photogeneralist Loc: Lopez Island Washington State

I'm a Mac fan boy since 1984. I currently am using a 21.5 inch iMac from mid 2010. I have replaced the failed factory HD with a 1 TB SSD. I have upgraded to 16 MB of memory chips. I'm Maxed out. I'm running Mac OS 10.13.6 which is as far as I can go on the upgrade path. Photogrqphically, I like landscapes and wildlife so IQ is important to me. I am concerned that the available resolution on my iMac display may be the weak link in judging which photos are truly sharp and which just appear sharp on my display. I'm blown away by the details and crispness of the iMac 27 inch 5k display. BUT I have several 32 bit apps whose replacement with 64 bit upgrades would cost as much as or more than the new computer. As long as I continue to use and need those 32 bit apps, I need to stay at or below OS 10.14.6 (IE> below OS 10.15.(Catalina)). My photo post processing apps are all 64 bit compatible so I'd be AOK there. I would have to update my 32 bit Microsoft Office 2008 though. I don't do social networking (except UHH) nor will I entrust my privacy to the cloud.

I'm retired on a fixed income so don't have money to throw at a whim.
Questions: Is the experience during the time in front of the screen sufficiently improved to be worth the upgrade $$?
Is the functionality and speed of rendering the post processing changes improved enough to justify the $$?

gtilford Loc: Woodstock, Ontario, Canada

Keep both macs one for photo editing the other for your everyday work. That way you would also not have anything running in the back ground on the mac that you are using for your photo editing.........It is what I would do but then again never to many camera's around or to many computers....lol

ezslides

Consider running the 32 bit ones under Parallels.

Woodworm65 Loc: Lombard, IL

I to am looking at a new iMac 27” but only for photo processing I currently have a 5 year old Dell PC all in one that I am using for everyday stuff and going to keep it for as long as possible if you have the room keep both.

CamB Loc: Juneau, Alaska

You should be able to update your 32bit programs to 64bit for not all that much money. I just did this and on my entire computer only lost my calibration program. Twenty other programs updated just fine. Go for the IMac 27. It’s a great machine.
...Cam

ORpilot Loc: Prineville, Or

That is exactly what I do. I have a 2009 Macbook Pro 13inch that I use for everyday stuff. Then I have a 27iMac (2016 vintage but upgraded on memory and fusion drive) that I do my photo stuff on. My photos are shared on the iCloud between my computers. I also have a 2014 vintage Lenovo 20inch PC with widows 10 that my wife uses and I use because it has Office 360 on it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. You will love the 27 iMac for editing. You can see it all. You can't get any money for your used Mac so keep it and use it for your older programs.

fstoprookie Loc: Central Valley of California

I also am retired - I just upgraded to a 2019 iMac, 27" 5K display, 3.7GHz 6 core i5 capable of 128GB RAM ( I purchased 64GB from from an outside vendor and installed it myself). I did upgrade to a 3TB drive. Yes it hurt the budget a little, but MAN IS IT WORTH IT. If you are a veteran you might check out the military discount and they had some pretty fancy financing available when I purchased last month. I LOVE the new 5K display. I set my old (Late 2012) iMac next to my new iMac - The display difference is incredible. PM me if you have any other questions

MikeT9

I updated my Microsoft Office to 64 bit through EBay. It cost peanuts and works without fault including updates.

Chris Hayes

I have had the IMAC 27" 5K I7 based Mac since 2014 and its still running just fine, on Catalina, but more importantly is that 5K display. It's a joy to look at. Let's be honest we all spend too much time in front of a PC so have the best screen you can afford. You won't regret it. Remember the Rolls Royce motto of 100 years ago. "The quality of the product will be remembered long after the cost is paid" Paraphrased.

JohnR Loc: The Gates of Hell

Buy a second hand one - a couple of years old. It will run Mojave and doesn't have to be upgraded to Catalina. If its previous owner has had Catalina installed you can still easily go back to the version it was shipped with. - probably Mojave or High Sierra. Also will be a bit cheaper. Don't go too far back though - many 2015 models have a problem in that they develop a very annoying pink border.

bonjac Loc: Santa Ynez, CA 93460

May I jump in here. I have the 5K iMac 27 inch and "upgraded" to Catalina which was a mistake. Catalina takes forever to boot up and , in general, seems slow. How do you go back to Mojave?

davidf_logan Loc: Logan, Utah

A possible alternative is a mac mini and then buy 3rd party RAM and a 3rd party monitor. You can also buy external storage quite cheaply although you do need a decent amount onboard the mini to start. I haven't priced this out but I did 5 or 6 years ago (as compared to an iMac) and am very happy with the mini + a Dell monitor, although it is getting time to upgrade again.

GrandmaG Loc: Flat Rock, MI

I’m in agreement with all the other posters. The 5K retina screen is incredible for editing pictures. I switched to Apple 5 years ago, upgraded to 32GB RAM last year. This year, I had to replace the LogicBoard (cheaper than a new computer!). It has been the most reliable computer I have ever owned.

I think keeping your notebook for everyday stuff is a good idea. As long as you don’t upgrade to Catalina, you can use all your 32bit apps.

Personally, I got rid of the 32 bit apps that I no longer used, BUT, I still have not upgraded my iMac to Catalina. However, my MBP is running Catalina and Lightroom works fine on it. The only time I would use Lightroom on the notebook is when I’m out of town. The iMac 27” has spoiled me on photo editing!

Expensive but worth it!

smf85 Loc: Freeport, IL

You'll need to do a cold re-install of Mojave followed by a full restore from a backup. That will get you to where you were when the backup was created. Its straightforward - restart the Mac and press CMD/R to enter the recovery system and follow the prompts from there.

Assume that you cannot restore anything from a backup made under Catalina to the Mojave system, so copy anything that you changed to a separate hard drive.

FiddleMaker Loc: Merrimac, MA

I am looking forward to the day when I can take a large sledge hammer to this crappy Dell all-in-one POS and return to an iMac 27 inch. But I am not getting any younger so I had better do this real soon.