Is the Apple macbook ideal for photography?

jbriganza · Apr 21st, 2009, 16:35

I am doing my NIFT and needed to buy a laptop.. got a few suggestions on brands like DELL and HP etc... I personally liked the display quality of the macbooks... I would love to have a second opinion on the macs... please advice

delhiwala · Apr 21st, 2009, 19:52

Macs are very good for graphics work.....

Professionals love it....

piccolina · Apr 21st, 2009, 22:19

No question about it, buy the Mac. It's got better graphics/display and is overall way better for multimedia than any of the others. I've used a Dell and now a Mac and I can tell you that the Mac is one of the smartest buys I've made!

Plus the OS is far more stable than Windows - less bugs, no sudden system errors/crashes etc.

I think Apple offers student discounts as well - check out if they're applicable to you - http://www.apple.com/in/education/shop/

Nattusbs · Apr 22nd, 2009, 06:40

I have had Dell laptop in the US (for work) for many years as well as a Toshiba laptop (personal, which I brought with me from the US to India).

Last June, when I was moving to India, I bought a MacBook at the Apple Store in Costa Mesa, CA. It is definitely the best thing I did. Love it. Plus I use wireless internet with the built-in card (as I write!) at my IIT home. I am glad that I bought a Wireless Network Router from the US (although I am sure it is easily available in India nowadays - unfortunately, I need to use a Radio Shack transformer for it - a pain). The MacBook directly plugs into 220V since it capable of both voltages. You will need an adapter plug though for the different pin size and shape (check info on IndidaMike).

One thing about the MacBook - make sure that you get all the software you will need - they can be hard to find in India since Macs are not that common. Ofcourse, OpenOffice suite should work just fine.

Cheers

Nattusbs

SitaParityaga · Apr 22nd, 2009, 07:28

Agree with Nattsubs: Mac is best but make sure you can get the software too. I have a Mac: for anything visual, photography, graphics, etc, I believe its the best.

Also love my Adobe Photoshop 7.0, but I run this on my home computer. I don't know if a laptop can do photoshop. ????

abracax · Apr 22nd, 2009, 08:47

My HP PC with Adobe Creative Suite and Lightroom can match any Mac. Photography is about software and displays, not operating systems. Get the best machine you can afford and the best deal. The days when Macs were worth a 50% premium are long gone (they have Intel chips and run on Unix nowadays).

Nattusbs · Apr 22nd, 2009, 08:52

SiatParityaga

I have been running Adobe Photoshop (from 4.0 to 7.0) on laptops for many, many years. The key is to have enough RAM (at least 1GB), and not to run other applications at the same time.

One thing that bothers me about MacBook (and possible Apple as a whole) is that it does not come with simple Drawing software (lines, boxes, curves - just imagine drawing a cross-section of a transistor chip). Yes, I know one can do it in Word but, IMO Microsoft software stinks. Maybe PowerPoint is better - most of the drawings I do is with SmartDraw on my PC, save the file as JPEG and then drop into Word (Mac).

Cheers

Nattusbs

madamdarkin · May 12th, 2009, 16:39

Go for mac - you wont turn back

ithin · May 14th, 2009, 04:28

Problem with Mac is it is so restricted. I do not know now. it used to be.

delhiwala · May 14th, 2009, 13:12

What's restricted ????

Quote:

Originally Posted by ithin

Problem with Mac is it is so restricted. I do not know now. it used to be.

madamdarkin · May 14th, 2009, 14:07

Yeh, what do you mean? If you walk into any design agency, publishing house etc - 99% of the time all the designers and photographers are all working on mac.....its far less restrictive than pc for anything creative really!

ithin · May 14th, 2009, 21:02

Not in terms of photography, but overall. You are restricted to mac only software and in the PC world you have more options and flexibility to use any software you want.

I like Mac for it's graphics for sure. But it is pricey.

vistet · May 14th, 2009, 22:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by SitaParityaga

Also love my Adobe Photoshop 7.0, but I run this on my home computer. I don't know if a laptop can do photoshop. ????

I run CS2 on an ancient G4 iBook when I leave my home , without maxed memory. Works ok.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nattusbs

One thing that bothers me about MacBook (and possible Apple as a whole) is that it does not come with simple Drawing software..

Have you tried DrawIt , (lite version free) ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ithin

You are restricted to mac only software and in the PC world you have more options and flexibility to use any software you want.

It´s the other way around , ever since Boot Camp : you can only run Windows on a PC , you can run both OS X and Windows on any Intel Mac.

I can+´t really say anything first hand about Windows , switched many years ago - but I hear my workmates and friends doing a lot of maintenance I´ve all but forgotten , update this , safety patch here ... it may come out equally stable in the end but it seems to involve a lot more work. The new Macbook unibody seems mechanically a lot more sturdy too (which was a gripe with the Powerbook shell).

madamdarkin · May 14th, 2009, 22:10

on my macbook (laptop) i've got photoshop, indesign, quark - you name it.

ithin · May 14th, 2009, 22:35

Oh That sounds good. I haven't used Mac for a while. When I used last time, it was not letting me install my development tools etc.

I love my photoshop CS3 for photography. It work good on my $500.00 PC very well. May be Mac can give me a better picture display. But it costs more than 1000$.

Good to know Mac can run Windows now. Thanks.

