iMac for photography

Jon81 · Sep 14, 2012

Hi, I'm sure there are squillians of posts about which iMac to buy for photo editing but I'm still unsure.

I'm a photography student and have decided on an iMac due to the fact I will be using them at college. I'm not a pro but aim to be in the future. I've settled on the 27" model as seeing the 21.5 and 27 side by side and seeing the extra screen space I dont see any comparison really.

I'm angling towards the basic 27" i5 model because as a student although I will be using it a lot I probably won't be using it intensively. I shall most likely be running photoshop cs6 and bridge together, maybe LR4 and have multiple web pages open. I won't be using it for video editing but may watch the odd film here and there.

Is it neccessary to upgrade to i7? Or should I concentrate on just upping the RAM to 16gb? I believe the standard 512mb graphics card should be ok for my needs. My other question is about the SSD. Would this be beneficial or is the 1TB HD enough with an extra external HD? Is it worth the extra 300 or so quid for the drive? I'm not so sure.

I'm looking at this as a 12 month investment so I'm not too concerned with future proofing since by the time I decide to go pro the i7 will probably be in the same position as the i5 and SSD may come as standard.

Any thoughts/suggestions/advice will be most welcome.

P.s. I have about £1500 to spend but could stretch to accommodate i7 if neccessary but probably not an SSD.

RavingMac · Sep 14, 2012

If you are looking at upgrading in the next 1 to 2 years especially, I wouldn't bother upgrading anything over the base i5 27in iMac. And, you really ought to consider an Apple refurb. They are generally like new with same as new warranty at as size able discount.

Just make sure to buy it direct from Apple.

Jon81 · Sep 14, 2012

Yeah I had looked at refurbs, I had seen the i7 for just over 1500 but it went before I had the cash.

I just can't justify the extra £400 for i7. What are your thoughts on the SSD? Is it something that would benefit me or should I stick with a large external HD?

I will use the student discount so if I get the basic 27 i5 I have £180 to play with. Not sure I want to use it on components as I am looking at buying CS6. Is the i5 a capable processor to run this, bridge, web pages etc simultaneously?

RavingMac · Sep 14, 2012

You said you were intending to upgrade Macs in a year or two. Why waste your money now on revving up a machine that is already more than fast enough for your needs and that you don't intend to keep long term.

SSD will be speedier, no question about that, and if money is no problem go for it. But, since money seems to be tight (normal with college students) I wouldn't spend my money that way.

docx · Sep 15, 2012

Base 27" with 16gb ram upgrade will be fine for your needs. Don't bother spending any more money.
You could put any money you have left towards a Wacom graphics tablet.

infocusinc · Sep 15, 2012

Jon81 said:
Hi, I'm sure there are squillians of posts about which iMac to buy for photo editing but I'm still unsure.

I'm a photography student and have decided on an iMac due to the fact I will be using them at college. I'm not a pro but aim to be in the future. I've settled on the 27" model as seeing the 21.5 and 27 side by side and seeing the extra screen space I dont see any comparison really.

I'm angling towards the basic 27" i5 model because as a student although I will be using it a lot I probably won't be using it intensively. I shall most likely be running photoshop cs6 and bridge together, maybe LR4 and have multiple web pages open. I won't be using it for video editing but may watch the odd film here and there.

Is it neccessary to upgrade to i7? Or should I concentrate on just upping the RAM to 16gb? I believe the standard 512mb graphics card should be ok for my needs. My other question is about the SSD. Would this be beneficial or is the 1TB HD enough with an extra external HD? Is it worth the extra 300 or so quid for the drive? I'm not so sure.

I'm looking at this as a 12 month investment so I'm not too concerned with future proofing since by the time I decide to go pro the i7 will probably be in the same position as the i5 and SSD may come as standard.

Any thoughts/suggestions/advice will be most welcome.

P.s. I have about £1500 to spend but could stretch to accommodate i7 if neccessary but probably not an SSD.

I will suggest you are looking at this backwards.

Put your money into a quality monitor and calibration system first.

I would suggest an NEC Or EIZO.

Why? Because the monitor will outlive the computer and it is the visual link to your images. Apple makes some ok monitors but they are just...ok.

