Best Mac Computer For Photography

Best Mac Computer For Photography Rating: 4,7/5 1113 votes

Jun 09, 2015  For me, a photographer, the Mac I chose best suits my workflow of retouching very large image files, continuously moving files between storage drives, importing new files, scanning film, and making large-scale prints. The best part about my Mac, too, is that I have room to grow for any other projects that come my way. The best Mac laptop for most people is the 2018 MacBook Air. It’s fast enough for the things that most people use a computer for—browsing, working on documents, and light photo editing—and it has an excellent high-resolution screen, a great trackpad, enough battery life to last most people through an eight-hour workday, and a (relatively. Welcome to our list of the best laptops for photographers and photo editing. To look out for when buying the best laptop for photo editing. Apple Macbook Pro with touchbar. And spec soup. The best laptops for photo editing can rival traditional desktop hardware in the speed stakes, and unlike laptops of old, many boast pixel-perfect displays with stunning color, as well as wide. That being said, if you’re a professional photo editor, Core i7 is your best option. Top 3 Best Laptop for Photo Editing Reviews 1. Acer Aspire V17. Acer Aspire V17 with its large high-quality screen (17.3 inches) is simply the best laptop for photo editing this year. As for me, the best option for editing your photos on Mac is MacBook Pro. Its screen is much better than in MacBook Air, for example, in colour rendering. Editing photos in RAW formats seems a pleasure using this hardware.

Best Overall All-In-One

Asus Zen AiO Pro Z240IE

The Asus Zen AiO Pro Z240IE delivers potent processing, discrete graphics and a lovely 4K touch screen, all in a stylish, yet affordable design.

Best Value All-in-One

Acer Aspire Z24

The Acer Aspire Z24 packs a punch for under $1,000, delivering strong processing and decent all-around performance for the whole household, along with built-in Amazon Alexa support.

Best for Photo/Video Editing

Apple iMac with 5K Retina Display (27-inch)

The Apple 27-inch iMac with 5K Retina display is a must for photo and video editors, thanks to its stunning display and potent performance, but it's also a great choice for anyone who wants a capable desktop.

Our top pick for all-in-one PCs is the Asus Zen AiO Pro Z240IE, which packs a gorgeous 4K display and discrete graphics into a sleek design.

Best Mac Computer For Photography

If you're looking for something less expensive, our value pick is the Acer Aspire Z24, which offers a decent all-in-one PC for under $1,000.

All-in-one PCs are a great middle ground for those seeking a great home computer — they take up less room than traditional towers, and offer more screen space than most laptops. These unique PCs pack their components, ports and monitors into a single unit, allowing you to easily prop one onto your desk, plug in and get to work (or play).

Latest News and Updates (August 2019)

  • Dell is reimagining the all-in-one PC with the OptiPlex 7070 Ultra, which combines a clever all-in-one design with a modular mini PC for professional-grade power and unbeatable upgradability.
  • The Acer Aspire Z24 is our new favorite value in all-in-one desktops, delivering powerful processing and overall capability for under $1,000. Read our full review to learn more.

How Much Do All-in-One PCs Cost?

All-in-One PCs run the gamut from affordable to premium pricing. Budget-friendly systems can be found for less than $1000, but will generally be limited to full HD resolution displays and low-powered Celeron and Pentium processors. Premium desktops can cost $2,000 or more, and boast 4K displays, the latest Intel Core i7 processors and discrete graphics cards from Nvidia and AMD.

Since these units are always plugged in, you might want to also invest in a good surge protector to make sure your all-in-one stays in good shape.

Best Overall All-In-One

Asus Zen AiO Pro Z240IE

SPECIFICATIONS

Display: 23.8-inch display with 3840 x 2160 resolution Special Features: USB Type-C Processor: Intel Core i7-7700T Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050

Reasons to Buy
Strong general performance
Reasons to Avoid
Minimal support for modern gaming

The Asus Zen AiO Pro Z240IE delivers potent processing, discrete graphics and a lovely 4K touch screen, all in a stylish, yet affordable design. Equipped with an Intel Core i7-7700T processor and Nvidia GeForce 1050 graphics card, this stylish all-in-one delivers strong performance, a gorgeous 4K display and a healthy feature set.

