Mac Os X El Capitan Review

Sigh... At some point, an update becomes unavoidable anyway, I presume.

Thanks for writing down your observations.

Title bars were already an issue in Safari 8 and Yosemite.

After some more hours, did you find any problems with PS and AI?

Thanks for your report. I have not upgraded yet, I think I will wait for some more fixes

I try to upgrade with every new OS to avoid having my Mac become outdated, I switched to El Capitan when it first came out,,,I work with photos and they made some changes to preview that caused a few problems but got sorted out, Some of the apps that I use slowed down considerably with the new OS, Other than that I don't see that many changes.I love the doc and the whole apple layout, I switched from Windows XP initially so had quite a change but so far have been happy with the experience,I think Apple is getting away from professional photo editing as was evidenced when they phased out Aperture, I am feeling the need now to switch to another photo editing program,,,Either PSE or LR. I suspect I will be having even more issues with my photography if I continue using the Photos application over time. Some of the programs I am working with work better with a "host" program, That alone is reason enough to make the switch!

Well Frank, not so sure I'll ever leave Snow Leopard, as it seems that is the direction I'll be taking. I really am fine working with the programs I have in Snow Leopard and really don't need anything else. Plus I've never been one that had to have the latest and greatest, when I have what I need.

I did play with PS and AI this morning. I worked with brushes and more; both programs held up and didn't crash. Think the latest El Capitan update fixed prior issues. If you're thinking of upgrading be sure to run updates to be sure you have the latest version of El Capitan before opening any programs.

Of course always make sure you have a recent backup before upgrading; whether it be Time Machine or a 3rd party disk clone.

Another thing about El Capitan: Apple in their stupidity made the Dashboard disabled by default. If you want your widgets back you need to enable it and choose Spaces or Overlay.

UPDATE: It is indeed El Capitan that is messing with Spyder 5 Elite and that makes me a very unhappy camper. I ran another calibration this morning and again very little change between the Mac ICC and the calibrated one. I guess that's a good thing as Mac's always have a better calibration then any PC I've been on. But I do not like that the brightness can be messed with now. That is huge to me, as I want all edits to look the same! Even a small increase in brightness can darken my images and that's not good at all....

~ Charly

Judy Apple was never really for editing images for a professional, just for personal use. As I've said before, I never used iPhotos when I first got my Mac and never opened Photos in El Capitan. My guess is you never used Snow Leopard cuz like Win XP that is the best OS Mac has ever had. I put it on 100% of the Macs I get for my customers who are over 60.

I think Lightroom is a great program to start out with! I do 98% of my editing in Lr. If you don't want to fumble around learning it, I suggest to get the free trial from Lynda.com to try it out and watch all the vids you can in 2 weeks I believe it is. After that it's like $25 per month and you can watch any workshop you want; plus end and restart your mo. subscription anytime. Absolutely no contract. They have great workshops on Lr from beginner to advanced.

~ Charly

Charly, I never used Snow Leopard,,,My first mac came with Yosemite,,,and I just keep upgrading feeling the the OS will become obsolete if I don't, I personally wanted to stay with the first OS but upgraded because of that fact, I am thinking LR for sure,,,or PSE,,,Thanks for the tip on the Lynda,com site, I have been dragging my feet about changing. I guess I am delusional but I always felt that if you shoot raw and capture a pretty good image,,, a lot of post editing should not be necessary, For that reason and because Photos is user friendly, I have not changed, Plus apple insisted that Photos was much like aperture, minus a few settings..I am becoming more focused on the histogram lately,,,a great tool,,,just hope my interpretation is ok!
OFF topic a little but hope you can help with this,,,when I get the histogram balanced,,,I often add a Vignette ,,,which sometimes throws off the balance considerably, Should the vignette be adjusted until the histogram is balanced or just set the vignette according to your eye despite the histogram results,?!
Thanks again!

