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Community Newsletter: Q&A: Is the Mac right for me?
- 4/5/07 11:48 AM
I disagree
by Fotograffiti - 3/31/07 7:43 AM In reply to: Mac? Not for me. by garyoI don't believe it is fair to say that if you have used a newer PC you wouldn't be happy with an iMac. I have used Windows forever and have built many high end machines for people as well as for myself. I hit a point where I was bored and needed something new and I bought my first Mac in 2002. I really love using OS X and so do all my friends and family that have subsequently purchased Apple computers. I am not sure how one can find navigating difficult or confusing. Spotlight works great for finding anything fast, Finder allows you to go through Folders just like you would in Windows, and for things I use all the time I have them in the Dock at the bottom of the screen. People really seem to like new Instant Search in Vista which is, of course, just Spotlight in a different location on your screen. Many Windows users I know didn't think it was such a great idea when Apple did it, but now that Windows has it, it is the the greatest thing since sliced bread.
I will say that Macs do occasionally crash as do Windows machines, and they have probably been fairly even since Windows 2000 came out. The things I like most are not dealing with quite so many driver issues, missing .dll files, and not needed to really so heavily on virus protection. I don't have any and have never needed it on any of my Macs, but I would not run my Windows machine for any amount of time without it. The daily virus updates are pretty annoying but not as annoying as getting a bunch of viruses and realizing the best way to fix it is to format again.
I might be in the market for a PC in the future for some business programs (and some gaming of course! Let's be real... this is one area where a Windows PC wins hands down) , but my home computer will definitely be a Mac from now on (as long as the operating system continues to perform as well as it has for me so far)...and for the record I have done much more than just email or a little word processing.
What is the point of this big, rambling mess? Someone with only previous Windows experience can be perfectly happy with an iMac. I think everyone owes it to themselves to give each one a try. Also 1 GB RAM sounds like alot but I have always maxed the RAM out on my systems which could make a big difference in a user's experience.
Heavy -duty computing
by amidt - 3/26/07 1:39 AM In reply to: Is the Mac right for me? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I use both pc and mac. At work I use pc but for personal and private purposes, I use mac. Take my advice, for anything heavy and demanding, choose mac. You won't regret it. Know what? I'm just waiting to throw away my Nokia the moment I manage to get hold on the upcoming iPhone.
Digital Photo Mac or PC
by mcgeheep - 3/26/07 5:30 AM In reply to: Is the Mac right for me? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Lots to consider here, Chaz. I work for a DoD Visual Information Service that employess illustrators, photographers, and videographers/editors. The gov provides PC's of course, however our photgraphers, who moonlight professionally as well, are Mac-centric. Being experienced with both they do prefer their Macs. I'm an illustrator and an amatuer photographer. I also work as an assistant systems security administrator/officer and am PC-centric. That said I too am impressed by the Mac offerings. Apple has the finest display I have ever seen for the money surpassing the SyncMaster 213T I'm presently using. Color calibration and control for a Mac(for professional output)also far surpasses the PC side. I'll soon retire from all this and focus more on photography/fine art than illustrating and rather than give my present PC a major upgrade...you guessed it, I'll go to the Mac side. Like you, Office is not a major thing with me, I primarily use Photoshop CS2 and Lightroom anyway with Coreldraw for vector art. Hope this helps..
Regards,
Apple vs PC
by techitrucker - 3/26/07 6:28 AM In reply to: Is the Mac right for me? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I am a professional photographer, over 20 yrs, and have been involved in digital for over 8. I have used and discussed both Mac and PC machines with other colleagues. Macs are great machines. People who have Macs are fanatics about them, both due to their ease of use and the us against the other 95% of computer world mentality. I have found that Macs are good but I like PC better.
Macs are slower than PC, always have been and may always be. I have made side by side comparisons with Photoshop and no contest.
Macs are proprietary. Fewer software titles available for Apple computers. Consequently, less innovation and ease of upgrade ability.
Nearly all software available for Apple is available for PC. The reverse is not true.