Best Value All-in-One

Acer Aspire Z24

SPECIFICATIONS

Display: 23.8-inch display, 1920 x 1080 resolution Special Features: Amazon Alexa Processor: Intel Core i7-8700T Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 630

Reasons to Buy
Potent six-core processor provides plenty of oomph
Glare-reducing touch screen
Reasons to Avoid
Display limited to 1080p
Slow hard drive

The Acer Aspire Z24 offers a surprising amount of power and some unexpected features, all for under $1,000. The sleek-looking all-in-one packs a punch, delivering strong processing thanks to a six-core Intel Core i7 processor, backed up with plenty of memory and storage, including 16GB of Intel Optane memory.

The end result is decent all-around performance for the whole family. But the Aspire Z24 has one more trick up its sleeve,with built-in Amazon Alexa support and integrated far-field microphones, giving you a whole range of voice-interaction features.

Best for Photo/Video Editing

Apple iMac with 5K Retina Display (27-inch)

SPECIFICATIONS

Display: 27-inch, 5120 x 2880 display Special Features: Siri Processor: Intel Core i7 processor Graphics: AMD Radeon Pro 580 graphics

Reasons to Buy
Plenty of graphics muscle
Familiar iMac design
Reasons to Avoid
Awkward port placement
No height adjustment

The Apple 27-inch iMac with 5K Retina display is a must for photo and video editors, thanks to its stunning display and potent performance, but it's also a great choice for anyone who wants a capable desktop. Movies and photos look stunningly true-to-life on the iMac's 27-inch, 5120 x 2880 screen, and with a powerful 7th-gen Intel Core i7 processor and AMD Radeon Pro graphics inside, there's plenty of performance muscle to power any of your editing duties. Even with its new upgrades, the latest iMac retains its stunningly slim design, and includes Apple's Magic Mouse and Magic Keyboard.

Best All-in-One for Artists

Microsoft Surface Studio 2

SPECIFICATIONS

Display: 28-inch, 4500 x 3000 touch display Special Features: Pulls down for drawing, included stylus Processor: Intel Core i7-7820HQ Graphics: Nvidia GTX 1070

Reasons to Buy
Excellent design lets you use as a desktop or drawing board
Excellent display quality
Best-in-class pen support
Reasons to Avoid
Inconvenient port placement

The Microsoft Studio 2 ($4,199 as tested) is the best thing around for anyone who does digital art, thanks to a gorgeous touchscreen that drops down low for comfortable touch and pen use. The better-than-4K display looks amazing, the touch screen supports both the Surface Pen and Surface Dial and the design is top-notch.

Best All-in-One for Pros

Apple iMac Pro

SPECIFICATIONS

Display: 27-inch, 5120 x 2880 display Special Features: Up to 128GB of RAM Processor: Intel Xeon W processor (8, 10, 14, 18 core options) Graphics: AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64

Reasons to Buy
Enormous amounts of memory
Excellent display
Reasons to Avoid
No HDMI ports
Mouse is inoperable when charging

When it comes to all-in-one systems, they just don’t come more powerful than this. The Apple iMac Pro reclaims to Pro title with way more power than any consumer will ever need, making it the perfect addition to the video studio, the audio engineering booth or the architect’s office. Equipped with a 10-core Intel Xeon processor, workstation grade graphics and a mind-bending 128GB of RAM, this machine is pure power.

Best All-in-One For Audio

Dell XPS 27 7760

SPECIFICATIONS

Display: 27-inch, 3840 x 2160 display (touch optional) Special Features: Integrated Soundbar Processor: Intel Core i7-7700 Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 570

Reasons to Buy
Excellent 4K touch screen
Great keyboard and mouse.
Reasons to Avoid
Nearly inaccessible ports

The Dell XPS 27 7760 makes an encore as the best sounding all-in-one around. This sweet sounding all-in-one has a 27-inch 4K display, potent Intel Core i7 processing, AMD’s latest Radeon RX 570 graphics card and a built-in, 10-speaker soundbar that will blow you away. If you want big, bright sound without an external speaker set, this is the PC to get.

How We Test All-in-One PCs

Every all-in-one we review goes through a variety of benchmark tests in Purch Labs as well as long hours of real-world use. As with our laptop reviews, we use a colorimeter to measure the brightness, color accuracy and color gamut of each all-in-one's display.

