I have an iMac 24, a 2009 model. With the brightness turned all the way down and the monitor calibrated with my Spyder 2, the prints on both my R2400 and R2880 are a virtual perfect match for the monitor. And the publishers I shoot for find the levels of my files spot on -- as does the histogram. Perhaps I got lucky, but I have no brightness issue with the iMac. Paul
----- "Joseph McAllister" <[email protected]> wrote: > On Sep 5, 2010, at 10:19 , David J Brooks wrote: > > > One reason i am hesitant on the iMac over a new PC is, the > calibration > > for photo work. I am comfortable using the PC and get great results > > with may antiquated set up as is. > > I'm just not sure about the Mac settings on my iBook for prints, > they > > are off, and would be/will be, worried about the calibration on the > > iMac. > > One thing you will learn about the iMac screen is that it is too > bright under normal just turned on and booted conditions to make > screen matching prints. As an example I boot my iMac, turn the > brightness all the way down with the OS software, then adjust the > Graphics card's separate brightness to 60% of the iMac's native > dimmest brightness using a free piece of software devised just for > that purpose. Then I calibrate it using DataColor Colorvision Spyder > > 2, not the newest hardware they sell, but "good enough" for anything > > other than Pro Print reproduction. > > In real world terms what that means is my images from my K-7 look a > stop to two stops too dark. Once I adjust them to look correct on my > > monitor, they will print perfectly on my Epson 1800, and (to me > anyway) look fine on my Gallery.me.com/jomac. I do not adjust the K-7 > > exposure in the camera or when I shoot other than slight adjustments > > in exposure depending on the subject. If I tried to, the whites in all > > images would be blown. > > I don't wish to get involved in the PC/Window discussion other than to > > say that many of the arguments proffered are in some ways minor and > major, incorrect. > > It's really the good old "my car's better than your car" bullsh*t that > > the boys throw around in the locker room. What's best in the long run > > is what fits your lifestyle, makes you comfortable, and doesn't tax > your mind-space on a daily basis. > > > Main thing is the price, PC 1/2 that of a Mac, and now that i don't > do > > a lot of shows and prints, may not need the Mac. > > Maybe true. In both cases, determine what features you need in > hardware and software and get that priced out either online or by > visiting a few stores before you buy. The quoted price is usually > quite a bit lower than the out the door price. My $1800 iMac (the > prices have come down a lot and the upgrades less expensive) cost me > > $2500 by the time I added twice the memory, twice the hard drive size, > > and the best Graphics card they offered at the time. > > Historically speaking, every Apple system I ever purchased directly > from Apple, from my Apple ][+ in 1979 through my Mac Plus in 1985, my > > ||fx, my G3, G4, and this iMac, have all cost me $2500. And I've > always kept them long enough that they had no intrinsic value, so were > > thrown away (after stripping them). The iMac model I have can only be > > upgraded by Apple, other than RAM. The newer versions can, I believe, > > have the hard drive swapped out by the consumer. Prior to the iMac, > the desktop Macs were as configurable as any PC. Apple feels that > their current designs are trouble-free enough to be a sealed unit. And > > I cannot argue that they were wrong from my experience. Rather than > pay an Apple tech $100 to install a 1 or 2 TB hard drive in my iMac, I > > just keep adding external drives as needed. Current count is eight > drives, all USB, varying in size from 500 GB to 1 TB. Sometime this > week I'll receive a 2 TB drive via UPS to bring the count to nine > drives. Many of these drives are used for backing up the other > drives. > > A trick I read about a year ago or so was how to install my OS X onto > > a keychain type solid state USB dongle of from 4 to 8 GB in size. I've > > never had to use it, but if my iMac won't boot some day, I plug it in > > and turn on the Mac. On a 8 GB version, there is plenty of room for a > > bevy of troubleshooting apps. > > One last point in favor of Apple. When I have a software problem, they > > answer the phone, and a very qualified employee helps me get > unconfused. 95% of the time, it's the user, ME, who is being stupid. > > Because, David, they make and support a capable but limited line of > high end machines, and they write reasonable software to run on it. > Which steps over the gazillion variations of components and software > > that the PC user must master themselves, 'cause no one else knows > what's in there. > > Aren't you glad I didn't delve into the PC/Windows debate? :-) > > Joseph McAllister > [email protected] > > http://gallery.me.com/jomac > > > > > > > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and > follow the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.