All Apple computers are more expensive. You get less bang for the buck.
Due to the fact that more people use PC, problems can be resolved easier and cheaper.
I was in the same position as you a few years ago, Mac or PC. I choose PC and am happy with my decision. It is the old Beta vs VHS decision.
Macs have MORE software titles
by spliceguys - 3/30/07 6:05 PM In reply to: Apple vs PC by techitruckerAhem. Macs have MORE software titles. It's the only computer out there there that is not OS-challanged. It will run the tens of thousands of Mac programs AND Windows and nearly all Windows programs AND Linux and it's programs.. PCs can only run windows or linux programs..
Also, People have this thing about how fast the mac is compared to Windows.. Windows does open it's 'windows' quicker from a start up, however, on the Mac, you can leave your ten favorite programs open and running, so start up of a program becomes a non-issue. The workflow, and integration with all the iLife programs is what makes you much more productive, hence the mac becomes the faster one to use, even if the processor on a particular one might be slower.
leave software open?
by theboyofspewn - 3/31/07 5:58 AM In reply to: Macs have MORE software titles by spliceguysI am a professional in the field of Web Design, and an artist in the field of technology. I use high end computers in both Mac and Windows flavors. Both types of computers will crash. Especially if you leave "your ten favorite programs" open. In my case, my 5 favs are Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Dreamweaver, After Effects. Opening all 5 of these at the same time on a Mac or a PC, regardless of power, is draining to the memory, and working in all of these at the same time WILL crash your computer.
Honest opinion from a person that made the "switch"...
by merginim - 3/26/07 8:33 AM In reply to: Is the Mac right for me? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Let me start by saying I support Windows PC's all day long as part of my job, so I don't want a OS that I have to support at home, too!
About 18 months ago, I decided to re-evaluate what I needed in a computer. Since I was going back to grad school and didn't want to mess around with a bunch of software problems all day. I decided to put all my wants/needs on a sheet and then compare all the "big-name" OS's out there--Windows XP, SUSE and Red-Hat Linux & Mac OS. This is what I recommend for you, too. On my needs list, were stability, ease-of-use, immunity to viruses (and spyware, malware, etc.), ability to do what I wanted it to do (which is classwork, photo editing, possibly video later, and being able to handle my MASSIVE music collection). Linux is stable enough, but I would have to make some major changes to my music, it didn't have an easy-to-use video editor and although Open Office isn't bad (actully its better on some things not so hot on others, but again this is an OPINION), but for me it's just not MS Office. We all know what the problems are with Windows XP (stability, viruses, etc.,). That being said, I looked at the MacOS. It's stable (I have had 3 lockups in the 18 months I've had my Mac, unlike my PC which locked up 2-3x/day), it's administrative prompts are not nearly as intrusive as on Vista, and although there are viruses that try to infect the OS, unless you haven't changed the admin password (which you get prompted for the MINUTE you configure the MacOS the first time), then you have to confirm what you're installing (which if you don't know, don't confirm!). It runs MS Office for Mac (which my only gripe is that Access does not exist, but I am testing out other DB options), has very functional software available for photo/video/sound editing, and is pretty easy to use once you get the hang of it. I will be honest, there are some learning-curve items when switching over from another OS, but this is normal for anyone making any change (ask any XP to Vista user that's trying the new "feel" and then ask then how long before they went to XP's look/feel?). Last thing, since you can now run Windows Apps on the Mac Hardware (thanks to them switching to the intel processor line, that announcement came after I made my decision--grrr--as I'd have waited for one of those laptops instead), if you ever need the occasional Windows app you can either run Windows native (which requires a reboot but is the fastest way to run windows, but then leaves you open w/all the windows issues), or via an emulation program (speed varies due to things like processor load and how much other stuff you've got running, etc, but if a virus infects the emulator, you just shut the emulator down and the virus is gone).
