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May 10, 2022 11:00:59   #
Mongoose Loc: Dublin, Ohio
 
Since all you fine people talked me into keeping my Nikon gear I have decided to grow into editing my pictures. I am currently looking to purchase a 16 inch Mac Book. I am not sure how much memory and other goodies to have on it. Suggestions please. Also, any suggestions for photo editing software for beginners to more experienced would be appreciated. Please do not burden yourselves or me with questions of why or what are you planning to do. I am just getting under way and wish to keep things simple. Once I am situated, I expect to learn and grow on my own.

Thank you,
DL Lender

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May 10, 2022 11:05:27   #
Tracy B. Loc: Indiana
 
Photoshop Elements is a great editing program. Later maybe add some Topaz plug-ins like AI Denoise and AI Sharpen.

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May 10, 2022 11:12:07   #
CPR Loc: Nature Coast of Florida
 
Get as much memory as you can afford, both in RAM and in the hard drive. The screen quality can run the price up also. My recommendation for software is Photoshop. It has many features that are complex but it also has easy to use features. Most importantly if you need a feature it's there, no searching the Forum and the internet for something that will do what you need. Also works for stills and video.
There are specialty softwares that may do a particular thing a bit better but if you ever get to that point you can but them.

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May 10, 2022 11:39:07   #
bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA
 
16", 16GB RAM and 1TB of storage. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1668189-REG/apple_mk193ll_a_16_2_macbook_pro_with.html

If price doesn't bother you, step up to 32GB of RAM.

It will come with the capable "Photos" program for free.

Better is to subscribe to "Adobe's Photography Plan" at $10 a month, followed by committing to an introductory course through LinkedIn Learning or similar.

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May 10, 2022 11:48:53   #
wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado
 
Mongoose wrote:
Since all you fine people talked me into keeping my Nikon gear I have decided to grow into editing my pictures. I am currently looking to purchase a 16 inch Mac Book. I am not sure how much memory and other goodies to have on it. Suggestions please. Also, any suggestions for photo editing software for beginners to more experienced would be appreciated. Please do not burden yourselves or me with questions of why or what are you planning to do. I am just getting under way and wish to keep things simple. Once I am situated, I expect to learn and grow on my own.

Thank you,
DL Lender
Since all you fine people talked me into keeping m... (show quote)


A free software is the Olympus/ OMDS workspace software. It is not perfect but is extensive and priced right (free). You would not be the first and only one to be using their software without owning an Olympus camera.

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May 10, 2022 13:05:55   #
fredpnm Loc: Corrales, NM
 
Mongoose wrote:
Since all you fine people talked me into keeping my Nikon gear I have decided to grow into editing my pictures. I am currently looking to purchase a 16 inch Mac Book. I am not sure how much memory and other goodies to have on it. Suggestions please. Also, any suggestions for photo editing software for beginners to more experienced would be appreciated. Please do not burden yourselves or me with questions of why or what are you planning to do. I am just getting under way and wish to keep things simple. Once I am situated, I expect to learn and grow on my own.

Thank you,
DL Lender
Since all you fine people talked me into keeping m... (show quote)


Please be sure the MacBook is one with the M1 processor.

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May 10, 2022 13:40:57   #
DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area
 
Mongoose wrote:
Since all you fine people talked me into keeping my Nikon gear I have decided to grow into editing my pictures. I am currently looking to purchase a 16 inch Mac Book. I am not sure how much memory and other goodies to have on it. Suggestions please. Also, any suggestions for photo editing software for beginners to more experienced would be appreciated. Please do not burden yourselves or me with questions of why or what are you planning to do. I am just getting under way and wish to keep things simple. Once I am situated, I expect to learn and grow on my own.

Thank you,
DL Lender
Since all you fine people talked me into keeping m... (show quote)

One way to go would be to subscribe ($10/mo.) to Adobe's Photography Plan. You get Lightroom and full Photoshop, as well as a free web site. If you do that, my recommendation is to focus on Lightroom Classic for your editing and photo management tasks. Initially (and maybe forever), LR can handle your editing needs. But, later, you could explore Photoshop if you want to experiment with layers and other advanced techniques. LR is, for a photo editor, fairly easy to learn. Photoshop takes a lot more time and dedication.

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May 10, 2022 14:44:37   #
PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA
 
bsprague wrote:
16", 16GB RAM and 1TB of storage. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1668189-REG/apple_mk193ll_a_16_2_macbook_pro_with.html

If price doesn't bother you, step up to 32GB of RAM.

It will come with the capable "Photos" program for free.

Better is to subscribe to "Adobe's Photography Plan" at $10 a month, followed by committing to an introductory course through LinkedIn Learning or similar.



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May 10, 2022 15:34:25   #
Mongoose Loc: Dublin, Ohio
 
Thank all of you for the sage advice and brevity of your answers. Greatly appreciated.
Thank you again,

David.

