Mac vs. PC for image editing

[vdeal]

As an IT professional I would like to clear up a few pieces of misinformation in this thread. First, Adobe Photoshop is available for the Mac OS. I know that no one said it wasn't but the general thread was that it is a PC product. Second, I would not classify Numbers as the Mac version of Excel since MS Office for Mac exists with Excel. Numbers is an alternative in the iWork package that consists of Pages, Numbers and Keynote. These are alternatives from Apple for Word, Excel and Powerpoint and all are better IMO.

As for upgrading Macs for the most part it is very easy. RAM upgrades, HD upgrades and additional PCI cards are a piece of cake. Studies have shown that users keep Macs much longer than PC's because of their upgradability and long useful life. Just so you know I'm not just a Mac guy (which I am), I've been working with computers for over 30 years. Anyone here remember punch cards or BASIC on tape? I run a mixed network of Macs, PC's and a few Linux boxes and can say that over the last 10+ years I had much more problems with the Windows machines. Macs aren't perfect but for someone whose seen and used well over 20 different operating systems I wouldn't have anything else.

BTW, if you need to run a Windows only program on your Mac, grab a copy of Sun's VirtualBox and you're all set.

 

[Overdrive]

You'll look a lot cooler at Starbucks with a Macbook. That fact is not disputable.

Alright, that seals the deal right there. LOL.

Seriously, lots of great posts I'm learning from here, so keep 'em coming.

Brad, PM sent.

Thanks

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

Here is the way I look at the Mac VS. PC debate. To put it in layman's terms that you can probably understand since you're on an Overland Forum,

Mac's are the Land Rovers of the Computer World. They're trendy, fancy looking and turn heads if that's what you're looking for. They're good, work hard but you pay for it in the long run with the higher prices

PC's are the Jeeps of the Computer World. They're rugged, can be built anyway you want them from a million different suppliers making parts and aftermarket goodies for them and cost a fraction of the cost of Land Rovers.

If built and maintained properly, they'll outperform the 1st choice day in and day out and save you a ton of money in the long run.

As for software, you can start out with Photoshop Elements, which is a scaled down version of the more advanced versions and use it till you need more capabilities.

Most CPU's, at least PC versions come with an Elements Program already built in with their software package.

I'll agree with everyone else that which ever set-up you go with, I'd get a simple laptop and build a super fast home style unit that has the largest, most high end monitor you can afford

 

[vdeal]

Every Miles,

Gonna have to disagree with you on the cost benefit analysis you provide. Having been in this field for a long time I have witnessed the useable lifespan of different machines. In my experience (and studies bear it out) Macs simply are useable for a longer period of time. Yes, they can cost more up front but in the long run you use them longer and the cost is amortized out to be similar. PC's will not outperform and the time spent on battling viruses, adware, spyware, malware, etc. will eat into your productive time on the PC. So, if you factor in the longevity and the lost productive time the PC does not save you money in the long run and may actually cost you more.

 

[tibaal89]

No one has yet mentioned the fact that Macs are built off of Unix. Right out of the box you've got a command line loaded with ssh, grep, awk, sed, the ability to do shell scripting, pipes, i/o redirection, plus a web server, ftp server, the list goes on and on.

Install XCode (which comes with OSX) and you've got every compiler you need, opening up the world of open-source projects that you can download and compile with great ease. If that's too much, you can install tools like MacPorts which will automatically download, compile, and install free and opensource software from massive online repositories.

There is a whole other UNIVERSE of things you can do with a Mac that are either awkward, impossible, or cost money in Windows. None of those things may be meaningful to the majority or users, but the majority of users have no idea the insane power they leave behind by not learning such tools.