Like I said earlier, evaluate what you really want and need the computer to do and then select what OS best suits your needs, and you may want to "test-drive" the various OS's before you buy. I switched, and couldn't be happier with my choice. Again, make the decision that's right FOR YOU, and not because a coupld of rich billionaires say that their OS is what you need.
After you've decided on the OS, then decide what hardware will best suit your needs and you'll be able to make a choice that you can live with. I don't recommend buying solely on price as that can be very decieving after having to add things like personal firewalls, etc. I recommend for most destkop users to buy as if they're going to use it for 5 years and 2-3 years for most laptop users. Unless you plan on upgrading frequently, I have found this to be a pretty good rule-of-thumb.
Do--
1. Buy the fastest processor you can afford.
2. Make sure to ask for the largest single RAM chip you can afford to put in the box unless it's required that you have 2 (a lot of system manufacturers will try to sell you a pair of RAM chips, but as eventually you want to put MORE RAM in later--and trust me you will--you do not want to have to take out what you've put in just to get more. That's a waste of money). Either that, or put in the bare minimum knowing that you're going to throw it out and replace it with aftermarket RAM anyway.
3. For desktop units make sure you can expand for the future. For laptops, max out what you can.
Don't--
1. Buy the largest HD. The largest is usually the most expensive and will come down as even larger HD's appear. With Firewire, eSATA & USB 2.0, you can always attach more hd storage later.
2. Accept whatever the salesman tells you. Research for yourself!
3. Just buy the extended warranty unless you know you're enough of a klutz to wreck the machine. If you do decide to think about purchasing this, make sure you know all the ins and outs of the policy before you do.
Buying a computer can be a challenge, but people that buy the computer they need rather than the one they thought they wanted are usually happier with the purchase they made.
A Mac is a PC
by ehymel - 3/26/07 9:55 AM In reply to: Is the Mac right for me? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Chaz, I have, with some alarm, seen mention of one being able to run PC (Windows) software on the new iMac using an emulator. I just wanted to add to this fray: don't do this at home, kids. Or perhaps I should say: don't do this at work. I know there have been plenty of reviews that say it works, and it works fine, but you need to always remember that your average reviewer has two crippling restrictions: (1) - (s)he needs to deliver a review on a deadline, getting the review machine/software late, as usual; and (2) - reviewers don't review software on their office computer. This is important, because they run by and large never the risk that, playing with the emulator, or a disk tool, or whatever, they'll blow their hard disk clean away, and lose two years' worth of work.
We professional computer users have to make sure that we can retrieve our output whenever we need it, and that our environment is stable enough that it doesn't die in the middle of said retrieval (and believe me, it happens). No playing allowed - none. So let's agree on one thing - if you're going to run a Mac as a PC you are using a PC. If you're going to run your Mac as a Mac you will have Apple specific file formats, and since most of the world (say, 99%, give or take a percent) uses Windoze, you will have to know a lot about file and format conversions, and what is more, you ought to be able to do those yourself, and test them yourself - we're still talking you being a professional photographer here, right? Yes, graphics artists love iMacs (unless they're Targa freaks), but then so do some scientists, who can do mathematical modeling much better on the Mac than on a PC. You are going to be a professional photographer, and as such, there is no reason for you to buy a niche machine that can give you media tools up the wazoo, for as long as they fit in your second mortgage.
Because: if you need to edit and correct your photography to the point that you need a graphics workstation - because that is what we're talking about here - I would suggest that if that is what you want there are a few UNIX graphics workstations that are significantly better tools than anything Apple makes, but you have to be prepared to shell out North of $50K. PCs and Macs are all purpose computers, they have not been designed for specific activities. As an IT professional, a developer, a photographer and an editor I can tell you that if you come to me with photography you've had to extensively edit on your iMac I will declare you a lousy photographer. 'Cuz the only thing I ever do to my work is colour balancing, but then I am one of those that will refuse to remove moles - you got a mole, it's there because the good Lord put it there.
