Photographers have always held Apple products in the highest regard, with their beautiful interface, exceptional design, and revolutionary feature sets. With an ecosystem encompassing products meant for use as a full-blown workstation, as well as having an assistant in your pocket, you will be sure to find exactly what you need. So, in order to guide you on your decision, what follows is a walkthrough of some of the most relevant products for photographers.
MacBook Pro
Go mobile with one of the most powerful options available. The MacBook Pro is packed with computing technology that will satisfy the most power-hungry users and even provides the ability to completely maximize processing, memory, and graphics while maintaining the same svelte, aluminum exterior many photographers have come to love. Not only will the MacBook Pro keep you portable, but some photographers could find it to be the only device they ever need.
Taking the lead on the MacBook Pro’s feature list is the stunning Retina screen, so named for its exceptionally high resolution that makes individual pixels blend seamlessly into a beautiful image. This allows your photographs to be tack sharp while editing, and makes it easier to view the detail present in images taken with the latest and greatest high-resolution cameras. Ensuring more true-to-life representations of your images, the Retina display utilizes the latest tech for darker blacks and whiter whites, more vivid colors, and wide viewing angles.
Moving on to users’ needs, choosing a screen size is the first step on your journey to a new MacBook Pro, and it is a question of power versus portability. The flagship 15.4" model is, of course, a bit larger than its 13.3" counterpart, and it leverages the power of Intel® Iris™ Pro Graphics, as well as a dedicated graphics card featuring AMD’s technology. This will provide the best imaging technology possible in a portable computer and ensures that large images remain responsive as you build layers and render graphics. Perhaps you travel constantly and would do well to shave some weight and bulk from your carry-on. This is where the 13" option is ideal. Balancing power and portability, it runs on integrated Intel Iris Graphics, which will easily handle your average job while you’re on the go.
At its core, the MacBook Pro is powered by an Intel Core™ i5 or i7 processor, which handles your general computing tasks. Being the brain of your computer, the choice of which processor to get comes down to your specific needs. If you require multiple demanding applications at the same time, faster processors and multiple cores will dramatically improve performance, but if you are just handling an occasional job, a more standard model will easily handle your basic tasks and applications.
Ensuring your files and applications are read and run at the fastest speeds is a flash-based architecture, which uses RAM and SSDs for managing your data. The memory, or RAM, makes it easier to load large files, such as a TIFF image with multiple layers, while SSDs will hold your data and applications, keeping it ready for use at a moment’s notice. Photographers will likely benefit from larger SSDs and more RAM, as storing your photographs locally and loading into memory during work will drastically improve speed. Also, being flash-based, these components are less susceptible to damage or corruption from movement, making your MacBook Pro more reliable during your next adventure. Additionally, the MacBook Pro has exceptional battery life, making a long day without power less worrisome, with ratings of 9-10 hours of everyday use.
Expansion is critical for getting the most out of your MacBook Pro, and this is why Apple has equipped it with two Thunderbolt 2 ports, in addition to one USB 3.0 port, an HDMI port, an SDXC card slot, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Thunderbolt 2 is one of the fastest interfaces available and allows for the quickest transfer of data both to and from external devices, such as the LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt External Hard Drive. This means unloading multiple cards after a long shoot is lightning quick, and backups will be streamlined. Also, numerous drives and devices, including monitors, can be daisy-chained together, allowing multiple items to be hooked up using only a single port. For more mobile scenarios, Apple has designed the MacBook Pro with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for networking and additional accessories.
Interfacing with a MacBook Pro has never been easier, with the implementation of a Force Touch trackpad. Improving upon its predecessors, it has new sensors that will detect differences in pressure, meaning photographers can apply more finesse while retouching or creating adjustment layers. If you prefer a larger working area, a Wacom Intuos Pro Tablet could be just right, adding size, additional control buttons, and the ability to use a pen with your computer. Also, users working at home or in an office can easily hook up the laptop to an Apple 27" Thunderbolt Display, which provides a much larger screen for comfortable viewing or working with others.
iMac
Embodying every facet of Apple’s philosophy, the revolutionary iMac offers nearly everything needed within a single, high-performance package. Sleek, powerful, and unique, the latest iMacs are an exceptional desktop option for demanding users, especially due to the incorporation of powerful computing components and an exceptional high resolution monitor into a single slim, striking design. For photographers looking for a simple solution for their workflow, the iMac is one of the best options.
