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Which Mac for Photo applications?

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Ed Oliver77468

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I am new to the forum and I am looking for advice on which Mac system I should consider for Photography applications. I am wondering if the IMac is not enough machine. Are the LCD displays really not effective for Color accuracy? I am inthe process of switching platforms from PC to Mac because I feel the Mac is better for Graphics and Photography related work. However, I am not a professional (yet) and don't want to spend more money than I need too. It seems that the PowerMac is the way to go, but can the Imac do the job? Any thought would be appreciated.

Thanks
 
Ed Oliver said:
I am new to the forum and I am looking for advice on which Mac
system I should consider for Photography applications. I am
wondering if the IMac is not enough machine. Are the LCD displays
really not effective for Color accuracy? I am inthe process of
switching platforms from PC to Mac because I feel the Mac is better
for Graphics and Photography related work. However, I am not a
professional (yet) and don't want to spend more money than I need
too. It seems that the PowerMac is the way to go, but can the Imac
do the job? Any thought would be appreciated.

Thanks
Click to expand...
You may want to check Apple's website as the new iMac is a G4 with Altivec, 700 Mz, 40Gb hard drive and 15" LCD display and Apple's free ColorSync, iPhoto, etc. They did indicate that this will be "the end of CRT computers" for them.
 
Actually, I've owned many Macs since the SE. You're just starting out...get the new iMac. It'll be fun for you to grow with. Huge hard drive...the DVD option. Can't see iPhoto replacing photoshop and iVeiw but it'll work for you for a while. Whatever Mac you get (If you're short on cash all the old iMacs will be real cheap) you'll love it.

They've helped me become the artist/designer I am today...and I get paid for having fun.

Go Apple, get a Mac. Susan
 
Thanks for the replies so far. I have been reading about the new iMacs and I tihnk they are great machines. However, I am going to be using a film scanner, inkjet printer and possibly a flatbed scanner at various times in my process. Will the iMac's be able to handle it all. I am also concerned about the true color accuracy of the LCD screens. I have heard that the larger models are more appropriate for imaging applications.

I am a serious amateur photographer who shoots mainly with film and I want to beging to use the Digital Darkroom to output prints and to help catalog my work.

Thanks again.
Susan M. said:
Actually, I've owned many Macs since the SE. You're just starting
out...get the new iMac. It'll be fun for you to grow with. Huge
hard drive...the DVD option. Can't see iPhoto replacing photoshop
and iVeiw but it'll work for you for a while. Whatever Mac you get
(If you're short on cash all the old iMacs will be real cheap)
you'll love it.

They've helped me become the artist/designer I am today...and I get
paid for having fun.

Go Apple, get a Mac. Susan
Click to expand...
 
Ed,

You may consider the new 14" iBook or Titanium G4 laptops. I primarily use my Titanium G4 laptop on assignments with my Canon 1V and 1D. I use the Canon ES-E1 software to link up my 1V to my laptop via USB to download of my shooting data for each roll of film. Then the 1D hooks up via firewire for fast transfers of images. I can preview my work out in the field and then come home and hook it up to my external Sony monitor for precision color work. I have it hooked up to external firewire Lacie firewire harddrives/cd-burners, including firewire Nikon Coolscan 8000ED and Epson 1680 Pro firewire scanner and Epson Stylus 2000P printer. I have G4 desktop also but find that I spend more time on my G4 laptop than anything else for work.

Terry
Ed Oliver said:
I am a serious amateur photographer who shoots mainly with film and
I want to beging to use the Digital Darkroom to output prints and
to help catalog my work.

Thanks again.
Susan M. said:
Actually, I've owned many Macs since the SE. You're just starting
out...get the new iMac. It'll be fun for you to grow with. Huge
hard drive...the DVD option. Can't see iPhoto replacing photoshop
and iVeiw but it'll work for you for a while. Whatever Mac you get
(If you're short on cash all the old iMacs will be real cheap)
you'll love it.

They've helped me become the artist/designer I am today...and I get
paid for having fun.

Go Apple, get a Mac. Susan
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Ed.

I agree that one of the laptops may be for you. But I still prefer a desk machine. I use both a G4 tower and an iMac. I've had no problem attaching lots of things to the iMac. I have a film scanner and a firewire Epson Expression 1600 strapped to it now. It drives a laser jet 5000n, 8500 color and an Epson C80. Also a firewire zip and a 75 gig external hard drive. Yes that little iMac's a workhorse.

Can't wait to get the new one to burn DVDs.

I still like retouching on the G4 and yes I have the flat screen lcd. It took a moment or two to get the color straightened out but I love the fact that it's flicker free, my eyes were taking a toll with the CRT.