My point, however, is that you need to be professional. First and foremost, that means you can rely on your equipment. Relying on your equipment EXCLUDES the use of emulators and other dodgy tools. Think about it - you're going to insert a layer of software between two layers of software, and now you're going to WORK? You suicidal? But more than that, if you're going to do this professionally you need a minimum of TWO workstations - and that means you can buy both the iMac and a Windows PC (try and get one that runs XP Pro - new operating systems are not stable until at least a year after their introduction, two is better). And so then you will be able to network them together and learn the file conversions, what works best on what, and all that other good stuff that anybody doing graphics needs to know.
Too much investment, you say, two machines? Well, that's fine, but then you will be what we call a semi-professional - someone who does photography as an expensive hobby, not as a business. Because even a lawn maintenance person has two lawnmowers, sometimes one can be in the shop and you still gotta make money, right?
I mean, I love this entire discussion about Mac and Windows etc., but I think it is largely beside the point. You said photography, and you said professional. Photography means you can digitize things, and carry out colour corrections. Professional means I can call you at 10pm because I have to unexpectedly deliver this work you shot tomorrow morning, or I lose that contract I was chasing. You honestly don't need all that firepower - I have two 30" displays, even a projector, but in order to balance colour on a scan all I need is one of my laptops. Which has the added advantage I can do it in my hotel room, or on the deck by the pool. Think about what you NEED, about what your goal is. And how good your credit is, not only today, but a year from now, when you might actually need that graphics workstation to do video overlays on digitized maps. Ya never know where ya go, you know?
Where are they getting all these bad PC's
by jskipper - 3/30/07 3:37 PM In reply to: A Mac is a PC by ehymelI have owned my current PC for about 5 years and I think it has crashed twice in that time. I have done photography semi professionally for some time and use Adobe Photoshop. Don't need anything else. Pretty much everything worth having on a Mac is available for the PC; all the Adobe products and Quark be a couple common graphics and layout tools.
Dollar for dollar, the PC is a better investment.
crawl before you run...
by bailyflah - 3/30/07 7:43 PM In reply to: A Mac is a PC by ehymeli have read some posts here and it seems that some people are imagining that you have plans to open up the biggest and best photography studio on the planet...
let me give my 2c worth, I have been in the I.T. industry for over 15 years, and worked in every corner of the I.T. industry, with both macs and pc's. I am now the CEO of a large I.T. company in Australia (built up by myself), we sell both PC's (branded and our own brand) and macs.
the majority of our sales, PC's. But this is not because that PCs are considered better, but because its considered the norm. Many of our customers dont know that a mac can do "almost" everything a pc can.
i have currently got a macbook, running both xp and 10.4 tiger. I use xp on the machine as i have an accounting package that is currently not available for mac. Why not get a pc then you say, because the mac allows me to 'experiment' and keep up with both companies advances in their software. It is kinda a way of avoiding the decision to go with either as i can run both systems from the one machine, xp probably not as well as a pc, but it has never given me any problems. I have managed to run vista on the macbook also, but there are driver issues (not mac related as such, but intel related as they havent released vista drivers for some of thier chipsets yet)
but lets get to the point you are after, photography.
now, you mention you are considering moving into this area and wish to look into it on a more serious note when you retire. Ok, before you listen to some people and rush out and spend your retirement fund on hardware, consider moving in small steps first. Like any business, start small and make your way up. with photography, if thats your sole purpose, you have the great benefit of using either pc or mac, 5 years ago, mac was ahead of pc's in terms of its multimedia and photography ability. But today, pc's are on a par. That said, for ease of use, especially with a single application, Macs are better, at present. The reason being that mac os doesnt need as many integral files in memory that windows does just to run. This allows the os to run single apps faster (But you'd need to be fussy as the difference is usually 1 or 2 seconds on machines with equal hardware)
In my personal opinion, I believe macs are more stable as there are fewer security risks present for mac over pc (but there are still risks) viruses, whilst they exist for mac, are at a negligble level (in a recent test we loaded up a pc with xp and put it and a mac on the net, 8 minutes later the pc had viruses and the mac was still going unscathed) pc's require more maintenance in terms of antivirus products, spyware products etc. This will eventually catch up with mac as it gains more market share.
