Mac Mini for Photographers?

[JL Radcliffe]

First, I am new to this forum and to Macs. I began with an Apple II and then a II+ back in the 1970s but work related issues and programming forced me into the Windows world for the last 20 to 30 years. I am now retired and considering a return to Apple products.

I am a photographer. Photography is my main source of enjoyment and expression. I need a system I can depend on to handle my photography.

I recently saw my photos displayed on the new Apple Studio Monitor and was blown away by what I saw. I currently use a windows machine but am now considering a return to Apple products. My question is if all I am interested in doing with an Apple system is running Lightroom and Photoshop and a few more photo related programs, what would be my best choice? Most bang for the buck?

A fully loaded Mac Mini M1 with the Apple Studio Monitor
or
The base Mac Studio: Apple M1 Max and Apple Studio Monitor

Option A may be underpowered and option B may be overkill for Lightroom and Photoshop.

I do not do video or music composure at all so you can remove those variables from the formula.

I would like to hear from photographers who have used both systems and the software I have mentioned as to their thoughts and experiences on the two systems. My old Dell (XPS 8900) is showing its age and I will have to replace it soon.

I am not cheap, just don't want to overspend but certainly wish to make sure I will get at least 6 years out of whatever I decide to buy.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and suggestions.

As always, if this is not the proper place for my question, kindly point me in the right direction.

 

[OldITGeek]

Option A is not under powered, B is just faster. I bought an M1 Mini, 16gb and 1TB ssd, discovered it was a lot faster then my Mac Pro 6.1. (I7 64GB 2TB ssd.)
Decided to trade my Mac Pro for a Studio Max, 64GB 1TB SSD, the studio is just faster then the Mini, but the mini is a lot faster than the I7 in the Mac Pro.

I like the Studio, because it has a lot more ports. and if I did not have the Studio, the mini would be excellent.

 

[JL Radcliffe]

Option A is not under powered, B is just faster. I bought an M1 Mini, 16gb and 1TB ssd, discovered it was a lot faster then my Mac Pro 6.1. (I7 64GB 2TB ssd.)
Decided to trade my Mac Pro for a Studio Max, 64GB 1TB SSD, the studio is just faster then the Mini, but the mini is a lot faster than the I7 in the Mac Pro.

I like the Studio, because it has a lot more ports. and if I did not have the Studio, the mini would be excellent.

Thanks for the reply. I really do like the new Studio Max, more ports, faster, etc.. but at the same time I wonder if I am not overspending just for Photoshop & Lightroom. At any rate, your thoughts and experience are appreciated. I hope to hear from others with their experiences.

I have read of some issue of using the Studio Monitor with the Mac Mini.. not sure if that was operator error or an issue between the two pieces of hardware.

 

[Danfango]

Most bang for buck in my signature

Not too sure about the Mac Mini. I haven't tried mine with the Studio Display but it works perfectly with a MacBook Pro and charges it.

 

[BotchQue]

I had to make the same decision a couple months ago, and decided to go with the Mini. I added suitable RAM/memory/etc, and also realized I'd need a dock for the extra ports I required. I'm done with the <$50 ports at B&H which always stop working within a year, knew I'd go with either the CalDigit or OtherWorld Computing models (~$400) and suddenly I was only $150 south of the price of a base Studio, so I went with that instead. Keeps the desk clutter down a bit, too. (I do photography only also, although the hp is there for video work if that happens later).

 

[Jamacfer]

As of the ports is it possible to use those on the Apple Studio Display?

 

[InuNacho]

I have a 2018 i7 Mini. It's not ARM but it's specs are similar to the M1 Mini, its also a good deal weaker than the Studio.

IMO the Studio isn't worth it for LR and PS unless you're creating massive files. I use Lightroom 6 and Affinity Photo in tandem with one another and regularly work with large files from scans and my 2018 Mini doesn't break a sweat. A current project I'm doing right now is over a 1GB in size or a 64MP equivalent if thats how you want to calculate it. Its fine, plenty of power and nothing to worry about.

Buy a 16GB M1 Mini, a good drive enclosure, and fast card reader and you're set.

