Hardware required to edit photos pictures 2024 - Mac

[Guest]

Just wanted to wrap up the findings as I just looked at refreshing my set up

 

Pictures

Mac Mini 16 GB M2 with 1 TB and external SDD 4 TB

 

Video 

Mac Studio M2 Max 32 GB with 2 TB and external SDDs for your projects

 

What is interesting is that the Mac Studio becomes competive with the Mini as you upgrade the Mini to the Pro

 

You still need monitor and keyboards. It is also possible to run a macbook pro and then dock it if you prefer that single set up however I use only the laptop for a trip

 

[fruehaufsteher2]

I just wanted to add that if you do only pictures (or at least mainly pictures) the „cheapest“ option is one of the larger iPads with USB-C and the iPad Lightroom edition. 

 

Nearly only missing histograms this LR comes at only 22.-€/year while the apple display units are quite good in brightness and color. Data transfer directly via USB-C from my Sony camera is done in seconds and avoids putting in and out of the SD-cards. 
 

nothing for the pros but for me. Low amount of weight low complexity. I also charge the camera via USB. 

Edited December 30, 2023 by fruehaufsteher2

[TimG]

I went through the Mc Mini v Studio mental debate about a year ago. Finally settled on the Studio Max with 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD drive. (I can almost hear @makar0n's  eyes rolling).

 

The Studio is brilliant. Yeah, expensive for sure. But my 55k LR catalogue flies. As did my wallet.  

[Guest]

27 minutes ago, TimG said:

I went through the Mc Mini v Studio mental debate about a year ago. Finally settled on the Studio Max with 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD drive. (I can almost hear @makar0n's  eyes rolling).

 

The Studio is brilliant. Yeah, expensive for sure. But my 55k LR catalogue flies. As did my wallet.  

Yes that is what I am planning. To be frank photos edit with my Intel Mac Mini and external GPU however video chokes

 

The other point is for picture editing you need a color accurate large monitor as large as the wallet allows, that is not an area to make savings

[RichN]

I always recommend people get as much memory (Max it out or 1 step down if you can) and SSD (no smaller then 1TB) that you can afford with new Macs, as you can not upgrade later. Memory crucial for longevity and add on SSD can be done. 

 

 

[Guest]

34 minutes ago, RichN said:

I always recommend people get as much memory (Max it out or 1 step down if you can) and SSD (no smaller then 1TB) that you can afford with new Macs, as you can not upgrade later. Memory crucial for longevity and add on SSD can be done. 

 

 

I use external SSD for storage. Now you can find them up to 4 TB with 1000 MB/s there is no real incentive to spend £400 per TB as Apple wants you to

So all the working files on the computer and the photos on the external SSD

Archives on normal HDD and another HDD for time machine 

Just bought a Samsumg 4 TB T7 Shield for £289

[RichN]

3 minutes ago, Interceptor121 said:

I use external SSD for storage. Now you can find them up to 4 TB with 1000 MB/s there is no real incentive to spend £400 per TB as Apple wants you to

So all the working files on the computer and the photos on the external SSD

Archives on normal HDD and another HDD for time machine 

Just bought a Samsumg 4 TB T7 Shield for £289

exactly, I like to keep the system drive at 1TB for Programs and System, I use iCloud Drive as well for Desktop, Documents and my main catalog. this way if Im on my laptop or desktop as long as my external is plugged in my Photos are available.  

 

 

[Guest]

14 minutes ago, RichN said:

exactly, I like to keep the system drive at 1TB for Programs and System, I use iCloud Drive as well for Desktop, Documents and my main catalog. this way if Im on my laptop or desktop as long as my external is plugged in my Photos are available.  

 

 

it is possible to run photos from a macbook pro and create a docking station at home

My M1 Pro also manages videos however I don't have the discipline to keep backing it up so at the end I run a desktop

 

[RichN]

2 minutes ago, Interceptor121 said:

it is possible to run photos from a macbook pro and create a docking station at home

My M1 Pro also manages videos however I don't have the discipline to keep backing it up so at the end I run a desktop

 

yep, I have 2 desktops one at home and one at work. I have a dock at each location as well. With iCloud Drive all 3 machines are in sync. Lightroom catalog as well. The actual images are stored on a working 4tb external so as long as that's plugged in to one of the machines I can edit. I also archive & backup to other drives using Carbon Copy Cloner task at all locations when my photo SSD is plugged up. 