 

[DesertBoater]

Just personally speaking I'm running an older MacBook Pro (2007) with the Aperture v.1 and Photoshop CS4. If i were to do it over again, I'd do the same thing. I've had very few issues with anything crashing, and I'm not the most gentle on my computer. It's been almost everywhere I've gone since I got it. One thing that I would recommend for your CS4 purchase, take a good long look at which one you get. Mine came with Photoshop, InDesign, and Illustrator. It was the basic package and even then runs about $1,200...If you're not a student it's TOTALLY worth it to enroll in a couple of community college classes so that you can get the student discount (brings the price down to just over $300)...kinda ridiculous. Also, the comm. college classes could teach you how to use the new software...Just a thought.
Good monitors are nice, but it's just as important to have a calibrated monitor, especially if you're going to be printing out of house...your prints end up looking more like what's on your screen and it's easier to reproduce the same print at a later date if needed.
For external hard drives, unless you have some already, Firewire is the way to go...way faster than USB. internal drives can also be upgraded for not a whole lot. I upgraded mine from 250 to 500 for about $100 with a full warrantee.
I may recieve a bit of criticism for this, but I haven't used it personally so don't go too far. Macs also have the capability of running windows...most things are compatible now anyway, so i haven't found that to be very necessary, but it is a possibility.

It's mostly personal preference, if you have friends with setups on either platform see if you can play with them a bit to get the feel for it. And above all, stay away from iPhoto...i've got a couple of friends that have had their libraries deleted...just poof, gone...everything else on the computer was fine, but the photo library was nowhere to be found... just my 2c

Cheers,
West

 

[Root Moose]

Comparing a Mac to a Land Rover? Talk about your fatally flawed automotive analogy. Did I get redirected to slashdot some how?

If a PC is a Jeep then I'd suggest a Mac is a Land Cruiser.

 

[Overdrive]

I like automotive analogies. I tend to put a lot of life's issues into automotive terms.

Yesterday I thought maybe Mac's are the diesel engine, while PC's are gas engines. Diesels cost more upfront, but will run longer & harder and be cheaper in the long run. But relatively few people are familiar with the benefits of a diesel and won't pay the price of admission.

 

[deserteagle56]

Mac versus PC for image editing? Do you read any of the photo magazines that are on the market? Then you must know that 99% of the professionals in the photography business prefer Macs. That should tell you something about what works best for image editing.

 

[john101477]

Mac versus PC for image editing? Do you read any of the photo magazines that are on the market? Then you must know that 99% of the professionals in the photography business prefer Macs. That should tell you something about what works best for image editing.

If this was 3-4 years ago I would probably agree with this. Heck even early last year lol. Win 7 gets it done. Zero problems since the change as far as my PC desktop goes. plus it is fast and while I do have Kaspersky installed, i never have to do anything with it. I set it to run at 4am and by the time I get up it has already finished and I never have to think twice about it.

The PC Vs. Mac debate will never be settled just like the jeep vs. toyota debate will never be settled, or the chevy vs ford vs dodge debate.
The OP should crunch the numbers and make a decision. dollar for dollar what is it gonna cost now and in the future. add it up for yourself. check prices on everything and then look at what it takes to upgrade each.

 

[dms1]

Every Miles,

Gonna have to disagree with you on the cost benefit analysis you provide. Having been in this field for a long time I have witnessed the useable lifespan of different machines. In my experience (and studies bear it out) Macs simply are useable for a longer period of time. Yes, they can cost more up front but in the long run you use them longer and the cost is amortized out to be similar. PC's will not outperform and the time spent on battling viruses, adware, spyware, malware, etc. will eat into your productive time on the PC. So, if you factor in the longevity and the lost productive time the PC does not save you money in the long run and may actually cost you more.

Im not going to get into the Mac VS PC debate, but if you get a decent virus scan program for any PC, Viruses\Spyware\Malware is a non issue.

 

[nwoods]

There is a chance that my experiences might be relevant here, so I'll throw in my two cents as well.

I am personally platform agnostic. I have experience on Mac and PC. I use PC 90% of the time though, for two reasons:
1) It's what we use at work, and I work behind a keyboard a lot
2) It's what I can afford at home.