you're working with photography, most photographers will work with raw formats or jpgs or both, both photoshop (mac and pc) will read these formats quite well, so the issue of format problems should not be an issue!
i am an amateur photographer in my spare time with a small studio and a Fuji s3 pro camera. I use photoshop on the PC and i have done some very nice protraits of family and friends.
if you are currently using PC, then i would strongly suggest you dont change, you already know PCs so are you happy with what you have?
photography PCs (or macs) dont need to be on the net (unless you're sending pics via email) so the security risks are minimized.
you dont need a super dooper top of the range rocket ship for photography. I personally know a few professional photographers who run successful photography businesses. They use PCs with photoshop, a good photographic printer and plenty of patience.
To stay with the issue at hand, Macs in their current flavours, will do what you want with ease, PC's in their current flavours, will also do what you want with ease. Don't get too strung up on having an ultimately fast machine with major ram and hard disk. The average person can edit a photograph in xp with photoshop, using a run of the mill pc (1 - 3 years old on average). Without knowing what your pc's have in terms of hardware, it is likely you can do some "basic" photo editing at present. why not play around with your current pc's and see what you can get out of them in terms of what you think you might be doing?
Computers update approx every quarter, so last quarters top of the line equipment is now this quarters mid to top of line. Get what you need for photography, not for anything else. Down the line when you want to expand or find that your business is growing, then expand with your business, dont expand before you started! You will only discover what you personally need, when you get into your work. Stay simplistic, start small and build up as your business grows, its the success behind any successful business.
IT consultant point of view
by teegold420 - 3/30/07 10:13 PM In reply to: crawl before you run... by bailyflahSo i have worked in the IT field (business software and web devlopment) field for over 10 years. Being that i live in Southern California, i have also ben onsite and dealt with all of the movie and media organizations, as well as executives in Silocon Valley. My brother is also a hard core digital photographer and animator.
- Mac and PC pretty much do the same things. Both are proprietary as far as the o/s goes, but many more software vndors write applications for PC - advantage PC
- Mac is no more stable than PC. Both crash and freeze. From a hardware standpoint Mac is high quality, but you also have a choice to pick your PC and therefore no reasonto complain as if you are that pick...pick a high quality PC!
- Mac is more intuitive, but then i always hear media professionals say they want quality and low level control. You cant do alot with Mac from a professional standpoint out of the box...you will need additional softweare and most of that software is available on PC as well. So for the amateur i can understand the usability arguement but not for the proessional.
- Most people that are hardcore media professionals that are avid Mac proponents, havent used a PC in years. Not all, but most. Most dont know the difference and arent technical enough to even compare the two.
- Executives in many companies do use Mac, but aside from the i am different factor they cant give a solid factual arguement about why they dont use a PC
- In the studios in LA, creatives mostly use Mac and office people use PC. Although they use third party softwar ethat could run on either platform for the most part. You have to standardize on something if you are collaborating on programs, etc and dont want too much of a mish mash of machines or it is a support nghtmare when you have a few thousand people to support.
- Honestly, i think Mac has done a good job marketing, and makes a quality device. I actually hate Microsoft for many reasons, but Mac isnt any better. It is really little about the hardware these days as you can choose, and third party applications will suit any needs. Mac is almost ALL hype and if you want a whie laptop and it makes you happy, then go for it as it only matter is YOU are happy in the end.
