Lloyd’s Hand-Picked Gear Lists

Computer Equipment for Photographers

Hand-picked gear at low prices from our trusted vendor: B&H Photo/Video.

Thank you for buying equipment through these links— anything; just click through. We DO NOT GET CREDIT if you already have things in your cart or wishlist. Please click through, then add things to your shopping cart directly.

All these computers and accessories are examined and reviewed in detail at Mac Performance Guide.

MPG Pro Workstation & MPG Pro Laptop

If you are purchasing a new workstation for professional use or have a workstation to upgrade, you should know about the MPG Pro Workstation and MPG Pro Laptop upgrade service from Mac Performance Guide and OWC. This service solves a lot of time-consuming problems for professionals who value performance, reliability and their time.

Price/stock info as of
May 17 00:18 GMT
Click through for most recentSoftware

Popular and recommended software.

Adobe Photoshop CS5 for Mac or Windows SEARCH
What I use.
Adobe Photoshop CS6 for Mac or Windows SEARCH
What I use.
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom for Mac or Windows SEARCH
Market-leading cataloguing and image processing software.

Applecare

B&H prices on AppleCare are much less than Apple’s price.

Apple 3-Year AppleCare for 15" & 17" MacBook Pro $244
Apple 3-Year AppleCare for iMac $122
Apple 3-Year AppleCare for iPad $67
Apple 3-Year AppleCare for Mac Pro $174
Apple 3-Year AppleCare for MacBook, MacBook Air, 13" MacBook Pro $190
Apple 3-Year AppleCare for MacMini $104

Mac Pro

New RefurbishedI work only on a Mac Pro for serious work. The best investment you can make in a Mac. See review.

A Mac Pro offers more CPU cores, more memory, PCI expansion, more ports, quiet and reliable operation, up to five internal drives, etc. It’s simply the best Mac investment you can make.

Apple Mac Pro Workstation: 6-core @ 3.33GHz $3,699
The SWEET SPOT for price/performance. Perfect for Photoshop/Lightroom and moderate video.
Apple Mac Pro Workstation: 12-core @ 2.66GHz $5,349
Heavy duty for video and 3D, etc.
Apple Mac Pro Workstation: 12-core @ 2.93GHz $6,199
Heavy duty for video and 3D, etc. 10% faster than the 2.66GHz model.
Apple Mac Pro Workstation: 4-core @ 2.8GHz $2,299
A very solid machine for most users.
Apple Mac Pro Workstation: 4-core @ 3.2 GHz $3,299
A 14% speed increase from 2.8 GHz at reasonable cost.

Displays

A wide-gamut display is a pleasure and will show color (especially reds) that you might not have know existed.

Apple Apple TV (1080p) set-top box. $100
Set-top box for displaying just about anything, including your photos.
NEC MultiSync PA271W-BK-SV 27" Wide-Gamut Display (display only) $1,399
Professional quality display with wide gamut. This display does not come with the bundled calibrator, which is fine if you already have one (and want to calibrate). See NEC PA271W review.
NEC MultiSync PA271W-BK-SV 27" Wide-Gamut Display with SpectraViewII $1,649
Professional quality display with wide gamut and color calibration. See review.
NEC MultiSync PA301W 30" Wide-Gamut Display $2,549
Professional quality display with wide gamut and color calibration. What I use for my main display. See review.
NEC MultiSync PA301W 30" Wide-Gamut Display (no calibrator) $2,299
Professional quality display with wide gamut. What I use for my main display. See review.
NEC NEC SpectraSensor Pro Color Calibration Sensor $199
Ssophisticated colorimeter. Uses a new optical system, filter technology, calibration architecture and intelligent form factor to provide unparalleled color accuracy, repeatability and device longevity.

MacBook Pro

Very powerful these days, can substitute for desktop for some users. Anti-glare screen recommended. See review and how to optimize.

Best value are the fast CPUs— upgrade the memory to 8/12/16GB, and the hard drive to a fast 6G SSD at OWC.

Apple MacBook Air 11.6": 2-core @ 1.8GHz, 4GB, 128GB SSD $1,349
Maxed-out 11.6" model.
Apple MacBook Air 13.3": 2-core @ 1.8GHz, 4GB, 256GB SSD $1,650
Maxed-out 13.3" model.
Apple MacBook Pro 13": 2-core @ 2.8GHz, 4GB, 128GB SSD $1,599
Fast machine compact for travel.
Apple MacBook Pro 13": 2-core @ 2.8GHz, 4GB, 750GB HDD $1,406
Fast machine, upgrade memory and hard drive separately.
Apple MacBook Pro 15.4": 4-core @ 2.4GHz, anti-glare screen, 4GB, 750GB HDD $2,349
Fast machine, upgrade memory and hard drive separately.
Apple MacBook Pro 15.4": 4-core @ 2.5GHz, anti-glare screen, 4GB, 750GB HDD $2,649
Fast machine, upgrade memory and hard drive separately.
Apple MacBook Pro 15.4": 4-core @ 2.5GHz, anti-glare screen, 8GB, 750GB HDD $2,849
Fast machine with 8GB and hard drive.
Apple MacBook Pro 17": 4-core @ 2.4GHz, antiglare screen, 4GB, 750GB HDD $2,599
Fast machine, upgrade memory and hard drive separately.
Apple MacBook Pro 17": 4-core @ 2.5GHz, antiglare screen, 4GB, 750GB HDD $2,699
Fast machine, upgrade memory and hard drive separately.

iMac

Can be very fast, even faster than the Mac Pro for some tasks, BUT suffers from very limited expansion until Thunderbolt goes mainstream. And the shiny screen is mirror-like even in a dark room.

Apple iMac: 4-core @ 3.4GHz Intel Core i7, 1TB HDD, 1GB video $2,199
Top end iMac for those wanting an all-in-one system.
Apple iMac: 4-core @ 3.4GHz Intel Core i7, 2TB HDD, 2GB video $2,649
Top end iMac for those wanting an all-in-one system.

Peripherals

Printers, scanners, etc.

Epson Epson WorkForce 640 All-in-One Inkjet Printer $150
Inexpensive and versatile office printer (not for making fine art prints). Fast. auto-duplex, wireless.
Epson Epson WorkForce Pro WP-4530 All-in-One Printer $200
Great all around office printer (not for making fine art prints).
Epson Perfection V750-M Pro Scanner $850
Get those old chromes or negatives into digital form with high quality.
Epson Stylus Pro 3880 Large-Format Inkjet Printer $1,295
Extraordinary gamut with fine-art result for the most desciminating professional.
Apple Mini DisplayPort to DVI-D (Single-Link) Display Adapter $28
Needed for older DVI-D displays on newer Macs.