I want to buy new equipment and need advice for a speedy, efficient workflow. Starting from scratch, incl. computer, what should I buy? I am not rich, but my frustration with slow Aperture and crashes are at an end. I need speed!
What equipment/set-up do you recommend?
I am a busy amateur photographer/artist, often on the move, do not know much computer jargon or how computers work. I have been managing with Aperture on an older iMac, external HDDs with USB cables and mainly referenced libraries. Mainly shoot RAW. As you can imagine, this is slow, slow, slow and I can't take it anymore!
Admittedly, I am tempted to move over to Lightroom (and still upgrage equipment). Should I stick it out with Aperture? (I have used it since the beginning and it has been a long and buggy road. I have stuck with it because I like the potential convenience/simplicity.)
StudioK,
Wow that’s impressive… a company that actually told you not to buy something?! That’s awesome!
@PhotoJoseph
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Im feeling snarky so forgive me. Doesn’t everyone like to pay big bucks for lg raw file cameras and then upgrade to a new mac with high end graphics card and 16 gb ram with SSD Hd. Gee I’m glad to hear Im not alone. You already know the answer. The standard is 8gb ram and as fast a processor with as may cores as possible. Don’t get a windows box and lightroom, misery would miss your company.
One secret Ive learned is to drink a glass of wine while editing, the mac seems to get faster and finally waits for me. Don’t worry be happy. On to glass three.
davidbmoore@mac.com
Twitter= @davidbmoore
Scottsdale AZ
Funny you should say that about the wine because that is EXACTLY what I do while using Aperture. I swear the two go hand in hand.
Anyhow, if I upgrade to all you mentioned above, am I still gonna be waiting for Aperture to respond and will it still crash?
Lastly, apart from spending less on red wine, is there another reason to not move to Lightroom?
Big RAW files take a certain amount of computer horsepower to process and external USB drives are very slow. I think Lightroom would be slow with your hardware, too.
That said, Aperture likes computer resources - processor, RAM and video card. So get the best of those that you can afford. Stay with internal (or now Thunderbolt) drives. SSD is nice, but probably not affordable in sizes that will really help.
Many get along well on a reasonably modern iMac. I’m happy with my 3 year old 8 core Mac Pro.
Bob
Bob
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Bob Rockefeller
Midway, GA
www.bobrockefeller.com
Roberts right about LR having the same problems on an older machine. All image programs have their issues to deal with. I like AP workflow and mine doesn’t crash anymore (going from 2 to 3 was bad). Ok I have had issues but always fixed after reading this web site and repairing the database. We Photograhers tax a cpu heavily.
Just getting a new processor is a big help and get at least 8gb Ram. Im on an older MBP and considering getting an SSD for a temp speed boost. A temp fix to put off the inevitable, I have to buy new.
Cheers
davidbmoore@mac.com
Twitter= @davidbmoore
Scottsdale AZ
I am using a 3 year old MBP. One thing I do is use Automator to shut down all extra Apps that use resources. I have it on the dock next to Aperture. I also maxed out the RAM. The biggest help was replacing my optical drive with a SSD. I use the SSD for all my apps and store my libraries on the internal HD. That really sped things up. A lot cheaper than buying a new Mac.
Milt
It’s all about getting the data to the system so it can be processed … anything that slows that flow or creates a bottle neck, will have an adverse outcome on performance. Regardless of the software or OS used.
You can purchase the latest and greatest work station with the fastest, most efficient multi-core processors with a blazing fast graphics processor and as much RAM as you can throw at the unit … and still experience sluggish performance if the data you are accessing is coming from a slow throughput device … such as external USB …
Even FW800 (or USB3) can still bog down the flow with larger files. OTOH, if you can pick up a unit that has Thunderbolt capability and can either purchase Thunderbolt capable external drives … or … even use the new LaCie eSATA hub with eSATA externals … will go a long way to adding much more responsive performance … this of course in lieu of internal drives for the RAW files to reside …
My iMac is a late 2009 model and is quite nice for Aperture. I did upgrade to 16GB RAM (for like $100… amazing) several months ago and that has made a nice difference. I’m more likely to replace the internal drive with an SSD than replace the whole computer at this point. I know from having the 11” MacBook Air that the SSD makes a HUGE difference.
@PhotoJoseph
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Joseph,
What CPU (type, cores and speed) does your iMac run? Which video card?
Bob
Bob
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Bob Rockefeller
Midway, GA
www.bobrockefeller.com
I have been looking to upgrade my current MacBook Pro 2.66 (June 2009) that has a 500GB 7200RPM hard drive with 8GB DDR3 Ram. However word has it that Apple will be announcing new systems this coming June. Hoping beside the Thunderbolt that this new system (laptop) will also have USB 3 with the new Ivy Bridge from Intel in the MacBook Pros. So for now I plan to wait until June so I can see what is coming out.
Stu
Stuart
Website: http://www.stuartonline.com
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+StuartSchaefer/
I am getting lots of info from these posts. Thanks!!
I also thought I may wait until Apple’s newest system comes out, although I am really running low on patience - Don’t ya hate it when right after you get your shiny new Apple product, then newer version comes out just weeks later?
Assuming my new machine will have Thunderbolt, what kind of storage drive should I get? I am so tired of running out of space and speed, I don’t want to skimp anymore or get outdated so quickly again. I just want everything to work seamlessly.
