IMac or MacBook for Picture Editing

[larrys]

I have put off trying to learn Photshop or Lightroom long enough. I have an older model G-5 and cannot upgrade from CS-2 or LR 1 to the newest versions due to not having an Intel processor. So I am stuck in the dark ages...thanks Adobe.

While I would love to get a 27" IMac it may be more realistic to get the 21". I have also been wondering about one of their laptops so my question is do folks do their photo-editing on a 15" laptop? I guess you can get the laptop but view it on a separate 24" monitor. So what do most folks do?

[S-Man]

I think that would work. You can get a decent sized monitor for a good price now. And the Macbooks will run it no problem. You'd also have a portable device when you need one, and a makeshift desktop when you're at home.

[Charles Putnam]

Laptops are becoming the predominant computer for most. Primarily due to their portability. I switched to a MBP in April 2010 (from a Windoze based laptop) and won't look back. When I need to use a separate monitor, I have a 21" available (or using a MiniDisplay Port to HDMI, connect to the big screen).

I know some pro photographers that use both an iMac and MBP. FWIW, you might also want to look at Aperture 3 as an alternative to Lightroom.

[thaddeussmith]

i use a 2010 13" mbp for all of my needs ..hooked up to a 24" monitor for serious photo editing. I've yet to bog down the GPU on this latest model and with 8gb of memory, it's a very portable and snappy workhorse.

[Ken]

I've found that my older g4 powerbook has a better display for photo work than my newer viewsonic display. I would advise not scrimping on a notebook with a nice display, large enough that you can work on images comfortably. When desktop publishing began, the desktop monitors where only 15" - 21". I don't see why you can't do everything on a nice notebook display.

[tukaniray]

Both the iMac and MacBook are capable these days to edit photos on. More than enough power to get you moving.

It boils down to do you edit more at home or do you find yourself wanting to edit on the road?

Even more ... do you like editing at a desk or in bed ... lol. I do that alot. Editing in bed is quite fun and relaxing.

-Ray-

[srwatters]

I would ask myself the question; "How accurate must my colors be from reality to screen to print?" If the answer is somewhat to very accurate, then I would strongly suggest you avoid editing images on any notebook display. Too many design compromises are made getting the display thin and low power to have them be consistently accurate from wide viewing angles with a wide gamut.

I prefer to use a high end display for my editing. It's a NEC MultiSync PA241w. It's not cheap, but it is VERY accurate at 100% sRGB and 99.3% aRGB color gamut coverage.

[LWimages]

I have a Macbook Pro 15" with the non-glossy high resolution screen for when I'm on-site and when I'm home, I use my 27" iMac.
Whatever you get, I think it's better if you can get one with a dedicated video card (one that doesn't share RAM with the CPU).

[tukaniray]

That would be the MacBook Pros as oppose to the MacBooks

And Scott ... aren't there monitor calibration units you can use like a Huey Calibrator to help with that issue of color? Plus having the Printer Color Management file?

-Ray-

[hue-e]

I'd go for a nice big imac for processing at home, then a small netbook (13" or smaller) I can install osx and photoshop on for travel or working in the field.

[thaddeussmith]

Originally Posted by tukaniray

That would be the MacBook Pros as oppose to the MacBooks

And Scott ... aren't there monitor calibration units you can use like a Huey Calibrator to help with that issue of color? Plus having the Printer Color Management file?

-Ray-

Except for the 13" ..it's still an integrated chip however drastically improved over previous version, with a stout amount of cores and capacity. Sure it shares system memory, but if you bump up to 8gb's, you won't even feel it.

[srwatters]

Originally Posted by tukaniray

And Scott ... aren't there monitor calibration units you can use like a Huey Calibrator to help with that issue of color? Plus having the Printer Color Management file?

Display calibration cannot expand the gamut of the display nor can it reduce color shift or uneven output when viewed at different angles. Look at the reduced response off perpendicular viewing angle for notebooks compared to true graphics displays.

Again, remember my first question was "how critical does your color accuracy need to be?" or I could have phrased it as "how anal retentive are you?"

[toverman]

I've got a 17" MBP with a 24-inch cinema display, but cost be darned because my employer footed the bill. Get the most processing power you can afford, and then plug it into a high-res monitor that can be properly calibrated.

[Redneck]

I never had any Apple product until I got my iPhone a couple of months ago. Now I'm hooked and I'm thinking about an Apple computer.
Would the small iMac model (21.5"/Intel i3, 4 GB RAM, 256 MB ATI) be o.k. for running photoshop on it or is this just too slow?

[S-Man]

I'm sure it'll be fine. I'm using LR2 and CS4 on my '09 MBP 2.53, 4-gigs Ram, so that iMac is probably faster than my specs.
It'll run it well.