iMac or MacPro

<p>I currently use a 3 years old Windows PC and want to get a new mac computer for my wedding biz. My question to all wedding photographer out there is that what are you guys using? iMac or macPro?</p>

<p>Why do you want to switch from Windows to Mac? Don't get me wrong, I love my my Macs, but if you are switching for the sake of switching without the motivation to learn a new OS, you might be disappointed. <em>I</em> believe the Mac OS is better. But there is a learning curve. That said, we use a Mac Pro, an iMac and a MBP! For complete disclosure, we also have two iPods, two iPhones, and one iPad. :) In terms of a new computer for a start up business, it is hard to beat an i7 iMac, dual boot system (Windows and Mac on one machine). In terms of hard core computing value, an i7 iMac comes close to the horsepower of a Mac Pro. We have an i5 iMac with 12GB Ram and it isn't that much slower than our Quad Core Mac Pro with 16GB Ram. And that Ram makes a HUGE difference. We just took the iMac from the stock 4GB to 12GB and it is <em>very </em>noticeable. Anyway, the advantage to the Mac Pro is that I have 4 hard drives in the tower! With the iMac, you will need to use external drives for your media (and all of your media should be on separate drives no matter what system you use).</p>

<p>And now for something completely different: How about a Mac Mini?<br>

I put 16GB RAM in a 2.7 GHz i7 with a fast hard-drive and everything runs really smooth and fast.<br>

I can use almost every display I want (or can afford :-). My files are on several external hard-drives.</p>

 

<p>We have both the Mac Pro and an iMac. When it comes to a heavy work load...hundreds of files...you can't beat the Mac Pro. Another plus for the Mac Pro...and as John D said with the Mac Pro....you have the extra drive bays...with our iMac we use 2 external drives. A plus for the iMac...you get the display.</p>

<p>I use the iMac and I just processed a wedding and after processing, exported over 500 full size tiffs without a hiccup. While I surfed the net and did other stuff. I have 16GB of ram which is fine for now. The Mac Pro hasn't been updated for quite a while, but it is a powerful machine and would handle anything you threw at it. The iMac though has become a very powerful machine and with the new Thunderbolt port for external HD's there really isn't advantage to the internal drives of the now older Mac Pro which doesn't have that feature yet. I found coming to OSX from Windows was not difficult at all. </p>

<p>Thank you all. I think the iMac is good enough for me. Will go with the 27' and 16gb of ram.</p>

<p>Hi Tuan,</p>

<p>I see you made your choice already, but consider this... I have used a macpro for about 5 years. When it became outdated, I already had a large Cinema display ($1k) and decided to get a beefed up MBP. The advantage was a dual screen and I could take it with me to present slide shows to clients etc. I don't keep a lot on the HD, as all my storage is on line or on a Drobo/in house backup. So space had never been an issue. Faster than the iMACs and more versatile. Then when you want to get another computer, you have a laptop for on site stuff/ client meetings, and can simply upgrade your main use box to a macmini (about the same specs for processing as an iMAC).</p>

<p>Just a thought.</p>

<p>MBP is a great idea, but not faster than the iMac. Mini much lower spec but work well too. </p>