New Mac Mini for Photography

[mpfuchs]

I've been eyeing the new Mini for a while now and since B&H is running $100 on my configuration right now, I took the plunge and got my new Mini yesterday. i7/8GB/512GB with 32GB RAM from OWC in the mail.

After figuring out how to move my Lightroom library over to the new machine, I was pleasantly surprised how well it worked even with the 8GB of RAM. The processor really does make a bid difference, coming from a base model 2014 13" rMBP. Since I lost my previews in the move, it was awesome to see how well the Mini was creating previews on the fly while scrolling through my library. That should only get better...

Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone on here that's go the new Mini and shared their experience so it was easier for my to make my decision!

 

[Apple fanboy]

I've been eyeing the new Mini for a while now and since B&H is running $100 on my configuration right now, I took the plunge and got my new Mini yesterday. i7/8GB/512GB with 32GB RAM from OWC in the mail.

After figuring out how to move my Lightroom library over to the new machine, I was pleasantly surprised how well it worked even with the 8GB of RAM. The processor really does make a bid difference, coming from a base model 2014 13" rMBP. Since I lost my previews in the move, it was awesome to see how well the Mini was creating previews on the fly while scrolling through my library. That should only get better...

Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks to everyone on here that's go the new Mini and shared their experience so it was easier for my to make my decision!

Still enjoying mine. Enjoy yours.

 

[rhett7660]

I bought my wife one, it is an older version and that is all she uses it for is photography, picture management, and listening to Plex. Oh and the occasional printing of pictures.

She doesn't do huge files, she still shots with a Canon 30D and her iPhone.

 

[mpfuchs]

Still enjoying mine. Enjoy yours.

Did you get yours with the 32GB installed, or did you go the 3rd party route?

I bought my wife one, it is an older version and that is all she uses it for is photography, picture management, and listening to Plex. Oh and the occasional printing of pictures.

She doesn't do huge files, she still shots with a Canon 30D and her iPhone.

I kinda spec-ed this one to last me a long time. It's actually fun again going through my Lightroom library, so I'll be revisiting some recent trips to process.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Did you get yours with the 32GB installed, or did you go the 3rd party route?



I kinda spec-ed this one to last me a long time. It's actually fun again going through my Lightroom library, so I'll be revisiting some recent trips to process.

From Apple. Same as the 2 TB SSD. I didn’t want to risk it.

 

[stillcrazyman]

I’ve been enjoying mine as well. I did the 32gb memory upgrade myself.

This little Mac handles DxO, ON1 GraphicConverter and now Exposure X4 very well.

 

[swissbob]

I also thought about getting a mini but then I found this Thread https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2018-macbook-pros-crashing-with-bridge-os-error.2128976/

I hope Apple will fix it a.s.a.p.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I also thought about getting a mini but then I found this Thread https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2018-macbook-pros-crashing-with-bridge-os-error.2128976/

I hope Apple will fix it a.s.a.p.

Mines been running fine since launch. For every ‘I have a problem with my x thread’, there are 1000’s of users having no issues.

 

[mpfuchs]

Mines been running fine since launch. For every ‘I have a problem with my x thread’, there are 1000’s of users having no issues.

Exaclty. Nobody goes online and rants about how their new gadget works as expected!
Got the RAM in the mail today. Can't wait to put it in over the weekend.
[doublepost=1559927442][/doublepost]

I’ve been enjoying mine as well. I did the 32gb memory upgrade myself.

This little Mac handles DxO, ON1 GraphicConverter and now Exposure X4 very well.

You ran yours without a eGPU for a while, right?
Did you notice a big difference for your photography post processing after hooking the eGPU up?

 

[stillcrazyman]

Exaclty. Nobody goes online and rants about how their new gadget works as expected!
Got the RAM in the mail today. Can't wait to put it in over the weekend.
[doublepost=1559927442][/doublepost]

You ran yours without a eGPU for a while, right?
Did you notice a big difference for your photography post processing after hooking the eGPU up?

It all depends on the program being used. ON1 PhotoRaw is one app I use that will use hardware acceleration from an eGPU. Most other apps don't seem to have this ability yet. So, some research might be in order if an eGPU is something you might think you'd want.

 

[mpfuchs]

It all depends on the program being used. ON1 PhotoRaw is one app I use that will use hardware acceleration from an eGPU. Most other apps don't seem to have this ability yet. So, some research might be in order if an eGPU is something you might think you'd want.

Thanks for that. I'm just using Lightroom and sometimes Photoshop right now, but when the renewal date comes around, I'm sure I'll be looking for alternatives again.

