 Tammy L. McCarley |
MAC or PC? We're ready for a new computer, and I'm spending more and more time on photography, sooooo...stick with PC and upgrade to a really nice monitor with comparable resolution to the MAC monitors - coupled with a fast processor, or take the plunge and buy an iMac? Seems most pros use Mac, and so it seems that there must be a reason why? That being said, I'm not a pro, but probably more intermediate and shooting primarily portraits - my kids and other families. When I read reviews on Mac, folks like Cnet use words like "great for media professionals," etc. That's not me. And, if a MAC, is the iMac 27" the only choice, or would the iMac 21.5" do the trick or one of the Mac laptops? Any pros out there exclusively use a Mac laptop? And if not Mac, what PC's or PC monitors? Any feedback is terrific and welcome! Thank you!
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- Usman M. Bajwa Contact Usman M. Bajwa Usman M. Bajwa's Gallery |
Tammy, I'll buy a Mac in a wink, if I can afford it. Which is not right now. I have experience working on my friend's Mac and there is absolutely no question about quality that a mac delivers, IMHO. More so if the primary purpose of the PC is to edit images / picture / videos etc. UB.
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- Usman M. Bajwa Contact Usman M. Bajwa Usman M. Bajwa's Gallery |
Tammy, I'll buy a Mac in a wink, if I can afford it. Which is not right now. I have experience working on my friend's Mac and there is absolutely no question about quality that a mac delivers, IMHO. More so if the primary purpose of the PC is to edit images / picture / videos etc. UB.
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chrisbudny.com - Chris Budny Contact Chris Budny Chris Budny's Gallery |
I don't think your comparison of a "PC [ie, Windows] with a nice monitor with comparable resolution to a Mac" is necessarily a valid criteria to use... The Macs don't necessarily have any greater resolution than any others; you can find the same resolution in other brands of monitors, which could then hook up to any Windows-based PC. Certainly, Apple makes attractive, elegant bundles and terrific, simple, high-quality, user-friendly products... ie, getting a nice big iMac setup all in one slim box, vs. a tower pc, and the external monitor, and the cables, etc. And as it is all made to work together seamlessly, well, it just does. You don't have to deal with worrying over third-party compatibility, or obscure drivers, etc. I do think the MacBook Pro laptops have an edge over most other "comparable" laptops (although, it can be hard to find a Windows-based laptop that is truly comparable, at all levels, to a MacBook Pro.) I run a MacBook Pro 15" model laptop for all my editing; I have no other computer. I would like a 21 or 27 imac (and may one day get, say, the big Mac monitor to connect to my laptop) but the laptop likely has years of life left in it, and I love the ability to take it on the road (and edit while I'm there) so I'll probably not upgrade anytime soon. Another consideration might be how well you do at handling change--adjusting initially to the software/operating system differences going from Windows to Mac, if you've been a long-time Windows user (as I was, when I made the switch 2+ years ago.) Takes a little getting used to, but is mostly a painless transition; but it could be frustrating depending on your patience and willingness to "re-learn" a particular method or approach. Some Windows keystrokes/functions simply don't exist in Mac, while Mac brings a bunch of features that don't exist in Windows. Another consideration... will you plan to run your Mac as "a Windows machine" (Macs can do that; allow you to partition some of the hard drive to be a Windows environment, running MS Windows (you must supply the MS Windows installation software) and Windows programs) or, run purely as a Mac? If pure-Mac, you'll also need to buy Mac-versioned software to replace any of your Windows favorite programs, etc.
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Nicholas Semo |
If going pure mac, then replacing your software can become a huge expense. Imagine replacing photoshop cs5 extended. Ouch!!!
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- Carlton Ward Contact Carlton Ward Carlton Ward's Gallery |
Here is my little story from 3.5 years ago. I had an older HP computer with an NEC 19" monitor but I was having problems running Photoshop CS2 & Bridge at the same time without it crashing. I went down to Best Buy to look at the new desktops and asked if I could get one with XP instead of Vista (which I had heard had many problems at that time) and the salesman told me "No". When I thought about getting another windows machine and having to go through the hassle of deleting off all the crap I didn't want on it and the almost daily updates for Defender & other virus software issues - I looked at the salesman and told him to get me the 24" IMAC instead. I did this almost out of spite but I will tell you now that this has been the best decision I have made in the last decade. The IMAC works great right out of the box and the screen is absolutely gorgeous. I sit down, do my work and leave. It is fast & I actually love doing my work on it rather than fidgeting with settings & updates on PC. I thought about transferring my license for CS2 from PC to MAC but this was the same time CS3 was released and I was impressed with CS3, I just bout the full version & decided to keep my CS2 PC (just in case). I have been using my IMAC for over 3 years and I will tell you now, I will never own a PC again. I also bought a use MacBook Pro and this is now 6 years old and still going strong. Most of my other friends that have MACs use them for 8-10 years on average. I am so tempted to buy the 27" IMAC but I dont really need one because my 24" one is still very fast and still looks as sharp as the day I bought it. If you want to get a monitor that competes with the IMAC - you will need to look at the Apple Cinema Screens or the Eizo monitors which either will cost as much as the IMAC. There is a reason musicians, & photographers use MACs - they are made for artists. Most movie studios use MACs along with many of the instructors here at BP. my .02, Carlton
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