Switching to the Mac Studio or not? Part 1

Mac Studio, no doubt. Willing to invest in expensive cameras and lenses, so why not in a good computer??
My grandpa always travelled by horse and cart, and that went pretty well. But I’ve heard there are tractors too!!😜

In over 40 years of photography, an incredible amount has changed. With the arrival of the new M1 processors, Apple has gone through some very nice developments.

The SOC (system on a chip) is a very nice development. No more bottleneck between the processor and the internal memory and storage (SSD). That gives you an enormous advantage over older computer models. What you do need to keep a very close eye on with Apple is the number of ports available on your computer. At least three or more is no unnecessary luxury.

I myself still work with a 16-inch MacBook Pro with an Intel i9 and four Thunderbolt ports, which is more than sufficient for me. With a dock connected behind the computer, I can connect an external 4K screen, multiple external hard drives with a USB3.1 connection, two SSD drives with a USB-C 3.2 connection, an ethernet port for the network and audio. For the time being, storing massive amounts on very large SSD drives is still not affordable. For Lightroom I use a Samsung T7 1TB SSD drive and for video editing a Samsung T7 2TB SSD drive. External drives are there for storing photo and video material.

Not all software has been optimized for M1 processors yet. Then you have to run on 1 core with Rosetta. No disaster, because a lot of software (mainly plugins) runs more than fine. But still....and that is also the reason why I still run on Intel. As soon as everything has been switched over I can make the switch, that will probably happen sometime in 2023.

In 2008 I started with a Mac Pro. It is now humming away somewhere with a collector in Friesland. The Mac Pro was an enormous power consumer, compared to what I work with now, and with an M1 or M2 16-inch MacBook Pro that usage will drop even further, while I won't have to compromise on speed.

Apple is indeed more expensive than a PC. But don't make the mistake of comparing a cheaper PC with a much more expensive Mac. Stability was an important point of attention at the time. With the arrival of new hardware and Windows versions, that has also improved a lot.

Apple computers are strong in construction, but not indestructible. Just like with a PC, take good care of your stuff and you will enjoy your hardware for a nice long time. Don't hesitate to take the lid off the computer once in a while to remove dust from the fans with a little brush.

The choice between Apple or PC is a personal choice for everyone. I have made my choice for Apple computers and hardware. It works great together with everything I work with. My wife and daughters have all switched to a small MacBook by now as well. In the past I would sometimes spend hours working on Windows recovery and updates. That time is over.

What I am personally very curious about is which alternatives we will be offered in the future to replace our hard drives. We can discuss Apple prices, but buying SSD drives to replace my hard drives is still just a little bit more expensive.

Both systems have their advantages and disadvantages. The biggest disadvantage of the Mac, in my opinion, is the OS and the limitations of upgrading. So I can no longer upgrade my 2009 MacBook with an OS that allows me to use the Adobe package and many other, even standard Apple, software. Whereas I was still able to install Windows 10 on my 2007 Windows desktop, which meant all software could still be used. The graphical quality of the Mac is of course basically better than that of Windows machines, but that depends more on the hardware and peripherals you connect to it. Another disadvantage when switching from Windows to Mac is that you can no longer use your current software, but that is vice versa. What I notice is that many people switch to a Mac but cannot work with it at all. Simply resizing a photo and sending it along in an email goes wrong for most people, except those who have already gained the necessary knowledge over many years. In short, the Mac is not as easy as is claimed. The Windows system certainly has disadvantages too. Here it is mainly a matter of looking ahead, but you should not install everything at random. Because the Windows user market is many times larger, a lot of free software is often offered, but unfortunately it also often comes with all kinds of underlying programs that you do not want and that do lower the performance of your system. In short, install very consciously and clean up regularly. My 2009 Mac book is now sitting unused next to me and I recently gave my 2007 desktop to someone with a very small budget who is still getting a lot of enjoyment from it. So yes, in the end it remains your personal choice, because with both systems you can do what you want since they are both equally good.

