I've been a DOS/Windows user all my life, but I think since I'll be learning photo editing software from scratch, MacBook may be the way to go. Especially since I'll get the benefit of tethering as well. Right now, I think the software I'll be using are Phocus (naturally), DxO, and Helicon Focus. Two reason I'm leaning towards DxO, is I believe it's a good value (but what do I know) and I don't like subscriptions. Does DxO have any limitation compared to other editing software when it comes to the X2D? I shoot the X2D and Nikon Z8.
Gregg (glaiben), Thanks for the ArtIsRight suggestion from my introduction post. I did watch his videos already, but I watched them again and it seems that RAM makes a big difference in Lightroom Classic.
I initially thought the MacBook Pro with M4 Pro chip might be enough, but I am getting the impression that 64 GB RAM is the minimum I want. That pushes me into the M4 Max 16/40, which is quite a jump in price.
When I came home from the Portland Japanese Gardens with a bunch of focus bracketed images, I discovered that the X2D does not distinguish them in any way, so I started previewing each image and logging the file names in groups by composition to identify which images belong together. I also had to pay attention to the exposure settings because I often kept the same composition but changed settings. Doing this was very slow because it would take a while to load the preview. Would the images have loaded faster if I didn't have hundreds of images in one folder?
I tried using my 10-year-old Dell Precision 3610 work desktop with Intel Xeon Processor E5-1620 v2 (Quad Core HT, 3.7 GHz Turbo, 10 MB), 4 GB NVIDIA Quadro K5000, and 32GB (4x8GB) 1866MHz DDR3 ECC RDIMM. I wasn't happy with the performance. I also tried two of my daughters newer Surface laptops, and they were not better. Everything I tried had 32 GB of RAM.
Obviously, I need to consider more than just preview load speed, so I'd like to understand what the different computer specs will get me.
I'm thinking if the M4 Max is the price range I need to be in, I'd just fork out the extra $800 for 128 GB RAM.
I know this reads like I've decided on MacBook, but it's more that I'm convinced that it's the best way to go based on what I've read and watched on YouTube.
Thank you for your time,
Fuad
For me the apple are too expensive, and close system. for sure the OS is very good for music/Video and photo threatment but if you come from a windows world, that could be frustrating.
i use and old HP Z840 but 2 Xeon2696v4 128Go RTX3080ti with several SSD, and old software works fast.
Motherboard architecture and choice is very very important
Apple system use this type or architecture ( xeon with motherboard which can process a lot of data without creating slowdowns ) If you use the good hardware, the performance will be very good on both sides, a question of optimizations. the HP Z840 and newer are a very well design motherboard with large parallel processing capacity (on my motherboard I have 128 GB distributed in 16 slots, for parallel addressing )
if you need to use only the last phocus, for sure Apple system will be the choice.
but if you want to continue using all your usual software, stay on Windows and look for an old PC dedicated to calculation and design (3dsmax, etc.)
You can find some big setup with HP or Dell , not so old, at professional resellers with warranty.
But for sure, apple system is very attractive with a sober design, in the hassel philosophy.
Sébastien
I use a 2017 iMac 5k 27" which is super for viewing photos. OS no longer supported by Apple but they're really good. Has 3Tb fusionmemory. Also have an old HP 550 windows 10 also with 3Tb . Free OS app, Microsoft Remote, allows me full control of the HP from the iMac just like any other app - either a window or full screen.
These are cheap on the used market but run fine with most software. Should last a few years before you have to upgrade.
I'll get a 24" iMac in 2025 or 26
Of course it's not a laptop. I use my iPad with phocus mobile when I'm away from my office
I also upgraded from a couple of older Mac systems. I had a 2017 iMac and a 2018 MacBook Pro. None of them worked fast enough.
I bought the 14 inch MacBook Pro with the "largest" version of the M4 Pro processor with 48GB internal memory and 2 TB SSD.
I also exchanged my previous iMac with the new Mac Mini with the new "large/best" version of the M4 Pro processor with 24 GB memory, and 1 TB SSD. I also bought an 4TB external SSD for that. And are using that with an external screen.
Everything is lightning fast on both of them. Photoshop, Lightroom and Phocus works perfect.
The main reason I didn't want a new iMac was to be able to use the same screen if I want to upgrade next time. Cheaper next time. And I can also connect my new MacBook to it if I feel I need a larger screen.
But I can really recommend either of these configurations. I don't see any need for the new Max processor or more memory. My files that I'm working on are between 0,5Gb to roughly 2 Gb.
I've been using Windows, Unix-based, DOS, and other OS computers since the early 1980's and had many Windows machines. One thing I did see quite early is that (kind of obviously) everyone has their preferences, but it often gets to be a religion with the choice of technology. Thru the late 1980's to the late 1990's, I was using mostly Window's based PCs (for home), and Unix based machines at work. From the mid 2000's onwards, I switched to Apple / Mac computers for my home computing needs, as they used a variant of Unix for the Operating Systems. The Mac laptops back then were a bit slow, but had a beautiful design for those times. With the arrival of the M-Series of chips, things have changed considerably and the performance of the Mac computers is really very good. Sure, they are expensive, but they have the goods and look the part. My Mac Studio M1-Ultra /64GB with 20 processors is a few years old now, but is still very fast and handles my X2D Raw files with absolute ease. My M1 MacBook 14" Pro is also still going strong and has very good performance.
Ultimately, it's always a very personal choice when selecting a system, and each has their pros and cons, but for my 2-cents worth, I'm very happy with the Mac's I have bought in the last few years. One other thing to add is that the Apple service I have found to be very good and helpful.
I recently ordered a new M4 MacBook Pro 16" with 48GB memory and 2 TB of disk. My eyes are not as good at resolving stuff like they used to be and I will give my M1 MacBook Pro 14" to my son. The new MacBooks look quite powerful and good, however, the prices are, as always, very high. I would recommend that if you are going to use a laptop with images coming out of the X2D or 907x, then go with at least 2TB of storage (the 1TB I have on my 14" is not enough when I am travelling)
Thank you all for your response.
The "fear of missing out" side of me won over the economical side of me. I ordered the MacBook Pro 16" with the M4 Max chip, 128GB memory, and 4TB SSD about a week ago. I'm thinking it'll come in handy when the 6-shot pixel shift is available and for future proofing.
Please let me know how the 48GB memory works out for you guys with the new MacBook Pros. I wonder if you will encounter any situations where you would have liked more memory or are the new MacBooks that good.