Beginning with an aspect of concern for most photographers, the monitor of the iMac is arguably its calling card, and what draws most to become interested in it. Available in two sizes, 21.5" and 27", users will be able to pick the best fit for their workspace with both versions being large Retina models that are sure to please the eyes. Besides their impressive size, they feature the coveted Retina designation for clearer details, due to the high 4K or 5K resolution and more accurate color rendition, thanks to increased bit depth. These screens are perfect for photographers, for whom critical color viewing makes a huge impact when producing final images for print and Web applications. Also, they are exceptionally thin, contributing to the overall compactness of the iMac.
Powering these displays are robust graphics engines that provide fast refresh rates and the ability to load your photographs in no time at all. When choosing a size, one must consider their graphical needs; the 21.5" has Intel Iris Pro Graphics, which will handle your day-to-day tasks without issue. Moving up to the 27" model, you will find a discrete AMD-powered graphics card, which will aptly handle the workload of demanding professionals. If you are a photographer who occasionally dabbles in the video realm, the faster AMD graphics cards will help to eliminate the stutter that is possible with high-end video editing and large-scale image editing jobs.
Diving further inside the iMac, we will find other refined technologies that will expedite the processing of large image files, editing of movies, and more. The iMac is configurable in terms of processor, RAM, storage type, and capacity, among other options that will help you create a computer that is just right for you. A variety of Intel Core processors are available to handle key tasks and everyone, from the weekend photographer to daily professional, will find what they need. RAM is also available in quantity to speed up performance, as well as support when working on multiple projects simultaneously.
Moving on to storage, the iMac supports multiple setups, whether that involves numerous external storage drives to hold and back up your files, or having a large internal drive to hold your libraries. Internally, the iMac has options for massive spinning drives, speedy SSD flash storage, or even Fusion Drives, which blend the best features of both classic hard disks and modern solid state media.
The final aspect of design and performance to consider with the iMac is the port configuration, and how you plan to organize your workspace with networking, external drives, and accessories. As expected, the latest iMacs are built with two lightning-fast Thunderbolt 2 ports, which are among the fastest interfaces available today. These are ideal for linking external drives that you’ll be working from or backing up to, such as the G-Technology 8TB G-RAID External Hard Drive Array with Thunderbolt. These ports can also serve as display connections, allowing you to add an Apple 27" Thunderbolt Display to your desktop or a Wacom Cintiq 27" Creative Pen & Touch Display that will offer added functionality and a more intuitive work environment.
Of course, USB 3.0 ports are featured, as well as an RJ-45 connector, headphone jack, and SDXC card slot. These provide more standard options for hooking up a Wacom Intuos Pro Tablet, speakers, and more. Furthering the iMac’s connectivity is built-in wireless functionality. Wi-Fi will allow you to connect to your network with ease and work with devices such as the Apple AirPort Time Capsule, for wireless backup and storage. Along with this, Bluetooth will let you hook up the Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse 2, as well as the optional Magic Trackpad 2 with Force Touch.
Mac Pro
The pint-sized professional workhorse in Apple’s arsenal, the Mac Pro is a performance-oriented machine capable of handling the most intensive photo editing tasks, plus the most demanding video, audio, and design workflows. Separating itself from the rest of the pack in both aesthetics and design, the Mac Pro is a modular workstation that allows you to select various processing, storage, and memory components to suit your personal needs. Whereas other Macs are characterized by their smooth sliver-aluminum enclosures, the Mac Pro has a distinct cylindrical shape and shimmering deep pewter, almost black, polished aluminum housing that looks good and improves performance.