Sorry for the delay, but was restoring back to Snow Leopard. lol The only way I would see an OS becoming obsolete is if nothing you have works on it. Since I have over $3,000 in software on my old Mac and don't need anything else, it won't become obsolete for me. Fairly certain I'll stick with Snow Leopard till I die and just fix the iMac when that's needed. 6 yrs old and running strong! :)

Like I said I've never used Photos, so I can only give you an off the cuff answer going by my Lr experience. When you add vignette to an image it is darkening the edges which in turn would throw off your histogram. It really depends on the image if I brighten it up or not. i.e. a slight vignette is much different than a heavy one. Though once I have the vignette set to what I want, I leave it alone and adjust accordingly what's necessary. Whether that be Whites, Highlights, Shadows, Blacks or Exposure, but normally I will leave the Basic settings alone and tweak them in Tone Curve. Not sure if Photos gives you both Basic and Tone Curve modules though. It is true both Modules in Lr have the same sliders for Whites, Highlights, Shadows and Blacks, but they make adjustments differently.

Hope that helps!

~ Charly

Thx Charly,,Glad you advised me about the OS,,,I thought it was necessary basically to upgrade, I know that for example windows xp ,windows 7 etc became extinct so I thought the same would hold true for Apple, Also, I was afraid that some of the newer apps would not work on the older OS?! I noticed that the histograms were throwing off the balance I had created with the histogram,,,so now when I add a vignette i usually adjust it until it is histogramically correctt! I have two histograms in photos but truthfully didn't understand why exactly I just always make sure both of them are balanced ,,it seems though that if the top one is ok the other one is usually ok too, I don't know if you are familiar with Image Tricks Lite,,,but they have a vignette effect that is super! You can adjust the settings with the slider but then you can take your mouse and position the lighting,,which is so much easier and precise, There are so many settings in photos ,,,that I can't imagine having more,,,It gets confusing,, but I will try the trial you suggested, Cant go wrong with that, Thanks again Charly!!

I always drag my feet when upgrading my OS. I just installed Mavericks a couple weeks ago after procrastinating for ages. It's always a chaotic balance between hardware, what's left of my Adobe apps (I refuse to CC), and what will run smoothly on which system. When everything is stable, I just stick with it until it's old and grey. Thank you for the review!

I hear and agree with you all.

Can't remember why I upgraded to Yosemite, I think it had to do with my new camera and something or other to do with editing raw? I know I had to jump hoops for that and I think my Wacom wasn't happy either. Can't remember exactly. I try to forget these things, tho I eventually got everybody singing out of the same songbook.

The Yosemite has been okay, but after pulling out my hair for months, I finally went back to iPhoto. No, I don't use it for anything but storage ... never editing. The Photos program was a big hot mess ... you couldn't just move an image from photos to Photoshop, for example, you had to make about 5 clicks to get it in, including exporting and yes, I really do want to export, and yes, I really want to export it in the original version ... blah blah. Plus, just plain finding images was a nightmare. I tend to make a dozen ... dozens? ... of versions of something before I'm finally done ... and of course I plop them into storage in the meantime. And when I am done, it's off to the external for them all. But with Photos, it wouldn't recognize the file name assigned by Nikon ... and the file name, expanded to include a nifty short-hand I've devised to remind myself how I created the image ... is crucial. Poor computer got a bit bloaty. Got a LOT bloaty. iPhotos re installed, and I'm a happy camper again.

As to upgrading the platform again??? Shyeah, right.

If it ain't broke, I ain't fixin' it.

And Michelle ... I'm with you. I'll upgrade to CC when and only when I absolutely have to.

I am stilll using a 13 Inch MacBook Pro on 10.6.8 Snow Leopard. Thought about upgrading to Yosemite but most say it would be very slow due to the magnetic drive in my laptop and I should update my RAM, didn't bother. I really like IPhoto and wasn't sure if they would carry over and be useable.

Paul, I have nothing but high praise for the boys at Apple. When I called and asked for their help getting iPhoto back up and running, they very kindly walked me through the getting rid of Photos and the re install of iPhoto. The only thing they warned me about it is they no longer support iPhoto. So, I back up often, just in case. And as I said above, for me, if something is working, I don't mess with it.

