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What mac hardware do you use for your Photography?

Clix Pix

Clix Pix

macrumors Core
Oct 9, 2005
21,652
48,696
8 miles from the Apple Store at Tysons (VA)
Definitely makes my computer truly "mine" and personal! :). For example, I have a folder of items that I want to add to iTunes (sometimes I don't get around to doing it right away when I have a new music file or short home video that someone has sent me), and instead of the old blue folder, icon I found a neat orange music clef that works perfectly for this purpose. Another folder is my folder of images that I sync with the iPhone and iPad, appropriately named "iPad Image Gallery," and that one boasts a photo of my iPad a few years ago, shot with another iPad or maybe it was the iPhone, in Photo Booth. These are all permanent residents on the desktop. Other folders which may be more ephemeral and don't remain on the desktop for long sometimes don't get a change in icon. I think it was probably right here on MR that I first learned about this idea.....
 
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F-Train

macrumors 68020
Apr 22, 2015
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NYC & Newfoundland
Donka said:
As per the title, I'm curious what Mac hardware everyone uses for their photography and how they use it.
Click to expand...

I shoot both film and digital. I have a few cameras, but my favourite, by far, is a 1956 Leica M3.

Computer:
2018 Mac mini i7/32GB/512GB

Graphics Card:
RX Vega 56 in an Asus XG Station Pro enclosure

Monitor:
Asus ProArt 32" 3840x2160 (PA32UC)

Applications:
Lightroom Classic CC
Photoshop CC 2019
 
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MacNut

MacNut

macrumors Core
Jan 4, 2002
22,998
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Apple fanboy said:
Wow. That’s a big leap! I bet it seems like a lightweight rocket ship compared to your previous model.
Click to expand...
I feel like I'm about to break it it's so thin.
[doublepost=1545438811][/doublepost]I must say Touch ID on a computer is amazing.
 
Clix Pix

Clix Pix

macrumors Core
Oct 9, 2005
21,652
48,696
8 miles from the Apple Store at Tysons (VA)
MacNut said:
Took the plunge and just bought a 2018 mbp 32gb i9 with 1tb.
Click to expand...

Congratulations!!!! You will love it, I promise! I haven't yet really begun to put mine through the paces of which I know she is capable, but even just for everyday stuff the difference is noticeable -- these babies really are fast and powerful!!

That's the ting to do, pick up cables with the USB-C on one end and whatever else is needed on the other end; I have done that with the various connectors that my older external drives have. Didn't have to worry about Firewire, though -- took care of that problem about a year or so ago when it dawned on me that I probably should get the stuff that was on old externals FW drives off on to something a bit more current, so bought a FW-to-USB 3 adapter and took care of that situation.

When I bought my 2016 12" MacBook that was my first exposure to USB-C and so I started paying attention to what was needed and when I purchased external drives if there were two kinds of cables which came in the box -- that has worked out well, so that when I brought my 2018 MBP home it was pretty easy to just use the older 2015 MBP with its USB-3 connection to copy important folders and files and the swap cables and with the USB-C connectors then stick those same folders and files into my new machine. I didn't use Migration Assistant or a cloned copy of the drive on the 2015 machine, went for setting up everything as new and then putting in just what I wanted on the new machine.
 
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MacNut

MacNut

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Clix Pix said:
Congratulations!!!! You will love it, I promise! I haven't yet really begun to put mine through the paces of which I know she is capable, but even just for everyday stuff the difference is noticeable -- these babies really are fast and powerful!!
Click to expand...
I bought my mom a new iPad for xmas and also bought myself something. :D
 
MacNut

MacNut

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Jan 4, 2002
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Clix Pix said:
Nice son, buying your mother a new iPad!! :).

Yeah, my new machine is my Christmas/Birthday present/July 4th present/whatever else..... No regrets! I am very happy with her!
Click to expand...
Next major purchase before the inheritance gets stored away is a new camera.

ahahah the speakers on this thing are a beast.
 
Clix Pix

Clix Pix

macrumors Core
Oct 9, 2005
21,652
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8 miles from the Apple Store at Tysons (VA)
Yeah, the speakers are something, aren't they? I wasn't prepared for this and had set the volume fairly high -- and was nearly blasted out of my seat! Oops.....! MUCH better than on my 2015 MBP, that's for sure! A lot of the time I listen to my music and videos through headphones but hadn't yet gotten around to pairing them, so decided to just check out the speakers and put on some music for a listen -- WOW!!

