Since this is a Mac site I suppose most will use the Mac but there are many companies out there that prefer Windows for design tasks even though the Mac is better. For my job I use excel and business applications allot. At home I prefer Numbers for various reasons over excel. So for you do you use Windows at work and Mac at home for your design or photography duties?
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Mac or PC for editing photos?
- Thread starter jwolf6589
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More important is the monitor. At the very least it needs to show B&W tonal scales as black and white and various shades of gray. If there is colour bias on this test then everything you display on a different computer will be out of whack. Macs have good calibration abilities built-in, and beyond that there are steps you can take to calibrate monitors to printers and publishers. How exact you have to be depends on what you are doing with the image. Just sharing it with friends who probably have no clue how to fine tune their monitors requires very little, and the built in tools are more than adequate.
Beyond that is imaging software, that is affordable and that you are comfortable with. You can do a lot even in Preview, but a lot more with software that allows easy selection of portions of an image, correction for lens distortion, layers....
Beyond that is imaging software, that is affordable and that you are comfortable with. You can do a lot even in Preview, but a lot more with software that allows easy selection of portions of an image, correction for lens distortion, layers....
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I'd have to agree. The image quality and accuracy of the monitor is the most important.
Pretty much any halfway decent new computer is plenty for most image editing tasks. Unless you are doing some heavy duty work on huge RAW files with lots of layers. As you can also do MS Office on the Mac. It all comes down to your OS preference.
I use Windows now. That's just because I have a gaming desktop. I'd rather use my three big IPS screens than a Macbook Pro or ancient iMac for photo editing. Plus I want to keep using Photoshop CS6. Rather than paying a monthly fee. When it gets to the point where it is no longer an option. I think I'll switch to Affinity Photo.
Pretty much any halfway decent new computer is plenty for most image editing tasks. Unless you are doing some heavy duty work on huge RAW files with lots of layers. As you can also do MS Office on the Mac. It all comes down to your OS preference.
I use Windows now. That's just because I have a gaming desktop. I'd rather use my three big IPS screens than a Macbook Pro or ancient iMac for photo editing. Plus I want to keep using Photoshop CS6. Rather than paying a monthly fee. When it gets to the point where it is no longer an option. I think I'll switch to Affinity Photo.
Don't you need a DSLR to edit? LOL...J/K
I have never used anything except iPhotos..so only on a Mac. Some day I will move to a more sophisticated post editing program (on a Mac) but for now I would just like to learn to take better photos.
I was actually trying to leave the snark out of this thread.
I wasn’t sure if he was asking because he is reconsidering his camera choice or just polling.
I only use a Mac but am a stay at home mom. My husband is all pc. My daughter has a mbp and my son has school issued Apple products. He goes back and forth as to whether he prefers Mac or pc.
Yes, that is better way to go....but I feel he adds a hint of buyers remorse in every thread he starts so its hard not to add a little snarkness and humor into the replies...(Is snarkness even a word?)
C) Linux Mint and Darktable
For a while, I was doing all my edits on Photos with an iPad. It worked pretty good, but I'm seeking a little more product differentiation and some additional flexibility. I'm also not sure if I want to be locked into the Apple Silicon future. There's rumors of Rosetta disappearing in an upcoming MacOS update, which makes legacy support extremely short-lived. The M1 is impressive, but not if it starts limiting the use of perfectly good software.
Also, I don't know if snarkness is a word, but I have heard people say "snarkiness," though my spellcheck doesn't like it either.
For a while, I was doing all my edits on Photos with an iPad. It worked pretty good, but I'm seeking a little more product differentiation and some additional flexibility. I'm also not sure if I want to be locked into the Apple Silicon future. There's rumors of Rosetta disappearing in an upcoming MacOS update, which makes legacy support extremely short-lived. The M1 is impressive, but not if it starts limiting the use of perfectly good software.
Also, I don't know if snarkness is a word, but I have heard people say "snarkiness," though my spellcheck doesn't like it either.
Any computer as long as it has processing power is fine. The question to ask is what software you want to use.
This has been an all-Mac household since 2005 (well, I kept the old Windows machine around for about a year after I bought my first Mac but then one day finally wiped the thing and donated it to a charity shop as I hadn't touched it, didn't want or need to touch it, once I'd gotten the Mac and had familiarized myself with it).
I did use Windows at work when I was still working but once I completely retired that was the end of that for me.
I'm not into needing to create and work with design or graphics projects and by choice and skill set inclination stick strictly to photographic shooting and then editing the images I shoot, and for that I do use various software programs (listed here in MR in another thread about that topic). I didn't use iPhoto and I don't use the current version, Photos, either, as I prefer managing and editing my images more extensively and differently than that program offers.
I will add that I am still a work in process when it comes to editing and all that -- for a long time I resisted as much as I could but eventually began to explore the previously-ignored possibilities inherent in some editing programs that I found, wow, DO make a difference in the appearance of the finished edit! There are still many retouching/editing skills that many people have which I probably never will acquire unless I take the time and develop the patience and discipline to learn them......
I did use Windows at work when I was still working but once I completely retired that was the end of that for me.
I'm not into needing to create and work with design or graphics projects and by choice and skill set inclination stick strictly to photographic shooting and then editing the images I shoot, and for that I do use various software programs (listed here in MR in another thread about that topic). I didn't use iPhoto and I don't use the current version, Photos, either, as I prefer managing and editing my images more extensively and differently than that program offers.
I will add that I am still a work in process when it comes to editing and all that -- for a long time I resisted as much as I could but eventually began to explore the previously-ignored possibilities inherent in some editing programs that I found, wow, DO make a difference in the appearance of the finished edit! There are still many retouching/editing skills that many people have which I probably never will acquire unless I take the time and develop the patience and discipline to learn them......
I use a Mac at work and a Mac at home. But LR works on both, so there is no real difference. Just choose the platform and software that works for you.
Currently using Windows Surface 3 (2015) w/Lightroom. A little slow to start. Otherwise works fine with a generic active pen. Surface screen is great due to the tight lamination.
Mac here, with Photo Mechanic and Capture One mainly plus Photoshop when needed, occasionally Helicon and maybe more rarely PTGui. I don’t think it matters though, Mac or Windows. Personal preference, really.
Dual platform here ( Mac & Windows ) . Everything that I generally use ( Affinity Photo , Dxo Photolab , Bridge ,PSE , some of the Topaz stuff) works equally well on either platform . Pick your poison , but if you go for a PC desktop or a mini , don't cheap out on the monitor.
im photo editing now on a MacBook air, late 2010 using Nikon ViewNX 2 software which i prefer to editing with over the 2019 DellXPS 13" simply for ease than speed. The MacBook air Nikon program knows exactly were the sd card is and gathers the photos instantly while on the Dell need to fish for the card. The Dell is faster, but not as simpler than the MBA.
OP, what are your goals here. Are you interested in learning photography or just want to start conversations. You are asking the questions of someone who wants to spend money and really learn photography, but you say you are happy just using a P&S and not having to do any work after.
And how does photos do for editing? I use it from time to time to edit. But my work with photos is as a hobby and not as a professional. I can’t afford Photoshop but I can use photos. But I guess it depends on what I need done.
Sometimes I need to edit a photo. Photos seem fine for my needs but I have to wonder how capable it is.
Not very.
Not to mention editing JPEGs isn't really worth it. It will just make the photo look worse.
I must be color blind or something because I hardly notice. Yes I am color blind and probably no good for art.