 

[JL Radcliffe]

I had to make the same decision a couple months ago, and decided to go with the Mini. I added suitable RAM/memory/etc, and also realized I'd need a dock for the extra ports I required. I'm done with the <$50 ports at B&H which always stop working within a year, knew I'd go with either the CalDigit or OtherWorld Computing models (~$400) and suddenly I was only $150 south of the price of a base Studio, so I went with that instead. Keeps the desk clutter down a bit, too. (I do photography only also, although the hp is there for video work if that happens later).

Yeah, it's a hard choice.. maxing out a mini puts you close to the base Studio. Thanks for your input.

 

[JL Radcliffe]

I have a 2018 i7 Mini. It's not ARM but it's specs are similar to the M1 Mini, its also a good deal weaker than the Studio.

IMO the Studio isn't worth it for LR and PS unless you're creating massive files. I use Lightroom 6 and Affinity Photo in tandem with one another and regularly work with large files from scans and my 2018 Mini doesn't break a sweat. A current project I'm doing right now is over a 1GB in size or a 64MP equivalent if thats how you want to calculate it. Its fine, plenty of power and nothing to worry about.


Buy a 16GB M1 Mini, a good drive enclosure, and fast card reader and you're set.

Thanks for your thoughts. My conservative side says buy the mini and max it out and save a bit of money and then my more logical side suggests that the studio base with enhancements would be a better choice due to the ports and GPU options... but then again, it's only lightroom and Photoshop. Thanks for taking the time to reply. I'm still on the fence.

BTW, I use the Sony A7R IV 61MP photos. Will need a lot of external storage for over 144K photos.

 

[Jumpthesnark]

If you buy the base Studio, you'll have twice the RAM (32GB) of a maxed-out M1 Mini (16GB). PS and LR are both native Apple Silicon apps at this point, so they should scream on either machine. See if you can save some money to buy a color calibrator for the monitor, no matter which you get.

 

[JL Radcliffe]

If you buy the base Studio, you'll have twice the RAM (32GB) of a maxed-out M1 Mini (16GB). PS and LR are both native Apple Silicon apps at this point, so they should scream on either machine. See if you can save some money to buy a color calibrator for the monitor, no matter which you get.

Thanks. I have a 27" Benq monitor and a spyder 5 calibration unit.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

If you can afford the base model Studio, then it's the obvious choice.
Hands down.
Nothing more to add...

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

I'm a photographer myself, and work with Lightroom (CC, not Classic) and Photoshop with high-res scanned film negatives.

Honest opinion? Right now, neither.

I would be willing to bet money on Apple releasing a M1/2 Pro variant of the Mini, and that is the computer I would buy.

The vanilla M1 is fine for my needs in terms of CPU and GPU performance, but the 16gb RAM limitation is a pain as it is gobbled up quickly by Lightroom. On the other hand if you were to get a Max then you would be overpaying for performance you wouldn't use - strictly in your use case.

The Pro chip is arguably the best balance of performance and value in Apple Silicon right now, with enough CPU and GPU performance for most demanding tasks, but with the advantage of going up to 32gb of RAM.

So if you can wait then I would wait. My guess is that they'll announce the new Mini this winter.

 

[orionquest]

Meh either is fine. I'm a freelancer photographer shooting every week-end, and I work on a Haswell system.
Neither PS or LR are very demanding tasks on modern systems. Mind you I have 32 gigs RAM so it's less of a headache.

The real deliema is the long term. With no expansion, you either are buying ram/storage upfront, or sell re-purchase down the road.

 

[JL Radcliffe]

I'm a photographer myself, and work with Lightroom (CC, not Classic) and Photoshop with high-res scanned film negatives.

Honest opinion? Right now, neither.

I would be willing to bet money on Apple releasing a M1/2 Pro variant of the Mini, and that is the computer I would buy.

The vanilla M1 is fine for my needs in terms of CPU and GPU performance, but the 16gb RAM limitation is a pain as it is gobbled up quickly by Lightroom. On the other hand if you were to get a Max then you would be overpaying for performance you wouldn't use - strictly in your use case.

The Pro chip is arguably the best balance of performance and value in Apple Silicon right now, with enough CPU and GPU performance for most demanding tasks, but with the advantage of going up to 32gb of RAM.

So if you can wait then I would wait. My guess is that they'll announce the new Mini this winter.

