Brian

A proper Mac Laptop for photo editing, that would be an expensive MBP. In the US, you are looking at around $3600. Australian, that would be over A$4200. Or more. Which is INSAINE to spend on a laptop Laptops only last around 3 years. Of course there are folks out there that have laptops around the 5 year mark, but around 3-4 years is when things start "locking up," "it's so slow..." Etc. We live in a throw-away society. There is no passing down technology anymore. This stuff is built to get you in the market sooner than later. In addition, they don't use Lead in the solder anymore. So you have crappy solder joints which makes things break so much easier. Things just don't last. I've been a computer tech for the last 23+ Years. The plastics used are SO CHEAP...it's on everything, from computers to printers, to camera bodies to cars, the quality just isn't there like it was 10+ years ago.

I would SERIOUSLY invest in a solid tripod for real-estate photography, even if you use a auto-mode that does HDR for you. I can recommend one if you'd like.

OK, believe it or not, this is pretty straightforward. These days, you'll want to avoid the 21.5" iMacs. I know they are less expensive, but Apple really has crippled them and you can not upgrade the RAM yourself and as for a professional to do it, it's pretty complicated. They also use slower components in them as well. For just a few hundred more, you can get a MUCH better setup. That should last you a good 5-7 years. I recommend the base 27" iMac model. For you in Australia that's the A$2799.00 version: There isn't that much of a difference between the A$2799 model and A$3099, except for the Fusion Drive upgrade. A Fusion Drive is a Hard Drive that has a small capacity SSD Drive built into it, which makes things faster to load. Since that's the ONLY difference between the two, it's not worth a $300 price difference.

You might want to read the manual that came with the laptop, or check the company's website for updates drivers. It should work, but maybe see if there is something that we are missing. This is one of the downsides doing this stuff online.

Seems ok. Doesn't mention about the display panel type, but it's fine in all the other areas. I'd buy it.

Fn + Whatever toggles your display. Look along the number row. You should see something like a logo of a rectangle. Probably around F5 or F6 YMMV. You might want to try and use the VGA cable 1st and see if you can toggle back and forth between the laptop and Dell Display. Oh, set the display back to auto select for the ports. Now, this is a real PITA and one of the major reasons I hate using laptops for editing. There is no set way and I hope your laptop has enough "Umph" to drive the monitor. If it doesn't, you are buying a new laptop, as this is something that can't be upgraded. Ok, let's give it a try and see what happens.

Oculus? I think that's the 3-D virtual reality helmet thing. It's for people who have money to blow. I wouldn't worry about it.

That HD is what Apple calls a "Fusion" Drive. It's fine. It helps speeds things up. Yes, that video card with 4GB of memory is separate & dedicated VRAM.

From your laptop? If so, you might have to toggle the port on with the Fn Key and one of the F-Keys up at the top.

If you can afford it, go with the Einstein 640. The reason is tge E640 is more consistent and the lowest power setting on the E640 matches the lowest power setting on the AB400. When outdoors and you need to crank things up, the highest power setting on the E640 (Full Power) matches a AB1600 at full power. So the E640 is like having a AB1600, AB800 and AB400 all in one light. Bees are good to start with or if money is tight. They can be quirky though. If you change power settings the color temp (white balance) changes on you and the output isn't very consistent. When you change things it kinda freaks the Bee out and you should fire it 3-4 times in order for things to settle down. Oh, hotspots are the norm with Bees. That being said, it's a few hundred for a Alien Bee, not $2200 for a Profoto B1 Air. So what would you expect?

Take it to the place that might do component level repair. This is a common problem and I immediately thought of your video card being the culprit. It's probably a faulty resistor and is way less than $500 to have replaced, if that place does that type of component level repair.

What year / model is your iMac? This problem sounds really familiar...

I'm sorry, there is nothing you can do at this point. It sounds like the video card is faulty or possibly it is a motherboard issue. In some rare cases, it could be a power supply. For what it's worth, it doesn't sound like a HD problem to me at this point. Which is good. That means your data should be intact.

Here is the cable: DP to HDMI, Rankie® Gold Plated DisplayPort to HDMI Cable 6ft Black https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00Z05JMKO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_3misxbJ49TZ7G One end goes into the HDMI port, the other goes into the DisplayPort on the Dell monitor. They only insert one way, which makes things Easy-Peasy.

Take a photo of the back of your computer with your cell phone and post it here. I wanna see what ports you have.

Just make sure you do not use the standard 15-pin VGA (Blue) connector for the best results. Hopefully your computer has a DVI port (White) or a HDMI port. The monitor comes with a DVI cable and you can get a HDMI to DisplayPort cable from Amazon.

Yep. That one will work.

I receive no commission or kick-backs of any kind. So when I really recommend something, I would personally purchase it myself. i hate-hate-hate wasting money on this sh*t.

Here are some of Damien's thoughts: http://www.damiensymonds.net/art_monitor.html

Gaming computers are great for photo editing. Gaming monitors/displays? Notsomuch. You want color consistentcy and a IPS based display panel will give you the best chance of that happening. Also, you want a Matte screen or one that has a Matte coating at the very least. Glossy screens aren't the best for photo editing.

Re-sellers like B&H do ship to Australia, so you might want to do some investigating. I'm not sure what the final cost would be, but it might give you a few more choices. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/HelpCenter/int-shippingRulesPolicies.jsp Check out this thread, the "Henry Posner" is the "H" in B & H. Things from B&H take about 8 days or so for shipment and to get through customs. http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/2224514

Yep. That's Australia for you. The bulk of the members in Ask Damien, from either this website or FB, are based in the US. Now that doesn't mean we have forgotten everyone else, it's just the way things are. Honestly, I've created a few threads over the years about stuff to buy in Australia and who/where to purchase it. Everything from printing companies to computer hardware companies, it just seems harder to find on your side of the world. Maybe it's because of that huge area of desert that really splits the country. Who knows....

Australia? Umm...yeah, let's double the price on everything. I love the U2412m display. I've seen one in person. It's what I'd buy if I was buying one. A photographer friend of mine who I work with, I got her to purchase one and that thing is the closet thing to a matte screen without being a matte screen. The damn thing is beautiful. It has a matte coating that works REALLY well. The only downside is that Dell has discontinued that model. So if you see a good deal on one, BUY IT!! It has a DVI-D port and a DisplayPort for you to use. So you could either use a DVI cable or get a HDMI to (full size...not mini size) DisplayPort cable.

Check this out: Dual Display setup: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B017MXNWLG/ref=twister_B016V3S1SM?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 How's that for real-estate?

$500 for a display is a healthy budget. You have many models to choose from, especially in the 24" range. Take a look at this: http://www.damiensymonds.net/art_monitor.html