Macbook Pro vs Macbook Air for photo viewing etc

Johnraiders

Johnraiders

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Hi

To solve the holiday photo dilema, viewing them, transferring off cards etc.
No editing involved just viewing, is the MB Air good enough for Raw ?
Probably not the Retina version of MBP, as standard version has ethernet connection.
Air is cheaper, lighter, better battery, but is it fast enough ?
Anyone tried them.

Thanks

JOhn
 
I had the same dilemma 3 months ago. I went for the 13 MBP retina, staggering display, battery life is excellent. It runs LR5 and compiles go pro videos while I am away very well indeed. I think the Air has the ips panel?

Visit the Apple store and check side by side?
 
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Have you thought of a Tablet such as the new iPad air. If you are just viewing and storing this may be a cheaper option than a MacBook.

The Retina screen on the iPad air is excellent. OK it's a smaller screen, but big enough for viewing images, especially as you don't want to manipulate them ( iPhoto comes as standard though) Battery life is as good as the MacBook air, plus it's more portable. You'll need a suitable connection kit, depending on what cards you use, plus make sure you get enough memory.
 
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I really don't understand the whole 'Air screen is terrible ' thing. I've been using mine new 11'' Air for weeks, and the only thing that is worse than my MBP is the view angle, and that is only slightly.

The Air is PERFECT for travelling, and its more than quick enough to view RAWs.
 
I use a Macbook Air for around 80% of my computer time.

Seems alright to me to be honest. I work quite happily in both Photoshop and Lightroom on large catalogues and files. I couldn't call it slow. It's a bit slow compared to my Mac Pro with 12GB ram or something stupid, but you know, that's not really a fair comparison to make.

Screen seems alright too. Not had any problems with it. More than adequate for the vast majority of photographers.
 
Hi

I've got an ipad 4, but connecting up CF cards.....havent found a good way yet.
I'd prob just use iPhoto as its just to view. Either way go with 8gb of ram.

Thanks

John
 
For those who say the Air screen is terrible, you are spot on. It's not an IPS screen therefore no better than most other laptop screens out there.

Wonderful laptop, rubbish screen for photos.
 
Johnraiders said:
Hi

To solve the holiday photo dilema, viewing them, transferring off cards etc.
No editing involved just viewing, is the MB Air good enough for Raw ?
Probably not the Retina version of MBP, as standard version has ethernet connection.
Air is cheaper, lighter, better battery, but is it fast enough ?
Anyone tried them.

Thanks

JOhn
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Don't bring a laptop on holiday! Enjoy your holiday and edit pics when you get back home
 
Hi

More a case of trying to delete some early, see if what we got is good, what worked, didnt etc, so whether to go back to that location and try again.
I'm a walking bag of electronics on holiday anyway !

Thanks

John
 
jonneymendoza said:
Don't bring a laptop on holiday! Enjoy your holiday and edit pics when you get back home
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To me its a must have travel item, especially if its a photo holiday with friends. Iceland last year is a good example. Not only for backing up and previews but for weather and aurora forecasts, keeping in touch with the NASA space weather forecasts etc. Yes a smart phone will also do this (apart from backing up) but a bigger screen is a blessing.

But it may not be the option for others, for me it fits.

As for the Air screen being bad I think its a case of what you get used to. Compared to retina there is a big difference but just for the requirements the OP wants it will do the just perfectly (make sure you have enough memory, I would suggest 256, you will find yourself using it for other stuff as well)

iphoto will do the job but if you have Lightroom then you have two licences thats a much better option.
 
treeman said:
Depends what you're used to I guess, when my MBP died I got an Air, lasted a whole our before it went back in the box and bought another MBP retina.
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I think cost more than anything. No way could I afford a retina display when I know that I will be replacing this in two years or so anyway.

But to be honest, I challenge anyone to spot the images edited on my Air compared to my Pro with cinema display. I don't think anyone could look at either my prints or my website and tell me that.
 
Air screen is only just acceptable.

Having said that, I wouldn't trade anything with my 11inch air when on holidays. It is small and light enough to take, yet powerful enough for quick edits.

iPad are good, but they lack the storage space and connectivity options for photo backups.

MBP are more workstation. It makes sense as your only computer. But as a secondary portable machine, I personally think something in the region of netbook size makes more sense.

Since OP isn't buying this as primary editing machine, I think the 11inch 256GB air is the prefect choice. It is the one I have chosen. :)
 
Hi

Based on the Iceland city comments the Air is looking good,, I'd go for 13 inch as that has useful SD slot. Prob the 8gb 128 ssd for cost and a 1 tb portable drive.

