# 27 " iMac- OK for photo editing?



## shutterblade

Hi

New here!

Just wondering if there are any "semi-serious or serious" photographers out there that use the new 27" iMac for their editing? If there are concerns, what are they and what are the alternatives. I would really like to move from a PC platform to an Apple.

As one member suggested, is it a better idea to buy Dell's new 27" Ultrasharp (apparently the same panel as the iMac but with a non glossy screen) and run it on a mini or a Apple desktop?

Thanks
Shutterblade.


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## l84toff

shutterblade said:


> As one member suggested, is it a better idea to buy Dell's new 27" Ultrasharp (apparently the same panel as the iMac but with a non glossy screen) and run it on a mini or a Apple desktop?
> 
> Thanks
> Shutterblade.


Hi and welcome to ehmac.

Personally I would go with the 27 in either the i5 or i7. A mini with the 27" Dell will cost you quite a penny and in the end nowhere near the performance of a quad iMac. If money is no object, perhaps a MacPro with the 27" Dell (of course I'm sure there are monitors even better than that for a price). Of course it would be nice to hear from anyone who has both of these side by side...

It really depends on what your priorities are. If the gloss is a huge factor, you really won't like the 27" iMac. If you can control the lighting in the room, then this is a non-issue.

Having used the 24" iMac for some light photo-editing, I found it to be just fine for my use. The 27" iMac has an even better display, making it more than ok for photo editing. 

Also if you do want to save some $, keep an eye out in the refurbished section of the Apple store. You can save a few hundred $ sometimes and you get the exact same 1 year Apple care, really a no-lose way to go, at least in my experience.


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## keebler27

l84toff said:


> Hi and welcome to ehmac.
> 
> Personally I would go with the 27 in either the i5 or i7. A mini with the 27" Dell will cost you quite a penny and in the end nowhere near the performance of a quad iMac. If money is no object, perhaps a MacPro with the 27" Dell (of course I'm sure there are monitors even better than that for a price). Of course it would be nice to hear from anyone who has both of these side by side...
> 
> It really depends on what your priorities are. If the gloss is a huge factor, you really won't like the 27" iMac. If you can control the lighting in the room, then this is a non-issue.
> 
> Having used the 24" iMac for some light photo-editing, I found it to be just fine for my use. The 27" iMac has an even better display, making it more than ok for photo editing.
> 
> Also if you do want to save some $, keep an eye out in the refurbished section of the Apple store. You can save a few hundred $ sometimes and you get the exact same 1 year Apple care, really a no-lose way to go, at least in my experience.


just saw the quad 27" for $1799 yesterday.
smokin' deal!


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## MaxPower

I use iPhoto, Aperture 3, Adobe SC3 usually at the same time on my 21" Aluminum iMac with no problems.

Model Name:	iMac
Model Identifier:	iMac7,1
Processor Name:	Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed:	2 GHz
Number Of Processors:	1
Total Number Of Cores:	2
L2 Cache:	4 MB
Memory:	3 GB


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## l84toff

keebler27 said:


> just saw the quad 27" for $1799 yesterday.
> smokin' deal!


They either have a few of them or it's been there for a bit. The i7's go pretty quick though. But yes, it appears to be an excellent deal.


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## i-rui

the glass on the imac display will artificially boost contrast a bit, but i wouldn't worry too much about that unless you're very hyper critical about colour correctness and work in a fully calibrated environment. Here's a discussion on luminous landscapes about the qualities of the display :

Luminous Landscape Forum > IMAC 27" for Photo Editing

IMO you wouldn't be ahead with the dell and a mac mini. The performance boost of the i7 greatly outweighs the negative of the glossy display (although i wish apple would make a matte finish an option)


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## eMacMan

Just a random thought here. I have never torn down one of the more recent iMacs and may not even know what I am talking about.

Still as I understand it, the glossy screen is in reality a nothing more than a piece of glass designed to protect the display. This brings to mind two possible options. Removing the glass altogether or replacing the glass with a good non-glare alternative. 

As I say I am not at all sure either is possible but would love to hear from repair techs on this.


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## John Clay

eMacMan said:


> Just a random thought here. I have never torn down one of the more recent iMacs and may not even know what I am talking about.
> 
> Still as I understand it, the glossy screen is in reality a nothing more than a piece of glass designed to protect the display. This brings to mind two possible options. Removing the glass altogether or replacing the glass with a good non-glare alternative.
> 
> As I say I am not at all sure either is possible but would love to hear from repair techs on this.


The display panel itself is also glossy, the last time I checked.


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## monokitty

John Clay said:


> The display panel itself is also glossy, the last time I checked.


+1; all the displays are glossy underneath the glass panel.


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## gpchase

Shutterblade..funny you should ask. I just sent back a Dell u2711 I received yesterday.
I currently have a 2009 2.93 macpro and use 24" ACD. I recently saw the 27" imac side by side with a 24" ACD and knew I needed that bigger higher resolution.Then out came the Dell and then on sale for $799 and nearly every review of the Dell raves and mentions how it's the same panel as the 27" LG imac. Well possibly it is a similar panel but side I knew immediately after switching in on it was going back.
Very disappointing !
A few months ago I sent a 30" ACD back also..I just can't get myself to look "thru" the textured matte screen and find myself looking at the screen texture...but regardless of this the Dell was simply crappy. As soon as I unpackaged it the grade of materials expressed the poor quality..plastic cord cover versus the Apple rubber...anyways..the for whatever reason I just could not get the DEll to produce a white screen. It was always blue...somewhat green...but never white.
My 4870 card in the macpro has a mini display out and dual dvi so I could run both monitors side by side and the Apple made a joke of the Dell..brightness, color, sharpness,,HD video repro..no comparison.
Today the I returned the Dell and ordered an i7 27" imac refurb and mini display to mini display cable from Apple.
BTW I shoot Canon 7d and 5d mkll and edit with LR3, Aperture and DPP and yes I know the glossy screen can skew results but I'm ok with it.
I know the 27" imac will be great with the high res until if/when Apple comes out with a new 27" ACD.
The End


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## Yamcha

I have a 21.5" imac, I use it for web design, so I use photoshop constantly, haven't had any lagging issues, but I think upgrading memory to 8GB would probably help.. If you don't mind spending the money then you should go for the i5 or i7, but I think the Core 2 Duo is sufficient.. unless you deal with very very high resolution images...


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