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Mac or PC
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I guess you guys have debated this before, but I was wondering if there was general concensus that Mac is the preferred platform for digital image processing. I’ve always used PCs but have been considering crossing over (to the dark side?) but I noticed that Elements 6 is currently only available for PC. Is this a case of Adobe thumbing their nose at Mac users or is are they just trying to get non Mac users on board?
I had thought that PC was a cheaper alternative to Mac, but I’ve read a few articles online that say that Mac is cheaper over the total life of the machine.
Any points pro or con for either side would be greatly appreciated.One is as good as the other. Used to be a time when a Mac was the way to go, but you really won’t find any difference between them these days. Whatever one you choose you’ll be happy with it. The whole Mac -v- PC thing is a bit like Canon -v- Nikon to be honest.
rerun wrote:
I noticed that Elements 6 is currently only available for PC.
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/01/10/adobe_unveils_photoshop_elements_6_for_mac.html
Oh, and ditto Thorsten about the ‘Pc vs Mac’ issue. Cows come home etc.
I have been using Mac since 2003 and since 2005 for photo workflow. Overall I love the experience and it has never let me down. Have been using Windows since about 1994 and has always been a passe experience for me; work issues me with a Windows machine. If the software you need is available for Mac and allows you to do what you need to do then give it a shot. Some people don’t enjoy the experience or are indifferent to it, however most people enthuse about it soon after.
If it’s an economic decision then you can tentatively push for a second hand Mac Mini and see how it grabs you, then go for the whole hog once you’re committed. The Mac Mini won’t allow you to run resource intensive applications as it has only a basic spec, but the likes of Elements 6 should be OK. One other difference between Windows PC and Mac is that Macs tend to hold their value longer, so if you do trade in that Mac Mini again, you’d get a better price than if you tried the same with a Windows PC.
Would anyone have a make/model of laptop that they’d recommend for image processing?
yea
none
the screens are way to small and most laptops dont actually have a good screen
Agree with Steve on that. A Laptop is great for image capture on location if you want to shoot tethered and as a tool for reviewing a shoot but I wouldn’t do any serious image editing on it. Quite apart from the issues Steve mentioned, ergonomic factors come into play as well and laptops are simply not designed for spending long sessions working on images.
Having said that, I use an Apple 12″ PowerBook G4 PPC with 1.25Gb RAM in a docking station hooked up to an Apple 20″ Cinema Display which I calibrate with SuperCal. It’s not the fastest of processing machines but is good enough. I forget the spec of the graphics card & other stuff but it copes with hours of photo processing at a time well enough. Colours on the Cinema Display are excellent. As I shoot mostly gigs I tend to process batches rather than perfecting single shots here and there, and it handles pretty well overall, I’ve no complaints. I use Lightroom, Canon DPP and LightZone (though LightZone is pretty slow even after optimizing).
So if you’re thinking about the laptop route, think about the spec in terms of graphics handling, and you’d be better off investing in a large monitor too. So not necessarily an economic option, if this is driving your decision.
Yes Elements 6 is out next week for Mac.
I never thought I’d say this but after a short while using a Macbook at home and a quad core Mac Pro in work it will be a long time before I buy a PC again. I really love this OS.
Its simple, Macs just work.
If you were running some type of utility on Windows, chances are it will ask you a load of questions about configuration and set up that you dont have a clue about. Macs dont. They just work.
Oh, and I disagree about the whole laptop thing. Me being a student, a desktop is simply not practical for me. I use a 13.3 Macbook with 2GB Ram and all the rest. Its fast, reliable and is great for processing. I know the screen is a bit small, but the definition is great and the colours are pretty accurate so far. If you needed a bigger monitor then get a MAcbook Pro 17″, but they are pretty pricey.
I’ve always used laptops for processing, due to fund restricitions, and I cant complain about it.
You can debate this all day long but imo (as a motion graphics designer) pc’s will always deliver more bang for your buck. The whole “macs just work” is utter crap. Ive been using macs and pc’s since photoshop 3 on os 7 . Recently Ive been using G5’s with dual xeon quad cores and 16 gigs of ram and they have proved to be stupidly unstable. In the past Ive had photoshop files with almost 200 layers and after effects projects with over 300. Recently Ive been editing 32 bit 50 megapixel true HDR images with 26 e’vs which are over a gig per image.
For low end use macs are fine, but once pushed they crash (and I mean totally hang) with alarming regularity. In my line of work they just cant cut it. I use a combination of photoshop, after effects, lightwave, z brush illustrator and a fair few others (often with multiple apps running simultaneously) . Macs are about 2 generations behind in terms of 3d apps, graphics cards and open gl.
The only reason to buy a mac in favour of a pc is vanity. The equivalent cost pc will be substantially more powerfull than its mac counterpart. The components are on the whole identical.
If you spend the price of a half decent mac laptop on a pc your going to have something pretty usefull as opposed to a paper weight. But what would I know, macs are better for design :roll:
Vanity is as good a reason as any to buy a computer.
Gives me a warm glow inside to see my computer product placed in big hollywood movies.
Its lack of ability is offset by the smugness I feel when I know I have bought a cool computer.
Remeber,
Macs saved the world in Independence Day, cracked alien code in Transformers, helped will smith find the cure in I am legend, and the list goes on ad infinitum.
Macs are cool.
Sometimes useless, always expensive, but goddamit, their cool.
Jimjam
I have to disagree with you. I have worked in the media industry for 20 years. and have always used both.
In terms of 3d i do agree. but some points
What open gl cards are you using that you cant run in a mac pro, I guess you mean stuff like the latest FireGL stuff.
I dont understand why you need 300 layers in an after effects project, surly your pre comping things and proxy useage sorts it out
I do a lot of work with hollywood DVD studios, and most of them are buying mac pro machines to run windows to run their software encoders on, as the cost of ownership is actually much less than the same spec in a branded box, like hp or even boxx systems or someone
i have Very powfull pc atm self build but im toying with the idea of a Mac book of some type just for my photos and my photoshop work and im very very close to getting one
All points of view are valid. I have used both Macs and PCs professionally, and I’ve had about equal problems with both.
I like the Mac’s design ethos and their eye candy, I like the PC’s cost-effectiveness.
The problem with Macs is simple: Apple. Apple has got to be the most schizophrenic company I’ve ever come across. They are totally customer focused in terms of designing for what their customers want. But once you buy their product, good luck to you if you ever have a problem.
I’ve never had a good support experience with Apple, either as an end user or an engineer for a large international bank. Their policies are arrogant, their repair prices if outside warranty are extortionate and the quality of their service in general is appalling.
Now others here may differ, but that has been my experience.
I also have a pet peeve with Macs that when they break they don’t tell you why – at least PCs give you an error message in most instances (often obscure, but at least it’s specific). With a Mac? ‘There was an error’ is about the best you can hope for. Not much use for troubleshooting.
Just my .02c.
Peter
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