I have long wanted a Mac at home, but could not afford the cost of entry. The hardware is more expensive, and my software was all PC so would have to be factored into the purchase cost to replace it with Mac versions.

About 4 years ago this came to a head. My PC was dying. I had legal licensed copies of MS Office Professional, Macromedia Dreamweaver, Adobe PhotoShop, and Adobe Premier. I did a lot of research, but ultimately, was able to get a new PC and a new, very nice 27" monitor, for $1,000 less than a Mac, so that's what I did. I stuck with what I knew, and what I could afford.

I have regretted that decision nearly every day

Fast forward 3.5 years. My wife got a 15" MacBook Pro about 6 months ago for her business needs. It replaced a Toshiba WinXP laptop that has had a considerable and hard life. We were cautiously optimistic about how the Mac would interface with her work network and business needs, but confident that all the sexy iLife stuff would be really helpful here at home. As a test, we did not install Parrallel's/Windows, just to see what compatibility issues we might encounter.

My now 4 year old PC is showing its age. I have updated the video card considerably, it already has 4GB of RAM, and now sports a brace of 1.5GB 7200 RPM drives with decent read/write/seek times. I installed Windows 7 on it a few months ago, and I REALLY like Win7 over the previous Vista and XP versions I have used. Win7 is slick, good looking, and super efficient. Even more so than Mac OSX Leopard that's on my wife's MacBookPro.

I shoot thousands of images every month, and my wife is using her G10 camera more and more, and takes a lot of video with it as well. We use the home PC as the main storage device (thanks to those big drives), so all of our music and images and videos are loaded on it. The household printer is connected to the main PC, and shared.

My 11 year old son is using the old Toshiba laptop, so we are now a three computer family.

Introducing the Mac to the home network was a little fussy at first. Had to figure out some permissions issues so that she could use the printer, access the images, music, etc... iTunes has a homeshare feature that doesn't work very well, still have not really solved the music issue, but she can browse my PC wirelessly and view images easily, and printing was solved with a combination of driver updates and an Apple program called BonJour that loaded on the PC and made everything play nice with each other.

The MacBook Pro ( MBP) has proven to be the family favorite. I am using it right now to write this post! The physical form of it is fantastic. Thin, light, solid, ergonomically brilliant, backlight keyboard, gorgeous display, AMAZING battery life. The power cord connection is genius, and the built-in camera and audio is incredible in quality. My favorite aspect of the MPB is the touchpad. I am iPhone user. I find using the touchpad so brilliant, easy, fast, and intuitive, that my typical PC mouse use feels frustratingly cumbersome in comparison.

Programs open faster than they do on my PC. I can open and manipulate 10mb RAW files and 100mb video clips without any delay or “hourglass cursor” pauses. The hardware is not cheap, but it really is far superior to any of the dozens of laptops I’ve used over the years.

The included software is terrific, with the exception of iPhoto, in my opinion. I am a PhotoShop user, and I find iPhoto so limited that its counterintuitive for me. I am looking for that deeper level of control that just isn’t there. Too simple is actually harder for me ☺ Interestingly, Adobe will allow me to convert my PC versions to Mac versions for no cost, other than shipping the original CD’s back to them. So if I wanted to convert my existing software, I could.

However, everything else on the MBP is really nice to use. From seldom used Utilities, to guilty pleasures like FrontRow, to being able to view virtually every file format known to man in Preview. I really enjoy it. An unexpected pleasure is Microsoft Office for Mac. It is much better than the PC version I am using at work and the Office 2007 (the damnable Ribbon interface) that I have on my home PC. My wife initially lamented the fact that her old cherished Publisher program was PC only, but Mac Office suite has far more features, graphics, templates and functionality that Publisher ever will, it’s amazing!

Another aspect I really appreciate, and was surprised by, is just how great the display is on the MBP. My PC monitor is pretty high-end. It’s large, and very pricey, purchased specifically for processing photos, and it is calibrated. However, images look 2x better on the MBP. This screen just has much deeper color depth. A photo that looks good on my home machine will look amazing on the MacBookPro.