I've pretty much decided to put off a new camera until spring, since I went over my planned budget for the purchase of the new computer and also, I tend not to do as much shooting during the winter anyway. Springtime is when I really like to get out there with camera in hand and have fun with flowers and foliage springing up everywhere.
 
MacNut

MacNut

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Not to hijack this thread, but why is it such a pain in the ass to transfer iTunes files from one machine to the other. It should be in time machine not some extra convoluted process. Ok end of rant.
 
mollyc

mollyc

macrumors G3
Aug 18, 2016
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MacNut said:
Not to hijack this thread, but why is it such a pain in the ass to transfer iTunes files from one machine to the other. It should be in time machine not some extra convoluted process. Ok end of rant.
Click to expand...

Migration assistant has always worked for me.

Otherwise I’d just use my phone and copy it to a new machine.
 
MacNut

MacNut

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The files were there they just had to be manually imported into iTunes.
[doublepost=1545507309][/doublepost]Ok last remarks on this machine, not sure about the trackpad or keyboard, I don't mind the touch pad all that much, i could go 50/50 on it. Love touch id and the screen and sound are amazing.
 
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Clix Pix

Clix Pix

macrumors Core
Oct 9, 2005
21,652
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8 miles from the Apple Store at Tysons (VA)
What I did was to copy the contents of my music folder from my 2015 MBP to an external SSD and then plugged that into the new machine and copied everything over to the music folder in the new machine. I had a few odds-and-ends of mp3s that are not (yet) in iTunes and of course I had the iTunes folder. Just copied each thing right to the music folder. Once that was done I then opened iTunes on the new machine and went into preferences to adjust the settings there and also of course authorized the new machine to play the music. My playlists were intact just the way they were in the older machine. Using an external SSD as opposed to an external HDD makes the process significantly quicker if one has a large iTunes library, as I do.

Since I have my 2018 MBP on a stand and am using an external keyboard I haven't really dealt much with the actual keyboard or trackpad on the machine itself, and needless to say I also haven't done anything with the Touch Bar, either. It's pretty and its interesting, though, but not essential for my purposes. The one thing I do find disconcerting is that when shut down, the machine will start right back up if I accidentally touch a key or the touchpad. First thing in the day when I'm getting ready to use the machine, fine, I like that it turns on immediately when I raise the lid, but at night when I'm trying to shut down, get it all shut down and am about to close the lid I'm learning that I really have to be careful that I don't touch any of the keys or the machine reboots and then I have to shut down again.
 
F

F-Train

macrumors 68020
Apr 22, 2015
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MacNut said:
Not to hijack this thread, but why is it such a pain in the ass to transfer iTunes files from one machine to the other. It should be in time machine not some extra convoluted process. Ok end of rant.
Click to expand...

I just transferred an iTunes library from my internal drive to an external drive and was pleased with how very easy it is. You just have to press the option key when you open iTunes and tell it where the library is.
 
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MacNut

MacNut

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Downloaded the Adobe photo apps. They run like butter on this machine. Very happy I went big and didn't cut corners.
 
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Clix Pix

Clix Pix

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Oct 9, 2005
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8 miles from the Apple Store at Tysons (VA)
I'm really loving this machine and, yes, everything runs smooth and fluidly on it -- an amazing computer! I still have not really put mine to any challenge, but the time will come. Agree with you, I'm glad that I did go with this configuration; I am seeing the benefits now and will continue to see them for a long time to come......
 
stillcrazyman

stillcrazyman

macrumors 603
Oct 10, 2014
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stillcrazyman said:
I recently purchased a 2018 Mac Mini i7/32GB/1TB to replace a Late 2012 iMac. My main use is photo editing.
I paired the Mini to a ViewSonic 32" 4K monitor.

I use ON1 Photo Raw 2019, DxO Photo Lab, Luminar, Fast Raw Viewer, Graphic Converter and a few other utilities.
With the integrated GPUs on the Mini, I was a little concerned that I'd suffer a bit with the editing process.
I'm happy to say, my fears were alleviated. I've processed a few hundred raw files from my Olympus EM5 Mk2, used all the apps extensively in the last few weeks. No issues at all. I'm very pleased with my decision.

Now I may or may not decide to purchase an eGPU - still researching the pros and cons of having one.
Click to expand...


I did end up buying an eGPU setup. Paired with the Vega 56 card, this setup makes all the brush work and heavy processing a great deal smoother. Not much if any lag when applying edits. Was it worth the money ? I'd say so.
I sold my old iMac for a lot more than I thought I could, so that offset the cost. Actually the sale paid for the entire setup.
 
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