Should I buy iMac?

[#1]

I have been a Windows user since Windows 2 (yes I am old) but have been captivated by the 27" iMac that I have seen and played with in John Lewis. It is an object of beauty with a stunning display. My existing, XP, machine is getting rather long in the tooth and needs  replacing. Should I buy the iMac? For less money I could get a screaming Win8 PC. I never play games, my primary use, other than the usual email and web browsing, is for digital photography post processing. I should like to try some video editing but existing machine just does not cut the mustard.
Your advice please. I know much of it will be based on emotion (and why not?) but some reasoned argument would be good. 

[#2]

My first thought was how much would an equivalent monitor cost but to my surprise less than £250 so that blows away one argument providing the quality is equivalent and it may well not be
Not having an iMac (long time PC user) I did play with one in a hotel I was staying at at the screen quality was absolutely superb - much better than mine which is a relatively old 22" 1680 x 1050
It would probably be worth having a look at equivalent none Apple monitors to see if they are as good
As a side issue the one real problem I had was the crummy mouse controller but I think that may be an operating system limitation

[#3]

Ignore the machine for a moment
1.  Decide what you want to do with it (You've done this by the sound of it)
2.  Research the best software to use for your desired application
3.  Determine if the chosen software runs on a PC or a Mac
Simples...
You may feel you want a Mac but what will you run on it?  iMovie?  Final Cut Pro?  Adobe Premiere?  Photoshop?  etc etc
Personally I wouldn't buy one as you lose the whole machine if the screen breaks but that's just me 

[#4]

I would look at a Mac mini and decent monitor instead

[#5]

Quote from: adagio

... have been captivated by the 27" iMac that I have seen and played with in John Lewis. It is an object of beauty with a stunning display.

Apple computers are stylish machines at the higher end of the market.  So if beauty is worth a couple of extra hundred pounds to you then go ahead and buy the Apple.  People will pay thousands of pounds extra for a car with a bit more style or luxury.  Windows 8 is so different from previous versions of Windows that you might as well learn to use the Mac OS as learn Windows 8.  

[#6]

Quote from: Oldjim

My first thought was how much would an equivalent monitor cost but to my surprise less than £250 so that blows away one argument providing the quality is equivalent and it may well not be

OldJim - What monitor 27" 2560 x 1440 for less than £250?

[#7]

Quote from: pwatson

2.  Research the best software to use for your desired application 3.  Determine if the chosen software runs on a PC or a Mac

I use currently Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop CS5, don't have a 'serious' video editor, have experiment with 'free trials' but PC not up to the job. Both photo apps run on Windows and OS X

[#8]

Aargh!! - I was looking at the wrong spec
Try about £350 
and that explains why I was so impressed

[#9]

The test is, have you ever met an ex- windows user who has regretted  switching to the iMac?

[#10]

No but then I don't think I have ever met a Windows user who has made the switch  
dick:quote

[#11]

I use a MacBook Pro for work with Win 7 running on it under VMWare.  I try to use OS X exclusively but occasionally need to run up Windows for access to some applications that don't have a Mac equivalent.  Even then I'm reliant on running the Microsoft Office for Mac.
At home I use Win 7 and XP but I dabble with Linux.
If you're happy to run standard applications then I'd actually (and I suspect controversially) say that there's little to choose between them.  If you like to tinker and are happy with CLI terminals then Windows is actually easier.

[#12]

Should I buy iMac?

YES
But then I am biased !
15 years devotee.
Domestic and Professional AV use.
Buy the most expensive one you can afford, in fact, buy the next one up.

[#13]

and if anything goes wrong be prepared for a socking big bill
actually you should buy the cheapest one which meets your requirements otherwise you are just wasting money which us poorer members of society try not to do

[#14]

Should I buy iMac?

NO
But then I am biased !

[#15]

I switched from Windows to Mac about 10 years ago and have never regretted it. I currently use both a Mac Pro & a MacBook Pro for photography post processing. You could say I am a big fan.
Before deciding to switch you need to factor in the cost of any new software you need and check whether your existing peripherals will work with Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks (the latest operating system) or not.
The only user replaceable part on the iMac 27" is the RAM so make sure they you buy a model with a configuration that will last for your intended usage. This is particularly important with the hard drive. I think John Lewis only sell the standard configuration of each model so if  a 1TB internal Hard Drive (7200rpm) is not going to be sufficient for you then you will need to configure a 3TB Hard Drive and buy direct from Apple or decide to use external storage.
You should be aware that the iMac must be one of the most difficult desktop computers to upgrade or repair on the market. It is sealed with adhesive so opening the iMac up is best left to the experts. Some of the connectors and parts within the iMac are also unique to Apple so any repairs or upgrades will either be very expensive or impossible. Buying with as long a warranty as possible would probably be a sensible precaution.