MacBook or 11" MacBook Air for Lightroom on the go?

MacBook or 11" MacBook Air for Lightroom on the go?

  • MacBook

    Votes: 2 40.0%

  • 11" MacBook Air

    Votes: 3 60.0%
  • Total voters
    5
Craikeybaby

Craikeybaby

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All of my main editing is done using Lightroom CC on my iMac, but when I'm travelling I have been using my iPad with Lightroom Mobile (before that Photosmith) for copying images from my camera and basic metadata updates etc.

The tablet form factor isn't really working for me, a small portable laptop would work better, so I'm looking at either the new retina MacBook, or the 11" MacBook Air. I would spec up the Air to 256GB and 8GB RAM, so they are pretty much the same spec and similarly priced.

I see the benefits of the Air to be more ports and a more powerful processor, whereas the MacBook has the retina screen. Which would be a better bet for Lightroom and general computing?
 
Purely because of the screen size for me.
 
I've had a mb air and now a mb pro. The air screen isn't up to the job for my tastes, so the pro wins hands down. The new MacBook specs won't cut it very well with Lightroom cc in my opinion. Buy a pro!
 
dejongj said:
Purely because of the screen size for me.
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Was that the MacBook vote? The Air is 11.6" screen, so not that big a difference.

Andy Taylor said:
This review says the Macbook is slightly quicker than a 2013 model Air for some Lr related stuff: http://www.tested.com/tech/mac-os/523094-testing-apples-12-inch-macbook-2015/

My own testing (in the store with Final Cut and Logic) shows the Macbook is a very capable machine. I would say the Pro is better value.
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That is and interesting article, thanks for sharing. I'm not too sure I like the sound of the graphics being scaled on the retina screen, it sounds like a lot of processing overhead.

The 13.3" Pro is much bigger/heavier than either the MacBook or the 11.6" Air, it is to replace an iPad for travelling, so I want to keep it as small/lightweight as possible. Specced up with a 256GB drive, the Pro is also £200 more expensive, so out of budget.
 
My sincere apologies, I forgot that they do the 12" MacBook now. Somehow I read it as the MacBook Pro.

I wouldn't get either personally for that purpose. i7 MBA 13" is my minimum level.
 
Any other views on this?

I've realised that I can get the Retina MacBook for the same price as the build to order MacBook Air.
 
I'm looking at one of the 12" Golds, purely for travelling because of the weight and the fact that it could cope with 24MB files in LR and PS ...... I think the "cheaper" one with 250GB drive etc., is about £1,000 and the one with 500MB etc about £1,250

I have a MBP but it is heavy by comparison

I would need to buy an adaptor thing to attach a small 1TB HD to it
 
The low spec MacBook is available for about £950, same as a MacBook Air species up with 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM.

The £15 USB dongle would be needed, to connect camera. I just need to work out how I'd do backups, as I usually copy to a second hard disk when importing to Lightroom. Then how I'd merge Lightroom catalogue from the MacBook onto my main catalogue on my iMac at home.
 
Personally, if you do most of your editing on an iMac with Lightroom I'd look at an iPad Air 2 for working on the go.

Lightroom mobile UI is much better suited to a smaller screen and does most things you'd probably want.
 
In a photography sense yes - with Lightroom mobile the work flow is almost there. On my last trip I struggled with getting files from Lightroom mobile onto my blog, but the syncing back to Lightroom does work well.

However, an iPad isn't really suitable for the other tasks I need to do when on the road, i find I'm rarely using my iPad now, as it has pretty much the same limitations as my iPhone.
 
The 12" Macbook is a delight, but the lack of connectivity really frustrates me. Quite often I'm left using horrible dongles for USB/power in various combinations. Even 2x USB-C ports would have worked.
 
So in looking at, to get a sufficient upgrade I would really need to get the top spec 15" MBP for the graphics card which is £2k, and would then need a 4k screen to take advantage of some reasons for the upgrade.

But on the other hand I wouldn't 'need' to get a new Macbook...
 
Ordered the MacBook from John Lewis (£74 cheaper than Apple & extra warranty) - collecting it tomorrow!
 
Craikeybaby said:
Ordered the MacBook from John Lewis (£74 cheaper than Apple & extra warranty) - collecting it tomorrow!
Click to expand...

The John Lewis warranty isn't as good as AppleCare, check the small print. £74 discount is pretty good though :)
 
Thanks for the heads up.

I'm posting this from my MacBook - really pleased with it, especially the quality of the screen.
 
bit of a bump for this but how have you been getting on with the Macbook ? im in a similar situation and thinking of 'going light and small' so a macbook fits the bill perfectly...
 
I choose a MB Pro over an Air because the specs were better.
To be honest I didn't try an air but the late 2013 MBP I have runs Photoshop and can edit Raw files without issue.
 
yup i cant argue with that - but the portability of having an Air or Macbook is something i want (along with a 15" MBP for editing at home ) just wanted to see how people got on when travelling
 
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