Toronto Photography Meetup Group

My 2007 macbook is now on it's knees when I am working on my RAW files and after about 10minutes of work, I get kernel attacks. Just wondering if anyone here is using a recent iMac and how the performance is with heavy photoshop work?

We have a few junior retouchers in my company that we put on the new iMacs. They're on CS4/CS5 all day long. Not many issues.

Even the "entry level" iMac would be up to the task.
The more RAM you can through at it, the better the performance will be.

If you are really hungry for performance use an SSD drive. I made the switch a month ago and would never go back to a rotating platter!

would it be a real pain to upgrade to SSD in the future? it's 500 bones right now for the upgrade :s

It would be no problem at all. I would recommend a SSD from a third party which provides higher performance than the ones that Apple offers.
OtherWorldComputing is tge reseller that sells one of the highest performing SSD.

We are looking at iMac's for video editing at my work..... They are very capable for the task. Get more RAM if you can afford it. 8gb is worth it.

For a client I had, they went with 7-8 iMacs for CAD work, and I tested a few of them with some photoshop and indesign work. It cut through everything like a hot knife to butter.

They were the 27" 3ghz ones with 8gb ram... they bought 4gb and I got an additional 4 for like $80 or something. Probably cheaper now. THose machines flew.

Well, first off I'd like to say. I don't get paid for my work, so take my opinion for what its worth. I recently sold my 2007 mbp, maybe 2 or 3 months ago. It was a core 2 duo, 2.2 ghz, 4gb ram. I would have to load maybe 10-15 raw files into lightroom, in order to work efficiently. Once done with those files, I would remove the previous 10-15 files from lightroom, and load 10-15 new ones. I could have edited more photos at the same time. This would cause slow downs on my mbp. I really couldn't do anything else when photo editing.

Now I have an imac i3, 3.06, 12gb ram. Workflow is much better. I never have issues at all. I edit pretty much any amount of photos I want, and not run into any slow downs. I even did some photo editing, while my imac was encoding and saving a video file in final cut. I did not have any issues while editing doing this as well.

I would say you should be fine with the new imac's that came out today.

Thanks for the info guys! Gonna pick one up once it's available.

New iMac just updated today, I'm hoping to pick up a 21" this summer.

Also I'm currently using my 08 macbook pro with 60gb SSD mainly run apps and it's lightning fast. Good enough for my photo editing stuffs now..

I've (RELUCTANTLY) recently got a Macbook (for a new job where all they use is Mac), and one store you may want to check out is Midtown Digital in the Yonge/St.Clair area...they have a lot of used equipment, and you may be able to find a more powerful machine for less money.

Midtown Digital currently have several used iMacs, G5's, Mac Pros, and lots of other goodies, as well as new i7's:
http://www.midtowndigital.com/

Of course there's Computer Systems Centre at College/Spadina, but they don't have as much used, but are better for accessories.

check http://refurb.me for updated pricing from Apple's own refurbished product store. Whenever they cycle in new products they clear out the old stock at very nice discounts.

What an unfortunate job title - sounds like a pedophile.

LOL!

Part of the reason why I don't use Macs. For my $1,400 investment I have a i7 Windows PC with 8GB Ram and a high end nvidea card and 10,000 RPM drive and I'm using 64 bit Photoshop CS5 on large 1-2 GB files all the time and it flies. If I wanted similar performances from a Mac I'd have to invest 3 or 4 times as much money - no thanks.

Why buy a Hasselblad H4 and 20mp back when you can buy a Canon 5D2 at a fraction of the cost? After all, the Canon has more megapixels, it shoots HD video, has more available lenses and even a cool mug that looks like an actual L lens. Yet for some reason top studio photographers still make the switch to MF when they can afford it. Why is it that agency art directors won't even consider a photographer for big campaigns unless they are shooting medium format? Snobbery? Nope. Same goes for computers.

Dollar for dollar the Macs benchmark numbers often fall behind a PC. However, the little details you will never be able to quantize in a benchmarking app make a big difference when used day in and day out.

Every penny I have ever made in my 15 year professional career has been earned using Adobe CS on a Mac. Fanboy? Nope, I would switch in a heartbeat if there was a professional advantage in it for me. My pockets aren't bottomless

The Hasselblad H4 vs. Canon 5D analogy doesn't even make sense. They are two completely different beasts. The sensor size alone tells you that.

Without getting into a full on PC vs. Mac discussion, your arguements could also be seen from the opposite side. If there was a valid professional advantage to using Macs in my workflow I would have seriously considered switching. I've also made every dollar of my career on Windows hardware but I could have probably just as easily made it on a Mac. To me, it's a misconception to think that Macs or Apple products have a certain "je ne sais quoi". They don't. It's just a different approach at doing the same things that appeals to certain people. Likewise, Windows is a different approach that appeals to other people.

