Purchase advice for photo editor and video editor.

[WhatMacForme]

Hi, thanks for your assistance. I personally haven't used any of the M1 Macs so I'm after some advice.

Our company has a photo editor and a video editor starting but I'm unsure what spec machines they'd need in the new M1 line-up. The majority of our content is 1080p but 4k is becoming more prominent.

I was looking at the base Mac studio for photo editing and the m1 ultra Mac studio for video. Is that over/underkill? Is an iMac suitable for the photo editor? Any advice would be appreciated.

Storage is a local NAS.

 

[profcutter]

Depends on your specific workflow, to be honest. If you’re pumping out long form videos by the truckload, and they happen to be formats that are supported by apple silicon hardware accelerators, why not get the ultra?

Your distro plans also matter, do you need color-managed monitors? If you’re planning on doing 4K video, I’d say invest in a 5k or greater monitor. That allows you to see the video at full res with room on the screen for controls. Also consider audio monitoring.

If your plans are just for web distribution, color calibration becomes less important. How often do you all upgrade machines? Could be a mini with 16 GB RAM would be plenty, and you could upgrade on the next cycle if need be.

 

[TechRunner]

As someone who edited video for a living a decade ago, I would buy the M1 Ultra Studio for the headroom, as various renders, effects etc. can eat up lots of horsepower in certain combinations. Not to mention the higher resolution of video editors are working with today. Peace of mind for me on that one.

As for photo editing, I do only light photo editing, but I would think that a base Studio with 32 gigs of RAM would give you that headroom for your workload, but a real photographer would have greater insight on that than I do.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Gimp is free...

 

[cobra521]

What,

Have you asked the incoming editor(s) what hardware/software they need to do your work?

Tom

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

What,

Have you asked the incoming editor(s) what hardware/software they need to do your work?

Tom

I had a client that brought someone in new to do 'creative work' for them, and then told them what to use. The new hire consulted with me a few weeks later on what to do. They were taking the ideas and requests back to their home office and cranking out the projects on their home computer, delivering the goods the next day. She was wondering how she would tell them that their choice for software was brain dead, and that she really wanted them to get the 'pro' versions of the software they already had at home to get the same quality there in her office. I advised her to show them what she was using and see if they would go that way instead. Apparently it didn't go well, she used a mac at home and the client was very 'mac adverse'. (Although they 'allowed' me to use my MBP to support their company) I think she quit in a huff, and they lost a great talent.

As an employer, ASK, don't DICTATE the tools...

 

[profcutter]

I had a client that brought someone in new to do 'creative work' for them, and then told them what to use. The new hire consulted with me a few weeks later on what to do. They were taking the ideas and requests back to their home office and cranking out the projects on their home computer, delivering the goods the next day. She was wondering how she would tell them that their choice for software was brain dead, and that she really wanted them to get the 'pro' versions of the software they already had at home to get the same quality there in her office. I advised her to show them what she was using and see if they would go that way instead. Apparently it didn't go well, she used a mac at home and the client was very 'mac adverse'. (Although they 'allowed' me to use my MBP to support their company) I think she quit in a huff, and they lost a great talent.

As an employer, ASK, don't DICTATE the tools...

Yeah I’d agree with this sentiment. If the new hire is part of a team, and everyone is on AVID, for example, then the new hire just has to roll with it. If the new hire is the whole media department, they get to decide what they need.

 

[Jumpthesnark]

It really depends on what specific tasks these people will be doing. I'm a photo editor and I use a 2017 MacBook Pro with an external monitor/mouse/keyboard for work. It is more than what I need, because I am using Lightroom, Photoshop, Chrome, Slack and a few proprietary programs such as our DAM app. It's pretty low impact, TBH.

For my personal photography work, I use a late 2014 5K iMac, which is plenty for Lightroom, Photoshop, Photo Mechanic, etc. Though I am looking forward to upgrading to something new over the next year or so.

I regularly calibrate both machines for color accuracy. You will definitely want some kind of color calibration hardware & software that works with their machines.

Check what software is native for SOC Macs, that may affect your purchase choices. And as @PinkyMacGodess and @profcutter both mentioned, ask the new hires what they use if at all possible.

 

[WhatMacForme]

Thanks for your assistance.

I know they'd likely be using the Adobe Creative Cloud as other team members use it, but it's not set in stone. I would ask the incoming team members but unfortunately, it's quicker to hire than it is to get Apple hardware currently.

The Upgrade cycle is likely to be 3-4 years unless we re-allocate machines. It sounds like two studios, the base and the ultra version plus some colour calibrated monitors are probably the best bet.

 

[Jumpthesnark]

It sounds like two studios, the base and the ultra version plus some colour calibrated monitors are probably the best bet.

I'm sure those machines will be plenty. Make sure you invest in the color calibrating hardware and software, so monitors can be recalibrated regularly. Calibrated at the factory and never again isn't the solution.

 

[profcutter]

Yeah, and I don’t know what your purchasing system is like, but you can actually waltz in to a Costco or Apple Store and pick up a new machine on most days. What takes eons is anything customized. So if you’re getting a base studio, you’re better off just buying when you need it, assuming you’re ok with 512 GB ssd, and adding additional storage externally, especially for the photo machine. If you’re modifying anything then yeah, order now. I also know it’s not always that simple with purchasing, so you might need to just queue up.