At the core of the Mac Pro is an Intel Xeon™ processor, which is available in a variety of different core and speed configurations, with the base models still providing exceptional power for image editing. More powerful units are available to speed up multi-tasking or processor-heavy applications and tools, for example, the stitching of gigantic giga-pixel panoramas or rendering 4K video. RAM will back this up with options that will dwarf those of your standard desktop and make handling large stills and multiple layered images no problem at all. Photographers will likely not see a huge benefit in upgrading to the highest-end models, due to the lack of processor-intensive actions and rendering, though RAM is becoming increasingly important as megapixel counts continue to go up and up and file sizes grow exponentially.
Positioned conversely to the designs of previous Mac Pros, along with nearly any other workstation, the latest Mac Pro is distinct in how compact it is, yet still contains a wealth of processing capabilities. In order to ensure smooth operation, the cylindrical design efficiently keeps air flowing to draw heat away from individual CPUs and GPUs. Also, it lends itself to a new way of incorporating external drives into your workflow, which differs from previous models where you were essentially limited to what you could fit in the housing. This is made possible by the integration of six Thunderbolt 2 ports, four USB 3.0 ports, two RJ-45 connectors, and an HDMI port.
External displays are supported via this system and the Mac Pro can power up to six Thunderbolt or DisplayPort monitors, such as the Apple 27" Thunderbolt Display, or up to three 4K- or 5K-capable monitors, such as the Eizo ColorEdge CG248-4K 23.8" LED Monitor. Users who are heavy into retouching or simply prefer touchscreens can also add a Wacom Cintiq 27" Creative Pen & Touch Display for use as a high-definition display and pen-capable work area. Of course, if you don’t need another screen, the Mac Pro can greatly benefit from a Wacom Intuos Pro Tablet for pen-assisted activities.
Powering these displays and the graphics-hungry applications photographers depend upon are dual AMD graphics cards with a selection of different VRAM options. The number of monitors and the resolutions you choose, as well as the applications and needs you have will determine the size you will want to pick up—but overall, the more VRAM, the better. One-monitor setups will likely be fine with the base option, but if you start expanding or upgrading to 4K and 5K displays, more memory will result in smoother performance. Also, if you do want to move from just stills into video or 4K and greater-resolution time lapses, video memory will become a key component in maintaining a stable desktop as you render Ultra-High-Definition footage.
Rounding out the internal configuration of the Mac Pro is one of the most straightforward options: storage capacity. The internal drive is flash storage that is exceptionally fast for loading your operating system, as well as applications with minimal wait time. Also, while the machine is optimized for use with external storage such as the G-Technology 8TB G-RAID External Hard Drive Array with Thunderbolt, the internal SSD can be used for working with high-resolution imagery or image composites that require the utmost speed for rendering and working.
A digital darkroom is not complete without some other crucial accessories, which can be hooked up without issue using any one of the Mac Pro’s available ports. One of these items would be an inkjet photo printer. Epson has recently revamped its lineup, including the SureColor P800, which is a powerful option capable of printing up to 17 inches wide and with roll media, making it a great large-format solution for your desktop. Or, if you still shoot film, a virtual drum scanner in the form of a Hasselblad Flextight X5 can be just what you had in mind to finish off your dream setup. Perhaps you are moving into video and audio alongside your photographic endeavors, and this is where the Thunderbolt 2’s speed comes into its own, with the ability to accept a Sonnet xMac Pro Server PCIe 2.0 Thunderbolt 2 Expansion System that can hold a brand new 4K capture card from Blackmagic Design, or yet another AMD graphics card to boost the power of the system.
iPad
For moments when you need a compact tool for reviewing imagery and some light editing, or you need to cut every ounce you can before you set out to travel, the iPad is the perfect companion. Available in a variety of sizes, you will easily find one for your pack. And with the power possible in these slender models, it may be able to fulfill the role a laptop may have played in the past before you move your finished images to a workstation for final output.
Kicking things off is Apple’s latest release, the iPad Pro. Offering an ample 12.9" Retina touchscreen with 5.6 million pixels, the iPad Pro will make viewing and editing your images an incredibly enjoyable experience. It leverages numerous technologies to create uniform, high-contrast images with accurate colors while simultaneously saving energy. This will keep you engaged and amazed with every new image you load up on the iPad Pro. Underneath this display, Apple has updated the Multi-Touch subsystem for additional precision and responsiveness—just what photographers need as they retouch their images and make local adjustments. This upgrade also opens up support for the Apple Pencil.