Thanks for your thoughts. My 8 year old Dell is getting a little wonky and my desire is to move to Apple but the current delays in getting their products is a bit scary if the Dell dies. I would prefer to wait for an updated, more capable, mini dedicated to Lightroom and Photoshop but not sure the Dell will last until next year.

 

[JL Radcliffe]

Meh either is fine. I'm a freelancer photographer shooting every week-end, and I work on a Haswell system.
Neither PS or LR are very demanding tasks on modern systems. Mind you I have 32 gigs RAM so it's less of a headache.

The real deliema is the long term. With no expansion, you either are buying ram/storage upfront, or sell re-purchase down the road.

Agree.. while I have not been using any apple products other than iPhone and iPad, I know all to well how they force you to kiss their ring.. but the products are very good. They just don't want the user to be able to add to or upgrade anything themselves. I really don't like that aspect of the Apple world.

 

[mollyc]

i have a mbp with a max chip. lr and ps fly on it compared to my i7 2017 imac. i would not buy a machine for adobe products with less than 32gb ram.

 

[JL Radcliffe]

i have a mbp with a max chip. lr and ps fly on it compared to my i7 2017 imac. i would not buy a machine for adobe products with less than 32gb ram.

Thanks.. I agree. It was my hope that a Mac Mini with the new processor would be able to work well but the more I read the more I believe that I would not be happy with it over the long run. On the other hand, the basic Studio with improved options and the new studio display is stretching my budget quite a bit. Retired, fixed income, all that crap and concerns seniors have to deal with. Not that I'm in the poor house, just don't want to spend more than is necessary to get the system that will last me for the next 8 years or so.

 

[mollyc]

Thanks.. I agree. It was my hope that a Mac Mini with the new processor would be able to work well but the more I read the more I believe that I would not be happy with it over the long run. On the other hand, the basic Studio with improved options and the new studio display is stretching my budget quite a bit. Retired, fixed income, all that crap and concerns seniors have to deal with. Not that I'm in the poor house, just don't want to spend more than is necessary to get the system that will last me for the next 8 years or so.

my mbp is definitely overkill for what i actually need. but it was in stock at a third party retailer for next day delivery vs waiting months for a custom from apple. i regret nothing. 🙂

 

[JL Radcliffe]

my mbp is definitely overkill for what i actually need. but it was in stock at a third party retailer for next day delivery vs waiting months for a custom from apple. i regret nothing. 🙂

I really just want a desktop system. Carried a laptop around for years and hated doing that. the iPad is all I carry when out on the road shooting. I may just buy the base studio system with upgrades and be done with it. Time will tell.

 

[mollyc]

I really just want a desktop system. Carried a laptop around for years and hated doing that. the iPad is all I carry when out on the road shooting. I may just buy the base studio system with upgrades and be done with it. Time will tell.

oh i wasn’t suggesting you buy a laptop. just commenting on the “overbuying.”

 

[Fravin]

... just don't want to spend more than is necessary to get the system that will last me for the next 8 years or so.

This decision is so personal that it would make pointless to talk about the options. Only you will be able to solve the question.

All we can do is to tell our experiences to you.
I have a M1 Mini with 8Gb RAM and 512Gb SSD, am using Capture One to handle my Fuji's RAWs and working with photoshop in a daily basis. It's a hell of a computer. Super fast. I'm not worried about this little amount of RAM because I do not have any slowdowns while working.

I use the internal SSD for apps and iCloud stuff. My catalog is stored in external SSDs hooked on an USB hub.

 

[Fravin]

i have a mbp with a max chip. lr and ps fly on it compared to my i7 2017 imac. i would not buy a machine for adobe products with less than 32gb ram.

Is Lightroom that hungry?

Capture One does it fine with my 8Gb M1 Mini.

 

[mollyc]

Is Lightroom that hungry?

Capture One does it fine with my 8Gb M1 Mini.

Minimum is 8gb for each PS and LR. 16gb recommended by Adobe. I use both programs at the same time, plus other programs running in the background.

The OP wants a machine that will last a long time....memory requirements will never go down, only increase.

 

[jerryk]

I would look at a Studio. I have a M1 Mini and found it constraining with respect to ports and future projects. And by the time you max out a mini you are not all that far off a base Studio. FWIW, I just bought a base Studio to replace the M1 mini.