If you pursue this career ( and I speak from 30 plus years of shooting advertising photography) you will end up with a quality monitor. Why not start with one to begin with?

Get a mac mini, or an MBP or a used Mac pro, and run that with your quality monitor. You can always upgrade the computer at a later date. if you can't afford the screen and the mac, get a windows box to run it. The os is mostly transparent when working images.

Unless you are crunching through massive piles of images, either will work well enough. Just get at least 8gb of ram.

These are great screens...

NEC MultiSync PA271W-BK-SV 27" Widescreen LCD PA271W-BK-SV

NEC MultiSync PA241W-BK-SV 24.1" Widescreen LCD

Jon81 · Sep 16, 2012

But then a few years down the line won't I want to buy a bigger monitor with a better resolution? I cant afford to spend a grand on a monitor right now unfortunately. I had considered this; Would a mini be powerful enough? My concern is that it wouldn't be. I'm not interested in an MBP and a pro is too expensive, I'm only a poor student.

I had looked at windows but I will be using macs at college so it makes sense to use the same os and command functions at home, especially since I'm fairly new to macs.

infocusinc · Sep 16, 2012

Jon81 said:
But then a few years down the line won't I want to buy a bigger monitor with a better resolution? I cant afford to spend a grand on a monitor right now unfortunately. I had considered this; Would a mini be powerful enough? My concern is that it wouldn't be. I'm not interested in an MBP and a pro is too expensive, I'm only a poor student.

I had looked at windows but I will be using macs at college so it makes sense to use the same os and command functions at home, especially since I'm fairly new to macs.

You should get a solid 5 years or more from a quality screen.

IMO, the screen is the key. A bit slower processing is not a huge hit if you are not crunching a huge number of photos per session. Sure speed is nice, I want speed as time is money for me, but that's me. I see your situation a bit differently. The speed is really a low priority, and the OS is really a choice, not a need. Being 'bilingual" is a plus

. I love OSX but I also use W7 on every shoot, as a tethering laptop. I'm not really interested in taking my MBP's on location shoots in a dirty factory and I use windows for quickbooks. Both OS's work great.

Your mileage may vary but I simply hate the glossy screens on an Imac. The reflections suck. A matte screen is far superior IMO.

In any case, good luck with your computer choice and your education.

Photography can be a great career if you can find your niche. I hope you find it. I've had a great time for the last 30 years and have had the good fortune to earn a decent living the whole time. I wish you the same.

Jon81 · Sep 17, 2012

If the mac had a matte screen it would definately be on my desk already. I can get the student discount so will check out the minis, maybe stretch to 2.7 i7. Is it easy to upgrade memory on a mini? Also is there a decent monitor for around £400-500 mark or cheaper? I see dell do some well recieved cheaper models as do samsung. I would also love 27" .

Craig i will definately check out your website. Thanks for the advice; i might still end up with a mac desktop however haha.

docx · Sep 17, 2012

Don't worry about the glossy screen. Its only a problem if you have light shining directly on to the screen.
Having owned quite a few monitors I can definitely say the 27" iMac screen is amazing.

amzee75 · Sep 19, 2012

docx said:
Don't worry about the glossy screen. Its only a problem if you have light shining directly on to the screen.
Having owned quite a few monitors I can definitely say the 27" iMac screen is amazing.

you say rhight my friend

jesse101 · Sep 20, 2012

I recently purchased my Imac for photo editing and it is phenomenal! owned window OS for all my life, first Mac ever and it has been awesome.

Thymen · Sep 27, 2012

iMac i5/3.1 GHz with 16 GB ram, 1TB HD here. With a 2 GB external FW800 drive connected to it to store all the LightRoom/Photoshop files. I keep the catalog and preview files on LightRoom on the local disc, for (a little) faster previewing.

Even for extensive, large files (100 MB tiff) this combo works like a charm. I do not see the need for a fast SSD, because I do not start-stop LR/PSP etc. frequently. Just keep them running in the background most of the time. Besides, from the HDD, LR/PSP start within a few seconds anyway.

Thymen

iMac for photography

Jon81

RavingMac

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Jon81

RavingMac

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infocusinc

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Jon81

docx

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