Apr 21st, 2009, 16:35	#1
jbriganza Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2	Is the Apple macbook ideal for photography? I am doing my NIFT and needed to buy a laptop.. got a few suggestions on brands like DELL and HP etc... I personally liked the display quality of the macbooks... I would love to have a second opinion on the macs... please advice

Apr 21st, 2009, 19:52	#2
delhiwala IM what IM Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Indeyah ! Posts: 4,813	Macs are very good for graphics work..... Professionals love it.... __________________ Travel only with thy equals or thy betters; if there are none, travel alone. - The Dhammapada

Apr 22nd, 2009, 08:47	#6
abracax Mahaguru Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Canada Posts: 709	My HP PC with Adobe Creative Suite and Lightroom can match any Mac. Photography is about software and displays, not operating systems. Get the best machine you can afford and the best deal. The days when Macs were worth a 50% premium are long gone (they have Intel chips and run on Unix nowadays). __________________ tbontbtitq (Shakespeare's password)

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Apple Macbook pro	ladyvetphd	Electronics in India	34	Oct 9th, 2008 01:19
for sale: Apple MacBook Core 2 Duo w/2gb ram, only 4 months old	laurier57	Classifieds	5	Aug 31st, 2007 05:44

Apr 21st, 2009, 22:19	#3
piccolina Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: India Posts: 60	No question about it, buy the Mac. It's got better graphics/display and is overall way better for multimedia than any of the others. I've used a Dell and now a Mac and I can tell you that the Mac is one of the smartest buys I've made! Plus the OS is far more stable than Windows - less bugs, no sudden system errors/crashes etc. I think Apple offers student discounts as well - check out if they're applicable to you - http://www.apple.com/in/education/shop/

Apr 22nd, 2009, 06:40	#4
Nattusbs Maha Guru Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: IIT-Kharagpur Posts: 656	I have had Dell laptop in the US (for work) for many years as well as a Toshiba laptop (personal, which I brought with me from the US to India). Last June, when I was moving to India, I bought a MacBook at the Apple Store in Costa Mesa, CA. It is definitely the best thing I did. Love it. Plus I use wireless internet with the built-in card (as I write!) at my IIT home. I am glad that I bought a Wireless Network Router from the US (although I am sure it is easily available in India nowadays - unfortunately, I need to use a Radio Shack transformer for it - a pain). The MacBook directly plugs into 220V since it capable of both voltages. You will need an adapter plug though for the different pin size and shape (check info on IndidaMike). One thing about the MacBook - make sure that you get all the software you will need - they can be hard to find in India since Macs are not that common. Ofcourse, OpenOffice suite should work just fine. Cheers Nattusbs

Apr 22nd, 2009, 07:28	#5
SitaParityaga member in the forest Join Date: May 2003 Location: California Posts: 1,145	Agree with Nattsubs: Mac is best but make sure you can get the software too. I have a Mac: for anything visual, photography, graphics, etc, I believe its the best. Also love my Adobe Photoshop 7.0, but I run this on my home computer. I don't know if a laptop can do photoshop. ????

Apr 22nd, 2009, 08:52	#7
Nattusbs Maha Guru Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: IIT-Kharagpur Posts: 656	SiatParityaga I have been running Adobe Photoshop (from 4.0 to 7.0) on laptops for many, many years. The key is to have enough RAM (at least 1GB), and not to run other applications at the same time. One thing that bothers me about MacBook (and possible Apple as a whole) is that it does not come with simple Drawing software (lines, boxes, curves - just imagine drawing a cross-section of a transistor chip). Yes, I know one can do it in Word but, IMO Microsoft software stinks. Maybe PowerPoint is better - most of the drawings I do is with SmartDraw on my PC, save the file as JPEG and then drop into Word (Mac). Cheers Nattusbs

May 12th, 2009, 16:39	#8
madamdarkin Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Goa for now Posts: 169	Go for mac - you wont turn back

May 14th, 2009, 04:28	#9
ithin Laughter the shortest distance between two people Join Date: May 2009 Location: California, USA Posts: 85	Problem with Mac is it is so restricted. I do not know now. it used to be.

May 14th, 2009, 14:07	#11
madamdarkin Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Goa for now Posts: 169	Yeh, what do you mean? If you walk into any design agency, publishing house etc - 99% of the time all the designers and photographers are all working on mac.....its far less restrictive than pc for anything creative really!

May 14th, 2009, 21:02	#12
ithin Laughter the shortest distance between two people Join Date: May 2009 Location: California, USA Posts: 85	Not in terms of photography, but overall. You are restricted to mac only software and in the PC world you have more options and flexibility to use any software you want. I like Mac for it's graphics for sure. But it is pricey.

May 14th, 2009, 22:10	#14
madamdarkin Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Goa for now Posts: 169	on my macbook (laptop) i've got photoshop, indesign, quark - you name it.

May 14th, 2009, 22:35	#15
ithin Laughter the shortest distance between two people Join Date: May 2009 Location: California, USA Posts: 85	Oh That sounds good. I haven't used Mac for a while. When I used last time, it was not letting me install my development tools etc. I love my photoshop CS3 for photography. It work good on my $500.00 PC very well. May be Mac can give me a better picture display. But it costs more than 1000$. Good to know Mac can run Windows now. Thanks.