MAC or PC?

Do you use a MAC or PC for your photo work?

  • MAC

    Votes: 23 50.0%
  • PC

    Votes: 23 50.0%

  • Total voters
    46
Messages
683
Name
Ian
Edit My Images
No
I'm thinking about doing the unthinkable...no...not moving to Nikon from Canon/Fuji, but instead, moving away from my trusty iMAC's. I have solely used mac's for about 15 years now for my photography and am seriously considering changing over to a good PC with a super duper monitor.

My question is, what do you guys generally use? Am I mad to consider changing? Imac's are just so bloody expensive, £1800 for a bog standard 27 inch screen, I've also found the imac screens to be a bit overly reflective so would like something a bit bigger and less shiny for photos!

Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that mac's are super easy to use, never crash, or get viruses! I last used a PC using Windows 10, which I didn't find too bad an OS.

So yeah, that's it basically, just looking for any words from folks who have made the switch over from mac's and if I'm mad for even considering it!
 
I went the other way.

I've been a pc / Windows IT engineer in big International firms for over 25 years and I bought my first iMac (i5 late 2012) earlier this year and to be honest wish I'd done it years ago.

They just work and I've had no issues with the OS or hardware.

Can you borrow a Windows pc or laptop before you shell out any money?

You may find you're so entrenched in the Apple architecture you won't like the Windows world.


Of course you may enjoy the change and find it easier to get things done in Windows. Worth a trial first I'd have thought.
 
I went the other way.

I've been a pc / Windows IT engineer in big International firms for over 25 years and I bought my first iMac (i5 late 2012) earlier this year and to be honest wish I'd done it years ago.

They just work and I've had no issues with the OS or hardware.

Can you borrow a Windows pc or laptop before you shell out any money?

You may find you're so entrenched in the Apple architecture you won't like the Windows world.


Of course you may enjoy the change and find it easier to get things done in Windows. Worth a trial first I'd have thought.

Ah interesting. This is the thing, my experience of PC's is that they die all the time and are generally clunky! I do use a PC quite regularly so am used to them and Windows so that's not too much of an issue. I defo think I'd get used to using Windows again, but do I want to get into the whole crashing every two seconds etc! Or is this a thing of the past with modern PC's?
 
I have had both for years. I'm currently using Win PC which is not bad at all. Win 10 in my experience looks good and is pretty stable. I don't have many issues with viruses and the Virus software I have takes care of that so all in all i'm very happy. If money was no object I would probably buy a iMac pro as I do like using the system. A decent PC with a really good screen should do the job. The iMac screens are nice and shiny which you probably won't find with a PC screen but there are loads of great PC screens out there. BenQ are good and not silly money.
 
Oh no - not a Mac v's PC debate! This won't end well!

I recently had the same dilemma and decided to get a new iMac because:
  • I have an iPhone and MacBook Air and I'd like the integration
  • They look nicer
  • They last longer (my last iMac lasted 7 years and I sold it for 30% of what I paid for it.)
  • They take up less desk space
  • They are less likely to go wrong (in my experience) - crucial for a work machine. I don't have time to fix a broken computer during the summer work season
  • Switching means getting new PC software and setting it all up from scratch (sure - the adobe stuff is the same but I use other programs that are Mac only.)
  • Not a huge fan of windows...
  • Little need for antivirus
But yeah - you can certainly get more for your money with a PC. Although - by the time you factor in buying a good 4K display it's not significantly cheaper.
 
I've found Windows 10 to be the most stable OS in the Windows world (even though they used us all as beta testers in my view).

I've not used a pc for 6 months but as long as all the "bits" work with each other you should be fine (if you're building the pc from scratch).

That's what normally causes the most problems, swapping out bits or upgrading video cards etc.

I see me going from 21.5" to 27" iMac at some point down the line.
 
Oh no - not a Mac v's PC debate! This won't end well!

