27" iMac for image editing?

MiniD3 · Jun 13, 2013

Hi Guys
Had a good play at my new apple store a couple of days ago
The resolution did not look that good to me? Or is it just that I've been using my retina display for so long?
Like the real estate but starting to get cold feet after having some time with the 27 in the store
Your thoughts!
Regards,
Gary

jadot · Jun 13, 2013

HAve you got a higher resolution 27 inch display in mind?

MCAsan · Jun 13, 2013

My rMBP screen looks great for work in the field. But when I come home for final editing, nothing beats a calibrated 27" IPS screen....be it my ATD or a Dell monitor. Personally I want the added bonus of TB docking station.

The only screen (without TB docking station) better might be one of the mega dollar NEC or Eizo monitors that cost more than my 5DIII.

Apple might introduce a Retina ATD this fall to go with the MacPro. But I doubt 27" Retina means 4K resolution.

In the meantime...my ATD works just fine.

MiniD3 · Jun 13, 2013

jadot said:
HAve you got a higher resolution 27 inch display in mind?

Not really,
The main use is image editing, and starting to wonder if a 15" MacBook Pro with a retina display is going to be better than an iMac 27"?
.....Gary

swordio777 · Jun 13, 2013

MiniD3 said:
Not really,
The main use is image editing, and starting to wonder if a 15" MacBook Pro with a retina display is going to be better than an iMac 27"?
.....Gary

I honestly think this will be down to personal preference. Personally I have a 21.5" iMac which I edit my photos on. If I had the choice of moving up in screensize to 27" or going down in screensize but getting the retina display I would definitely get the bigger screen without a second thought.

When editing, I'd much rather have the ability to push all my tools to the edges and see my image really big. When viewing, I might want to see my finished shot on a retina display, but I've got an ipad for that.
I certainly wouldn't want to edit on a regular 1080p television or anything, but for it's size, I think the resolution on the 27" iMac / Thunderbolt display is fine.

MiniD3 · Jun 13, 2013

Much appreciated Guys

You just may have allayed my fears
I guess if a 27" retina iMac arrived this fall,
I'm not going to be able to pony-up for it any way

Appreciate the feedback, certainly gives me a better handle on "real estate" verses pixels when thinking about Aperture or LR menus
....Gary

AxisOfBeagles · Jun 13, 2013

I use a late 2012 27" iMac. While it may not be retina, it is an amazingly high resolution screen - and the large real estate is invaluable in seeing my images in detail. To me the issue would be 15" versus 27", and retina or not the 27" would win hands down.

MiniD3 · Jun 13, 2013

Much appreciated

Thank you
This is an big purchase for me
All good news
....Gary

Borntorun · Jun 13, 2013

MiniD3 said:
Thank you
This is an big purchase for me
All good news
....Gary

Get yourself a good screen calibrator such as a Spyder. With the 27" iMac, you will never look back.

The only criticism I have is that Apple screens and video cards and software (Mac OSX) is still only 8 bits. Forget retina display on a 27"iMac, give us a proper 12/14 bit display! (I can get it on a well configured Windows system.... grrrr...)

MiniD3 · Jun 13, 2013

Borntorun said:
Get yourself a good screen calibrator such as a Spyder. With the 27" iMac, you will never look back.

The only criticism I have is that Apple screens and video cards and software (Mac OSX) is still only 8 bits. Forget retina display on a 27"iMac, give us a proper 12/14 bit display! (I can get it on a well configured Windows system.... grrrr...)

Great heads-up, Tks
Been hearing this more than once now,
Must. Be the way to go
.....Gary

fireman32 · Jun 14, 2013

I do most of my image editing on a 24" iMac and I am very happy with it. You can always wait and get the new Mac Pro and hook up a 4K display up to it. If you have that kind of cash floating around. I know I dont.

MiniD3 · Jun 14, 2013

fireman32 said:
I do most of my image editing on a 24" iMac and I am very happy with it. You can always wait and get the new Mac Pro and hook up a 4K display up to it. If you have that kind of cash floating around. I know I dont.

Cash flow is starting to shrink,
Going to go for the more real estate, general consensus is pointing me in that direction
.....Gary

ChrisA · Jun 14, 2013

MiniD3 said:
Hi Guys
Had a good play at my new apple store a couple of days ago
The resolution did not look that good to me? Or is it just that I've been using my retina display for so long?
Like the real estate but starting to get cold feet after having some time with the 27 in the store
Your thoughts!
Regards,
Gary

What do you do with the final edited images. The answer to that question should drive your decision on the monitor. Are you making large prints? Or these going on a web site? Something in between?