And by the way, meant to say thanks to Charly for the review. This kind of info is always so helpful!!

Y'all are welcome!

Judy I still have a desktop PC that runs Win XP and it's going strong. For what I need a PC for, no reason for a newer one. Besides many of my customers still run XP. ;) I do have a laptop with Win 7 and absolutely hate it!

Backups are so very important of your computer and images. As are having numerous copies (more than 2) of your images; with at least 1 off site. Safety deposit boxes are dirt cheap, so I keep all my discs and 1 external hard drive with all images, at least a monthly BUp of my computer and other things on it I don't want to lose. With that I can restore anything I might lose at home.

While Apple is very good with their support, I'm done with all the companies trying to force us to buy, buy, buy. None of them like me very much. hehehe There is no need for a new OS every year! Rarely are there big changes and when there is they don't ask the consumer what they want to keep. Most older folks, which make up a good portion of the population, are lost when it comes to anything over Win XP and Mac Snow Leopard. They just want to read email, play games and bop around the net. Many programs only go back 2 to 4 versions of OS and that too is insane! It doesn't take that much to support all the OS's that are being used today.... It's more the money game than anything else.

I'm fine with Apple finally putting to rest the PowerPC as its day had come after 2 decades, but my Intel Mac should be included for programs today for 2 decades even if I don't want to upgrade from Snow Leopard. It's said about 20% of all Macs out there run Snow Leopard and I think that number is a bit higher. Wouldn't be surprised if it's closer to 1/3. When I called into Apple to say I was going back, I heard I wasn't the only one who dislikes El Capitan. Many I've spoken to wish they had never upgraded past Snow Leopard. Well one can still buy Snow Leopard OS in the Apple Store for $35. Guess that means the demand is still there and Apple will supply it even if they don't support it. lol

Yes I'm fully aware that technology is fast moving, but what I have from 6 yrs ago works great. I miss nothing by using what I have and can rock and roll with editing. I've been told numerous times its eerie how some of my edits look almost 3D/life like. I don't see it, but that's what they say. So I'll stick with what I have till I'm dead or too old to care. ;)

~ Charly

EDIT: There are plenty of stand alone programs out there today that are free open source or for a cost that can do most of what Adobe products can. No need anymore to do the CC thing as Adobe had hoped for.

Thanks, for the review, Charly. I have Yosemite now, but I hesitate to upgrade just yet. Read some horrible stories about El Capitan that made me shy away until maybe they come out with a less buggy version.

I use PE 13, and I'm sure it would still work. Never, ever, ever used iPhoto. Hated it with a passion, so I have not even looked at "photo" that came with the upgrade to Yosemite. I understand some people like it, but there's not even a regular photo file you can move to a folder. Hey, I'm old, I've worked at a job with "folders" for 34 years now and obviously that was before personal computers, so don't tell me I can't decide where to store my images. You put them in iPhoto and poof, they are NOWHERE where you can move or sort.

Anyway, that's just me. Thanks for your input - I'm going to wait a few months, I think. Every time I upgrade something else stops working.

My Mac laptop uses Yosemite....

I use the following photo editing programs...each can give me something the others can't. One of my images may even go thru all 5 editing programs before the final version.


1..IPHOTO…

2..PIXELMATOR..(by the way, this photo editing program is very highly rated for the Mac. It cost me $15.00 a few days ago).

3…FOTOR.....this is free for the Mac

4….FLICKR….uses aviary for editing....free and you can upload some 200,000 of your images for free at full resolution.

5…SMUGMUG…uses picmonkey for editing

Yes, I'm staying with Snow Leopard. Becuase Apple Aperture still works, which is no longer supported, and will not work if I upgrade. Though, as Robert just said, Aviary in Flickr is a great program for just doing light tweaks .... which is where most of my images start anyways.

I made a mistake in my last post, sorry. Snow Leopard is $19.99, not $35. I had that amount on the brain for something else and inadvertently typed it.