I recently had the same dilemma and decided to get a new iMac because:
  • I have an iPhone and MacBook Air and I'd like the integration
  • They look nicer
  • They last longer (my last iMac lasted 7 years and I sold it for 30% of what I paid for it.)
  • They take up less desk space
  • They are less likely to go wrong (in my experience) - crucial for a work machine. I don't have time to fix a broken computer during the summer work season
  • Switching means getting new PC software and setting it all up from scratch (sure - the adobe stuff is the same but I use other programs that are Mac only.)
  • Not a huge fan of windows...
  • Little need for antivirus
But yeah - you can certainly get more for your money with a PC. Although - by the time you factor in buying a good 4K display it's not significantly cheaper.

You know me...always one to instigate a debate! Yeah see this is what I'm thinking, I have a MacBook and iPhone etc and do like the fact that they all work together. And yeah, my current imac is 7 years old (the screen is starting to go strange on it, hence the upgrade question)

As you say, the reliability is the biggest thing that is bothering me about a PC, ive had two imac's and neither have really gone wrong in a dramatic fashion, which as you say, in wedding season is a big no no!
 
If a pc "goes wrong" as long as you know which part has failed or needs work then it's easier to fix yourself as pcs are basically modular. You can just buy another motherboard or whatever and reload the OS and drivers if necessary.

I wouldn't be confident in opening up an iMac except for RAM upgrade but only as I have no experience of fixing them.
 
I own and use both Mac and PC. These days Macs are just another computer based on Intel hardware, made to a budget and sometimes with serious design flaws - just like PCs from any other manufacturer - except that they are no longer upgradable. OS aside, it is the lack of upgradability that drove me to return to PCs (Dell XPS in this case) and I would not return unless they became user-upgradable again.

I have a good friend who is not especially comfy with computers, and although he loves his Macbook for the way it 'just works', his experience of Apple support and hardware warranty was so poor that he recently bought 2 more from PC world because he could get 7 day no-quibble warranties for them. My own experience with Apple hardware is that it's not over-reliable, and trying to get something fixed requires both a visit to an apple store and thn negotiation trying to prove that there is a fault that they should fix. In contrast this Dell had 3 years next-business-day on site warranty available for half the price of Applecare, and on the one occasion I used it, they were great.

I'm not an apple hater, but the advantages that they have don't seem to outweigh the disadvantages over a longer period of professional use.
 
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Love Macs and the integration between all my devices, been on them for years, will probably buy one again, but keep kicking myself for the fact that I can't upgrade components - would love to stick an SSD in for example - trivial on a PC, pain in the backside for a Mac.

Costs are getting a bit silly though and that's giving me pause to think a little more. Perhaps this will be the time I switch? I built the kids PC's, and they are stable with W10, just don't feel like learning it again having got used to a Mac, but perhaps this time...
 
Love Macs and the integration between all my devices, been on them for years, will probably buy one again, but keep kicking myself for the fact that I can't upgrade components - would love to stick an SSD in for example - trivial on a PC, pain in the backside for a Mac.

Costs are getting a bit silly though and that's giving me pause to think a little more. Perhaps this will be the time I switch? I built the kids PC's, and they are stable with W10, just don't feel like learning it again having got used to a Mac, but perhaps this time...

This is the thing, minimum is £2k for a 27 inch imac, I just don't know if they are value for money anymore! You can get refurbed ones from Apple which I've bought in the past, even these though are deadly expensive.
 
Neither system is perfect. Having moved from PC to MAC a couple of years back, I wouldn't go back though. Windows has endless reliability, stability and security issues (more vulnerable to viruses) which waste time. Mac by comparison, turn it on and get on with your work. In fairness, I have had to take the thing back to the Apple store once (they paid for the fix), but overall, the system works better and is more reliable. Saves you time to concentrate on what you need to work on.
 
Custom built PC.

Just change the mobo, cpu and ram every few years.

As for reliability, with a custom PC you can get the best PC parts in the world like Seasonic PSU`s and military grade durability motherboards.
 
Neither system is perfect. Having moved from PC to MAC a couple of years back, I wouldn't go back though. Windows has endless reliability, stability and security issues (more vulnerable to viruses) which waste time. Mac by comparison, turn it on and get on with your work. In fairness, I have had to take the thing back to the Apple store once (they paid for the fix), but overall, the system works better and is more reliable. Saves you time to concentrate on what you need to work on.