The 27" iMac to total over kill if the end result is web-sized images. But even so when selecting images it is good to be able to see several of them at the same time. I can do that on my iMac (it's a 27") but I can't on the 13" Macbook.

THe iMac has the gloss screen that is annoying but you can set up the room to keep light off of it. Other then the poor glass surface the iMac is ideal for editing.

Be sure to max out the RAM and keep the images on a fast disk. Buy something portable for off-site backups

MiniD3 · Jun 14, 2013

ChrisA said:
What do you do with the final edited images. The answer to that question should drive your decision on the monitor. Are you making large prints? Or these going on a web site? Something in between?

The 27" iMac to total over kill if the end result is web-sized images. But even so when selecting images it is good to be able to see several of them at the same time. I can do that on my iMac (it's a 27") but I can't on the 13" Macbook.

THe iMac has the gloss screen that is annoying but you can set up the room to keep light off of it. Other then the poor glass surface the iMac is ideal for editing.

Be sure to max out the RAM and keep the images on a fast disk. Buy something portable for off-site backups

Thank you Chris
My images will be for all uses, large prints plus web
Sounds like that 27" real estate is well worth it, your right, quickly sorting images with a large screen is going to be a big plus
27" it is!
I can see a 27" retina coming out but I'm guessing it will also be cost prohibitive as well
Starting to struggle with cards and images so will pull the trigger soon
....Gary

phrehdd · Jun 15, 2013

MiniD3 said:
Thank you Chris
My images will be for all uses, large prints plus web
Sounds like that 27" real estate is well worth it, your right, quickly sorting images with a large screen is going to be a big plus
27" it is!
I can see a 27" retina coming out but I'm guessing it will also be cost prohibitive as well
Starting to struggle with cards and images so will pull the trigger soon
....Gary

If you plan to do quality printing and work with colour images, you might really want to consider a 3rd party monitor that does well with proper calibration. The 24" higher end NEC is an excellent choice as are a couple of other makers.

What I have found is that the 20-21 size iMacs are easy enough on the eyes with their glossy screens but the 27 is at times troublesome with reflection/glare. The work around is to make sure you have your room set up to accommodate the 27" screen and the angle you place it at.

To be honest, most people will find the iMac usable but someone who wants to get the most mileage out of their images, will look elsewhere. I have done photo work on iMac, Eizo, NEC, Dell and HP monitors. For me, I happen to like the NEC offering with the associated calibration tool. It gives me the ease of not having to worry about any calibration issues and yes, one should calibrate on a schedule of days.

MiniD3 · Jun 15, 2013

phrehdd said:
If you plan to do quality printing and work with colour images, you might really want to consider a 3rd party monitor that does well with proper calibration. The 24" higher end NEC is an excellent choice as are a couple of other makers.

What I have found is that the 20-21 size iMacs are easy enough on the eyes with their glossy screens but the 27 is at times troublesome with reflection/glare. The work around is to make sure you have your room set up to accommodate the 27" screen and the angle you place it at.

To be honest, most people will find the iMac usable but someone who wants to get the most mileage out of their images, will look elsewhere. I have done photo work on iMac, Eizo, NEC, Dell and HP monitors. For me, I happen to like the NEC offering with the associated calibration tool. It gives me the ease of not having to worry about any calibration issues and yes, one should calibrate on a schedule of days.

Thank you for the heads-up
What model is the NEC?
"Once Your've tried Mac, you never go back" they say!
I guess there are always exceptions!

....Gary

Apple fanboy · Jun 15, 2013

MiniD3 said:
Thank you for the heads-up
What model is the NEC?
"Once Your've tried Mac, you never go back" they say!
I guess there are always exceptions!
....Gary

Spectraview Reference PA241 comes with calibration software and a hood. We have the 27" and 24" at work and they a great looking panels. Matt screen as well.

phrehdd · Jun 15, 2013

MiniD3 said:
Thank you for the heads-up
What model is the NEC?
"Once Your've tried Mac, you never go back" they say!
I guess there are always exceptions!
....Gary

Like the person above - I use a PA series NEC. Think of a monitor like lenses for a camera. You might switch camera models but your lenses usually are something you keep. In this case, I have used NEC with Mac Pro and Mac Mini.
In this, I have stayed in the Mac camp but simply elected to get a monitor that works extremely well for photo work (and some video/movie work too).

I don't use the hood but if your room has light issues, the hood is a good investment (whether you buy it with the NEC or make your own).

Last - I'll probably end up later this year with the new Mac Pro attached to this monitor. The only thing you should be aware is of the connections to the monitor - it has no HDMI but uses DVI. The non-gloss screen is a 2nd benefit to me for the long hours spent in front of the screen. I rarely "rave" about any hardware as they all are somewhat with shortcomings but feel confident to suggest this series of NEC monitors.

