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Help me pick a computer


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  • #2069391
    Greg Mihalik
    Spectator

    @greg23

    Locale: Colorado

    …drifting….

    What is the difference between Lightroom and Elements? (as briefly as possible)

    …end drift

    #2069398
    BlackHatGuy
    Spectator

    @sleeping

    Locale: The Cascades

    "What is the difference between Lightroom and Elements? (as briefly as possible)"

    Not my words (found on the web), but a very good description of the differences between Photoshop (PS), Lightroom (LR) and Elements:

    PS is capable of many things that LR cannot do and isn't designed to do. PS is a fully featured graphics application, whilst LR is for processing and managing image files from camera to end usage, such as printing, displaying on the web etc. There is nothing as far as processing images goes that LR can do that can't also be accomplished in PS. However for 99% of photographic usage LR does it quicker and with more ease than PS as well as being non destructive and doing away with the requirment for huge file sizes on your disks.

    PS elements is a very cut down version of PS primarily aimed at basic graphic processing required by amateur users. Its ability to process RAW files is very limited in comparison to LR, but for jpgs it is fine and it incorporates a management tool, which whilst not as sophisticated as LR's will do the job. It also works well with Premier Elements for creating videos.

    If your primary objective is to process your own photographic images from the RAW file in your camera to end usage, LR is the best bet. If you are happy with jpgs and want to also shoot and edit video the the PS and Premier elements package will do best. For professionals then LR and PS are essentials, even though these days trips to PS are rare!

    As you can trial all these products give them all a spin. LR has a learning curve and it will take you the full 30 days to get used to how it works and just what it is capable of. Once you have got to grips with it most users would never return to relying on straightforward bitmap editors such as elements or PS again.

    #2069400
    Bob Gross
    BPL Member

    @b-g-2-2

    Locale: Silicon Valley

    "If your primary objective is to process your own photographic images from the RAW file in your camera to end usage, LR is the best bet."

    However, if your camera shoots RAW image files, then you don't even need Lightroom. Just use the RAW -> TIF or JPEG converter that came with the camera.

    I use Canon Digital Photo Professional to convert RAW to TIF, then Photoshop to edit the TIF. Then I can save it as JPEG and TIF, depending on its use.

    –B.G.–

    #2069578
    Gregory Allen
    BPL Member

    @gallen1119

    Locale: Golden, CO

    I also used to use PS on both PC and Mac platforms, but the cost of keeping up with PS upgrades became cost prohibitive. I don't create images now, just process/post-process images captured RAW on my camera. For that LR has been more than adequate. I have also enjoyed the image management options that LR has provided. PS would be overkill for my, and most people's, needs. I have not used Elements, so I cannot really comment on its functionality compared to PS or LR. Not sure any of that helps this OP's problems, but I just had a really nice dram of Scotch and I am rambling…

    #2069608
    Kattt
    BPL Member

    @kattt

    I bought it where I work, because they have the educational discount.
    I ended up getting a Mac Mini, for just over 500 dollars; a Samsung 23" LED monitor, on sale for 120.00. I had a keyboard and a mouse. Needed a cable for 22.00.
    So I spent around 680 dollars which is more than I wanted but I think I will be happy with.
    Thanks again.

    #2069615
    Greg Mihalik
    Spectator

    @greg23

    Locale: Colorado

    I'm impressed.

    36 hours, start to finish.

    It takes me that long to decide if I should wash the car.

    #2069619
    Kattt
    BPL Member

    @kattt

    Ha ha Greg :)
    I am just glad I did not get what the sales woman at Best Buy was pushing. While the all in one were appealing, I think that having a separate monitor makes a lot more sense. This little Apple Mini seems pretty impressive to me.

    Edited to add that any cleaning takes me longer as well.

    #2069687
    Ian
    BPL Member

    @10-7

    "Maybe there's a Windows simulator mode on iMac?"

    @ Jerry, yes but I don't know why the average Joe/Jill would want to use that option. You can load windows onto a Mac and work within that operating system and then bounce back to Mac OS. Every now and then I'll run into a brick wall with our iMac (only using Mac OS) and almost 100% of the time I can Google my way out of it (or run crying to BPL to figure out how to get my Geko and Mac to talk to each other).

    Katharina,

    Sounds like you made a smart purchase. I’ve had my iMac for a few years now and really love it. It runs like a clock and has been a stable platform to work off of. We still have a couple laptops in our house but retired our PC last year and doubt we’ll ever go back.

    I personally wouldn't worry about buying Office for Mac. So far I've been using Pages and Numbers (far cheaper than Office for Mac) and have yet to find a compatibility issue when opening these files on a PC with Office assuming I save the file correctly.

    For photos, try downloading Gimp and see if that will work for you. It's basically free but they ask for a donation. I have it on my Mac but honestly haven't used it much to say how it compares with other editing software.