The built in audio/video functions are incredible. My mother in Michigan has a MacBook also, and my wife’s mom has one of these little netbook things that she uses to travel to Africa with. Using Skype and video chat is awesome. I recently discovered that while on a video chat, I could display images and slideshows through the chat connection, so my Mom could watch a movie clip of my kids playing around while we were all standing there watching her reaction to the clip over the video connection. It was awesome!

After 6 months, we have come to really love the MBP, and have never needed Window’s to do anything that the MacOS could not do. It allows VPN into her PC network, it plays well with my home PC network, it is a breeze to use.

Summary: If you were asking about PC verse iMac, I would suggest that PC will get you what you want and will be noticeably cheaper. However, your question was about laptops. I think the current crop of MBP’s are amazing and worth every penny.

I have two main questions. 1) Mac or PC? 2) Which software?

Here's what I want to be able to do. I'm sure this can this be done on a laptop, but correct me if not.

--Scan medium format film, and then tweak the white balance, color balance, etc, and stitch 3 or 4 together for a panoramic image...then output this to a large professional printer (outsourced printing).

--Shoot DSLR images in RAW format and do the necessary processing, again stitching into a panoramic and outputting to a large print

--general image editing such as replacing a washed-out sky with blue sky and puffy clouds , or removing that pesky tourist that wandered into the shot


Question 1) I'm in the market for a laptop. I've never used a Mac, but the sales crew at Best Buy mentioned I should be using a Mac for my goals since "it just works better for that; that's what it was designed for." With the newest processors that are out for PC's--Intel Core i5 & i7, and 4GB Ram, and Intel Graphics Accelerator, will a Mac still be superior? I'm a little turned off by the much higher price of the Macbooks, but maybe it would be justified.

Question 2) Software. Everytime I read about image editing, it's Photoshop, photoshop, photoshop. Which is fine, I'm willing to buy it and learn it. But they have Lightroom, CS4, Elements, and maybe 10 others? I don't know which I should get. The Best Buy salesman remarked "if you have a Mac, you can probably get by with just using the standared Mac software", no Photoshop needed. True?

Penny for your thoughts. Thanks!

 

[Overdrive]

Thanks, nwoods, for the thoughtful post.

I went to the Apple store. It was so busy it was hard to move around, and loud with all the chatter. Unfortunately, I think I knew a bit more about the product than the sales gal that greeted me.

I did like the fact that they could be had with a matte screen. I hate the glare from the shiny screen. Of the 30 or so laptops at Best Buy, only one--a cheap netbook-- had a matte screen.

 

[DiploStrat]

Opinion of a Mac Phanboi since 1985

For image processing - there is probably no difference. I prefer Aperture to Lightroom, and I can tell you why, but there is no show stopper here.

You buy a Mac because it is a better machine to own and maintain; not because it is better at image processing. (Although it is kind of cool that once the Apple OS knows a RAW format, you can see the RAW image anywhere in the OS, not just in an image program.

 

[Bella PSD]

I am sending this message from a Power Mac G4 dual 450. Yep, that's right, a 10 year old Mac and still going just fine. I also still use my Mac Powerbook G4 400 from 2000 and my 17" Powerbook from 2002+-. These two Powerbooks are not used for my Photography business anymore put have tons on iphoto and over 14,000 songs.

I also have a new Mac Pro desktop that I am sure will be around in 10 years. My point is the Mac does cost a little more but the PC's that I had around 2000 are long, long gone and were total junk in 1/2 the life of the Mac. So for me its been 2 PC's for every Mac. I only keep the PC's around for Quick books and because I like to check compatibility with Mac stuff from time to time.

I agree with most on the Lightroom and CS4. They are just about all you need. That's all I load onto the Macbook Pro that I use for location shoots.

My 2cents
Louie