photographer upgrade

[bueller48]

Hi guys,

I posted this same thread in the advice heading, so thought I'd try here too.

In the process of upgrading with all new hardware/software. With a tangent away from photography for the past 4 years, the last system I used (and still currently use) is a macbook pro G4 running Leopard (circa August 2005!) with CS2. Other than inability to use the computer unplugged (battery is toast) it's still ticking along well.

Considering life cycles for the Macbook Pro, OS, and Photoshop, when would be the right time to purchase new gear? Shooting with a Nikon D700 for now as it meets current needs well.

TIA,
Matt

 

[Ruahrc]

The right time to purchase new gear is when you need it.

 

[Designer Dale]

You can find a replacement battery for that laptop from MacSales.com a.k.a Otherworld computing. My wife and I still use the G4/400 Powerbook I bought in 2000. OWC had a battery for it.

As for upgrading hardware, wait until the MacBook Pro is next updated. Probably by the end of the year. Then look at refurbished 2011 systems from either Apple or PowerMax.com.

Unless you are a designer or professional photographer who can write the expense of taxes, don't bother with the upgrade to PhotoShop. You would have to pay full retail price since Adobe won't let you use the upgrade price over older versions. It's stupid expensive unless you use it to make a living. Look at Lightroom for $150 or Aperture at $90. iPhoto and PhotoShop Elements make a nice combo for most users, too.

<insert emoticon "screwAdobe">


Dale

 

[bueller48]

The right time to purchase new gear is when you need it.

ha, true! but don't want to get screwed like last time when the intel-enabled chips came out 2 months after my purchase! thanks.

----------

You can find a replacement battery for that laptop from MacSales.com a.k.a Otherworld computing. My wife and I still use the G4/400 Powerbook I bought in 2000. OWC had a battery for it.

As for upgrading hardware, wait until the MacBook Pro is next updated. Probably by the end of the year. Then look at refurbished 2011 systems from either Apple or PowerMax.com.

Unless you are a designer or professional photographer who can write the expense of taxes, don't bother with the upgrade to PhotoShop. You would have to pay full retail price since Adobe won't let you use the upgrade price over older versions. It's stupid expensive unless you use it to make a living. Look at Lightroom for $150 or Aperture at $90. iPhoto and PhotoShop Elements make a nice combo for most users, too.

<insert emoticon "screwAdobe">
Dale

OWC already has my business. Just haven't done the battery yet.

professional photographer describes my wife. but i'm the one that investigates these sorts of things for her. i know mountain lion comes out this summer, but wasn't sure when the macbook pro's life cycle started over.

thanks dale.

As a teacher, I can possibly work the educator discount for hardware/software, even though it isn't much of a savings. I'd like illustrator too, so the Suite may be considered as I'm in the early stages of writing/illustrating a children's book.

 

[Designer Dale]

ha, true! but don't want to get screwed like last time when the intel-enabled chips came out 2 months after my purchase! thanks.

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OWC already has my business. Just haven't done the battery yet.

professional photographer describes my wife. but i'm the one that investigates these sorts of things for her. i know mountain lion comes out this summer, but wasn't sure when the macbook pro's life cycle started over.

thanks dale.

As a teacher, I can possibly work the educator discount for hardware/software, even though it isn't much of a savings. I'd like illustrator too, so the Suite may be considered as I'm in the early stages of writing/illustrating a children's book.

I'm a retired teacher as well. I got my version of CS3 on an educational discount while taking design classes. Education pricing = fair pricing IMO. The best tool from Adobe for creating books is InDesign. It allows you to easily manage multi page documents like books and has import and direct editing tools for both PhotoShop and Illustrator files. I made the pdf tutorials in my sig using InDesign and PhotoShop. I like the pen tool, but illustration was never my bag. I stick to what I know (cameras).

Dale

 

[bueller48]

I'm a retired teacher as well. I got my version of CS3 on an educational discount while taking design classes. Education pricing = fair pricing IMO. The best tool from Adobe for creating books is InDesign. It allows you to easily manage multi page documents like books and has import and direct editing tools for both PhotoShop and Illustrator files. I made the pdf tutorials in my sig using InDesign and PhotoShop. I like the pen tool, but illustration was never my bag. I stick to what I know (cameras).

Dale

Cool. Thanks for the info. I'll check it out.

Matt

 

[OreoCookie]

To be honest, the only reason why I would consider upgrading is to adopt an Aperture/Lightroom-based workflow. These apps simply require the horsepower of modern machines. Switching from iView Media Pro + Photoshop to Aperture has allowed me to sort, edit and use my photos in ways that were impossible before. That alone would be a huge upgrade for you. Adobe has just released Lightroom 4, by the way

Also, just from a utilitarian point of view: even if you don't plan to upgrade your machine now, I would have started saving for a new one a while ago. Just like with cars, computers have a natural life span and you should expect to replace it after ~5 years or so. It's just like driving around in a 15 year-old car.

 

[mofunk]

If you go with the latest MBP, what you are getting is probably a Macbook that runs 5sec faster. Same 4GB of ram. Fine a price point that you want to spend on a new MB and go with that. Remember you can go with a refurbish mac and save some money. Use that savings to buy CS6

 

[thekev]

If you go with the latest MBP, what you are getting is probably a Macbook that runs 5sec faster. Same 4GB of ram. Fine a price point that you want to spend on a new MB and go with that. Remember you can go with a refurbish mac and save some money. Use that savings to buy CS6

He'd have to pay full price at that point. CS2 was the cutoff for CS5. CS3 is the revised cutoff for CS6. Adobe backed off on that other thing. The revised terms were kind of dumb late in an upgrade cycle especially with the way that large businesses that own a ton of seats often structure their upgrades from Adobe.

The difference from the powerbook could be considerable depending on how the OP works. People tend to work within what their hardware can handle. They're unlikely to adopt workflow changes if it chokes their computer. It's just a matter of if work is being finished.

Unless you are a designer or professional photographer who can write the expense of taxes, don't bother with the upgrade to PhotoShop. You would have to pay full retail price since Adobe won't let you use the upgrade price over older versions. It's stupid expensive unless you use it to make a living. Look at Lightroom for $150 or Aperture at $90. iPhoto and PhotoShop Elements make a nice combo for most users, too.

You can go CS2 to CS5. Photoshop made elements long ago, so there is a low cost option there if you don't require the features. The pricing isn't that bad. They just focus on idiotic features that never work properly aimed at people who don't take the time to learn the software. If anything I wish the foundry would put out a photoshop alternative. Adobe has tried to integrate 3d elements since CS3 extended, and they have expanded that a bit, but it's still not anywhere near as powerful as it could be. It's weird when they focus on gimmicky features in an application at that price point rather than focusing on what will encourage future growth from an application that still has 1990s written all over it. Reducing the price a bit isn't likely to do as much as people think.