    My video editing needs much improvement but iMovie is fairly intuitive. From speaking with people who actually know what they are doing, they highly recommend it and often use it.

    #2069689
    BlackHatGuy
    Spectator

    @sleeping

    Locale: The Cascades

    "For photos, try downloading Gimp and see if that will work for you. It's basically free but they ask for a donation. I have it on my Mac but honestly haven't used it much to say how it compares with other editing software."

    For basic stuff, you don't need to spend additional money for software once you buy a Mac, everything is included. iPhoto will handle most basic editing chores, iMovie is fine for home movies (and has actually been used by pros), the iWork suite (Pages, Numbers and Keynote) will handle any 'office' chores you need done. Heck, you can even use iBook to create nice electronic picture books.

    #2069691
    Kattt
    BPL Member

    @kattt

    Ian and Doug,
    What I would like to be able to do is stitch together pictures taken from each camera I have, to create a time lapse of all the animals that came and went in each location.
    David Ure had posted a link to a time lapse video from a trail camera in Canada a while back.
    I am finding all kinds of apps and tips on doing time lapse from videos or for taking time lapse photos with an iPhone, but not on how to use existing still pictures and assemble them .

    #2069693
    Matthew Black
    Spectator

    @mtblack

    Boot Camp is the option provided by Apple for using Windows. You select the OS to load and restart. This requires a licensed copy of Windows. There are also free virtualization options.

    There is no compelling reason to buy Office as a hotmail or gmail account provides good enough online editing while iWork offers the same offline.

    GIMP is a good place to start for image editing. Freely available open source software with advanced capabilities and I believe the newest version no longer requires X11 to run.

    #2069695
    Ian
    BPL Member

    @10-7

    "I am finding all kinds of apps and tips on doing time lapse from videos or for taking time lapse photos with an iPhone, but not on how to use existing still pictures and assemble them."

    Easiest way to do that (for me with basic skills/knowledge) would be to load the still shots into iMovie and adjust the transition times to achieve the desired effect. Once I figured out where everything plugs in with iMovie, I found it was a real easy program to use. YouTube and Google are tremendously helpful for when you get stuck.

    #2069696
    BlackHatGuy
    Spectator

    @sleeping

    Locale: The Cascades

    "Easiest way to do that (for me with basic skills/knowledge) would be to load the still shots into iMovie and adjust the transition times to achieve the desired effect. Once I figured out where everything plugs in with iMovie, I found it was a real easy program to use. YouTube and Google are tremendously helpful for when you get stuck."

    Yup.

    #2069697
    BlackHatGuy
    Spectator

    @sleeping

    Locale: The Cascades

    "There is no compelling reason to buy Office as a hotmail or gmail account provides good enough online editing while iWork offers the same offline."

    iWork is now available online as well – so you can edit a document 'in the cloud', or on your Mini, or on your iPad, and sync across all devices.

    #2069698
    Matthew Black
    Spectator

    @mtblack

    True, but iWork in iCloud is a beta. I prefer Microsoft SkyDrive editing as it is least likely to introduce formatting issues into a document, something I have seen several times with Google Docs.

    Regardless, lots of free options and buying office is pretty senseless nowadays.

    #2069735
    Kattt
    BPL Member

    @kattt

    I will try some more with Imovie. So far I have not had much luck with finding a way to speed up the interval to anything less than a few seconds, but that was with the Ipad. I will try with my new system tonight.
    Thanks

    #2069759
    Ian
    BPL Member

    @10-7

    It's fairly simple. You'll need to adjust how long the picture will show (< 1 second), apply that to all photos that you want as part of the time lapse (it'll give you that option when you adjust the first picture) and change the settings to remove any transition effect (fade in/out for example).

    #2070081
    Kattt
    BPL Member

    @kattt

    Thanks Ian. I was able to find a way of shortening the time each picture shows and to get rid of the transition. The only way I could do it was by working with each individual picture, which took a long time. Then there is the default "Ken Burns" effect which I could only eliminate by working on each picture to adjust the beginning frame and the ending frame. Is there way to set the default for an individual project, instead of manipulating each frame? I am figuring there has got to be a quicker way, but the ? ( help) on imovie does not address this, that I could find.

    #2070122
    BlackHatGuy
    Spectator

    @sleeping

    Locale: The Cascades

    I haven't used iMovie in a long time, but I did find this on the Apple support pages, hope it helps, especially step 3:

    iMovie '11: Adjust the duration of a photo, still frame, or background clip

    When you add a background clip or an image—either a photo or a still image extracted from video—to your project, iMovie creates a clip with it that by default appears onscreen for four seconds when you play your movie. You can adjust the duration of this clip, making its appearance in your movie longer or shorter.

    To adjust the duration of a photo, still frame, or background clip:
    1. In the Project browser, double-click the clip whose duration you want to change.