For performance, we use the Geekbench 4 test to measure a system's overall processing abilities. We also run a custom spreadsheet test to see how long a PC takes to match 20,000 names to addresses. To evaluate each system's hard drive speed, we measure how long it takes to copy 4.97 worth of files.

If an all-in-one has discrete graphics, we run it through many of the same benchmarks we use for gaming PCs. That includes 3DMark Fire Strike, as well as the built-in benchmark tools of games like Rise of the Tomb Raider, Hitman and Grand Theft Auto V. If an all-in-one is made to support virtual reality, we'll also run the SteamVR Performance Test.

Most importantly, we spend a ton of time simply using each all-in-one PC for everyday activities. We watch movies, do work, play games, and blast music on the speakers, all to get a better sense of which ones are worth your money.

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Welcome to our list of the best monitors for photo editing in 2019. If you're a professional photographer, or just a keen hobbyist, then finding the best monitor for photo editing is essential. Best media player for mac 2014.

In this guide, we'll look at the top professional photo editing monitors that offer great color reproduction and vibrant, bright displays.

This will, of course, depend on the panel tech – newer ‘IPS’ LCD panels will have better color reproduction than their older ‘TN’ counterparts, so this is worth looking out for in the specifications. All the panels here will be IPS LED-backlit monitors.

IPS displays will feature better viewing angles, too, so if you ever sit at your computer and show someone else photos, they’re a must. Screen size is important, too – make sure your display is physically big enough for the work you want to do (we recommend 24-inches as a minimum).

Also, the best monitors for photo editing will be height-adjustable, but not all displays will have the same capability to be fine-tuned. And, finally, when you’re buying a high-end display, it’s important to make sure your computer’s graphics hardware is up to the task of displaying the high-resolutions some monitors can reproduce.

While some of the best professional monitors for photo editing can be costly devices, we've also included some more affordable options as well, which still offer excellent color reproduction and image quality.

  • These are the best laptops for photo editing

1. Eizo ColorEdge CG318-4K

Screen size: 31.3-inch Resolution: 4096 x 2160 Refresh rate: 60Hz Panel technology: IPS Inputs: 1 x DisplayPort, 1 x Mini DisplayPort, 2 x HDMI, 1 x VGA USB: 4 x USB 3.0

Outstanding color accuracy
Includes monitor hood

The 31-inch ColorEdge CG318-4K is our current pick for the best monitor for photo editing. This is mainly down to its color accuracy, which is essential for professional photographers who edit their photos. It features full sRGB coverage, 99% of the Adobe RGB spectrum and 98% DCI-P3. It fully supports 10-bit colour, taken from a 16-bit look-up table.

The CG318-4K has a 4096 x 2160 resolution, compared with the 3840 x 2160 resolution used in other 4K computer displays.

All of these features come together to produce a jaw-dropping image, making your photos really stand out. There's also a built-in calibration tool to constantly keep the colors as accurate as possible.

2. Dell UltraSharp UP3216Q

Another brilliant monitor for professional photographers

Screen size: 31.5-inch Resolution: 3840 x 2160 Refresh rate: 60Hz Panel technology: IPS Inputs: 1 x DisplayPort, 1 x Mini DisplayPort, 1 x HDMI USB: 4 x USB 3.0

Great colour accuracy
Pricey

Dell's top-end 31.5-inch 4K display packs in a lot of professional-grade features for superb color accuracy. It is a pricey monitor, however, but then this is a large 4K screen, so you should expect to pay a bit more. It comes with support for the DCI-P3 color spectrum. It has a specification that almost rivals Eizo's monster CG318-4K, as it hits 99% Adobe RGB coverage and 87% DCI-P3, delivering great picture quality.

3. BenQ PD3200U

Screen size: 32-inch Aspect ratio: 16:9 Resolution: 3,840 x 2,160 Brightness: 350 cd/m2 Response time: 4ms Viewing angle: 178/178 Contrast ratio: 1,000:1 Color support: sRGB 100% Weight: 8.5kg

4K resolution
Design may seem dull to some

BenQ has added the PD3200U, which features a massive 32-inch Ultra HD display, to its Designer Monitor range. The PD3200U is best suited for creators. 3D designers, for instance, will be grateful for the inclusion of a CAD/CAM mode, while photographers and photo editors will love in the factory-calibrated color accuracy and Rec. 709 adherence.

