I have an opportunity to upgrade my Mac in view of getting 20MP+ camera in the future. Anyone using a 1Ds MArkIII, 5DII or D3X and the above iMAC? Do you feel it's powerful enough (note it will have 4GB of RAM).
I know the imac are coming out tomorrow, but I can get this one for 750$ Canadian!! But only if it's good enough
Posted by Scott Fricke on January 5, 2009 at 1:58 PM
I have a 1DS III and use my Apple MacBook Pro laptop that has a 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo processor and 3GB of RAM and it works well, so I would imagine the imac would work fine.
Well it turns out it's one of those things that if they look to be too good to be true, ya know...
I contacted the guy and he writes back saying that he can do a quick transaction via fedex...right :D
Sorry for bothering you!
Posted by Dan Borzynski on January 5, 2009 at 5:17 PM
(Here is my generic reply when people ask if they need to upgrade their machines because they are buying the lastest cameras)
If you are running a relatively recent processor (the last 18-24 months) and 3 gig of RAM, the 21 meg files should not be an issue for a computer. Even having several files open simultaneously shouldn't be a problem. Where most machines get into trouble is in have an ancient processor, 3-5 years old , low amounts of RAM, editing 4x5 scans, or trying to open a huge number of files at once. Don't let the size of those 21 meg files scare you, especially if you will be working with only a small number at one time.
I know the last one sometimes gets me into trouble. If I am going to batch process 50-100 files at once, my machine tends to grind to a halt.
Even my 4x5 scans can be painfully slow. It is the main reason for me considering going to a 64 bit system and 64 bit Photoshop for Windows.
Having said that, there may well be other good reasons for upgrading your machine, with PS being a beneficiary of the upgrade.
(And back to your question - that machine should be more than good enough. It has the processor speed and memory requirements that will work well.)
Thanks Dan, that's great information to have. The reason I started thinking of an upgrade is that my computer slows down significantly when handling panos of more than 4 or 5 shots from a 10mp camera. I guess a RAM upgrade on my current system may be a better investment!
Posted by Jim Erhardt on January 5, 2009 at 8:04 PM
I'm embarrassed to admit that my main desktop workstation is a 2.0 GHZ Pentium 4 with 1 gig of RAM. CS4 and 50D files are a bit of challenge, but I only open a 2 or 3 at a time. At least for now I'll make due...
Posted by Jim DeWitt on January 6, 2009 at 2:58 PM
It's all true about CPUs, RAM and big files, but there are limits. I have a 2.8GHz Mac Pro, with 8 GB of RAM and PS CS3, 2 TBs of hard drive space. My wife is working on a project involving huge scans of antique photos. The smallest photos are 48 x 58 inches, and have an average file size of 250-350MBs. Cleaning them up in PS is painfully slow.
Converting from sepia-tone to black and white - 5-7 minutes
Applying Shadow/Highlight Tool (no preview!) - 10-15 minutes
Using the Healing Tool - 3-7 seconds to respond to a click, using a 50 px brush
Smart Sharpen (no preview) - 5-7 minutes
Saving the file (uncompressed TIFF) - 3-5 minutes
On the plus side, my wife and the project owner are very pleased with the quality of the cleaned-up photos.
So yes, CS3 (and, I suppose, CS4) can manage big files, but only for a given definition of both "big" and "manage."
Discussion
12 repliesI have an opportunity to upgrade my Mac in view of getting 20MP+ camera in the future. Anyone using a 1Ds MArkIII, 5DII or D3X and the above iMAC? Do you feel it's powerful enough (note it will have 4GB of RAM).
THanks
I guess I'll make the jump then!
I guess I'll make the jump then!
I contacted the guy and he writes back saying that he can do a quick transaction via fedex...right :D
Sorry for bothering you!
If you are running a relatively recent processor (the last 18-24 months) and 3 gig of RAM, the 21 meg files should not be an issue for a computer. Even having several files open simultaneously shouldn't be a problem. Where most machines get into trouble is in have an ancient processor, 3-5 years old
I know the last one sometimes gets me into trouble. If I am going to batch process 50-100 files at once, my machine tends to grind to a halt.
Even my 4x5 scans can be painfully slow. It is the main reason for me considering going to a 64 bit system and 64 bit Photoshop for Windows.
Having said that, there may well be other good reasons for upgrading your machine, with PS being a beneficiary of the upgrade.
(And back to your question - that machine should be more than good enough. It has the processor speed and memory requirements that will work well.)
Converting from sepia-tone to black and white - 5-7 minutes
Applying Shadow/Highlight Tool (no preview!) - 10-15 minutes
Using the Healing Tool - 3-7 seconds to respond to a click, using a 50 px brush
Smart Sharpen (no preview) - 5-7 minutes
Saving the file (uncompressed TIFF) - 3-5 minutes
On the plus side, my wife and the project owner are very pleased with the quality of the cleaned-up photos.
So yes, CS3 (and, I suppose, CS4) can manage big files, but only for a given definition of both "big" and "manage."