In need of advice on a desktop tower for beginner photography...

[ray11bb4]

New Photo Forum member here!

I'm buying my mother a Nikon Z6 II for christmas! I'm also facilitating an additional gift of a new desktop (with the rest of the family) so that She can get the most out the new camera. I have the following items so far either delivered or in transit to me;

Nikon Z6 II with the 24-70mm kit lens
1x SanDisk 256GB Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I Card C10, U3, V30 4K UHD, SD Card
1x Nikon XQD 64GB Memory Card

BenQ PD2700U 4K Monitor

I have been looking at desktop towers for the last week or so and I'm quite over my head as far as what I need to have to take advantage of the Z6 II. I from my research I have read that I should look for the following in a computer for photo editing...

- Quad or six core processor
- At least 8 GB of RAM
- SSD over HDD hard drive but at least 1 TB of storage
- I have no idea on what type of video card....

In addition to photography this computer will be used for home office type work such as web browsing, paying bills, taxes, and surfing the web.

I don't want to spend all this money on the camera and buy a computer that will limit the potential of my mothers photography. My mother is not a pro photographer by any measure but I do not want her limited just to save a buck.

I'd love to be in the 1000.00$ +/- range for a desktop tower. Any guidence will be greatly appreciated!

 

[mjcmt]

If it were me I'd buy a 21.5" iMac Apple computer. In fact that's what I've been using for years. I've been using iMac computers for photography since the '90s and I'm on my 4th iMac. Many pro photographers use iMacs.

Don't get sucked into wanting to step up from your budget. Apple's web site is designed to make you want better and better models.
iMac

Or get a Mac mini to use w/ your monitor, but I prefer the iMac.
Mac mini

 

[ray11bb4]

If it helps I can return the BenQ PD2700U 4K Monitor as I bought it from Amazon Prime. I understand that I may not be able to pull the desktop together before Christmas but I think that will be ok. If there is an all-in-one home compter option....

 

[Designer]

New Photo Forum member here!

I'm buying my mother a Nikon Z6 II for christmas! I'm also facilitating an additional gift of a new desktop (with the rest of the family) so that She can get the most out the new camera. I have the following items so far either delivered or in transit to me;

Nikon Z6 II with the 24-70mm kit lens
1x SanDisk 256GB Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I Card C10, U3, V30 4K UHD, SD Card
1x Nikon XQD 64GB Memory Card

BenQ PD2700U 4K Monitor

I have been looking at desktop towers for the last week or so and I'm quite over my head as far as what I need to have to take advantage of the Z6 II. I from my research I have read that I should look for the following in a computer for photo editing...

- Quad or six core processor
- At least 8 GB of RAM
- SSD over HDD hard drive but at least 1 TB of storage
- I have no idea on what type of video card....

In addition to photography this computer will be used for home office type work such as web browsing, paying bills, taxes, and surfing the web.

I don't want to spend all this money on the camera and buy a computer that will limit the potential of my mothers photography. My mother is not a pro photographer by any measure but I do not want her limited just to save a buck.

I'd love to be in the 1000.00$ +/- range for a desktop tower. Any guidence will be greatly appreciated!

I suggest you think like a fisherman. What type of fish? What does that fish bite on? What kind of tackle do you need to get the bait in front of the fish?

What kind of software(s) do you plan to get (even in the future)?
What are the requirements as stated on the software?

Me, I use Aperture for Mac.

There are others.

 

[ray11bb4]

Thanks Designer! That brings up another great noob question. What is a good beginner program/software for my Mother and I to edit pictures with the Nikon?

 

[mjcmt]

Kent, Apple iMac computers come with their 'Photos' editing software. A good place to start and includes RAW converter too.

 

[ray11bb4]

Ok, so now i'm looking at iMac's when I was not before. What is the ammount of SSD memory I should shoot for?

Is the base model 2020 iMac 27'' more than enough for a Nikon Z6 II and a beginner? What if She gets into shooting RAW?

3.1GHz 6-Core Processor with Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz
256GB Storage
Retina 5K Display

• 3.1GHz 6-core 10th-generation Intel Core i5 processor
• Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz
• 8GB 2666MHz DDR4 memory, configurable up to 128GB
• 256GB SSD storage¹
• Radeon Pro 5300 with 4GB of GDDR6 memory
• Two Thunderbolt 3 ports
• Retina 5K 5120-by-2880 P3 display with True Tone (optional nano-texture glass available)

 

[crf8]

Maybe I missed it, is your mother familiar with Mac or windows?


FB.me/CRFinTN Facebook
www.flickr.com/crf8/

 

[RowdyRay]

I have nothing against an Imac, but if no one else in the family knows how to use it or answer her questions, then it's probably not the best choice. Just saying. If you're an Apple family, then go for it.

I usually build my own. But...if you want to buy a premade PC, look at the gaming setups. Typically have a 6 core processor and a decent graphics card. Those are crucial for both applications. And there is no such thing as too much RAM. Think the minimum is 8 GB to run PS. Double that. Actual storage of pictures is another thing.

 

[ray11bb4]

She is currently using a PC with windows. I think that the change would not be a big challange.

 

[ray11bb4]

She lives with my Father, all of us children are out of the home. My father is pretty computer illiterate and my Mother is not an expert by any means. Essentially the computer would need to conduct email, web surfing and be up to the task of maximizing the Nikon Z6 II if my Mother expands Her photography skills.

 

[RowdyRay]

You asked about editing. Does she plan on shooting JPEG or RAW? Or both? RAW files are large and take up a lot of space. Most beginners start with JPEGs. Pretty sure that camera is going to take a decent one. It should also come with Nikon software to edit those JPEGs. Start there. If and when she takes it to the next level, then look at after market software or, an annual subscription to PS to edit RAW. Just my .02.

 

[weepete]

I'd be looking for:

Ryzen 5600x
B550 motherboard
500GB NVME SSD
1TB HDD
32GB RAM
GTX 1660Ti or better

But PC components are mental just now, there's been a huge increase in demand and manufacturers can't keep up with it, so a lot of products are selling out.

 

[jcdeboever]

Do you have a local ma and pa PC store? If your buying off the shelf or not building your own. Seek out a local brick and mortar store and give them a budget. Weepetes recommendation is a good start to building your own. Send me a PM where you live (city state) and I can do some digging for you and simplify this whole process for you.

 

[mjcmt]

Ok, so now i'm looking at iMac's when I was not before. What is the ammount of SSD memory I should shoot for?

Minimum 8GB ram and .5 TB Hard drive if she has lot of photos. I still have space left on my 1TB after 30 yrs photography and shooting large RAW files. Really 21.5" is a fine size and larger than 16" Macbook Pro which many photogs edit on. If she's heavy into post editing and graphic and shoots professionally 27" is better.

The 21.5" 2.3Ghz imac is a very capable machine, just get larger HD. You can always add external drive for storage of media. I haven't need that yet.

BTW Apple products are easy to navigate around, and there is tons of online support for questions. Lastly if you add the 3yr support warrantee you can get unlimited service and questions answered. If there is an Apple store near you stop in and talk to staff.