I am fully taking the digital plunge this year (yes, I have still been shooting film) and desperately needing to update my i-mac G5. Do I get a laptop or desktop? What should I add? What are the essentials? I want to be frugal, but also want to get something fast and that will last me a while? Please help!

Hey Misha!! Great to see you're taking the "plunge"!

IMHO, I've always been a fan of a Powerbook (Powermac nowadays) because I travel a lot and when I'm home I don't like to be glued to a desk. Plus, they're soooo powerful. I always invest in the top processor and max out the storage too.

Photoshop, iLife, iWork, iBlogger, and iView are my "staple" programs but I have them loaded with tons of others like the Macromedia & Microsoft suite too. I'd wait to check out Lightroom, Aperture, and the new CS3 soon though before making any big software purchases...

Thanks Liana! Great to hear from you. I am still going through all my photos from Cabo and enjoying the results...yeah!

FYI everyone-- Take the Xtreme Seminar! Liana and Jessica are fantastic!

What are your needs? What's your budget? Where do you intend to work? What is your backup strategy?

If you're looking for portability you can't go wrong with the newest MacBook Pro. Then again the MacPro has room for 4 internal hard drives and has incredibly fast processing.

I'd advise against going with the iMac because of the limited expansion opportunities. If you're shooting RAW you'll really appreciate the extra hard drive space of the MacPro and the ability to slam in one of those SATA cards for more storage.

Hi Misha,

I agree with Damon....

I was in your shoes a couple of weeks ago...wanted to get an iMac for my office but also thought of upgrading my old Powerbook for location shoots and presentation purposes....

Thus, I got a Mac Book Pro instead and have not regretted it....just edited my first wedding with it and will use it for a presentation tom for a food photo project client....

Consider the inputs of the guys here specially if you're working on a budget.....

Hope you get your Mac soon that suits your needs...

Blessings,
Dennis

Thanks guys. Just got the Macbook Pro today. Can't wait to give it a whirl (and for CS3 to come out!)