Post Processing Hardware

[Alejoviade]

So... it is clear that in "digital photography" the equivalent to a "lab" is the hardware.. I'm more and more interested in photography and although keeping in mind that it does not generate an income I would like to purchase a good computer for processing... The idea is to take the BEST photo possible by learning correct techniques plus whatever is that one can put into it from a personal standpoint...Nevertheless it is obvious that sometimes photos may have to be "tweaked", corrected, ehanced or whatever else neede so that the best of it could be truly exposed (considering one's shortcomings)...

Keeping all these factors in mind, what would be a good , perhaps even better than average computer, (but certainly not the top since...I'm not the Van Gogh of photography nor I have aspirations of beig such, ever...) to buy ?
Lots of people talk about Mac, and truly understand it to be "judged" as the best but, why the difference with other brands?. My understanding is that the software to be used is the same, whether on a Mac or PC, so.... what in the end makes the difference ? (other than processing power whereas one machine may take 1/1000 sec less than the other to process something... I understand that much,,,and also understand that life is short ...but well, maybe, hopefully..not that short... So I got time..

Thanks in advance for your genuine, unbias reply

Alex

[ssim]

it is obvious that sometimes photos may have to be "tweaked", corrected, ehanced or whatever else neede so that the best of it could be truly exposed

I think that once you get well into photoshop or any other editing suite you will find that you do post processing on most images. It may not be anything more than levels and sharpening but you will do it. You may not be the Van Gogh of photography but you will want shots that look like it.

I can't personally speak to the difference between the MAC and a Windows PC as I have only used a MAC for a few minutes at a time. I have a friend that edits in one of these while I use a couple of Windows PC's. He swears by them for editing and never have I heard him complain of the system slowing down. I know that in my editing sessions I have to shut down photoshop and start it again even though I have purged the memory. Sometimes I have to go so far as to boot the system.

Of course there is the everyday things like no self respecting virus writer targets the MAC. I've yet to hear of a whole network of MAC's being brought down by some trojan virus.

Hopefully someone else with more experience in this area will jump in and give you some further advice. I can say that while I am not happy with the slow workings in longer editing sessions, I am generally pleased with my setups. I have 2GB of RAM on both pc's and that seems to be the thing that helps photoshop allot.

[tim]

Get whatever type of computer you're most used to, Photoshop runs on both. If you can get a dual core processor, 2GB of RAM, and read reviews of LCDs to find one that's meant to have decent color accuracy. I'm happy with my Samsung Syncmaster, it's an older model now though.

[Alejoviade]

Thanks to both of you for your replies/comments and sugestions.
I do agree with Sheldon's comments regarding the MAC rig being so "fast" and good but after looking at the price.... I'm having second thoughts about it. YEs I agree I do some work on the computer (sharpening, some cropping) and as I get more and more proficient probably more.. nevertheless I expect to spen more time shooting than working in the "lab". Thanks Tim for your advice as well...I will consider some faster machines than what I have in the future and will also be carefull in selecting a good LCD.

Sheldon, regarding your machine slowing down, do you change the memory alocated to graphics before editing ? I think you can do that during start up., then when you are done editing, turn the machin off and will go back to previous setting (or you can re-select)..

On another subject, do any of you guys know of a good book or web site regarding metering ? Ihave been reading quite a bit about it lately (and also about HDR) and was wondering how to get more knowledgeable on the "technique" first before attempting any software...

Thanks again, certainly appreciate you taking the time to answer my post,

Alex

[tim]

"Understanding exposure" is meant to be a good book.

[lostdoggy]

As Tim said duo core 2gb ram and a good monitor. I like to add at least 2 SATA HDD more is better. Keep C: for program and D: for Cache and storage. Video card don't matter much but if you want to invest in one look at the ATI 1800 series or better. It is suppose to be PS optimized.

[lostdoggy]

CPU and RAM cooling is very important too. I presently contemplating liquid cooling for the CPU. For the RAMs I already added heat spreader and so far its not crashing as much.

[Jason77]

how much are you looking to spend on the computer/monitor/software combined?

i've been using mac exclusively for over 10 years (problem free the entire time) so i'm biased towards them. the iMacs, for instance, are great computers and deliver alot for their price.