I need help

[Joel Bookhammer]

I need help, I need an operating system for editing photos. What are some good computer systems that I could look into, that are good for editing large amounts of photos.


Thanks


Joel


p.s. my budget is $1500 US dollars

[alexniedra]

Hey Joel


With a budget of $1500, I would get the best. I think a Adobe Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom 2.0 combo would be best for you.


Photoshop will deal with advanced editing - Masking, compositing, Panoramas, HDR, etc., while Lightroom will help you organize all of the photos and make adjustments like colour temperature, exposure, contrast, saturation, to name a few.


My description of both pieces of software really just scratch the surface - There is a lot more to discover:


http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/family/?promoid=BPDEK


I wish you best of luck in finding your software. []

[samoksner]

You can get a good computer (dual core CPU with a big hard drive and a few gigs of memory and Vista or XP) for about 500-600 bucks. Get Adobe Photoshop CS3 or CS4 and you're set. You can use bridge to go through your images and learn / use photoshop to process them.

[Joel Bookhammer]

Sorry left out a part, Im planning on using either CS3 or CS4. What "dual core" systems are out there and what does "dual core" mean? Sry my photography knowledge if fare greater then my computer knowledge'


Thanks


Joel

[Dallasphotog]

As far as processors go, I upgraded to the Intel Core 2 Quad running Windows Vista 64 recently. With 6 gig of ram I no longer even know CS4 has a status bar. I open 30 or 40 pictures at a time and create collages than run 700M in PSD format with absolutely no issues. I got my machine through Costco as the model DX4710 for what seemed like a steal of a deal.

[Joel Bookhammer]

It sounds like a good option....but sounds a tad out of my price range , I may be wrong if I am great, if not please everyone keep suggestions within $1500-$2000 (us).


Thanks


Joel

[Joel Bookhammer]

Oh forgot the "good option" is for Dallas, but the mac holds good favor as well.


thanks


joel

[IAMB]

I hate to be the voice of dissent, but if I were you I'd use the money to get a Mac for the computer and then Aperture II for photo editing and Photomatix in the event that you feel like doing HDR stuff. If you feel you really need the Adobe stuff you can always spend the bucks on the Creative Suite later on. however, I find that the Aperture/Photmatix combo does everything I need and the added peace-of-mind that comes with using a Mac is very much worth the extra money up front.





Then again, if you really want to go for the hard-core route, it is possible to make Adobe programs play nicely with Linux, but you're in for some late nights and lots of swearing if you go that route.

[Bill W]

Joel....I haven't seen this specifically mentioned; get 2 hard drives but w/a C drive 10K spin rate....makes CS3 (all programs) work so much faster and as much memory as you can afford while adding 2nd HD w/a "normal" 7200 spin and again as much memory as affordable.


E.G. My C HD 150 GB and E HD 750 GB


I've been using this (custom built) config for over a year now (so you can probably get more memory for cheaper and stay w/in budget) w/out issues and that's w/Vista.


Have fun


Bill

[Joel Bookhammer]

Bill would that be 2 HD at 10K and 1 at 7200 or 1 of each?


Thanks


Joel