MiniD3 · Jun 16, 2013

Thanks Guys

Bit like putting Chevy wheels on a Mustang I guess

But a better way of getting the job done at the moment, until the 27" retina display is here, and I'm sure it will happen, one day

Regards,
Gary

thekev · Jun 16, 2013

MiniD3 said:
Not really,
The main use is image editing, and starting to wonder if a 15" MacBook Pro with a retina display is going to be better than an iMac 27"?
.....Gary

I would disagree with you here. I've viewed both. I guess if you like the 15" it's fine. The desktop displays tend to be better displays overall outside of resolution. Displays come down to a lot more than resolution. Apple isn't my favorite in this regard, partly due to shininess. The newest ones are somewhat better in that regard. I'm not sure if the imac will get a screen update with haswell. I don't expect it before the fall.

Borntorun said:
Get yourself a good screen calibrator such as a Spyder. With the 27" iMac, you will never look back.

The only criticism I have is that Apple screens and video cards and software (Mac OSX) is still only 8 bits. Forget retina display on a 27"iMac, give us a proper 12/14 bit display! (I can get it on a well configured Windows system.... grrrr...)

A couple corrections. None go past 10 bits per channel at the hardware level. It's just the math used to make such calculations is performed to more decimal places to reduce rounding errors. I would like better uniformity compensation from Apple, some kind of hardware level LUT system rather than only being able to calibrate by manipulating ICC profiles.

MiniD3 said:
Thank you for the heads-up
What model is the NEC?
"Once Your've tried Mac, you never go back" they say!
I guess there are always exceptions!
....Gary

NEC has always been better than Apple in terms of displays. It goes all the way back to the crt era. Last time I checked they were kind of expensive in Australia. You can get a 27" NEC below $1000 here.

----------

Apple fanboy said:
Spectraview Reference PA241 comes with calibration software and a hood. We have the 27" and 24" at work and they a great looking panels. Matt screen as well.

+1 for those models^ I know they differ from US versions. I'm not sure which is sold in Australia, but both are good.

MiniD3 · Jun 16, 2013

thekev said:
I would disagree with you here. I've viewed both. I guess if you like the 15" it's fine. The desktop displays tend to be better displays overall outside of resolution. Displays come down to a lot more than resolution. Apple isn't my favorite in this regard, partly due to shininess. The newest ones are somewhat better in that regard. I'm not sure if the imac will get a screen update with haswell. I don't expect it before the fall.

A couple corrections. None go past 10 bits per channel at the hardware level. It's just the math used to make such calculations is performed to more decimal places to reduce rounding errors. I would like better uniformity compensation from Apple, some kind of hardware level LUT system rather than only being able to calibrate by manipulating ICC profiles.

NEC has always been better than Apple in terms of displays. It goes all the way back to the crt era. Last time I checked they were kind of expensive in Australia. You can get a 27" NEC below $1000 here.

----------

+1 for those models^ I know they differ from US versions. I'm not sure which is sold in Australia, but both are good.

Wow!
So much good info, you would have noticed already, my technical knowledge is not good, getting a handle on the best direction to go now
Much appreciated,
Regards,
Gary

thekev · Jun 17, 2013

MiniD3 said:
Wow!
So much good info, you would have noticed already, my technical knowledge is not good, getting a handle on the best direction to go now
Much appreciated,
Regards,
Gary

Since you're asking the internet for advice, you might also try some of the more technical forums. There is a lot of overlap here, but it's not a bad idea to try some of the forums that are either more focused on photography and video work or hardware in general. You'll find more people who have experience with a pretty wide range. I've used a pretty wide range of hardware at one point or another, but there are others that arguably know at least as much who disagree with me on certain points. What I went into with the Apple vs NEC displays thing was that NEC provides a wider range of tools for maintaining consistency. If you are printing things out, you still have to take the appropriate measures to get a good match.

MiniD3 · Jun 17, 2013

thekev said:
Since you're asking the internet for advice, you might also try some of the more technical forums. There is a lot of overlap here, but it's not a bad idea to try some of the forums that are either more focused on photography and video work or hardware in general. You'll find more people who have experience with a pretty wide range. I've used a pretty wide range of hardware at one point or another, but there are others that arguably know at least as much who disagree with me on certain points. What I went into with the Apple vs NEC displays thing was that NEC provides a wider range of tools for maintaining consistency. If you are printing things out, you still have to take the appropriate measures to get a good match.

Your right,
That's why I posted here, but will inquire over on another photography forum as well
Regards
Gary

27" iMac for image editing?

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