The essence, in my opinion, is that besides purchasing your camera, you also invest money in a system that works well for you and get to work with it and continue to benefit from it for as long as possible.

Of course, while being aware that sooner or later every computer, operating system and software package will get an update, which may cost money again. It is not much different with cameras.

Previously I had a dual boot with Windows and Linux, on a standard Windows PC. It's amazing how much better the graphics capabilities are utilized under Linux compared to Windows. As if a haze is applied to it in Windows.

The current Apple OS is based on the same platform as Linux (BSD). It's not difficult to imagine that you suddenly get a much better image with affordable equipment, and it is processed even faster too!

I myself have been using a Mac Mini (M1) since December 2021, with two Eizo monitors and a Synology NAS connected to it. Especially when measured over the expected lifespan, the whole setup is much cheaper than a Windows PC, and offers incredibly good image quality with fast processing.

Highly recommended!

I did buy the Mac Studio!
With 32 GPU, 64 GB and ! Tb hard drive.
After waiting 3 months it is finally home.
First install the programs,.
I still have my 27 inch. iMac next to it so I can see exactly what I have to do.
When installing LaCie Manager it starts already, I get a notification that I have to go to safe mode for adjustments? I decide to call the LaCie helpdesk, it goes perfectly no problem at all and it is a known problem. Apple has shielded the software very well they say and that is why it is a bit more cumbersome.
Arrived at Adobe same problem. The man from LaCie had already predicted thisQ!
However as friendly and smooth as it went at LaCie, it goes so difficult at Adobe. Only chatting in English, with these technical terms difficult for me.
If in the end it is still luck the misery only really starts.
It turns out (afterwards) that something in my Catalog of LRC is corrupt. I get an error message about “Users” and that as administrator I have no rights to make changes.

I’ll keep it short, after contacting Apple Support (very friendly in Dutch and available 7 days) we got it working for a bit, I did 3x a completely new installation . I still regularly got the same error message in Lightroom Classic.
In the end I made an appointment at the AppleStore, showed the screen recording videos and decided to return the Studio.
I went home with in 14 inch MacBook Pro .

The Adobe problem kept coming and the solution was simple afterwards. Create a new catalog and import my old one into it. Advice from an Apple support employee.
Conclusion I could have kept my MacStudio.

MacBigfoot wrote on Thursday 11 August 2022 at 00:51  | reply

What I don't understand are two things:
Why is a laptop often chosen (already more expensive in relation to a desktop)?
Why do you compare a laptop with a desktop at all?

For photo editing, as you rightly say, you need a good-quality screen, generally a larger external screen than the laptop has. And because you're tied to that external monitor anyway, a proportionally cheaper desktop will do.

For presentations, these days you don't even need more than a smartphone, provided you prepare the presentation on the … … desktop.
And in those few cases that remain, do you really want to spend money on an expensive laptop for that? I don't, I'd rather take a tablet with me on holiday. As said, you do your editing on a good screen, outdoors (also bear in mind that the ambient light can be disruptive) is for quickly publishing something for me.

And software?
Most of it is subscription-based these days. Even MS-Office: whether you work on a Mac or under windows: the subscription works on both.

What remains is the operating system.
One person doesn't like the restrictions Apple imposes, the other can't stand fiddling around to get all the settings right in windows.
Personally, I have sworn by Apple for years now: if you have more Apple products at home, it's a wonderful ecosystem: log in once with your Apple ID and you don't have to worry about it anymore. I never have to concern myself with maintenance or settings or anything else, it all happens neatly in the background.

LodewijkTH wrote on Sunday 13 September 2026 at 11:39  | reply

Nando, this is my third Mac, and the Mac Studio M4 Pro with 32 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage is without a doubt the best Mac I have had so far. I use it in combination with a ViewSonic VP2788 5K monitor with a matte screen, so I don't have any problems with reflections, good monitor. 
The performance is excellent: the Mac is very fast, continues to work smoothly with large files and hardly gets warm even after a full working day. The ventilation is located on the underside. For optimal operation, I do recommend dusting it off about once a month. 
In short, I am particularly satisfied with this configuration.