Thanks

John
 
Must admit I never really understand why people seem to think you need a Mac if you are working with photos. Still, great marketing from Apple.
 
Must admit I've been looking at both recently. I would certainly give the MBP the edge not only in terms of picture quality but also speed at saying opening an internet page!
 
Hi

The whole Apple/PC thing will always be debated. I'm going to try apple for a few years. Apple do retain a lot of their value after 2 years, sell it whilst still under applecare and the loss is almost the same as a PC you'd have bought.
Going to take an SD with raw and JPEG and see how pro and air compare.
 
For a non-editing laptop that you can use for storage/backup and web browsing then the Air is a good option.
Those that say the screen is terrible may have missed the non-editing part of your post? If you want to stay Apple then this'll be the best travel solution.

If you can stretch to a MBP then the non-retina is also good but for only occasional use it seems mad to spend so much on a laptop and if you then step to the retina MBP you are in a whole new world of cost!!

A good windows laptop would also be an option if you are happy to stray away from Apple.
 
Johnraiders said:
Apple do retain a lot of their value after 2 years, sell it whilst still under applecare and the loss is almost the same as a PC you'd have bought.
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This is a great point; all Apple gear holds it value exceptionally well.
 
Hi

MBP and Air are similar prices for the specs I'd go for, the retina is too much.
Resale values the air and retina would be better.
I can get them all a bit cheaper than the apple store prices, I should've been organised for Black Friday.....

John
 
Have you checked the refurb store? Air 11.6 range from £699 to £1249 here & 13.3 £1146 to £1348 here

Its worth checking back from time to time and stye stock rotates, PC World also offer Apple Refurb
 
CharlotteM said:
But to be honest, I challenge anyone to spot the images edited on my Air compared to my Pro with cinema display. I don't think anyone could look at either my prints or my website and tell me that.
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To be fair, I think we're talking about the process, not the end product. if we were talking about the end product, as you are, its fairly safe to say no matter what machine you used as long as the screen was vaguely calibrated, no one would know what was done on what machine. :)
 
inkiboo said:
Must admit I never really understand why people seem to think you need a Mac if you are working with photos. Still, great marketing from Apple.
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What's wrong with personal preference?

Plus I've never seen a PC laptop that would take up with the punishment that I put my laptops through. Nor one so small and light. Nor one with a magnetic charging cable.
 
CharlotteM said:
What's wrong with personal preference?

Plus I've never seen a PC laptop that would take up with the punishment that I put my laptops through. Nor one so small and light. Nor one with a magnetic charging cable.
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Lenovo X230, which is the Getty Images standard issue. Significantly better than a MacBook Air, with great support (Apple support is woeful). Granted it doesn't have a magnetic charging cable but we sent the Lenovos to Iraq, Afghanistan and a few other hairy places and they came back ok.
 
I have an X230 from work at the moment, 16GB, SSD etc. If I was buying I would get one over an Air every time. Upgradable, indestructible, and the best laptop keyboards around.

Question is whether you trade a few mm thickness and shiny body for more power and future proofing (and OS of course).
 
As it happens I have been looking for a new laptop for backing up and editing photos while away from home and went for a 13 inch MacBook pro
It was either a MacBook air, MacBook pro or another windows laptop
Ive had a Phillips laptop for years and its been great and still works but after getting an ipad air and really liking it went for a MacBook rather than a windows lappy
The apple advisor thought that for what I wanted it for the MacBook pro would be better than the MacBook air its still very light and is a bit more powerful
the battery life is amazing the windows laptop had a very poor battery life and was worried about getting caught out if I couldn't access mains power:)
 
CharlotteM said:
What's wrong with personal preference?

Plus I've never seen a PC laptop that would take up with the punishment that I put my laptops through. Nor one so small and light. Nor one with a magnetic charging cable.
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yes exactly that's why I went for the apple laptop this time just preferred it to anything else
 
inkiboo said:
Lenovo X230, which is the Getty Images standard issue. Significantly better than a MacBook Air, with great support (Apple support is woeful). Granted it doesn't have a magnetic charging cable but we sent the Lenovos to Iraq, Afghanistan and a few other hairy places and they came back ok.
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Made of plastic, half the amount of RAM and doesn't have the magnetic charging cable.

