2016 MBP 13", LG 5K and Lightroom performance?

[MrLee]

Apologies for going over ground covered elsewhere, but I haven't found any conclusive answers for all 3 together.

My initial plan was to wait for an upgraded iMac, but the option of having a 5K screen and portability is enticing. Not to mention the addition of an extra screen to work with.

With most of my work done on the big screen, I'm thinking of going with a maxed out 13" (with TB). Size-wise it seems just right. But my big concern is performance. Will it power the 5K screen and deal with RAW photos in Lightroom effortlessly?

Considering the financial outlay, I don't want to be dealing with any lag or slowdown at all. Anyone got a definitive answer?

Thanks!

 

[RPhoto]

Whilst this review won't answer your specific question, I've found this to be a very well articulated piece from a photographers perspective regarding the general power handling (he works with 100mp medium format files, albeit in Photoshop, which is far more efficient than Lightroom).

https://blog.mingthein.com/2016/12/22/review-apple-macbook-pro-13-late-2016-with-touch-bar/

 

[MrLee]

Whilst this review won't answer your specific question, I've found this to be a very well articulated piece from a photographers perspective regarding the general power handling (he works with 100mp medium format files, albeit in Photoshop, which is far more efficient than Lightroom).

https://blog.mingthein.com/2016/12/22/review-apple-macbook-pro-13-late-2016-with-touch-bar/

Thanks a lot. That's a very useful, well written review. The only question now is whether it can run the 5k screen as well as photo editing.

 

[fraternihil]

15" TB base model here. Lightroom has been slow since several versions, especially when compared to other Apps such as C1. It's the software, not the computer.

 

[SoyCapitanSoyCapitan]

Photoshop's Camera Raw module always performs better than Lightroom anyway.

 

[MrLee]

Photoshop's Camera Raw module always performs better than Lightroom anyway.

15" TB base model here. Lightroom has been slow since several versions, especially when compared to other Apps such as C1. It's the software, not the computer.

Cheers. With that in mind then, perhaps I need to change the question a little and simply ask whether the 13" can perform well while running the LG 5K screen?

 

[fraternihil]

I would say yes. You'll probably notice slight lag when zooming in and browsing through photos but this is due to the software not optimized perfectly (e.g. in LR you can tell the program to use the GPU for better performance but it does not change anything, at least for me - using 4k monitor). This is where other image editing apps are better.

 

[MrLee]

I would say yes. You'll probably notice slight lag when zooming in and browsing through photos but this is due to the software not optimized perfectly (e.g. in LR you can tell the program to use the GPU for better performance but it does not change anything, at least for me - using 4k monitor). This is where other image editing apps are better.

Thanks a lot. That's reassuring to hear. it's the new 13" you are using with the 4K moniter, is it?

 

[fraternihil]

Thanks a lot. That's reassuring to hear. it's the new 13" you are using with the 4K moniter, is it?

No, I'm on a new 15", but I have been using LR on a 5 year old MBAir before (which cannot go 4k), and it still worked. Unless you are exporting thousands of pictures every day, I think the 13" MBPro will be powerful enough to handle that 5K monitor in LR.

 

[MrLee]

No, I'm on a new 15", but I have been using LR on a 5 year old MBAir before (which cannot go 4k), and it still worked. Unless you are exporting thousands of pictures every day, I think the 13" MBPro will be powerful enough to handle that 5K monitor in LR.

Great, that's very useful to hear. Cheers for all the info. Much appreciated.