wrote:

If mac was better than PC then they would be more poplular...which they are not.

Gus, come on, you're smarter than that, and can surely come up with something more convincing than that argument.

As for the barrow, I give you:

gus · July 22, 2006

I came to this crossroad a while back & begged for mac users to give me reasons as to why i should buy mac.

No one could tell me why i should get a mac...if they had just given me one good reason to spend more money then i would be on a mac right this very minuite but there was no reason that was shown to me at the time.

Sure i was given reasons like.

1/ we will think your cool
2/ you can now wear turtle necks :uhoh
3/ braging rights at parties
4/ mac users save more whales

I just needed a good reason like

1/ it will be faster
2/ it will be a more universal machine
3/ it will have better colour/tones/etc etc
4/ your cat will love you more

...and the cosmic ballet goes on.

.

ziggy53 · July 22, 2006

DavidTO wrote:

Even the anti-virus companies are suggesting that you buy a Mac.

Apple is offering Windows for the new Intel Macs, that should allow most folks an equal opportunity for running any type of software you choose, and an equal opportunity to acquire any type of malware "they" choose. ("They" being all the bad people, dirty rotten SOBs, in the world who write the malware.:gun2)

http://www.apple.com/getamac/windows.html

I surely wish Amiga computers were more popular. Now those were the days!

I run several computers for imaging and video work, all Windows based, and none of them are "online". I prefer using a seperate computer for all my Internet work, so it's the only one seriously exposed to the risks of the Internet.

ziggy53

W.W. Webster · July 22, 2006

gus wrote:

I just needed a good reason like .... your cat will love you more

If only you'd told us you had a cat. You had us wasting our time thrashing the whales angle!

gus · July 22, 2006

W.W. Webster wrote:

If only you'd told us you had a cat. You had us wasting our time thrashing the whales angle!

He was my financier & did ask to remain a silent party in the whole torrid affair.

DavidTO · July 22, 2006

gus wrote:

I came to this crossroad a while back & begged for mac users to give me reasons as to why i should buy mac.
..........

Gus, every GOOD reason we gave you, you shot down. Like malware and viruses. You said you never had a problem with them. Ease of use, less maintenance, you said you don't do a damn thing to maintain your PC and it's fine.

I think it really came down to you've got a certain way of computing and the PC fits you just fine. Also, the whole running Windows on a Mac was not an option back then.

Anyway, you probably made the right decision for you, but you'll never know, will you?

Nikolai · July 22, 2006

And I definitely appreciated that

DavidTO wrote:

Being a MacAddict, I already said the same thing, in my first post!

Hence wanted to show the support from the oppo... different camp...

ChrisJ · July 22, 2006

W.W. Webster wrote:

It is widely expected that Apple's new generation of (Intel-based) pro desktop computers could be announced on the morning of Monday 7 August.

Possibly related.... Intel is also about to release the Core 2 Duo. Benchmarks have shown these chips blowing away pretty much anything out right now (desktop-wise). This should drive prices down across the board for any older system.

If I was going to buy a PC, I would wait and get the fastest Core 2 Duo I can afford (with the best graphics card in budget).

Even with Core 2 Duo chips, Macs are slightly hampered until Photoshop CS3 comes out. For the next 6 months or so, the Windows systems will win out for performance. The difference isn't huge, but can add up over time.

Gouri, if you are familiar with PCs and don't suffer from virus/spyware/rootkits infestations, then stick with a PC. Macs are still flying under the radar, so if this stuff concerns you, then get a Mac.

Gouri · July 22, 2006

Just ran through all the replies. Now I know why the MAC or PC dilemma continues.....:D

I guess it’s more of a personal preference. So Yes, I’ll just pick one and start processing. Shall look into Dell and MAC. Ziggy53, thanx for the link - I'm now drawn to the G5.

DavidTO · July 22, 2006

Some of the best advice may be from those whom have switched.

Andy, gubbs, wxwax, davev, jmatthew to name a few...

System · July 22, 2006

DavidTO wrote:

Even the anti-virus companies are suggesting that you buy a Mac.

The only logic behind that is to increase the market share of the Apple platform in hopes of eventually selling Apple users anti-virus software that no doubt would be needed if mac's gained a large enough share of the market. It's pretty logical to see that malware creators want to reach the largest audience and do as much damage as possible with the children they spawn, aiming at a small % of the population makes no sense. Paranoias aside, it should also be pretty obvious that the same people that sell you anti-virus protection are also linked to those that develope it. It's symbiotic.

I've edited photos on both platforms for years and to be honest there's almost no performance edge to either platform for digital photography. Where Apple does have a large advantage is in the overall ease of use and stability of the operating system. That said, if you also plan to edit digital video then Apple has a massive advantage in terms of affordable high end software platforms (ie Final Cut) and the stability of the operating system. The later becomes even more critical as handling video files pushes the systems much harder than even the largest photo editing process. Having produced and edited several multi hour video projects I'll never touch a windows box again if given the choice.

Andy · July 22, 2006

W.W. Webster wrote:

It is widely expected that Apple's new generation of (Intel-based) pro desktop computers could be announced on the morning of Monday 7 August.

I guess we know what I'll be doing that day

DavidTO · July 22, 2006

truth wrote:

The only logic behind that is to increase the market share of the Apple platform in hopes of eventually selling Apple users anti-virus software that no doubt would be needed if mac's gained a large enough share of the market.

That seems like a long walk to a small house.

And highly unlikely, IMO.

gus · July 22, 2006

DavidTO wrote:

Some of the best advice may be from those whom have switched.

Andy, gubbs, wxwax, davev, jmatthew to name a few...

And if that aint the most biased speel of reteric you have ever encountered on the net Gouri ...i'll eat my hat. Sort of like...i know 5 people that eat haggis...so you probably should like it also.

Im currently trying to locate a list of people in the world that happily use PC but first must find 458957 tetrabit of storage to hold the list.

DavidTO · July 22, 2006

gus wrote:

And if that aint the most biased speel of reteric you have ever encountered on the net Gouri ...i'll eat my hat. Sort of like...i know 5 people that eat haggis...so you probably should like it also.

Im currently trying to locate a list of people in the world that happily use PC but first must find 458957 tetrabit of storage to hold the list.

Hey, they'd be less biased than you or me, Gus, since they've actually used both systems. That's something neither of us can say.

MAC or PC for digital imaging and WHY?

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