My previous laptop survived many years with a dented in charging port due to me dropping it on the cable, a plastic case would have shattered. My current one has a gash in the edge of the casing where I dropped it against a wall but again because it's metal it doesn't matter (yeah, I don't take much care of it, it's a tool to be used). And living with a dog and using it at university... well... rather see my cable pulled out because someone hungover isn't watching the floor or my dogs tail has gone mental than the whole thing pulled on the floor. And it's half a kilo lighter too.

ETA: Make that around 700g lighter.

ETA2: And the Air is 75% of the price.

Plus, you know, I just like OSX.
 
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Macs are equally as fragile. I've lost count of the amount of ours that have been damaged/killed during trips abroad.

Smashed screen glass (most common) including one that was nearly twisted off its hinges, dented casing preventing ports being used, drop damage causing optical drive to constantly try and load/unload etc etc.
 
inkiboo said:
Lenovo X230, which is the Getty Images standard issue. Significantly better than a MacBook Air, with great support (Apple support is woeful). Granted it doesn't have a magnetic charging cable but we sent the Lenovos to Iraq, Afghanistan and a few other hairy places and they came back ok.
Click to expand...

Did you just say Apple support is bad? Those are words that don't really belong in a sentence together.
 
Crusader said:
Did you just say Apple support is bad? Those are words that don't really belong in a sentence together.
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Yes I did. With Lenovo, you have next day on-site service, virtually anywhere in the world. Apple is nowhere near that.
 
CharlotteM said:
Made of plastic, half the amount of RAM and doesn't have the magnetic charging cable.

My previous laptop survived many years with a dented in charging port due to me dropping it on the cable, a plastic case would have shattered. My current one has a gash in the edge of the casing where I dropped it against a wall but again because it's metal it doesn't matter (yeah, I don't take much care of it, it's a tool to be used). And living with a dog and using it at university... well... rather see my cable pulled out because someone hungover isn't watching the floor or my dogs tail has gone mental than the whole thing pulled on the floor. And it's half a kilo lighter too.

ETA: Make that around 700g lighter.

ETA2: And the Air is 75% of the price.
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Oh you had a dog and went to university? I guess that trumps Iraq and Afghanistan, my mistake.

And it is magnesium alloy plus plastic and significantly more durable than the MacBook Air.
And it can take twice the RAM of the Air (16 vs 8)
And it comes with decent support.
 
neil_g said:
You can get that with dell too. If you want to pay for it ;)
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Indeed you can, and that is why for years Getty used Dell.

The Air is a very lovely laptop. Look, here is one on my desk, along with a load of other Apple gear.

11795923614_bdac186882_b.jpg


However as a business laptop, it is not great. You can't remove any of the key parts, there is no next day on site warranty, it doesn't have an IPS screen and it is not as durable as the X220/X230.

I spent months testing laptops before I picked Getty's current model (they had been using Dell E4300s) and the Lenovo was, for what we needed, the best by a mile.
 
inkiboo said:
Oh you had a dog and went to university? I guess that trumps Iraq and Afghanistan, my mistake.

And it is magnesium alloy plus plastic and significantly more durable than the MacBook Air.
And it can take twice the RAM of the Air (16 vs 8)
And it comes with decent support.
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I'm sorry. I didn't realise we had to go to Iraq and Afghanistan to have a view on which computer suits our own personal situation best.

For me, walking up a hill a couple of miles twice a day to university, I'd prefer to save almost a kg in weight in my backpack. It leaves more room for books. I'm not a big soldier who is trained to carry lots of kit (or who wants to carry lots of kit if they don't have to.) I also don't want to have to lug an extra kg around with me when I go up to the galleries in London for instance either.

And I'm fairly sure that soldiers watch where they put their feet. It's what they're trained to do. Hungover students trying to find a seat without throwing up and overenthusiastic labradors have no such concerns. Therefore as proven far too regularly, in my situation a magnetic power cable is invaluable.

I couldn't tell you about 'decent support', it makes little difference to me. Last time I had to take a mac product in for support was... oh... um... about six years ago for a faulty optical drive. (Last time I had to take my mothers Dell laptop in for support... about two months ago. And then about three months before that. And my Dads had to go in last year as well.)

Plus as I also said, I really like OSX. It's far more intuitive to me.
 
inkiboo said:
However as a business laptop, it is not great. You can't remove any of the key parts, there is no next day on site warranty, it doesn't have an IPS screen and it is not as durable as the X220/X230.
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But that's the thing, this thread is about a laptop for people to take travelling with them to look at pictures.

Who the hell is going to be worried about next day, on site warranty for their family holiday? I think most families would kill you if you tried that one. Far more dangerous than Iraq or Afghanistan. ;-)
 
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