Do you have any recommendations for drives, say, in medium price-range? I am guessing the LaCie eSATA hub/drives, but really I don’t know much about alternatives and am just going by stuff I read online.
Bob recommended an internal drive, but wouldn’t I eventually run out of space? Thunderbolt would be better right?
If you deal with any kind of real volume of images, you will indeed run out of space for internal drives … especially with a MBP or iMac … my digital archive spans 14 years and over 12TB of drives … and I have another 20 years of images I haven’t digitized yet … so even with the ability of a Mac Pro to add more drives … there isn’t enough space for drives to get the job done … so externals are the only option … at this point …
Unfortunately, we are at the early stages of infancy for the Thunderbolt paradigm … it’a a bit early to offer conclusive advice as to the best possible path for the long term … there could be great strides in the near future that could offer considerable cost savings for larger volume usage … so my advice would be to not jump too far, too fast … spending too much just yet and work through the short term to see what transpires … it could be that we may see some big changes in long-term storage mediums and the passing of rotational magnetic storage devices (hard disk drives) in the very near future …
SSD’s are coming down in price and growing in volume .. other mediums are being explored … I would only add exactly what you will think you need to get by for a year or so … just to see how things play out … then we will have much more information to work with …
I am happy that technology is making such big strides, and it does seem that we are due for some big changes, but it is difficult to know what to buy in this case. If I do wait a whole year or so, what the hec can speed things up cheaply until I purchase new system? Is it worth buying SSD and FW in the interim?
In any case, it is certain that I cannot function efficiently with the iMac, USB, and HDDs, as presently is the case.
I think the “standard rule” of technology still applies: if you need it now, get it now, if not, wait.
A potentially less expensive, but still effective, storage strategy might be a smallish SSD for boot and scratch, an internal fast HDD for working storage and an external FW800 HHD(s) for archiving and less used files.
Keep current files being edited on the internal HDD and then move them to the FW800 drive(s) for continued access.
Bob
Bob
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Bob Rockefeller
Midway, GA
www.bobrockefeller.com
Thank you; everyone’s answers have been so helpful!
I’m using a 1,1 Mac Pro workstation with 2 dual core Xeons.
I have added RAM to 10Gb and an enterprise quality high speed HDD as the main drive - there are 3 others internally for storage, Time Machine etc. as well as a FW800 Drobo.
To be honest, it’s pretty quick with most things.
My new Fuji X-Pro 1 came with an awful program called Silkypix that is woefully slow on this machine - Aperture and Nik is many times faster (but won’t yet open the X-Pro 1 RAW files).
I’d say pretty much any modern Mac will be fine - I run it on an 11” Macbook Air with only 2Gb of RAM when I am on the road and it works fine on that.
Bob,
My iMac is:
27-inch, Late 2009
Processor 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory 16 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
Graphics ATI Radeon HD 4850 512 MB
-Joseph
@PhotoJoseph
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It’s been said already here a few times but I’ll say it again to drive the point home… do not underestimate the advantage of an SSD drive for your OS and apps and if you can afford the larger SSD, even your Aperture library (referenced, of course). It won’t improve loading times of a RAW file off a FW800 drive, but since the rest of what you do will feel so much snappier, everything will feel better. I can’t get over how snappy my tiny MacBook Air 11” feels with the SSD in there.
I looked at the cost of replacing my internal 1TB drive on my iMac with an SSD. I can’t go to 1Tb but I can get to 480GB for around $600 or $700 (never did quite figure out which one I would need but since I’m not buying I didn’t dig). I currently run my internal drive at about half a TB and that includes my 160k+ photo Aperture library at 120GB, which is so small because all masters are external and I keep minimal previews. I’m sure I could drop 100GB off this easily. So for let’s say $650, I’d have what essentially feels like a new computer. If you look at it as cost for storage, it’s painful, but if you think of it as a viable alternative to upgrading your computer, it’s pretty cheap.
If I bought a new iMac today, I’d be spending $3,500 to get the iMac I want. And that just seems silly. And even that would be with a 1TB + 256GB SSD combo, meaning I couldn’t keep my Library on the SSD. I’d rather get the 480GB SSD from MacSales/OWC and easily get another year or two out of this iMac.
-Joseph
@PhotoJoseph
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Joseph,
That sounds like it could work for me in the interim. Excuse my ignorance, but can you give me an example of what kind of SSD I should be looking for (i also have iMac)? I just don’t know where to start.
I have indeed often heard people say they move apps, etc. over to the SSD, but again, I just don’t know much about this type of thing. So, how do I do it?
Thanks,
K
K,
Go to macsales.com (that’s Other World Computing’s Mac division). For RAM they have a really easy configuration tool, although to be honest it looked a little less simple to locate the right SSD drive. The right drive will depend on your Mac, so if you can’t figure it out on your own, just contact their tech support. They probably have a live chat. They can help you start to finish with the installation and moving of files.
@PhotoJoseph
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Thanks, Joseph. I don’t reside in the USA but will contact the TechSupport at MacSales anyway. Looks like exactly what I need…
Wow, just contacted TechSupport/chat at OWC and they are incredibly precise and helpful. Nonetheless, their advice for me was that unless I have money to burn, I should just wait for the new MBP…