4. BenQ EX3501R

A brilliant ultrawide monitor for photoediting

Screen size: 35-inch Aspect ratio: 21:9 Resolution: 3,440 x 1,440 Brightness: : 300 cd/m2 Refresh rate: 100Hz Response time: 4ms Viewing angle: 178/178 Contrast ratio: 2,500:1 Color support: sRGB 100% Weight: 23 pounds

Huge display
Needs a bit of tweaking

If you want a lot of space to work on editing multiple photos at once, then you'll want an ultrawide monitor, and the BenQ EX3501R is in our view the best ultrawide monitor for photo editing. It comes with a 3,440 x 1,440 resoltuion that gives you a huge desktop to work on, and its 2,500:1 contrast leads to bright and vibrant images, as well as for HDR (High Dynamic Range). Crucially, it also has 100% sRGB support, making this a great choice for photographers when looking for the best monitor for photo editing, thanks to its excellent color reproduction.

5. BenQ GW2270H

Screen size: 21.5-inch Aspect ratio: 16:9 Resolution: 1,920 x 1,080 Brightness: 250 cd/m2 Response time: 5ms Viewing angle: 178/178 Contrast ratio: 20mM:1 (DFC) Colour support: SRGB 91% Weight: 7.5 pounds

Two HDMI ports
No speakers

Mac Computers

BenQ offers the most affordable full HD monitor with an HDMI connector and it doesn't look that bad. The company embraced the Bauhaus 'less is more' philosophy to deliver 'a celebration of minimalist' lifestyle. Those are their words, not ours. It has some standout features though; one that reduces flicker (PWM technology) and a low blue light mode which may help with headaches and sleeping disorders. With 'just' a 1080p resolution, this isn't as fancy as other monitors on this list, but it allows you to edit your photos without having to spend loads on a new screen.

6. Dell UltraSharp UP3218K

Huge size and resolution makes this an outstanding monitor for photo editing

Screen size: 32-inch Aspect ratio: 16:9 Resolution: 7,680 x 4,320 Brightness: 400 cd/m2 Response time: 6ms Viewing angle: 178/178 Contrast ratio: 1300:1 Colour support: 100% AdobeRGB, 100% sRGB, 100% Rec. 709, 98% DCI-P3 Weight: 23.14 pounds

Huge 8K resolution
Very, very expensive

The Dell UltraSharp UP3218K is an absolutely amazing monitor for photo editing. It features a huge 32-inch screen and 8K resolution makes it perfect for photographers and video editors, and the amount of screen real estate that high resolution offers makes it an excellent productivity tool. The screen is professionally calibrated so it looks amazing out of the box, but be warned: this is a very expensive monitor. Depending on your needs, this will either be a brilliant buy, or an expensive folly.

Mac Computer For Photography

10 things to look for in a monitor for photo editing

  1. Screen size is measured diagonally in inches, while resolution measures the number of pixels that make up the display. But a bigger monitor doesn't necessarily mean greater resolution; the 24-inch Eizo has a higher resolution than the 27-inch NEC, for example.
  2. A more useful measure of the 'crispness' of a display is pixel density, measured in pixels per inch (ppi). The NEC is 82ppi, the Eizo 94ppi, while Samsung and Dell weigh in at 109ppi.
  3. Monitors increasingly offer more than just a simple display for your computer, with built-in speakers, USB hubs, card readers and multiple inputs, such as HDMI, for use with a variety of devices.
  4. While true-to-life colour reproduction is very important in image editing, you may need to compromise to get all the features you want within budget.
  5. LED backlighting allows thinner displays, while IPS (or Samsung's PLS) allows for greater viewing angles.
  6. We'd always recommend using a digital interface like DVI or HDMI, but it depends on what your computer has. Do you want to plug in multiple devices? Make sure your new monitor has the same input as your computer has output!
  7. Several of these displays enable you to swivel the monitor from side to side and turn the screen 90 degrees into portrait mode.
  8. Most monitors are now capable of Full HD resolution (1920x1080) but more and more can do higher resolutions - many here are capable of 2560x1440, for example.
  9. With so many devices plugged into our computers these days, a USB hub really is something you'll wonder how you lived without.
  10. So many monitors - including several of these - are just plain ugly. Also see what people are saying about the button controls and menu system. Ensure it is usable.