 

 

 

 

[Architeuthis]

Usage of RAM and SSD certainly depends on person. I have MacBook Pro M1 with 32 GB and 2TB SSD. When I work in LR to edit photos, while having other programs in the background, often 20 - 30 GB RAM are occupied. Also 1TB is, more or less occupied on SSD with programs and projects that are not yet finished (the finished projects I transfer to NAS (2*16 TB) and keep only selected slideshows, that I want to have ready on my laptop...

 

=> When buying now, 32 GB would be the minimum (not considering video editing), maybe I would take 64 GB to be future proof (the new AI tools in LR need a lot of space). 2 TB SSD seems appropriate to me...

 

 

Wolfgang

Edited January 1 by Architeuthis

[Guest]

Ordered Mac Studio Max 64 GB 2 TB

The 64 GB are not for underwater or video but for stacking topside macro in photoshop I do not think you need that for any underwater use but as this is not upgradeable I thought of maximising

I am sure this set up is an overkill but I like that it has an SD card slot on the front and USB C for my memory cards and 4 thunderbolts on the back for my SSD of which I have two. I also have two HDD one for time machine and one for archives so this should work well

[TimG]

Sounds great, Massimo. I'm very happy with my Studio - and I only went with 32GB. 

 

I've used 1.6TB of my 2TB SDD but 1.4TB of that is my Picture file with all my images - over 55k of them - collected since 2003. I'm starting to think about moving that file to an external SDD - or at least part of it.

 

If anyone has ideas for a SDD which is fast enough to enable online LR and PS editing, I'd be interested. I was thinking of the Sandisk Extreme Pro but, as a portable disk, I was wondering if it's not a bit too flimsy for a long-term external drive.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, TimG said:

Sounds great, Massimo. I'm very happy with my Studio - and I only went with 32GB. 

 

I've used 1.6TB of my 2TB SDD but 1.4TB of that is my Picture file with all my images - over 55k of them - collected since 2003. I'm starting to think about moving that file to an external SDD - or at least part of it.

 

If anyone has ideas for a SDD which is fast enough to enable online LR and PS editing, I'd be interested. I was thinking of the Sandisk Extreme Pro but, as a portable disk, I was wondering if it's not a bit too flimsy for a long-term external drive.

Sandisk extreme pro in the v2 1000 MB/s version have reliability issues

 

I use a Samsumg T7 Shield alternative is a corsair V10 because they offer 4 TB at reasonable price. I bought the samsung because it is very rugged. It does not work at 1000 MB/s but 900 MB/S which is plenty for lightroom and photoshop

To be frank I had that running on hard drive and other than the noise processing was fine just opening and browsing and import was substantially slower. A good HDD does 220 MB/s while a low grade SSD 500 MB/S a high grade 900 MB/s and internal does around 2500 MB/s

My lightroom photolibrary is over 2 TB I have not counted how many photos are there but goes back to 2003

I also have two new Sony tough 1000 MB/s never used in stock 2 TB as well as a G technology 2 TB which I would recommend over sandisk

 

[bghazzal]

You're all making me drool - I edit 4K video in Final Cut Pro on a 2017 1.8 GHz Macbook Air with 8Gb of ram at the moment.

I run FCPX directly from a Samsung T7 SSD instead of the macbook's hdd, which helps a lot.
 

Not having a home to settle down in at the moment led to such minimalism, but a laptop with M1 processor would be fantastic, and the first thing I would get. I used macbook pros in the past (editing, and also visual mapping in Modul8), and also a souped up MacMini, but this was a while ago.
 

Final Cut works running from the SSD works fine enough (I don't even use to use proxies to edit) but I can't run DaVinci Resolve for instance - well i can but can't get fluid playback, even with proxies...

 

 

Edited January 4 by bghazzal

[TimG]

Thanks Ben and Massimo. I'll look into those.

 

13 minutes ago, bghazzal said:

Not having a home to settle down in at the moment led to such minimalism,

 

Yeah, I can understand that, I used to be the same and just using MacBook Pro.  But am no longer homeless..... 