Most of that is just hype though, clever marketing from Apple convinced people that Windows having regular updates and fixing security issues promptly, was somehow *worse* than Apple sitting on them for 18 months after they've been made public.

A custom PC will give you much more bang for your buck, and a proper matte finish IPS panel will be much better for editing than the ultra-glossy mac screens.
 
Oh no - not a Mac v's PC debate! This won't end well!

I recently had the same dilemma and decided to get a new iMac because:
  • I have an iPhone and MacBook Air and I'd like the integration
  • They look nicer
  • They last longer (my last iMac lasted 7 years and I sold it for 30% of what I paid for it.)
  • They take up less desk space
  • They are less likely to go wrong (in my experience) - crucial for a work machine. I don't have time to fix a broken computer during the summer work season
  • Switching means getting new PC software and setting it all up from scratch (sure - the adobe stuff is the same but I use other programs that are Mac only.)
  • Not a huge fan of windows...
  • Little need for antivirus

Not looking to cause a dispute, but some of the above is more of an opinion than fact:-

  • They look nicer - There are some very compelling devices out there now that rival or exceed apple products in aesthetics. I happen to think my Surface Book looks better than the Macbook

  • They last longer (my last iMac lasted 7 years and I sold it for 30% of what I paid for it.) - The same can be said for a lot of products like HP Workstations and Dell Precisions, and with the increase in hardware problems that Apple has been experiencing this is not a guarantee. As an example, with the widely discussed problems with the butterfly keyboard this may cause a drop in Macbooks resale value if they are older than the replacement/recall period for the keyboard.

  • They take up less desk space - Not when compared to like-for-like devices, such as the Surface Studio, Dell Inspiron 7000 or HP Elite series. Granted, they are slim and very sleek in their appearance :)

  • They are less likely to go wrong (in my experience) - crucial for a work machine. I don't have time to fix a broken computer during the summer work season - Like you said, "in my experience", I have a Surface Book, Surface Pro and a custom-built PC, no problems whatsover, however I firmly believe that if a PC is spec'd with the same quality components then this is a non-issue

  • Little need for antivirus - This has been discussed time and time again, antivirus should be installed as a precautionary measure on all desktop platforms. Mac's are not invulnerable, they simply weren't targeted as much previously due to the low market-share

I had a Macbook Pro 13" Retina, my experience of it was not great to be honest and the support for MacOS in the enterprise was simply laughable. Microsoft have their own issues and have equally made some epic mistakes.

To be fair, if you budget the same amount for a PC as you would a Mac you'll get a similar experience (aside from the OS) and a major point to take is the learning and software change from MacOS to PC and vice-versa.

Just my take on it, there are many happy iMac/Macbook owners, and many happy PC owners, I've been both and I'm now settled back in the PC camp, however there is not much money-saving to be had if you spec' the same.

Neil
 
I switched back to windows years ago and don't regret it one little bit. Apple have went to the dogs since the demise of Steve Jobs.
 
I am a mac fan and apple geek at home - I have to use a PC at work and love how often it breaks down, we've had no emails for over a week now....

I usually bring in my spare 10 year old macbook pro and log in to our server and carry on working, just to prove a point... lol
 
To counter my own earlier point. Just wasted my lunch time, but it's things like this that keep pushing me back to the Mac even though I know I'm making bad choices (upgradability etc). I hate 'fixing' Computer problems with a passion when at home. I know it's just one example, and probably bad luck but grrrrr!

We play World of Warcraft - a new 'pre-patch' has just been released. Experience on both platforms as we have both.

Mac.
  • Software updates itself, press play, in game.

Windows.
  • Software gives 'Whoops something went wrong error'
  • Restart - same.
  • Delete and re-install - okay - starts to download update and update itself.
  • Press 'play' - Error message - 'your system is out of date'.
  • Google error code - multiple suggestions - update graphics drivers appears favourite.
  • Follow link, download drivers presented to me.
  • Install - error these drivers are not compatible with your system.
  • Turns out offered link is for 32 bit. Google - find 64 bit.
  • Download.
  • Install
  • Restart
  • Open app again - click play. And we're in.
 