I couldn't care less that I could buy a PC with the same specs for a lot less money. The reason I enjoy using a mac is because everything has been so simple to do. Every important hardware that I have plugged into it has been plug and play. I've never had so little headaches dealing with networking and file sharing within the home network. Even when I transfer to work, I just plug into their network and everything is there and works AND it's cross platform (PC's). I have barely run into system problems. My office had installed windows 7 on certain machines while others had XP and it was a disaster trying to get them all to connect together. There were so many different settings that had to be changed and the interface was so confusing to work with. At least 3 times a week, my VP's would ask me to help them to fix their PC because something had magically gone wrong with the system settings. It takes someone who's techsavvy to be able to use windows effeciently, whereas my mom who does not know how to operate an electronic beyond a simple television and VCR has been able to learn how OSX operates and do stuff.

--tldr--
I have been pro PC all my life, but decided to try a mac one day and the mere convenience of how everything works has made me stay. That alone is worth the extra price tag

I'd have to disagree completely with this statement because how can you explain the hackintosh systems now? Since Apple went Intel, there isn't as much as gap between then. You could historically see the differences between the two 15 years ago, when the actual technology was different between Mac and PC, which lead to OS differences, which = Macs being better at things than PCs, vice versa.

High paid fashion photogs using only medium format? I'd beg to differ. There are a ton of photogs with very well established careers that use FF Nikon or Canon and not Hasselblad.

Interesting how a thread that is labeled "iMac users & Photoshop" garners the attention of a few people that feel they have the need to start a debate between brands.

The original poster asked a specific question, "Just wondering if anyone here is using a recent iMac and how the performance is with heavy photoshop work?" and a few people felt the need to take the conversation in a different direction.

Computers a tools. There are different brands of tools which have their strengths and weaknesses. People choose different tools for various reasons.

Personally, I choose the Macintosh platform because I like the user interface. Another feature that I appreciate is that the same company that manufacturers the hardware also manufactures the operating system.

The hardware performance for both Mac's and PC's have advanced to the point where the real world performance is excellent on both platforms.
At the end of the day, Photoshop is Photoshop and Lightroom is Lightroom whether you are running it on a Mac or a Wintel box.

Some people like to drive Fords, others like to drive Volkswagen and others like to take public transit. It's fantastic to have choices.

ya very true... sorry to thread-jack this one with the PC/Mac discussion.

I still stand by the iMac being a great platform and I'm very interested in the new 21" powerhouse

I used an imac at my last job and it was great. I could open up 100+ Canon 7D RAW files at once and get through them quickly with no problem. I think we were using CS4 not CS5...

I personally adore my macbook pro - I leave CS5 open for weeks at a time and I've had it a year now. My old computer was a piece of SHITE and couldn't even compare to the speed I have with my mac now. loving it. would never go back to a pc for photo editing, ever.

woooo 27" is @#$%@#$ huuuuuuge. It doesn't even fit into the recess in the table.



My camera is dwarfed by the size

It is a thing of beauty

BrAvO!

Nice computer! I like how the screen is causing a blooming in the photo as if your looking into the sun LOL. Thats going to be sweet for your photos.

Hmm, I guess you will need a bigger camera.

Noticing the negative feedback. LOL I was just posting an opinion

I'm a new Mac user/owner (last time I seriously used one was the 80's when I first tried the B&W toy computer). As I mentioned above I was RELUCTANTLY forced to use one as part of a new job, so I had to learn it in depth.

I'm not someone who is blinded by marketing spew or opinions of others (even professional reviewers)...my opinion is the only one that counts for me (that's why I'm an Olympus user and not one of the Nikon or Canon sheep, although again I'm forced to use a Canon as part of my job but I'm sticking with Olympus for my personal photography).

Anyway after using the Mac heavily for two weeks I've found that there's not much difference (anymore) between the two platforms, and the marketing spew out there, some of it in this thread, simply isn't true.

- "Mac is easier to use than the PC"...as a new Mac user I've found little difference once the various programs are running (referring to programs available on BOTH platforms I have to use, namely Photoshop and FIrefox). The only difference is remembering I have to press the Command key on the Mac and Ctrl on the PC...otherwise it's the same keyboard shortcuts. This reminds me when I worked for someone who had a 2-door GMC Tracker with an automatic transmission, and a longer 4-door Suzuki Sidekick with a manual 5-speed...both cars are basically the same, except you have to drive them differently...and that's how I feel about the Mac vs. PC argument.