[Guest]

16 minutes ago, bghazzal said:

You're all making me drool - I edit 4K video in Final Cut Pro on a 2017 1.8 GHz Macbook Air with 8Gb of ram at the moment.

I run FCPX directly from a Samsung T7 SSD instead of the macbook's hdd, which helps a lot.
 

Not having a home to settle down in at the moment led to such minimalism, but a laptop with M1 processor would be fantastic, and the first thing I would get. I used macbook pros in the past (editing, and also visual mapping in Modul8), and also a souped up MacMini, but this was a while ago.
 

Final Cut works running from the SSD works fine enough (I don't even use to use proxies to edit) but I can't run DaVinci Resolve for instance - well i can but can't get fluid playback, even with proxies...

 

 

My macbook M1 pro edits 4K60 just fine as it has hardware decoding

[bghazzal]

3 minutes ago, TimG said:

Thanks Ben and Massimo. I'll look into those.

 

 

Yeah, I can understand that, I used to be the same and just using MacBook Pro.  But am no longer homeless..... 

Yep, it's one of the downsides. Considering it's easy to get a screen in most places, I'm starting to think Mac Minis might be an option for a semi-nomadic lifestyle.
I actually left the macbook pro in Europe in 2017 - the macbook air has been surprisingly reliable, but I'll be happy to move back to something more punchy in the future.

 

3 minutes ago, Interceptor121 said:

My macbook M1 pro edits 4K60 just fine as it has hardware decoding

Great thanks

[makar0n]

On 12/30/2023 at 12:55 PM, TimG said:

I went through the Mc Mini v Studio mental debate about a year ago. Finally settled on the Studio Max with 32GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD drive. (I can almost hear @makar0n's  eyes rolling).

 

The Studio is brilliant. Yeah, expensive for sure. But my 55k LR catalogue flies. As did my wallet.  

 

Somebody call for an exterminator?

Ha I was wondering when the cultists fanboys Mac enthusiasts will emerge from their lairs. No underwater photo forum could possibly be complete otherwise 😂

 

Quote

If anyone has ideas for a SDD which is fast enough to enable online LR and PS editing, I'd be interested. I was thinking of the Sandisk Extreme Pro but, as a portable disk, I was wondering if it's not a bit too flimsy for a long-term external drive.

 

There were some decent deals on 2TB Samsung T7 and Crucial X8 in DE (< 100 Euro), just keep an eye on mydealz site or its Dutch equivalent, pepper. Ping me if you need any help re-shipping from DE (or bringing over to BE)

Or go a "custom" route - SSD housing, like Sabrent M.2 w/ USB-C then a bog standard M.2 size 2230/2242/2260/2280 - best performance and flexibility this way, since you can pick any capacity you want and usually have better cooling (those newer gen PCIe 3 and up ones do heat a lot). Samsung, Seagate, TeamGroup, Sabrent, Crucial (only upper models) are good brands. I prefer Seagate Firecuda personally - has probably the best reliability (MTBF & TBW) and comes with a 3 year data recovery warranty as well.

Edited January 9 by makar0n

[Davide DB]

2 hours ago, makar0n said:

I prefer Seagate Firecuda personally - has probably the best reliability (MTBF & TBW) and comes with a 3 year data recovery warranty as well.

 

Which model?

 

[makar0n]

2 hours ago, Davide DB said:

 

Which model?

 

Any really, there are some small differences between the generations in terms of TBW, and bigger ones in terms of speed (540 goes up to 10GB/s...) as well as IOPS (530/540 go up to 1/1.5 mln). So pick depending on usage.

I am on 510 on NAS/NVR/PC - PCIe 3.0 speed "only" but since not running a db for a few hundreds users, its more than enough....and these were on a crazy sale in Alternate Germland a few moons ago 😉

 

Aaach and almost forgot - If not needing that high TBW etc, price/performance ratio wise TeamGroup Cardea Pro does not look too shabby as well, with decent TBW and prices - 2TB is less than 120 Euro, with sizes all the way to 8TB.

 

Heatsink - BeQuiet MC1 Pro.