I bought a Mac 27 in 2013 after about 30-years of using/building PCs, I also took over my wife's HP dv7 Pavilion laptop PC when she bought a new laptop. I also have a couple of old legacy PCs in the loft that still work, but won't support current software.

The Mac has pretty seamlessly gone from Snow Leopard to Sierra during the time I've had it, along with various other updates (including Microsoft Office 2011). I've not yet updated to High Sierra.

The dv7 laptop was originally Windows 7. It began running slowly and generally being a bit of a pain (hence the new machine), so when I took it over it was updated to Windows 10. It's was still very slow, so it had a clean install of Win10 last year. Still not great. Updates seem to take forever, the most recent to release 1803 gets stuck at 81%. Advice seems to be to download the ISO file onto a USB and do a clean install...again.

Meanwhile the new laptop also on Windows 10. It gets stuck on updates from time to time, which seem to happen at the most inconvenient time and updates cannot be switched off (without digging down into the system). So just have to live with it.

Having now got used to macOS, I find Windows to be slow and clunky and would only reluctantly go back to a PC.

Q. Would a Mac Mini plus monitor be a viable option?
 
Spend as much on a windows pc as you would on a mac and generally you won't have a slow clunky experience.

I've only recently upgraded my 7 year old+ 2nd gen i7 Windows box and it's never had to have a clean install (even after replacing the mobo and cpu, windows 10 is great like that). But then I don't install any needless software to clog it up.
 
Been using Macs of various guises for over 15 years and I’ve always preferred the OS. I’ve always had really good service too but despite coming across as an apple fanboy I’m sure these days PCs for the same budget are going to be just as good. The surface pro looks good. You either like the Apple ecosystem or you don’t. A laptop with a separate monitor works well rather than the all in one option for me.
 
A substantial difference is that Apple users tend to buy into the system and love their machines, where as for PC systems there's little love for either microsoft or the PC maker.

I could talk about the time I installed Snow Leopard after it had been out for 6 months (so no longer in beta with the users) and it refused to use the Samsung printer that Leopard had been perfectly happy with. Or the refusal for time machine to restore 'backwards' when you've backed up your files and wiped the system to return to a previous version of the OS that did work. Or the need to re-install the OS every couple of years (up until Mountain Lion) to maintain performance, even though I did not repeatedly install and uninstall software, just like the bad old days of Windows. Or the way use of a non-Apple web browser uses enormously more energy than Safari, even causing the bottom of the laptop to become uncomfortably hot. Or the known problems with Superdrives jamming with CDs/DVDs due to firmware problems. Or the latest keyboard failure. Or the lack of convenient ports on the latest Macbooks.

There are many really good things about Apple computers, but they aren't faultless. Likewise Windows computers are not faultless, but are *generally* very solid and reliable, if bought to a decent spec instead of the cheapest, most crappy minimum-spec box that can be found. If you want to buy a Mac because it works well for you then that's what you should get, absolutely, but don't buy it because you think the other side is a pile of poo and an Apple computer is the only option because you need solid reliability and good support. But if you can't afford to buy the machine now that you think your business will need in 3 or 4 years time, then consider a non-apple machine that can be upgraded affordably when you need to.
 
Oh no - not a Mac v's PC debate! This won't end well!

I recently had the same dilemma and decided to get a new iMac because:
  • I have an iPhone and MacBook Air and I'd like the integration
  • They look nicer
  • They last longer (my last iMac lasted 7 years and I sold it for 30% of what I paid for it.)
  • They take up less desk space
  • They are less likely to go wrong (in my experience) - crucial for a work machine. I don't have time to fix a broken computer during the summer work season
  • Switching means getting new PC software and setting it all up from scratch (sure - the adobe stuff is the same but I use other programs that are Mac only.)
  • Not a huge fan of windows...
  • Little need for antivirus
But yeah - you can certainly get more for your money with a PC. Although - by the time you factor in buying a good 4K display it's not significantly cheaper.
My Windows machine has lasted more then 7 years
I can intergrate my iphone using itunes on windows
my pc is underneath my desk
My pc has better specs and cooling(you cant beat physics)
If something goes wrong i can easily replace that part. be it ram, cpu, gpu or even a sata cable.
No anti virus on mine


O and i own a macbook pro too
 
macs are for people who know what there doing
pc are for people who think they know what there doing
 
As I have not used PCs and Macs (as the OP requested) I shouldn't be commenting here but it always surprises me when there are complaints about PCs crashing.