Answer for Chaz, AOTW for QOTW
by Watzman - 3/26/07 11:04 AM In reply to: Is the Mac right for me? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The question was:
“I've gotten very interested in photography to the extent that I want to use it as a source of income on the side when I retire. I have all PCs but recently got a demonstration of an iMac. I was swayed, but need to really research the differences before I spend that kind of money. I looked at a 24-inch iMac, basically set up for photography, therefore any Microsoft Office needs would not be an issue for a computer with such 'big guns'. Should I continue down this road, or focus back to a PC. I don't want to be crashing often, and the Mac guys say it won't happen (wrong people to ask). Need feed back from users to be more confident. Any guidance would be appreciated.” -- Chaz
Chaz,
To be honest about this, my PCs (there are 7 of them here) lock up or crash about once a year, and I believe that the whole idea that a quality PC is less stable than a Mac is a myth. The marketing side of me loves the “Mac vs. PC” commercials ... they are great commercials, well done, funny, and they do a good job of selling Macs ... but they present one very simplified and dumbed down side of a situation that is not nearly so simple as the commercials portray.
So let me first make a comment on Mac vs. PC: Macs are made, entirely, by one company, on whom you are almost totally dependent for everything. They are of generally high quality, but they are also generally quite expensive. PCs are made by .... well, by everyone including your neighbor’s teenage son in the garage or on the kitchen table, and both the price and quality can vary all over the place. A kit of haphazardly matched surplus last-generation ultra-parts obtained for $89 (after two dozen rebates) from JungleAnimalDirect and assembled by a high school student who is doing this for the second time and thinks he now knows it all is not going to have the same quality as a $2,000 Dell XPS system, but they are both “PCs”. So when we talk about the stability of a system and how often it crashes, I come back to the point that a quality PC is as good as a Mac.
Another point that is related here is that Macs now use Intel CPUs and chipsets, they use PCI, they use AGP and USB, they can actually run ... directly ... Microsoft Windows XP instead of the Mac OS. The Mac, in other words, IS a PC, just one that can use the Mac OS, which a non-Mac PC cannot. Mac hardware is, again, no more stable than quality PC hardware. Because, in fact, they are at this point pretty much the same thing, from a hardware perspective.
So let’s talk about your primary interest, digital photography. There is nothing about any PC that is hardware specific to photography. And as to software, there are tons and tons of digital photography applications available for the PC, and tons for the Mac OS as well. Of course if you are really, really serious about doing professional level photography on a computer (Mac or PC), you are probably talking about using Adobe full-version Photoshop, which is available on both platforms (and, again, the Mac can run Windows XP if you want to go that route (although the Mac may well not be the best platform for XP)).
So the real issues with Mac vs. PC are going to come down to the following items:
• If you buy a PC, you have to select a source for the PC, and all PCs are not created equal. The issue, from a quality, reliability, stability and cost perspective is not so much Mac vs. PC as PC vs. PC
• You can run XP on a Mac, but a Mac is not the optimum Windows XP platform, and switching back and forth between different OS’, while entirely possible, is a pain (Currently, you can’t officially run Vista on a Mac as far as I know, but I am certain that this will change at some point)
• While some products (including Photoshop) are available for both the Windows and the Mac platform, for the most part the two platforms have different software offerings. There is no argument that some of the Apple software for multimedia (photography and video) is very good, and you can’t run the Apple software on a PC. So if you want to use the Apple software, your decision is pretty clear. But there is a lot more software (superb, good, bad and yes, ugly) for the PC, so determining the software that you want to use is a key element in making this decision
• Unless you plan to use this computer only for your digital photography, there are probably two orders of magnitude more software, overall, for PCs vs. Macs. So keep in mind, also, the entire universe of what you will be using this computer for. Very few computers are used for only one single application.
The problems that people have with PCs come down to the fact that a typical PC system is made up of hardware and software from dozens or even hundreds of different firms, and that even with billions of PCs on the planet, the exact combination of both all of the hardware and all of the software found in any one PC is probably completely unique. On top of that, because PCs running Windows are 90% of the installed base of personal computers, they are the preferred target for virus and malware authors. It is the abundance and variety of both hardware and software offerings that gives PCs their versatility and low cost, but, at the same time, it’s that exact combination that also causes most of the problems that people have with PCs. You can’t have the good without the bad ... they go together. If you go with a Mac, you can avoid some of the pitfalls that exist in the PC world, but at the same time you will be avoiding a lot of the benefits as well, and precluding yourself from running most of the software that is currently being written (at least without switching operating systems and converting the Mac back into what is probably a sub-optimal PC).
