[mazz68]

I have a friend who is a proffesional photographer she uses ani Mac to process her work flow.Below is her problem:
The 2.4 GHz processor in my iMac is not sufficient enough to handle the large files (60MB) produced by my Canon 1Ds MkIII.

Ive asked about a bit here at work and someone said that 60MB wasent that large and that the processor should be able to handle it and that it might be a problem with the RAM.

Anyone have any ideas ? She uses Adobe Photoshop if that makes any differance.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[smax013]

mazz68 said:

I have a friend who is a proffesional photographer she uses ani Mac to process her work flow.Below is her problem:

The 2.4 GHz processor in my iMac is not sufficient enough to handle the large files (60MB) produced by my Canon 1Ds MkIII.


Ive asked about a bit here at work and someone said that 60MB wasent that large and that the processor should be able to handle it and that it might be a problem with the RAM.


Anyone have any ideas ? She uses Adobe Photoshop if that makes any differance.


Thanks in advance for any help.

First, I am assuming this is an Intel based iMac.

Beyond that, it should be able to handle a file of that size...assuming you have enough RAM and/or hard drive space (Photoshop can use the hard drive for memory operations if needed).

What specifically happens? Does she get an error message? Does the file not open with no message?

Which version of Photoshop is she using? Does she have the latest Digital Camera RAW file support package for Photoshop (I am assuming these are RAW photo file formats)? Does Photoshop support her camera's RAW format?

[dcpics]

Agreed. Provided there is enough RAM a 2.4 ghz should handle those files with ease.

I've done 5D MKII RAW files of similar size on a MacBook Pro with a 2.4ghz processor and 4gb of RAM.

I would bet there is not enough RAM or the editing program being used does not have the proper plug in for handling those RAW files. If it is Photoshop being used a quick trip to the Adobe site will let you figure out what the version of Adobe Camera Raw is needed and which version of PS is the earliest to support it.

[pcimaging]

There once was a time when a 60 mb file was considered huge. In todays world it is quite common to work with graphics files that size. I am a photographer and like your friend I use Adobe PSCS3. I use both an iMac and a Windows based PC as well with no issues. If your friend is using a Mac , she should upgrade her memory to the max if she can, If she has unneeded files on her hard drive, she should certainly clear those off. My iMac is the 2.4 Ghz intel and I have 4 gigs of RAM in it now and a 500 gig hard drive. It was not so long ago I let that drive fill up to where I had only 12 gigs free and I can assure you I saw a big performance hit, If she is not already doing so, she may benefit from using an external drive for her pictures. I mean when she is done with them to store them there.

[mazz68]

In response to the earlier questions here is what my friend had to say..

I have an Intel iMac with CS3 on the Tiger OS. My new camera has RAW5 technology, which is not supported by CS3 - only CS4. I'll need to upgrade at some point. The main issue is the speed required to process 60MB files (jpg). It's very slow, even when I shut everything down except Photoshop. I'm not getting any error messages. 71% of the hard drive is allocated to Photoshop, which is within the recommended range.

Hope this is helpful and thanks to everyone for their help so far

[mazz68]

Her Imac only has 1Gb of memory

[smax013]

mazz68 said:

Her Imac only has 1Gb of memory

I suspect that is a MAJOR part of her problem. I would say a RAM upgrade is definitely in order. Photoshop LOVES RAM.

[mazz68]

Thanks she is going to have her RAM upgraded and see if this solves the problem

Thanks to everyone for their help with this matter

[smax013]

A 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo iMac should be able to go to 4 GB of RAM. I would max it out. A 4 GB kit should be around $60 from the likes of OWC or Crucial.com. From what I understand, upgrade the RAM on an iMac is rather easy...I believe there is an access panel on the bottom of the screen/computer...once it is open, the modules are right there. Here are the instructions from the Apple site:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1423

Of course, if she is at all concerned about doing it herself, she can take it to an Apple Store...but it will likely cost at least double the amount above (for the modules and the installation).