Perhaps I have been very lucky but in the many years I used XP my machine never crashed. I don't mean hardly ever, I mean never. I kept it updated, ran security software regularly and kept the PCs as free as possible from rubbish. When I changed to Windows 7 I had the same experience and now on Win 10 for some time there have been no problems too.

Given the huge number of PCs there will be some that fail but I wonder how many crashes are the result of user error, or user disinterest.

Dave
 
I've only recently upgraded my 7 year old+ 2nd gen i7 Windows box and it's never had to have a clean install (even after replacing the mobo and cpu, windows 10 is great like that). But then I don't install any needless software to clog it up.
Still on my i7-2600k based system as built (at the end of 2010 IIRC), only thing I've done to it is take the free w7 to w10 upgrade when it came along. It's not clogged up with crapware and hasn't slowed down in all that time.
 
macs are for people who know what there doing
pc are for people who think they know what there doing

What a load of old tosh.
 
Still on my i7-2600k based system as built (at the end of 2010 IIRC), only thing I've done to it is take the free w7 to w10 upgrade when it came along. It's not clogged up with crapware and hasn't slowed down in all that time.

mine was the 2600k also. to be fair it was still performing brilliantly but i found my board only being PCI2 was throttling my PCI3 980ti, so I moved to a 4770k. swapped the board, cpu and ram and W10 just detected new hardware at boot and carried on as if nothing happened.

just need to get a larger SSD (cloned so no new build this time either) and i'll be set for another few years :D
 
My previous desktop PC ran 24/7 for nigh on 10 years without skipping a beat apart from a power supply dying after 6 years.
I build my own boxes as I know my components and I'm fussy what I use.
My new one has been running since Febuary without a problem and it's dual boot, Win7 and Win10.
I wouldn't buy a pre-built box if you paid me, non standard parts in quite a few cases.
I can't even remember the last time Windows crashed on me that wasn't caused by a hardware fault.
You can buy cheap OEM licenses for under a tenner, download a Win 10 ISO image and you have a very cheap OS that is stable.
 
Spend as much on a windows pc as you would on a mac and generally you won't have a slow clunky experience.

I've only recently upgraded my 7 year old+ 2nd gen i7 Windows box and it's never had to have a clean install (even after replacing the mobo and cpu, windows 10 is great like that). But then I don't install any needless software to clog it up.

A PC at the same price point would most probably have had a stronger spec, than my Mac, which I would expect that to perform well. Of the PCs I've used in the past, most of them were for use at work, report writing, data capture and analysis/modelling and so on. Some were very high spec machines at the time, dual Xeon processors, Quadro Pro graphics cards etc... Most of the time they performed well. Those I built for home use were generally alright too and were relatively easy to modify and update. One of them was a Shuttle barebones machine that I kept going for years and had a lot of fun with it. Had PS CS3, Office, various music apps e.g. Cubase, Band in a Box and played games like Half Life, Quake and so on. The last screen I had was a 23" LED something or other that looked pretty good. I retired it in 2103 when the graphics card failed and the CPU just got too old to support newer versions of Windows. So I got a Mac.

So in short, I'm not anti PC at all, I just got a Mac because I fancied a change.

In the time I've had the Mac, which has a relatively modest spec https://support.apple.com/kb/SP667?locale=en_GB I've not needed to replace the cpu, the motherboard or anything else apart from batteries in the keyboard, mouse and trackpad. I use it for Photography (Lightroom 5.7, PSE15), Music (GarageBand, Cubase LE, Audacity, Reaper) and the usual home office stuff. The screen is not the 5K version, but it's still very good. Luckily it's in a good location so the high gloss finish is not really a factor for me and overall I enjoy using machine.

In the end, both are just computer systems. Both are flawed and capable of going wrong. Both have features that frustrate from time to time. I think the biggest things against Macs is that they are expensive for home users to buy and not easy (for me) to upgrade, repair or modify.
 
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