In the end, however, it’s an individual choice that only the person actually using the system can really make.
Sincerely,
Barry Watzman
Watzman@neo.rr.com
Barry do you own a mac?
by gmclean1 - 3/30/07 5:13 PM In reply to: Answer for Chaz, AOTW for QOTW by WatzmanOr are you basing your decision on PC Press? I have used pc's since dos 2.11 and always thought that they were the greatest, until last year when I got my first mac. While the PC is a fine machine if (Barry your right on here) it is quality built that question is a no brainer with a mac. Today’s Mac as aptly pointed out will run XP and not as a second rate machine either (do the benchmarks). But the Mac is easy to use and to quote the cliché “It just works”. I own 2 imacs and 2 xp machines and since we have gotten the Macs no one uses the xp machines any more. I have bootcamp and parallels loaded on one imac so I can use the one program that requires windows (old client server app) but office 2004 works great and the Mac software that comes with the machine is top notch. Get the Mac. Even if you own the software for the PC get the Mac (you will get hit up for upgrade fever to go to vista basically repurchasing everything you already bought.)
benchmarks
by theboyofspewn - 3/31/07 6:01 AM In reply to: Barry do you own a mac? by gmclean1I have seen the benchmarks for WinXP on a mac. It runs faster than OSX on the same computer. But not nearly as fast as WinXP on similar, non Mac built hardware.
Mac vs PC for photo pro
by 163man - 4/2/07 12:20 PM In reply to: benchmarks by theboyofspewnI made a comment earlier about some of my experiences but thought this might be helpful too. I've been a photographer for 22 years, I'm a member of PPA, CPI, WPPI, API and other groups. The question comes up at these conventions and at trade shows and seminars all the time. The polling often goes like this:
Commercial Photographer, Editorial, and Fashion nearly all use Mac's as it's part of the commercial graphic arts world.
Journalists and travel 60/40 in favor of Macs
Wedding and Portrait (commercial) 75% Mac 25% PC
Freelance Wedding, Mom&Pop portrait and in-home portrait studios 75% PC 25% Mac
Semi-pro and advanced amateur (who do not work in graphic arts) 80% PC 20% Mac
Private Fine art photographers (not part of a commercial studio) 50/50
There is a clear path here, people who work in color managed environments, who work in graphic arts related or in-house studios, and photographers in large commercial studios tend to work with Mac's. I'm not saying it's better, only that Mac owns the commercial and high end graphic arts industries for the most part. As you move down the food chain and into more private and solo businesses there is more Windows based PCs. Regardless of cameras, film or digital, or final output which seems to make no difference.
Ultimately it really does not matter what platform your own so long as it works effectively for you and your workflow. If you have commercial customers it can become important if for no other reason than the kind of impression you want to make to your clients.
My Dad was a sales man all his life, a boss once told him he'd do better in sales if he bought a high end car similar to the ones his customers drove, a nice watch, and better suits. He tried it and his sales went through the roof, nothing else changed. People like to work with other people who fit into thier preconceived notion of what that person should look like and what he or she is surround by. In my Dad's case he needed to look wealthy for his wealthy clients to take him seriously. For many in the graphic arts trade there are certain things we keep around that appeal to our clients, if a small town photo studio doing portraits of kids they expect to see lots of wall art of kids, they don't care what equipment you have. If your clients are all going to be art directors who for the most part use Mac's you may want to have one around so they know your in sync with the way they work and think. If your customers never see you or never see your office then use whatever works best for you and your skills.
Lastly, I have to take issue with all the PC guys who get on this list and say how the Mac costs so much more, and then later state that once you build out a PC it's just as good and powerful as a Mac. That is one of the points regarding the Mac platform, most everything most people need is already there, the break even point is identical for similarly outfitted computers. You just need to pick the one that you can be most productive on based on your skills, personal tastes, and professional factors.
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