
MAC PRO OR IMAC 5K BETTER FOR PHOTOSHOP PRO
While desktop computers like the 2019 iMac 5K, iMac Pro and Mac Pro will outperform the 2019 MacBook Pro, meaningful differences will not be seen in real-world usage for 90% of the photographers out there (exceptions being when memory is a limiting factor). See my blog post at for details: 2019 Apple MacBook Pro with 16″ Display: the Single Computer Solution At Last.

That’s assuming for desktop usage the addition of a keyboard and mouse and external display (you can even close the lid and just use the external keyboard and display, pretending it really is a desktop computer). My judgment is that Apple’s latest 2019 MacBook Pro 16-inch model with 8-core CPU and 64GB memory can be a full-fledged desktop computer replacement, even for demanding users. The gist of that is captured here, but I advise throwing away assumptions when it comes to one’s own work-don’t assume, but measure/test if possible-that’s what I do in order to advise my clients properly.ĭesktop or laptop, or laptop as a desktop? I have done consulting for nearly a thousand clients over the past years about choosing and configuring a system for photography, I’ve honed my skills at getting them the best possible solution for their actual workflow, sometimes saving my clients thousands of dollars they would have thrown at the problem, and yet been of little or no benefit, or even been worse. Compounding the issue, with focus stacking (Sept 2019 issue) and image scaling (Oct 2019 issue), routine tasks can take 5 minutes to an hour. What once was reasonably speedy starts to feel sluggish. The size of my images has been increasing, what with cameras up to 100 megapixels, but it boils down to simple math: pushing around 100 megapixels instead of 50 takes twice the time.

While I use Apple Macs exclusively, this article discusses the various choices of CPU/GPU/etc in a way that will also be useful to non-Mac users. There are some pretty awesome computing options that have emerged in late 2019. Here in December 2019, I cover choosing a computer for photography. In Computer Storage for Photographers in the August 2019 issue of Medium Format Magazine, I covered storage.
