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Digital Photography: Time To Upgrade?
by John Rettie

t's been over two years since I last replaced my computer system. Normally, I have upgraded once every 18 to 24 months during the two decades I have been using a computer.

Just over two years ago I purchased a SuperMac S900/G3, which was the last of the Mac clones on the market. It's still humming along and I have been very happy with it. During the past year I have been sorely tempted to buy a G4 Mac but I have had no real need as my SuperMac, with 92 MB of memory and a 250 MHz G3 processor, has provided sufficient horsepower for my needs. However, I am sure that if I were a heavy user of Photoshop day in and day out I'd have upgraded by now.

Regular readers will know that I have added USB and Firewire cards to the computer so that I can use newer external drives, scanners and printers. For example, I have just switched to using a (dare I say it) Microsoft Intellimouse in place of the regular one-button mouse found on Macs. I find the scrolling wheel and second mouse button a tremendous boon for scrolling pages and working on the Internet. This is a USB mouse that works just as well on a Mac as on a PC, thanks to the cross-platform standardization of USB connections.

I am sure that if I had not added USB and Firewire capability to my SuperMac I would have purchased an Apple G4 Mac by now.

G4 Upgrade Card
Of course one does not need to purchase an all-new computer to get the benefits of increased processor speed, as recent Macs can mostly be upgraded by replacing the processor card. Indeed, the SuperMac I own was actually sold as a previous generation computer with a 604e processor and the G3 processor was supplied on a Newer Technology upgrade card that had to be installed by the purchaser.

Because of this it was extremely easy to upgrade my computer from a G3 to G4. All I had to do was install a new software driver, shut off the power, open the computer case, pull out the processor card and insert the new one in its place, close the case and reboot the computer. The new processor was immediately recognized by the operating system and the computer booted up just fine.

The result of this simple exercise is a faster Mac. Unfortunately it does not speed up every aspect of the machine as so many functions are subject to the speed of the hard drive, printer or other peripherals. Because of this I did not notice any real difference until programs were loaded.

Photoshop is the most important tool for a photographer and fortunately it is the one program that benefits as much as any from a faster computer. Some quick tests with a stopwatch showed that the time taken to run a typical unsharp mask filter took about two seconds instead of three.

Apple’s Mac OS9 is the last significant upgrade of the classic Mac operating system before OS X arrives next year.
Optimizing a photograph in ImageReady took 28 seconds instead of 36 seconds. The G4 chip contains a special feature called Altivec that Apple claims will really speed up a program that is optimized to utilize this function. Adobe provides a plug-in for Photoshop 5.5 to take advantage of Altivec but it needs to be installed separately.

I found that it did not appreciably change all Photoshop operations, although many filters do run much faster. If you do a lot of work in Photoshop, these time savings add up; otherwise tasks such as loading programs and running spell checkers show little improvement. Photoshop users will probably find the $599 cost of the G4 MaxPowr upgrade well worthwhile. The advantage of going this route is that it avoids the need to transfer everything to a new computer.
Mac OS 9 and Photoshop 5.5

The race to produce the ultimate digital camera is still far from over, regardless of how one looks at it! In the meantime, if you don't need the speed or flexibility of interchangeable lenses, the Coolpix 990 can produce images just about as good as the D1 for one fifth of the price.

Apart from upgrading hardware there is always the question of whether to upgrade operating systems. The last major upgrade of the Mac OS was to OS 9 last fall. Although it was classified as a major upgrade from OS 8.6, in reality it did not provide many significant improvements. Nonetheless, I did upgrade my system to try it along with the G4 upgrade.
Although Apple officially says it is not guaranteed to work with clones or third party upgrades, it seems to be fine. I'll admit that I did take the precaution of just installing the new system on one of my hard drives leaving the other running 8.6 just in case something went wrong. In an interesting aside it appears that OS 9 was perhaps originally scheduled to be called OS 8.7.

I discovered this accidentally when I tried opening the new Sherlock 2 search engine while running OS 8.6 and it came up with an error message saying it would only run under system 8.7, which was a version Apple never released!

