Linux VS MAC

[oldmanpete]

Okay, here's the deal. I'm a looooong time Linux user. I also occasionally point camera's at things. The better I get at pointing a camera at stuff the less capable Linux appears to be from an enthusiast point of view, especially as I am converting to shooting almost entirely in RAW format.

I solely use picasa for post processing and as I am sure most people know, it's very limited. I have tried light-room on LINUX via a WINE emulator which was utter garbage. Unusable. I tried it on a windows PC which was usable but still very, very slow (Not a shabby PC either)..

The question is, iMac, is it worth it. My wife is a student so I can get Photo-shop CS 5 extended and light-room 3 for £300 but that's still there or there abouts £1200. That's a lot of dosh.

Does anyone have a serious enthusiasts/professional experience to draw from as an active Linux user? I've tried UFO RAW / RAW STUDIO / GIMP / PICASA / FSPOT / SHOTWELL and they all feel below par (Picasa is nice for archiving and filing, I can't fault it for that.)

I use a canon 400D as my main cam and a power shot G9 as my backup

Advice greatly appreciated!

[i speak in math]

Just had this discussion elsewhere. Here's a thread with some linux lightroom alternatives:

Freeware alternative to Lightroom? - PentaxForums.com

An interesting looking one from that thread
http://darktable.sourceforge.net/screenshots.shtml

[BuddhaPi]

GIMP will run on a linux box, thats what it was originally written for..

[velvet4269]

You'd use UFRAW with GIMP, but yeah - I absolutely loved using GIMP when I was on a linux box.

Now, one nice thing about the Mac ... you can run multiple OS's on it. I currently run Windows 7 & Ubuntu 11.04 via virtual machines on my MacBook Pro (and yes, I've run all three OS' at the same time, via both Parallels 5 & VirtualBox).

[wulf]

I've had a Mac for a few years now at home but have kept using both Windows and Mac boxes at work. I think I'll be getting a new home machine at home and will be going back to a Linux box. The Mac can do some nice things but you have to keep throwing money at it - a big initial investment to buy the hardware, then OS upgrades, software and software upgrades.

I can do everything I need with free and open source software and I want a more unfettered command line environment like I continue to enjoy on my main box at work. True, I'm a through-and-through geek, but I'm happier with photos as files to store (and query) through a structured dirctory environment and process them with tools like the GIMP, so it will be back to the penguin for me.

Wulf

[wulf]

I've had a Mac for a few years now at home but have kept using both Windows and Mac boxes at work. I think I'll be getting a new home machine at home and will be going back to a Linux box. The Mac can do some nice things but you have to keep throwing money at it - a big initial investment to buy the hardware, then OS upgrades, software and software upgrades.

I can do everything I need with free and open source software and I want a more unfettered command line environment like I continue to enjoy on my main box at work. True, I'm a through-and-through geek, but I'm happier with photos as files to store (and query) through a structured dirctory environment and process them with tools like the GIMP, so it will be back to the penguin for me.

Wulf

[dj-dubai]

you can use GIMP and it is very easy as compare to PS

[3bayjunkie]

mac is great for Adobe software. If you plan on doing a lot of creative stuff, web design, photo editing, video work, Mac is definately the way to go

[SwissJon]

I wonder how long it's going to be before Android startss to become a player on the OS market.

[alphavalues]

Use Photivo for processing in RAW. It's far and away the best RAW processor available on *nix, and I've tried them all.

I feel digiKam is the best photo organizer, but YMMV.