The Nikon vs. Canon thread got me thinking about another age-old debate: PC vs. Mac. In my casual observations it appears to me that the majority of Nikon shooters are PC users, while Canon aficionados seem to be overwhelmingly Mac supporters. What say you? This is not intended to start another huge debate, just an informal poll of sorts to either confirm or refute my suspicions.
Nikon=PC, Canon=Mac ?????
- Thread starter LensWork
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AxeMan - Rick S.
Senior Member
Off the top of my head I can think of three Mac users on this board, and I'm sure there is a lot more. Back in the day it was my understanding PC was geared more towards business applications and Mac and Apple were gear more towards graphics applications.
Carolina Photo Guy
Senior Member
PC is easier to spell. 
If ever I switch to Canon (which is impossible), I would never switch to Mac. I'll never join the Apple bandwagon. There is no such thing as Mac vs. PC. Mac is a personal computer with a different OS. Ipad is a tablet that already existed since the late 90's. Ipod is a trendy MP3 player. They are not technology leader but I must say really good in marketing. Obviously, I'm a hater
I don't see that in general. Photoshop and Lightroom are developed on a Mac platform and ported to Windows so I think that influences most of the bigger names (Kelby et al). Personally if I could run OS X on my PCs - especially my ThinkPad - I'd be extremely happy.
Carolina Photo Guy
Senior Member
If ever I switch to Canon (which is impossible), I would never switch to Mac. I'll never join the Apple bandwagon. There is no such thing as Mac vs. PC. Mac is a personal computer with a different OS. Ipad is a tablet that already existed since the late 90's. Ipod is a trendy MP3 player. They are not technology leader but I must say really good in marketing. Obviously, I'm a hater
So, I'm guessing that you are still undecided?
RickSawThat
Senior Member
For me once I switched to Mac's I never looked back. I was a diehard PC fanboy before that. Now nothing but Mac for me and Nikon of course.
and Nikon of course.Apple took off in that direction with the Apple II GS (Graphics and Sound) and of course the IBM PC was ubiquitous in the business world after about 82 or 83. Personally I still use web TV it does it all baby...LMAO
As I've said before, I use both platforms. I get discouraged when people say that Macs cost more than PCs. If you're talking consumer grade semi-disposable equipment, then yes. But price a top tier PC laptop and Apple laptop and the price is very similar. Compare a 15" MacBook Pro and a 15.6" Lenovo ThinkPad T520. The MacBook is at $1999 while the ThinkPad is discounted from $2145 to $1444. If you buy refurbed - which I do - you can reduce the cost difference further.
We have 3 ThinkPads (circa 2007, 2010 and 2011), a MacBook (circa 2008) and a HP/Compaq (circa 2009) laptop in our house. My company provided laptop is another HP. I never have hardware issues with the ThinkPads or the Mac. And I never have software issues with the Mac.
The point of my discussion is that - in my experience - buying the better quality equipment results in improved realiability and lower costs due to less frequent replacement. And support time/costs for OS X are - in my experience - lower.
For me once I switched to Mac's I never looked back. I was a diehard PC fanboy before that. Now nothing but Mac for me
I own 3 Macs, gave away 1 PC and 2 windows based laptops and i never regretted the move
You'll notice I said 'if given the choice' I'd get a Mac, but I don't have a choice. I should have said 'if I had unlimited funds'......but I don't. I, too, have a Lenovo. It's aT61 ThinkPad running Windows 7 Pro, and it works flawlessly. I love it. My desk top PC is home built and runs Windows XP Pro....again, running flawlessly. It's what I can afford. I'll be the first to tell you that if I suddenly came into a pile of money, I'd be lining up for the latest Mac Air. But....life being what it is, and me being born fairly good looking instead of rich
.....I have to settle for what I can afford. Such is life. 
Patrick M
Senior Member
I too use both platforms. I'm a software developer, and 90% is PC Windows 7, the other 10% is writing apps for the Max OS...specifically iPhone/iPad
But enough about me...
Anyway, when Macs started out, there was a great deal of very good graphical software ... Especially for publishing...magazines etc, and that definitely meant a good deal of work went into making sure photos looked great.
In the 20 years or so since then, great strides have been made in both platforms, and it's really difficult these days to say what's "best". That's really down to to the quality now of the monitor you use as well as the software. I'm a PC guy, and for me it's just so much easier that way. Every Mac owner I know also loves their Mac.
But enough about me...
Anyway, when Macs started out, there was a great deal of very good graphical software ... Especially for publishing...magazines etc, and that definitely meant a good deal of work went into making sure photos looked great.
In the 20 years or so since then, great strides have been made in both platforms, and it's really difficult these days to say what's "best". That's really down to to the quality now of the monitor you use as well as the software. I'm a PC guy, and for me it's just so much easier that way. Every Mac owner I know also loves their Mac.
Browncoat
Senior Member
Apple is more of a lifestyle choice than an equipment choice. Steve Jobs created a cult-like following w/ Apple because it was anti-establishment. It's the tech equivalent of Woodstock. Mac tends to attract creative/artistic minds for this reason and has typically had more powerful software for the arts (graphics/music/etc).
Take a look at television shows for example. Just about any time a computer is shown on screen, it's a Mac. Even in crime shows, despite that the vast majority of government offices use PC. It's Hollywood. It's hippie. It's Mac. I would also say that most of the time when I see a DSLR on television, they are usually Nikon. So at least in the eyes of "creative types" that handle Hollywood, Nikon is more associated with Mac.
Take a look at television shows for example. Just about any time a computer is shown on screen, it's a Mac. Even in crime shows, despite that the vast majority of government offices use PC. It's Hollywood. It's hippie. It's Mac. I would also say that most of the time when I see a DSLR on television, they are usually Nikon. So at least in the eyes of "creative types" that handle Hollywood, Nikon is more associated with Mac.