Apart from one or two minor graphic changes, the only major changes I found worthwhile were a better version of Sherlock and some added features such as a voice activated security access. In all honesty I would suggest waiting for OS X which will be available early next year. Apple had planned to introduce this really major new OS, which has a different look and feel, this summer.

The same decision process also has to be made with respect to upgrading Photoshop. The latest 5.5 version does not offer a lot of new features compared to version 5.0 unless one has a G4 computer with the Altivec support. However, if you do a lot of web work the full integration of ImageReady is a worthwhile reason to upgrade.

The bottom line is that if you're happy with your current G3 Mac and OS 8.5 or 8.6, I suggest waiting until next year when new models are sure to be announced along with OS X. If you are not yet even running a G3 processor then an upgrade to a G4 is worthwhile.

If you don't have a lot of memory installed and/or only a few SCSI add-ons such as scanners I'd buy a brand new G4 Mac. If on the other hand you have a lot of memory and a solid system but you just want more speed, a G4 upgrade card such as the Newer Technology G4 MaxPowr makes a lot of sense at this time. It'll cost a lot less than buying a new computer.

Adobe Photoshop 5.5 includes the ImageReady plug-in, which helps automate the production of compressed images for use on the Internet.

Epson 1270 Printer
There's no doubt that Epson has built a reputation as a leading manufacturer of inkjet printers for producing near photographic quality prints from a computer. When Epson introduced its first Stylus Photo printer the output amazed everyone. Until then inkjet printers were no competition for dye-sub printers. Since then Epson has continued to introduce newer and better inkjet printers each year.

I have been using an Epson Stylus Photo EX for a couple of years and have been very pleased with its capabilities. Last year I tried the Stylus Photo 1200, which replaced it, but I was not as impressed as I thought I should be. It offered a slight improvement but was not enough to make me want to trade in the EX.

Now Epson has replaced the 1200 with the all new Stylus Photo 1270 which at first blush does move the needle forward several notches. The first thing I noticed was its lack of noise. It's so quiet that the first time I printed an image I thought it was not working until I saw the print appearing on the output tray!

In operation and versatility the 1270 is much the same as previous models. A cautionary note: it only has a USB or parallel port so Mac users need to have a USB port in order to use the printer.

An optional roll paper holder allows one to produce banner prints up to 44 inches in length. From a photographer's point of view one of the neatest features is the ability to produce a roll of 4x6 prints with full bleed printing, in much the same way as a processing lab. The printer includes software that allows one to process images and produce prints without having to open them in Photoshop or other editing programs.

Epson claims that the latest version of its glossy photo paper has a ten-year life before fading. In my experience inkjet papers have had a longer life than one would expect as long as the prints are kept out of direct sunlight.

I have not attempted to show the quality of a print as magazine reproduction cannot do it justice. Needless to say that it is all but impossible to tell that a photograph printed on the Stylus Photo 1270 is anything other than a true photographic print. They have the same texture and feel of chemical based prints and the inks are totally absorbed into the paper leaving a smooth glossy finish across the whole print.

There are also alternative surfaces available such as matte, both from Epson and other suppliers, that provide a wider array of surfaces than are even available with photographic papers. I plan to try some of these in the coming weeks and I'll describe my experiences in a future column.

All in all the 1270 is a more significant upgrade than the 1200 was over the previous generation EX. If you do not need volume output the 1270 will deliver prints suitable for more than just proofing. If you do not need anything bigger than 8x10 prints take a look at the 870 model which delivers the same quality but is smaller and sells for just $299 compared to $499 for the 1270.

Just as I finished writing this review, Epson announced yet another new printer, the 2000P. This printer will apparently use all new inks that promise a print that will not fade for 200 years! It is aimed at artists who want real archival prints. However, it will cost $899. I plan to try it out as soon as possible to see if it is worth the extra money compared to the already formidable 1270.


It really surprised me that Epson has been able to come out with yet another major upgrade so soon!

John Rettie is a photojournalist who resides in Santa Barbara, CA. He has been using a camera as a professional for 29 years, a computer for 19 years, and has combined his knowledge of both for the past seven years. Readers can contact him by e-mail at john@johnrettie.com or by snail-mail c/o Rangefinder.