Any Mac's a good mac, good luck, Susan
 
iMacs should be able to handle the scanner, printer, etc. Since you are a beginner and just moving over to a Mac, the iMac would be just fine.

Make sure the scanner, pinter and all devices are MacOSX compatible but you can always use them in Classic mode if it doesn't work in OSX.

Cal :)--Calvin LeeCreative Director http://www.mayhemstudios.com
 
Your concerns about the LCD are valid. Color accuracy is not maitained across the entire surface as well as a CRT. Also, the 15" LCD on the iMac is a little tight for image editing, I think. However, all this may really not matter at all. LCDs ARE really cool and better, in some respects, than CRTs. Just because the color shift on LCDs is measureable, doesn't mean it will be noticeable, necessarily.

The new iMac is an awesome machine. A year ago, those same specs would have cost you $3500, 2 days ago it would have been (basically) $2500. The only reason to get a G4, at this point, would be for a larger/different monitor.

If you can wait, you may want to see if any new G4s are released in the next month or two.

Cliff
Ed Oliver said:
Thanks for the replies so far. I have been reading about the new
iMacs and I tihnk they are great machines. However, I am going to
be using a film scanner, inkjet printer and possibly a flatbed
scanner at various times in my process. Will the iMac's be able to
handle it all. I am also concerned about the true color accuracy
of the LCD screens. I have heard that the larger models are more
appropriate for imaging applications.

I am a serious amateur photographer who shoots mainly with film and
I want to beging to use the Digital Darkroom to output prints and
to help catalog my work.

Thanks again.
Click to expand...
 
One pain about switching platforms is the hidden costs - software & periferals. Do you have any buddies who use Macs? Maybe one of them has a used setup that they are willing to sell.... Would strongly suggest you go with a lower cost used system (starting from an PM8500 on up) to get a handle on what you want to do. Then, a year down the road, you can make a more informed choice.

michael

http://fototime.com/ftweb/bin/ft.dll/home?userid= {8E963407-DDD0-4A34-8879-738E6BC48566}&tio=0
 
Ed,

The new imac looks as if its quite powerful enough for what you want and will easily handle the peripheral you talk about. My only worry would be about the screen. Not the fact that its an LCD, (the imaging facility where I was working until the end of last year is replacing all of its CRTs with good quality Apple LCDs- very low colour variability), but the size. A 15" LCD screen may be smaller than you want and you can't change the screen on an imac, or add a second screen. If you're sure that yu can live with constantly moving palettes out of the way to see what you're doing then this is the answer. Otherwise look to a full desktop. But the cool factor is big with this machine and its great value for money.

Best of luck,

Dom
Ed Oliver said:
I am new to the forum and I am looking for advice on which Mac
system I should consider for Photography applications. I am
wondering if the IMac is not enough machine. Are the LCD displays
really not effective for Color accuracy? I am inthe process of
switching platforms from PC to Mac because I feel the Mac is better
for Graphics and Photography related work. However, I am not a
professional (yet) and don't want to spend more money than I need
too. It seems that the PowerMac is the way to go, but can the Imac
do the job? Any thought would be appreciated.

Thanks
Click to expand...
 
Dom said:
be smaller than you want and you can't change the screen on an
imac, or add a second screen.
Click to expand...
Are you sure you can't add a second screen on this one?
They finally went with a good graphics card which I think "should"
drive two.

I'd like to find the answer to this as a second screen would take care of the only problem I see with it.

Dave
 
From Apple's Tech Specs page:

Video
Mini-VGA output port (requires VGA display adapter)

Support for video mirroring: external devices display an image identical to that shown on the built-in display

Output resolutions: 640 by 480 pixels at 60 Hz, 800 by 600 pixels at 75Hz, and 1024 by 768 pixels at 75Hz
Member said:
Are you sure you can't add a second screen on this one?
They finally went with a good graphics card which I think "should"
drive two.
I'd like to find the answer to this as a second screen would take
care of the only problem I see with it.

Dave
Click to expand...
 
In other words, no dual monitor capability...just mirroring.
aaanorton said:
Video
Mini-VGA output port (requires VGA display adapter)
Support for video mirroring: external devices display an image
identical to that shown on the built-in display
Output resolutions: 640 by 480 pixels at 60 Hz, 800 by 600 pixels
at 75Hz, and 1024 by 768 pixels at 75Hz
aaanorton said:
Are you sure you can't add a second screen on this one?
They finally went with a good graphics card which I think "should"
drive two.
I'd like to find the answer to this as a second screen would take
care of the only problem I see with it.