This is the most powerful iPad available today, with a fast processor and updated memory controls. This system leverages a new graphics engine to ensure each photograph you load will wow as much as the last and it will ensure that your apps run smoothly. Along with this, it is incredibly efficient, granting up to 10 hours of battery life, practically enough for a full day without needing to plug in.
Of course, a device is nothing without applications to run on it. With Apple’s App Store and a plethora of manufacturers working on professional-level apps, photographers will have all the tools they need to create beautiful images. This includes Adobe, which is releasing the Photoshop Fix app, which can support up to 50-megapixel images and provides excellent retouching tools and editing capabilities that are unmatched on a tablet.
The iPad Pro welcomes a couple of smart accessories that will take your productivity to new dimensions. First up is the beautifully designed Apple Pencil. Apple’s evolution of the stylus, the Pencil offers creatives a precise tool for making edits or retouching, much like a tablet would on a computer. Working with the Multi-Touch display, users will have the ability to apply different levels of pressure and shading through the Pencil’s array of sensors. Next is the Smart Keyboard, which provides a physical interface for photographers who need to keep up with emails or take notes for their next shoot. This keyboard also works as a stand for hands-free viewing and interfaces with the iPad using the Smart Connector, which leverages the two-way conductive fabric of the Smart Keyboard.
Moving to the iPad Air 2, Apple has crafted a beautiful 9.7" tablet with a Retina display and advanced Multi-Touch functionality. This provides users with a large canvas with which to check images and make edits while keeping a much smaller form factor than that of a laptop. The iPad Air 2 is also an ideal companion for photographers, for its size, thanks to a plethora of apps and accessories already available.
Offering the smallest fully featured Multi-Touch display in Apple's lineup is the iPad Mini 4, with an impressive 7.9" Retina screen that will show off your images in all their glory. The size and efficiency of this model is most impressive and its size makes it an easy addition to an everyday bag. It leverages its own system-on-a-chip architecture to produce vivid colors and handle your apps with ease.
Luckily, picking out an iPad is a much simpler affair than a laptop or desktop computer, with two basic options: storage capacity and cellular networking. Photographers will benefit greatly from upgraded storage, being able to save numerous photographs in full resolution without needing to unload every other day. For photographers constantly on the move and needing to upload images or send emails to clients, models equipped with 4G LTE connectivity will let users access the Internet from nearly anywhere there is cellular service. If you don’t need this, Wi-Fi only versions are available for working in your home or office. And, the smooth aluminum bodies can be had in Space Gray, Silver, or Gold.
For photographers, an iPad makes a great everyday companion, as it is a powerful and beautiful alternative to a bulkier laptop. It is also fast and intuitive, allowing you to show off your portfolio to people without having to haul around delicate prints or expensive books. It also can be integrated into workflows for fast previewing and culling of photos using the Apple Lightning to SD Card Camera Reader, or as part of a wireless setup, where a client can see your images without having to hover over your shoulder.
Shared among all versions of the iPad is security, which is why they all offer Touch ID for using your fingertip to unlock your device and access critical information. Along with this, every model also offers its own cameras for capturing high-resolution images and HD video. This can be used for scouting locations, testing lighting, and even as a light meter, with select apps without needing to haul your usual kit around.
Key examples of where the iPad fits would be using the numerous camera-connectivity apps available for direct linking with a camera to control shooting, or as a tool during tethered shooting sessions when used with the Capture One Pilot app. Additionally, items such as the Manfrotto Digital Director, which supports iOS 9, can augment the capabilities of your tablet, adding functions and speeding up processing for real-time streaming from your camera.
iPads are excellent compact tools that will find a home in many photographers’ bags. Whether it is the huge canvas provided by the iPad Pro and the ability to work with the Apple Pencil, the size and power combination of the iPad Air 2, or the convenient form factor of the iPad Mini 4 that will let you keep your portfolio nearby, there is definitely a model for you.
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