-"Mac desktop is easier to use, starting programs and file operations"...actually I've found it to be the opposite. Yes there's the dock at the bottom of the screen, but you have to use the mouse to search for the program you want...with the PC program section of the Start menu I can type P for programs, go right, click M for Mozilla, and then right to select Firefox; you may say this is more difficult, but I have my most used programs are in the Start menu so I just have to press the Windows key, F for Firefox, and Enter! That reminds me of one of the most annoying things on the Mac, you can't use Enter to start a program or open a file as Enter activates the Rename function; I'm still clicking enter to try to open files on the Mac.

In addition, the program you install on the Mac may not put itself on the Dock...you may have to go into the Applications folder to find it. On the PC almost every program is in the Programs section of the Start menu...MUCH easier on the PC.

Also there's no easy way to delete a file on the Mac without involving the trashcan...there is a shredder gadget you can download, but you still have to drag the file(s) to it. On the PC all you have to do is highlight the file(s) with the cursor and press Shift-Delete...far easier on the PC!

-"The Mac is easier to learn than the PC"...with any computer there's a learning curve, and as you can see from some of my responses there are things on the Mac I haven't learned (like not hitting enter to open a file). I don't see the Mac as an easier computer to learn...I learned using my Linux netbook in a similar length of time. I'm sure that if I had been a Mac user (instead of a PC user) for decades, I'd have the same learning curve on the PC. Each WIMP (windows, icons, mouse, pointer) interface have similar controls...you just have to learn the differences.

-"Plug & Play just simply works on the Mac"...I went to plug in a Canon dSLR into my new Mac, and the computer didn't recognize it...however every time I plugged in a new camera into my PCs they've ALWAYS showed up. Also the drivers may not be available for the Mac...there ISN'T a driver for the multi-function printer I use at my camera club; I either have to use one of my PC laptops, or copy the file from the Mac to the PC to print it!

-"Macs don't crash, it can be left on for weeks but PCs have to be continually be reset"...my Mac at work has to be restarted every other day, whereas my PCs are left on for weeks; my desktop is my PVR, while my laptops are usually put to sleep or hibernate when not in use, and I can go for months without a restart.

-"You can have a million images open on the Mac, whereas if you tried that on the PC it would slow down to a crawl"...it all depends on how much memory and scratch disk space you have in Photoshop; my personal Mac has more than my work Mac, and it makes a big difference...same for my PCs; don't notice a difference between platforms given enough computing power.

-"Build quality of Macs is just much better"...personally I've found the quality of Mac hardware to be a joke. The silver paint on keyboards wears off, the white plastic cases shows every scratch and is notorious for cracks with normal use; the only time I've cracked one of my Dells is when it was dropped.

Another way Mac build quality is worse is the awful keyboards that use chicklet keys...even their full size keyboard has chicklet keys...why can't they make a decent full sized keyboard for touch-typists for Mac. And on the older decent Mac keyboards the key contacts wear out too easily (the G3 keyboards I have at work both have keys that don't work).

In addition I'm not too trusting of the "Mag-Safe" power connector...one of the first rules of computing is to keep it away from magnets. Yes my Dell even has a magnetic lid, but they are in a fixed position and there's no chance the magnets will get near the hard drive, unlike the Mag-Safe connector.

Last thing the wireless capability of the Mac is pathetic...my Dell laptops have always connected even though the wireless point is on the other end of the building two floors up, whereas the Mac connects 5% of the time. I'm considering buying an external high-power network adapter for the Mac so I can get connected as well as I can with my PCs.

-"My old computer was a piece of (censored) and couldn't even compare to the speed I have with my mac now. loving it. would never go back to a pc for photo editing, ever."...that's a SILLY thing to say. That's like saying my new car of brand Y is so much better than my ancient car of brand X, so I'll never buy a brand X car ever again. OF COURSE a new product (from even the same company) is going to have improved performance over an older product.


To try to wrap this up, what's my next personal computer (forgetting about work) going to be? I can't see myself buying another Mac, unless I'm forced again by work. When I get home I always reach for my PC, it's just the better machine. The only reason I can see myself even using the Mac at home is for the instruments in Garage Band. Other than that my Mac will probably collect dust.

Mike you say you learned the mac "in depth" and then after only two weeks of using it, you can't even figure out how to trash a file without dragging it?

In depth my ass.

mods please lock this thread. My questions have been answered and everyone is free to their own opinion on what they prefer to use. No point causing a PC/Mac Fanboy war. One love my friends.

Amen brother

Lock it down