Exposure X4 looks pretty promising. Especially the Lightroom Migration Tool.
Are you happy with the Photo Manager part of it, and does it do geo-tagging?

 

[Apple fanboy]

I figured I’d be fine without and I’d order one if and when I need one.

 

[stillcrazyman]

Thanks for that. I'm just using Lightroom and sometimes Photoshop right now, but when the renewal date comes around, I'm sure I'll be looking for alternatives again.

Exposure X4 looks pretty promising. Especially the Lightroom Migration Tool.
Are you happy with the Photo Manager part of it, and does it do geo-tagging?

I am enjoying the workflow (Photo manager) and the natural looks I am getting from editing with Exposure X4.5. I don't know if geo-tagging is part of it or not.

 

[mpfuchs]

Got my 32 gigs of RAM installed, piece of cake!
I've always been reading about how the Mac does special RAM management, and not I'm a believer.
Before the upgrade, for regular usage, I was getting 5.5 out of 8GB.
After, with the same windows open, I was using 11 out of 32GB, but the memory pressure is now way down. I'd say 10% vs. 60%.

Now working in Lightroom and Photoshop, listening to music and some Safari windows open in the background I'm at 24GB.
Glad I went with the 32GB upgrade. Should give me some decent buffer for future use!

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Got my 32 gigs of RAM installed, piece of cake!
I've always been reading about how the Mac does special RAM management, and not I'm a believer.
Before the upgrade, for regular usage, I was getting 5.5 out of 8GB.
After, with the same windows open, I was using 11 out of 32GB, but the memory pressure is now way down. I'd say 10% vs. 60%.

Now working in Lightroom and Photoshop, listening to music and some Safari windows open in the background I'm at 24GB.
Glad I went with the 32GB upgrade. Should give me some decent buffer for future use!

MacOS will make use of the available RAM that you have by keeping as many of your frequently used programs in memory as possible. If an application needs more RAM, the OS will dump a program out of memory to make those resources available. Should you need that dumped program again, the OS has to reload it from the hard drive. Basically, the more RAM you have, the more programs can remain in memory, and the result is that the OS "feels" faster because loading from RAM is much faster than loading from your hard drive. This was really true back in the days of spinning hard drives, but the effect is not as noticeable with fast SSDs. If I recall right, OS X was one of the first OSes to use RAM in this way. Pretty much every modern OS works like this now, which is great since you might as well make use of that free memory somehow, right?

 

[mpfuchs]

MacOS will make use of the available RAM that you have by keeping as many of your frequently used programs in memory as possible. If an application needs more RAM, the OS will dump a program out of memory to make those resources available. Should you need that dumped program again, the OS has to reload it from the hard drive. Basically, the more RAM you have, the more programs can remain in memory, and the result is that the OS "feels" faster because loading from RAM is much faster than loading from your hard drive. This was really true back in the days of spinning hard drives, but the effect is not as noticeable with fast SSDs. If I recall right, OS X was one of the first OSes to use RAM in this way. Pretty much every modern OS works like this now, which is great since you might as well make use of that free memory somehow, right?

Exactly! Now the whole memory pressure thing makes sense. If it's there, might as well use it!

 

[swissbob]

Mines been running fine since launch. For every ‘I have a problem with my x thread’, there are 1000’s of users having no issues.

Nice to read

It‘s probably more a Mac Book pro and iMac Pro issue . ( my 18 Mac Book pro worked fine until recently....)

 

[Apple fanboy]

Nice to read

It‘s probably more a Mac Book pro and iMac Pro issue . ( my 18 Mac Book pro worked fine until recently....)

Sorry to hear that. But if you do have a problem, Apple are always good on the support side if you do have an issue in my experience.

 

[swissbob]

Sorry to hear that. But if you do have a problem, Apple are always good on the support side if you do have an issue in my experience.

Good to know thank you for the Information.
This is for me the first time I had to send an Apple product back.

( hopefully they are faster then Nikon, I once had to wait 3 months for the repair of the VR)
EDIT: I am not NPS.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Good to know thank you for the Information.
This is for me the first time I had to send an Apple product back.

( hopefully they are faster then Nikon, I once had to wait 3 months for the repair of the VR)
EDIT: I am not NPS.

NPS?

 

[swissbob]

NPS?

Nikon Professional Services
https://nps.nikonimaging.com/

 

[Apple fanboy]

Nikon Professional Services
https://nps.nikonimaging.com/

Oh right understood. I’ve only had to use them once and it was a reasonable turnaround as I recall.