PC For Photo Editing

[newfoundlander61]

My old dell desktop died (using my ipad for now) and I am shopping for a pc mainly for photo editing. I have looked at the all in one setups and was wondering if any forum members use one of theses for photo editing. I am not against getting a laptop either. The screen size on them is large enough of course the internal workings a important also. Would an Intel i3 be bare min for this. Love the look and feel of the IMAC, which would intergrate nicely with my ipad. Any feedback is welcome, don't be shy

Paul
Kingston

[Bluffs Birder]

Sorry about your trouble Paul, hope you didn't lose anything too important.  My laptop, a Toshiba running Windows Vista, died in April and still isn't anywhere near 100%.  The iMac's are beautiful machines from what I've seen and what everyone says and judging by the crowds of people always in the Apple Stores here in Toronto, I'm thinking they're the way to go.

Good luck!
Walter

[Brian Bailey]

A big factor in your decision will be your current software investment.  If you have expensive software, like Photoshop, for PC, you will have to buy a whole new version to run on a Mac.  If that's not a factor, take a good look at the Apple line-up:  it's probably a better choice.  A key factor for photography is that all Apple LCD (or LED) displays use IPS (In-Plane Switching) technology.  IPS displays have much better colour fidelity and viewing angles than the other LCD technologies.  (Your IPad has an IPS display.)  IPS displays are rare and expensive in the PC realm.  (probably because they tend to have slower response times making them less desirable for gaming and movies).

The PassMark CPU Benchmarks are useful for figuring out the relative power of the various processors.  I have PCs and my i7 desktop handles most of my photo editing, but my i5 laptop does a reasonably good job too.  RAM is key to good performance.  Get as much as you budget allows and make sure you can add more later.  64 bit photo editing software will run much faster with lots of RAM.

BB

[Michael Tam]

As described in another thread on this forum, IPS monitor is the benchmark monitor for the photographic community. To understand further on the LCD technology, please read the following:

http://www.pchardwarehelp.com/guides/lc ... -types.php

The IPS monitor does not have to be expensive. For instance, the NEC EA231WMi 23" model was on sale for $299 in the past. When compared to the traditional TN LCD/LED models, one can immediately appreciate the difference in the image quality.

http://www.pchardwarehelp.com/guides/s-ips-lcd-list.php

The Apple line of computers is certainly one of the leading choice for the professional community.  However, affordibility can be an issue in life where a reliable PC with quad or higher core, an 8 GB RAM with 64 bits capability will serve one well at a reasonable cost.

Good birding and photography.

[newfoundlander61]

I purchased a Mac Pro laptop, thanks for the excellwnt information which aided in my decision. Now I have to figure out a decent Photo Editing program. I use to use a basic editor called Infraview which worked nicely. The Iphoto on the mac isnt the best, not sure if this is a full blown operational peogram or not? Ita intergration with Flickr is awesome, really like that feature.

[Michael Tam]

For post processing software of your images, many popular versions are available for 30 days free trial. The most inexpensive is Adobe Element. The most widely used is Adobe Lightroom 3. For those advance user, there is Photoshop CS5. Nikon has its own version of Nikon Capture NX 2.

It is important to note that Lightroom 3 is designed with photographers in mind resulting in better application in the work-flow than Photoshop software in general.  For further understanding of post processing software, please read this excellent review of the newest version of Adobe Lightroom 3:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/adobelightroom3

I am no post processing expert but hope it is helpful.

Good birding and photography.

[newfoundlander61]

Thanks I'll check them out.

[Kin Lau]

I've been using Adobe Photoshop Elements for about 6 years now. It has most of the power of it's big brother, but simplified for non-Pro users. It's also alot cheaper, only $99-. If you get the retail package, it comes with both the Mac and PC versions. Just make sure to get the latest 9.0, I still see older versions around in retail.

Elements also has a much smaller hardware requirement, Dual-core laptops with only 3gigs of RAM can easily handle it. On my i7 quad-core laptop, I've yet to have to wait for anything, everything happens in a blink.

[newfoundlander61]

Thanks Kin.

[JW Mills]

You can download a 30 day trial of Elements 9 from Adobe. If you like it you can then then purchase it direct from Adobe for $80 US.  
I downloaded the Elements 9 trial, liked it and purchased it.
Adobe then offered me an upgrade to Lightroom 3 for $99 US. I download a trial version of Lightroom 3, liked it and purchased that as well .
 
I now use Lightroom for most of my post-processing. Elements is reserved for frankenstein work.
 
One nice thing about Elements and Lightroom is that there are plenty of free tutorials available.

[BoboBird]

I use PS myself but have access to Lightroom - If I were to start over, LR would be my first choice.

Since you have picked up an Apple machine, take a look at Aperture as well.

[newfoundlander61]

Awesome, thanks for all the advice and feed back. Makes it much easier with user reviews.

[Michael Tam]

It has been said that Adobe Lightroom 3 is a photographer's dream tool at a reasonable cost.  The new version, Lightroom 3 proves to be a significant improvement to the previous version, Lightroom 2.

The following article highlights the reasons why the Adobe Lightroom 3 is the most widely used photo editing software in the market todate:

http://www.wildlife-photography-tips.co ... oom-3.html
http://www.wildlife-photography-tips.co ... troom.html

Good birding and photography.

[Michael Tam]

The accurate reporduction of the true color tonality of a photograph on the monitor, even for the best IPS type monitor, may require periodic calibration.  

The following articles described the necessary equipment and software for the calibration process:

http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/blog ... ation.html

http://www.drycreekphoto.com/Learn/moni ... _tools.htm

http://www.imaging-resource.com/ARTS/MO ... IBRATE.HTM

Good birding and photography.