DrDrake Loc: Greensboro NC

I am in need of purchasing a new computer for editing photos. In the past I have been using an PC. After talking to other Photographers they suggest that I might consider Mac.
My editing software is Lightroom Classic and Photoshop.
Thanks for input.

chemsaf Loc: San Diego

I had Puget Systems build a desktop tower for me. Well worth the cost.

fredpnm Loc: Corrales, NM

And your reply was helpful how?

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

What's your budget. I would highly recommend a Mac.

DrDrake Loc: Greensboro NC

$1500.00

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

For a good-great Mac, you're going to need a bit more! Best of luck.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I'd recommend a 27" iMac with at least 32G of RAM. It might run a bit more than your stated budget but it will be worth it.
--Bob

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

If you are an average user, any of the M1 Macs will be fine. These include the Late 2020 M1 MacBook Air, Late 2020 M1 MacMini, Spring 2021 M1 24" iMac, and the Late 2020 M1 13" MacBook Pro. Of these, the first three are excellent picks. I would avoid the last one, because I hate the Taskbar, and because it isn't a great value compared to the MacBook Air.

The Air is a super-popular laptop and a great value. I have one. I love it. Reviewers love it (see below). Consumer Reports loves it. My kid has one, also.

If you already have a good keyboard, mouse or trackpad, webcam, speakers, and microphones, the MacMini is a great value. It is the only one of the base M1 machines that supports two external monitors. It has the most ports. And because of its fan, it is the fastest.

The 24" iMac is an all-in-one. It is an information appliance. It does everything quite well... It has great speakers and webcam and microphones for conference calls and meetings, and it has a great keyboard and mouse or trackpad. Don't buy the base model, as it has only one fan and two ports and no Ethernet socket on the power brick. The mid-tier model has two fans, four ports, and 1000-Base-T Ethernet on the power brick. The 24" iMacs support one external monitor.

I'd suggest 1TB Storage, 16GB Unified Memory, 8 CPU, 8GPU, and 16 Neural Engine cores. My own M1 is the Late 2020 MacBook Air in that configuration. It runs Ps and LrC just fine. I bought it through the Apple REFURBISHED site, and saved about $250 (with no sacrifice in warranty or supplied items).

I use it with a LG 27UP850-W 27” UHD (3840 x 2160) IPS P3 Monitor that is also a power supply for the laptop, and a USB 3 hub for a backup drive and wired keyboard. (about $550)

I also use a https://www.charjenpro.com/products/ultimatedock (about $85) for

> HDMI 4K/60fps (for the road... the LG connects via USB-C)
> Gigabit Ethernet (I wire my connection at home)
> Two USB 3.2 ports 10Gbps (for USB type A devices)
> Headphone jack (used for external amps and speakers)
> Power delivery up to 100W (can feed the Apple 30W wall wart through to the computer)
> SD/Micro SD 4.0 UHS I/II readers (Our hybrid cameras use SDXC type I and II cards)

If you are truly a power user, then consider the 14" and 16" MacBook Pros with either the M1 Pro or M1 Max SOCs. These came out in October and are getting rave reviews. Frankly, they are best for very high end pros doing video editing on the go, or software code compiling, or exporting thousands of huge images from LrC and Ps. But at nearly twice the price of the M1 machines similarly configured, a little wait time is not objectionable. My MacBook Air exports 30 full size JPEGs from 16 MP raw files in just under 29 seconds.

PLEASE NOTE that Apple is transitioning all their devices to their own Apple Silicon SOCs (Systems on Chips). AVOID buying an INTEL Mac in 2022, as they are going to be obsolete within a few years. Apple has several more releases to come, including a larger iMac, a pro version of the Mini, and the Mac Pro. Rumors have these coming before or during calendar Q3 2022.

If you want to watch some real-world reviews and comparisons with Windows machines, check out YouTube channels. Do a search for 'm1 Mac reviews' and hundreds come up. I trust these reviewers:

MaxTech (Max Yuryev and brother Vadim)
Marques Brownlee
Mark Ellis Reviews
iJustine (Ezarik)
Sara Dietschy
Linus Tech Tips
Everyday Dad
Zone of Tech
GregsGadgets
Luke Miani
Rene Ritchie
Snazzy Labs

JohnR Loc: The Gates of Hell

Although I'm exclusively Mac I strongly recommend you stay with Windows. Familiarity is a wonderful thing. Just choose the best screen you can afford and get a budget PC to go with it. Computer speed is totally unimportant whereas your screen on which you're viewing your photos is of paramount importance IMO

rcarol

Not necesarrily. I bought a M1 Mac Mini with 16GB memory and 512 GB SSD for $1099. I added an LG 32” 4K monitor for $400. I added a bluetooth keyboard for $16 and a bluetooth mouse fpr $13.

DrDrake Loc: Greensboro NC

To everyone thanks for great information.
DrDrake

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

At that price point, I would be looking at Windows "gamer" computers. They will come with the graphics horsepower to do a good job. I'm currently using a three year old Lenevo Legion laptop that I paid $1100 for at Costco. It works well for all the Adobe apps.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

At least he recommended a company that builds semi-custom PCs aimed at the particular use while implying the OP stay with PC. What you are used to and know how to use is important - the switch to Mac is probably from people who have only used Mac. At any given power/performance point the PC is almost always less expensive than the Mac and the PC is more customizable because of the bigger selection of parts etc. for them.

You on the other hand seem to have just decided to be snarky.

And yes, I am in a mood so I snarked your snark.

To OP, here is an article from Photography Life on Mac vs PC for photography and other considerations.
https://photographylife.com/category/pc-mac-tablet-hardware

And here is the build the same people recommend for the Ultimate PC for photo build. In 2019 I used their then current build to put my desktop together using the Intel i9 and other parts going into my old full tower case iBUYPOWER gamer I had been using for photo since 2011. https://photographylife.com/the-ultimate-pc-build-for-photography-needs

And this page (scroll way down) has lists of many of Photography Life's articles on many aspects of photography, photo gear, software, camera settings, images for social media and computers for photographers.
https://photographylife.com/learn-photography

twosummers Loc: Melbourne Australia or Lincolnshire England

Get any Mac with M1 processor and (most importantly) a SSD. 16GB ram will be fine

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

The platforms are pretty much a mirror of one another and there is no "meaningful" technological advantage of a PC over a Mac. The only thing is that dollar for dollar, the PC offers more in the way of performance over a Mac, as well as fine tuning a configuration to suit your needs. Another way to put it is if you arrive at a configuration that will work for you on a Mac, you are likely to get equivalent performance on a PC that will save you at least 1/3 off the price of the Mac, sometimes more.

Another consideration for you is that you are already familiar with Windows. Learning Mac OS will have a corresponding but slight learning curve.

So if money is no object - flip a coin. You won't be disappointed either way.