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May 10, 2022 19:56:37   #
Just Shoot Me Loc: Ithaca, NY
 
PHRubin wrote:


Running that same model right now, no problem.with L/R or P/S.

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May 11, 2022 05:23:15   #
camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.
 
"Photoshop Elements is a great editing program. Later maybe add some Topaz plug-ins like AI Denoise and AI Sharpen."

I second this. Denoise is a program I recommend, never used Sharpen. My go to Topaz program is Adjust.

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May 11, 2022 06:07:10   #
billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont
 
Mongoose wrote:
Since all you fine people talked me into keeping my Nikon gear I have decided to grow into editing my pictures. I am currently looking to purchase a 16 inch Mac Book. I am not sure how much memory and other goodies to have on it. Suggestions please. Also, any suggestions for photo editing software for beginners to more experienced would be appreciated. Please do not burden yourselves or me with questions of why or what are you planning to do. I am just getting under way and wish to keep things simple. Once I am situated, I expect to learn and grow on my own.

Thank you,
DL Lender
Since all you fine people talked me into keeping m... (show quote)


I use the Adobe photographer package. Includes Photoshop and Lightroom. About $10 a month and includes updates and lots of tutorials.
Good luck and keep on shooting until the end.

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May 11, 2022 07:28:34   #
Gspeed Loc: Rhinebeck, NY
 
Mongoose wrote:
Since all you fine people talked me into keeping my Nikon gear I have decided to grow into editing my pictures. I am currently looking to purchase a 16 inch Mac Book. I am not sure how much memory and other goodies to have on it. Suggestions please. Also, any suggestions for photo editing software for beginners to more experienced would be appreciated. Please do not burden yourselves or me with questions of why or what are you planning to do. I am just getting under way and wish to keep things simple. Once I am situated, I expect to learn and grow on my own.

Thank you,
DL Lender
Since all you fine people talked me into keeping m... (show quote)


DL -

My only suggestion before you hit the “buy” button is to compare the heft and feel of the 14” to the 16”.

In November I purchased the MacBook Pro 14” (a downsize from my previous MacBook Pro). I am glad I did. The screen size and resolution are still magnificent, but it has less of a footprint and fits on the lap nicely while still getting the job done. A nice heft, but great portability.

Consider both sizes carefully (feel them) before purchase is what I’m suggesting.

Good luck and have fun.

~ Eileen

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May 11, 2022 07:30:10   #
f8lee Loc: New Mexico
 
Mongoose wrote:
Since all you fine people talked me into keeping my Nikon gear I have decided to grow into editing my pictures. I am currently looking to purchase a 16 inch Mac Book. I am not sure how much memory and other goodies to have on it. Suggestions please. Also, any suggestions for photo editing software for beginners to more experienced would be appreciated. Please do not burden yourselves or me with questions of why or what are you planning to do. I am just getting under way and wish to keep things simple. Once I am situated, I expect to learn and grow on my own.

Thank you,
DL Lender
Since all you fine people talked me into keeping m... (show quote)


At the risk of losing brevity, let me explain some of what has been mentioned:

First, as has been stated, be sure the MacBook you get has the M1 chip in it rather than and older Intel based model, as this will be more "future proof".

Due to the architecture of the M1 chip, memory is used more efficiently, so the advice to get more than 16GB is essentially overkill. I have been using my MacBook Pro 13" for a year now - 16GB has been more than enough to handle Lightroom and Photoshop. So instead of throwing extra money at RAM, perhaps an external drive to use as backup would be a better choice - because backing up your system is critical. Everything can fail (yes, including solid state drives), so a good backup routine is a must.

The other hardware related consideration might be a second monitor - larger than the 14 or 16" in the laptop, as this makes post processing a much more pleasant activity - not having everything crammed into a relatively small screen is very helpful to say the least.

As for software, the woods get a bit thicker. A one-time license fee (because nobody ever "buys" software - it's the license to use it you pay for) versus a monthly subscription is the one arena where you will find as many heated (and often ignorant) opinions as "Nikon versus Canon" or "SLR versus mirrorless" or "Mac versus Windows". One point to be made about the monthly approach - you will always have the most updated version of the software - with one-time licenses the vendor can do fixes and "point releases" but will end up charging for entirely new versions. The reason software vendors have been moving to subscription fees (and Microsoft and SAP have been doing this as well) is actually twofold:
1- from a support basis they can be assured that their customer base is all on a recent version of the package - no more having to support versions that are umpteen years old, and
2 - from an accounting perspective, they can better estimate revenues since a monthly fee will be more stable over time, as compared to a "big Christmas rush" of sales followed by low sales.

I hope that clarifies things a bit.

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May 11, 2022 07:42:40   #
jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY
 
Look at YouTube reviews of the M1 Mac. Unlike conventional computers, you don't need 32GB of memory to get through your day. You can spend as much money as you want, but make the choice based on facts.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mac+m1+review

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