Dave
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Still looks like a great system for the money, but if I want to trade up my present iMac for image processing, I want more screen space.

G5's coming soon?
V. Padilla said:
aaanorton said:
Video
Mini-VGA output port (requires VGA display adapter)
Support for video mirroring: external devices display an image
identical to that shown on the built-in display
Output resolutions: 640 by 480 pixels at 60 Hz, 800 by 600 pixels
at 75Hz, and 1024 by 768 pixels at 75Hz
V. Padilla said:
Are you sure you can't add a second screen on this one?
They finally went with a good graphics card which I think "should"
drive two.
I'd like to find the answer to this as a second screen would take
care of the only problem I see with it.

Dave
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Keep in mind that the new iMac has a 15" viewable display, while the older iMac is only 13.8". So you actually would be getting more screen space.

I think the top of the line G4 iMac (800mhz/60gig/256RAM SuperDrive) is an awesome machine and at 1799.99 a pretty good deal. More than enough power for most users (we're talking G4 not Pentium!). At this point, the only reason to get a Power Mac would be for a large display or for extended monitor capability. Although now that the iMacs are G4's, I'm sure the Power Mac G5's are right around the corner. When's the next Macworld...Spring???
43 said:
G5's coming soon?
V. Padilla said:
aaanorton said:
Video
Mini-VGA output port (requires VGA display adapter)
Support for video mirroring: external devices display an image
identical to that shown on the built-in display
Output resolutions: 640 by 480 pixels at 60 Hz, 800 by 600 pixels
at 75Hz, and 1024 by 768 pixels at 75Hz
Member said:
Are you sure you can't add a second screen on this one?
They finally went with a good graphics card which I think "should"
drive two.
I'd like to find the answer to this as a second screen would take
care of the only problem I see with it.

Dave
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
V. Padilla said:
Keep in mind that the new iMac has a 15" viewable display, while
the older iMac is only 13.8". So you actually would be getting
more screen space.

I think the top of the line G4 iMac (800mhz/60gig/256RAM
SuperDrive) is an awesome machine and at 1799.99 a pretty good
deal. More than enough power for most users (we're talking G4 not
Pentium!). At this point, the only reason to get a Power Mac would
be for a large display or for extended monitor capability.
Although now that the iMacs are G4's, I'm sure the Power Mac G5's
are right around the corner. When's the next Macworld...Spring???
Click to expand...
I guess they purposefully left off the extended monitor capability so as not to compete too much with their own Power Mac"s (isn't the new iMac's graphics card the same as the Power Macs"s?). If the new iMac had the ability to offer a larger display (resolution wise) it woud be all the power I need, in a small affordable package. Does look nice.
I think I'll take the price drop on the iBook, and wait on a power system.
 
Susan M. said:
I agree that one of the laptops may be for you.
Click to expand...
I would probably not buy an Apple laptop right now. The Titan should get a new processor before the summer after the towers get new processors (in april?). This can be expected because the specs of the iMac is too good compared to the current professional machines.

I would not consider the iBook because Photoshop is one of the programs that really takes advantage of the AltiVec plug found in the G4 processors.
Susan M. said:
But I still prefer a desk machine.
Click to expand...
And the obvious choice is the iMac. With the 15" and the super-drive it is clearly a better buy than the current G4's. You can always hook up a CRT monitor for color control. I have been working with 17" monitors the last 6-7 years. The screen size is enough for photo work if you learn the pallette and tool shortcuts. (15" LCD equals 17" CRT).

I'm not 100% certain that photo work is impossible on a PC, but the Mac's definately look better on your desktop.

Good luck
NilsP
 
I'm about to consider the new Imac, and I would want to run Photoshop, and I have no experience with Photoshop. I'm wondering if the new Imac can be configured large enough (memory-wise) to deal efficiently with Photoshop? Please comment. Thanks.
Bob
 
The new iMac is expandable to 1 gig of RAM. More than enough power for you, remember, this is a G4. Also, consider that although Mac OS X has better memory management, Photoshop for OS X has not been released yet and must run in Classic Mode (OS 9.2) Hopefully Photoshop for OS X will be available within the next couple months.

I have the G3 iMac DV SE 500mhz with 640MB RAM. I doubled my memory allocation for Photoshop 6 and that runs fine for me.
Robert Burkhalter said:
I'm about to consider the new Imac, and I would want to run
Photoshop, and I have no experience with Photoshop. I'm wondering
if the new Imac can be configured large enough (memory-wise) to
deal efficiently with Photoshop? Please comment. Thanks.
Bob
Click to expand...
 
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