    2. In the inspector that opens, type the number of seconds you want the clip to last in the Duration field.

    3. If you want this to be the default duration for all such clips added to your project, select “Applies to all stills.”

    The setting applies to all images you’ve already added and to all images you add from now on. You can set the default duration only for still images and photos, not for background clips.

    Click Done.

    #2070123
    Kattt
    BPL Member

    @kattt

    Thanks Doug,
    I think the problems I am having is that I am still trying to do this on my ipad because I have't imported all my photos to the Mac Mini yet. I think the app for the ipad must be different because I do not have the settings like that.
    I do appreciate the help and I realize I should put more effort into figuring this out myself, but if you remember I told you about three years ago that I had just learned how to cut and paste and that had almost changed my life :)

    #2070509
    Kattt
    BPL Member

    @kattt

    Turns out I have imovie10 not 11. My version does not have the "apply to all stills" option, but it is still doable, after a little online research. Taking out the Ken Burns effect was an option I could apply to all pictures at once easily. Shortening the length of time each still appears took me a while to figure out but I finally did it.
    Thanks Doug, Ian and everyone else that pitched in here :)

    #2070518
    Ian
    BPL Member

    @10-7

    I guess I should have had a V8. When you said that you were running iMovie version 10, I assumed that it was an older version than mine which is '11. After reading through this Wikipedia article, I now realize that they named the most recent version 10.0 instead of '13.

    Not sure that I was all that helpful but glad it's working out for you.

    #2075719
    Dean F.
    BPL Member

    @acrosome

    Locale: Back in the Front Range

    EDIT– Crap. I just realized that I engaged in a bit of thread necromancy, here. But what the heck, I'll leave my thoughts as they were.

    Well, if you want a lot of functionality on the cheap you could buy a secondhand computer and find a local tech geek to install a species of Linux on it for you. Most distros come with just about every software need covered- Rhythmbox for music, GIMP for photomanipulation and graphics, etc.

    The only thing that gives me pause is that you are a professed non-geek and although distros like Ubuntu or Mint have gotten one hell of a lot more user friendly you do still need to fiddle with them sometimes. (E.g. on the Mint Linux laptop my 7-year-old daughter uses the sound settings occasionally go out of whack and Rhythmbox stops working, and I will admit that they are hard to find.)

    But if you want lots of function for little money it's hard to beat.

    The argument for an Apple box is a good one, too- you already own an iPad, so iCloud would be piss simple for you. However, none come with DVD-ROMs standard- you must buy a USB DVD drive- and Macs are pricey. On the plus side they are stable (since OS X is really just another version of Linux, sort of) and tend to be user-friendly. Unless you're used to PCs, that is… Maintainance is easy- Apple sends you notifications for all updates, which are regular and stable. You have the App store and iTunes all set up for you. I've always said that if great-aunt Beatrice decides to finally get on the intertubes and see what all of the fuss is about that she should get a Mac, so that her grandkids don't get stuck maintaining it for her.

    This is precisely why my wife and I went Mac last year- I got tired of disinfecting and maintaining the mess that she eventually makes of any system that she touches. She is far too trusting of websites not to be infected with atomic viruses, and I don't think that she even knows what defraggig is. I also made certain that she paid the $100 for a year of appointments at the Genius Bar for assistance with anything she wanted to do. She hasn't come to me for help, since. *Sigh of relief!*

    WinPCs are of course The Standard Worldwide Computer, so they have that going for them. They are atrociously unstable (most Windows versions cannot even theoretically run for more than 32 days without rebooting or crashing), but on the plus side every local geek that you might go to for help with it will know it well. If there is a software, there is a version of it for Windows. Big downer for non-techies, though, is that THEY ARE A TARGET for every malware every made, precisely because they are so common, so you have to be extremely diligent with antivirus software and firewalls- which I personally find onerous. ClamAV for Mac is cheap and simple.

    I'd recommend a book titled In the Beginning…Was The Command Line by Neal Stephenson if anyone wants an amusing (though dated) take on this whole three-way debate. You can find it for free online.

    #2075722
    Jerry Adams
    BPL Member

    @retiredjerry

    Locale: Oregon and Washington

    There's that word again, necromancy, but you're only a couple weeks old : )

    Linux/Unix doesn't go obsolete like PC and Apple. You can use your PC for 10 years.

    You could use the Unix from before Microsoft and Apple introduced their screwed up software and that Unix still pretty much works.

    But nobody's making any money off Unix, example of how "the free market" sometimes doesn't lead to the best solution

    #2075724
    Dean F.
    BPL Member

    @acrosome

    Locale: Back in the Front Range

    Ok, jerry, now you're just stalking me. It's kinda creepy…

    :)

    Yes, the One Great Thing that I like about Linux is that you can find distros that work perfectly well on computers from the 1990s. (Damn Small, Slackware, etc.) When my computers get old I tend to just install Linux on them, until I get sick of that and get a new one.

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