PHOTOGRAPHY GEAR GUIDE: COMPUTERS + TECH
Apple 15.4″ MacBook Pro Notebook Computer with Retina Display
Whether you’re a Mac or a PC the best thing you can do to keep the pixels flowing in your post-processing software is to max out the RAM and upgrade to the best graphic card available.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Apple 27″ iMac
Great affordable desktop option for tethered capture and post-processing if you max out the RAM and upgrade to the best graphic card available.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Seagate 2TB Slim Portable External USB 3.0 Hard Drive
Hard drives are really, really cheap. Memories are priceless. Get a pair of external hard drives for redundant storage. Use the second as a backup for the first. When you fill them up, buy two more. One day you’ll thank me.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
OWC Other World Computing ThunderBay IV 4-Bay Thunderbolt 2 Drive Enclosure This is a four bay, SATA III 6 Gb/s enclosure and each bay will support a 3.5″ hard drive or SSD. Once drives are installed, you can RAID them using the software RAID of your choice to setup the ThunderBay 4 for multi-drive performance or data redundancy.
Get the full specs at B&H
Synology DS1813+ DiskStation 8-Bay NAS Server
NAS Server from Synology is a network attached storage solution built for speed and reliability with a 2.13 GHz dual core processor and 2GB of DDR3 RAM (upgradable to 4GB). Load 3.5″ or 2.5″ SATA (II) drives into any one of the eight bays located on the back of the enclosure for up to 32TB of storage. Network connection available through four redundant Gigabit Ethernet ports plus four USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 ports for local connection.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
HGST Deskstar NAS 3.5-Inch 4TB 7200RPM SATA III Hard Drive
Enterprise-quality 4TB hard drives are my choice for business critical files like my archives. This drive is designed for use in NAS systems as it comes equipped with a SATA 6 Gb/s interface, a 64 MB cache memory buffer, and a 7200 rpm rotational speed ensuring efficient drive performance.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
i1 Display Pro
The latest i1 Pro Display is greatly improved for calibration of the latest retina displays and LCD projectors. It’s small size and durability handles the bumps in the road like a champ.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
i1 Publish Pro 2
Maintaining a properly color-managed workflow saves you time and money. Coupled with the latest i1 Profiler software, the new i1 Pro 2 is the perfect choice if you want to create custom printer profiles for your workflow
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
X-Rite ColorChecker Passport
ColorChecker Classic 24 Patch target that easily fits in your bag. Shoot a frame in each lighting situation and you’ll always be able to find your neutral.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Tether Tables
Tether Tables safely hold your laptop where you want it and they fit standard light stands or tripods that you probably already have on set.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Tether Cables
Since I’ve got big feet and all the grace of a mule, I love the High-Visibility Orange TetherPro USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Active Extension Cables. They keep me from tripping and tearing down the set.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Cable Management
I love JerkStoppers because they keep the connection to your camera and computer rock solid when tethering…
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5
Since it debuted, Lightroom has become the default must-have image editing software. It pays for itself many times over in the ability to quickly batch apply looks and adjustment.
Get the Full Version at Amazon | B&H
Upgrade at Amazon | B&H
Adobe Photoshop CS6
Your best deal is the subscribe to Photoshop CC – but Photoshop CS6 is still available for those who prefer to buy and own. For all the advances and great time-savings in Lightroom, Photoshop remains the only software for real pixel-pushing image retouching.
Get Mac Version at B&H | Get PC Version at B&H
Capture One Pro 7
Rock solid, industry-standard tethered capture software. Capture One Pro 7 excels in its ability to produce high-quality imagery with exceptional color balance and fine detail with intuitive and efficient control capabilities.
Get the full specs at Amazon | B&H
onOne Software Perfect Photo Suite 8
This software offers a whole suite of versatile photo editing solution for fine-tuning and enhancing the look of imagery within an intuitive and efficient interface. Available as a Premium stand-alone app or as Plugin version for Abobe Lightroom.
Get Premium Version at Amazon | B&H
Get Lightroom Plugin at Amazon | B&H
Drive Genius 3 by ProSoft Engineering
If you use Mac this is the single best piece of software to defrag and ensure the health of your hard drive. If you’ve ever taken a Mac into apple so they can run diagnostics on the machine, this is what they use.
Get the full specs at Amazon
Alsoft DiskWarrior 4.0
DiskWarrior is the safest, the most technologically advanced, and the most powerful utility to eliminate directory damage available for any computer. Instead of patching the original directory, it builds a new replacement directory using data recovered from the original directory, thereby recovering files and folders that you thought were lost and that no other program could recover.
Get the full specs at Amazon
Cameras | Lenses | Lens Adapters | Lighting | Modifiers | Grip | Camera Support | Bags + Cases
Computers + Tech | Still Accessories | Audio | Kits | Recommended Reading
Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Brian Smith photographs portraits of Hollywood A-List and Fortune's 500 for magazines, corporations and advertising. He's a Sony Artisan of Imagery, Profoto Legend of Light, Adobe Influencer and X-Rite Master Coloratti.
Comments
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You were showing a Sony phone and said it was good for still photographers. I can’t find it now. I want to replace an iPhone 10 with an Android phone which is far more compatible with Linux and Windows. I can’t see the wide cinema aspect ratio Sony phone being very useful for what I do.
Do you have a roll paper pro ink-jet printer preference for Sony cameras? I prefer Canon to Epson having had TONS of nozzle clogs with Epson printers in our dry NM climate. I can’t tell how serious HP is about supporting photographic uses. Sony ought to develop their own photo quality printer to support the Sony a7R IV or future Mark V camera. There is no reason for high res cameras unless you will make prints. This seems a market advantage for Canon where they can tie printer and camera together.
I sure wish that Sony supported Linux for firmware updates. I used to know a lot of Sony engineers were using Linux themselves so am surprised that only proprietary OSs are supported for firmware updates. I am getting used to Windows 10 on a Dell laptop – most of the free software I use with Linux is now available for Windows too.
Finally, I need a heavy-duty tripod for 4×5 cameras and Hasselblad. My twin-leg Majestic broke where one leg attaches. I will repair it eventually but in the meantime need one with pan-tilt head and that can be used with 20-30 lbs cameras. Aluminum is fine as I am used to steel legs. Any suggestions?
Have you ever thought of doing a DVD course on the Sony a7 system for The Great Courses? They have some Photo courses by Nat Geo photographers, and courses on Lightroom and Photoshop. I enjoy their DVD courses. Sony would likely benefit much from having such a DVD course. The issue is digital cameras are a moving target with constant improvements so DVDs would need constant updating.
There are a number of smartphones in the Sony Xperia line – but the one I’m really excited about – the Sony Xperia 1 Mark II is available for pre-order July 1. I’d wait for that one.
I prefer Epson printers though I really wish they would address the nozzle clogging issue but I doubt that will ever happen as they profit greatly from all the ink required to clean clogged nozzles. Sony was briefly in the printer game – but they don’t stay in markets they can’t dominate.
Sony Linux firmware updates are never gonna happen. They have enough trouble with Mac & Windows to support a third OS.
As for tripods, I’m really high on Robus Tripods. They’re solid as a rock – yet reasonable weight and price.
The challenge with doing a DVD course for Sony is that Sony drops new cameras so frequently, but I shall definitely give that some thought.