Another option is to either partition the internal hard drive and put a newer version of OS X to use with programs requiring it or use an external hard drive for the OS X. Personally I would rather opt for partitioning the Mac hard drive. Then again I have a 1TB drive with 800GB free. That way newer programs I wanted would work on it and I could still use Snow Leopard most of the time.

I didn't see Mavericks in the Apple Store, but think I might call them to see if I can buy a disc. I won't use Yosemite or El Capitan that's for sure. Who knows maybe I'll like Mavericks and give up my beloved Snow Leopard. Though I highly doubt it! ;) At least Mavericks should be included for another few years or so in programs.

And I forgot to mention that I read an article recently, that if you call Adobe they will sell a stand alone product. Though they will push hard to get one on the CC, they will cave and sell you the stand alone. Cannot say if this is a fact, but if it is perhaps with all the alternative programs coming out that are as good as Adobe's they're having a change of heart. There really are some really good programs for a whole lot less money or even free that will hold up pretty well to Adobe.

~ Charly

I have an iMac Snow Leopard and only basic computer knowledge. But I upgraded to Mavericks some time after it became available. At the time it appeared that PSE8 and even iPhoto (according to Apple) could be a problem but both went through successfully. I've had no trouble with Mavericks or the computer which is 6 years old.

Glad im not the one one using apples editing program, I use Image tricks Lite for a few enhancements along with Topaz Impression, It is a problem having to export out of photos into the other programs, When I use ITL it does not even save the image with the file number (I usually save it and manually put the number for ref,,,when I import it back into photos it becomes a problem trying to keep it manageable,. I had the trial for pixelmatr but didn't buy the program ,,I am contemplating it as it had some features I need that no other program has provided, As far as photo manipulation I was not crazy about Pixelmatr for making transparent png files. I used Remask 5 and was hooked,I just finished the trial and will probably buy it,,, Once again I am stymied somewhat because that program and most of the topaz programs work best with a host like PS or LR...My biggest struggle is with photo organization, Apples is probably the simplest and yet I struggle with it, That is one reason I have been reluctant to get LR I watched a video tutorial and it was so technical that I didn't pursue it further,
I think that with the El Capitan OS that pixelmatr can be added as an editor in photos and it will open in photos rather than having to export it (?!) Even though El Capitan has bugs,,i would be hesitant to install an older OS at this point....which leaves me with the reality that I may have an inferior OS that I will be using permanently.
Charly I do BU . I have a My passport for mac that is linked to time machine,,,and I have a 2 tb external (WD) ...Just hope I have configured it properly.

Judy, not all instructors are created equal... And all videos are not great!

I would guess you have yet to go to Lynda.com and check out vids there. So if you don't wish to sign up for a free trial, you can listen to some vids within a workshop for free and you can watch those as many times as you want. For Lightroom I recommend Chris Orwig, as he is so good at speaking in layman's terms. At Chris' Lightroom 6 Essential Training for Beginners you'll find the left panel shows all the vids within the workshop. Those in bold can be watched free. Start at the top, watch and see if you think he's good. If so sign up for the free 10 day trial and listen to all the vids there and if you like them sign up for a subscription at $25/mo. If not then don't bother signing up.

I have started and ended my monthly subscription numerous times over the years. Watched vids on Lr, Photoshop, Photography, Wordpress and much more! Some I've watched over and over again.

As to your BU's. Two on site is definitely NOT enough to have! IMHO You need 1 off site with 1 Time Machine BU and all images on it; then add as necessary. If those EXHDD's fail due to a lightening strike or something else, what then? Just saying....

~ Charly

Thanks for the tips on recommended trainers and the links,, Hooking up with the right trainer is very important, Some are just better communicators in general, I will keep the BU info in mind,,,and I also need to start ejecting and unplugging them when not in use too,So much to consider! lol

PS I just googled reviews for El Capitan and all of them were favorable,,,Go figure! Maybe the reviewers had not used snow leopard for example and had nothing to compare it with?!