Edited January 9 by makar0n

[Guest]

Sometimes the economies do not stack up

 

Samsung T7 Shield 4 TB costs £100 less than a Seagate Firecuda 4TB and I have to buy an enclosure that is not going to be rugged

 

Electronics are driven by volumes clearly Samsung sells more than those parts for the 4 TB

 

For 2TB there are many more options

[makar0n]

5 hours ago, Interceptor121 said:

Sometimes the economies do not stack up

 

Samsung T7 Shield 4 TB costs £100 less than a Seagate Firecuda 4TB and I have to buy an enclosure that is not going to be rugged

 

Electronics are driven by volumes clearly Samsung sells more than those parts for the 4 TB

 

For 2TB there are many more options

 

I have nothing against Samsung T7, certainly its a good choice, if you are looking for an out-of-the-box-portable plug'n'play basic SSD, with the addition of being rugged.

However If only price is the main factor then at the very least one needs to compare drives from a similar class. Here its more apples to oranges - one is a out-of-the-box-portable rugged SSD (and that is its main selling point), one is a top range (albeit a consumer one) "normal" SSD, which can be made portable. Former, apart from its portability/ruggedness, is vastly inferior in every single technical aspect (Samsung won't even provide TBW rating for those...), from speed through reliability to warranty.
And there is plenty of 4TB choices around 200 Euro (or even less) from other solid manufactures, that still outclass T7 (other than portability/ruggedness, that is w/o enclosure). Which could be much more suitable for a direct comparison possibly, other than drives from the same class (i.e. also portable/rugged like Crucial X8/Sandisk Extreme Pro).
Of course prices in across countries will differ, hence that might be also a factor.

 

Also, rugged enclosures do exist, example from Sabrent:
https://sabrent.com/products/ec-wpne

IP67 rating (so actually provides protection against water immersion) vs only IP65 (protection against water jets only) on Samsung T7.

And let's not forget you can keep re-using the same enclosure for different SSDs in the future. And SSD itself can be fitted into any PC/Laptop (not a Macbook of course 🤣) , which in general might be seen as generating less e-waste perhaps.

Edited January 10 by makar0n

[Guest]

2 hours ago, makar0n said:

 

I have nothing against Samsung T7, certainly its a good choice, if you are looking for an out-of-the-box-portable plug'n'play basic SSD, with the addition of being rugged.

However If only price is the main factor then at the very least one needs to compare drives from a similar class. Here its more apples to oranges - one is a out-of-the-box-portable rugged SSD (and that is its main selling point), one is a top range (albeit a consumer one) "normal" SSD, which can be made portable. Former, apart from its portability/ruggedness, is vastly inferior in every single technical aspect (Samsung won't even provide TBW rating for those...), from speed through reliability to warranty.
And there is plenty of 4TB choices around 200 Euro (or even less) from other solid manufactures, that still outclass T7 (other than portability/ruggedness, that is w/o enclosure). Which could be much more suitable for a direct comparison possibly, other than drives from the same class (i.e. also portable/rugged like Crucial X8/Sandisk Extreme Pro).
Of course prices in across countries will differ, hence that might be also a factor.

 

3Also, rugged enclosures do exist, example from Sabrent:
https://sabrent.com/products/ec-wpne

IP67 rating (so actually provides protection against water immersion) vs only IP65 (protection against water jets only) on Samsung T7.

And let's not forget you can keep re-using the same enclosure for different SSDs in the future. And SSD itself can be fitted into any PC/Laptop (not a Macbook of course 🤣) , which in general might be seen as generating less e-waste perhaps.

Where are the plenty of 200 euro 4TB? I have not found any of comparable class

 

And there are no rugged enclosures either there are USB 3.2 at £15 and if you want USB 4 to outclass you need to spend £150

 

You are looking at £200-220 for a non rugged cheap enclosure with an SATA 3 NVME vs £280 for a Samsung T7 Shield. I bought one of those last year and ended up throttled for temperature control. Better units cost £230 add £15 you have £245 vs £280 rugged no brainer for me

Edited January 10 by Interceptor121

[TimG]

There seems to be a good few 4TB SSDs around £200 on Amazon UK including Lexar and Kingston. I don’t know how they compare but I was checking them out earlier. 

[Guest]

44 minutes ago, TimG said:

There seems to be a good few 4TB SSDs around £200 on Amazon UK including Lexar and Kingston. I don’t know how they compare but I was checking them out earlier. 

As I said you are at £220-240 once you build the enclosure and they are not rugged at all

You spend less to get less