Hi I'm using the macbook white, and planing to change to new macbook air. I use Aperture and Photoshop quite often as the main applications to edit my photos(not quiet big edit just minor, some may be big edit). Is it wise to use new macbook air or should i buy the normal macbook pro.
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Aperture with new Macbook Air
- Thread starter bsrichawlkol
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Im upgrading from a 13" macbook alu to the new 13" macbook air i5. I use Aperture alot. I always shoot in raw, do manual touches on all images i publish so I should be able to give som good feedback once I get the computer delivered. On paper the new macbook should be better. It especially has higher res screen and a faster harddrive.
I moved from an 09 MBP to a 13" Air andq my biggest worry was Aperture. I have to say that I'm VERY impressed with it's performance. Heres my Pros and Cons list.
Pros:
-Everything is smooth including brushes
-My 40k library doesn't choke the machine at all the way my MBP did
-Portability didn't hurt performance because Sandy Bridge is a very capable chip
-SSD is hilariously fast in transferring photos
Cons:
-No FireWire and no Thundbolt Drives
-I do a managed library but the .aplibrary is still 42GB just for thumbnails and the iPod photo sync cache
-I had to return my 128GB for 256GB because an external drive for the library is inconvenient and slower than SSD
-Fullscreen mode sucks IMO. What I want is the Aperture interface full screen but what I get is that workspace thing which isn't very convenient for accessing the library and all. It's a cool mode but I just want a huge aperture window in it's own space with no OS X UI in it.
-The Air should be touchscreen. Aperture is an app id love to have it be an OPTION
And finally, I originally wanted an 11" because they're so powerful and I can dock when necessary. But I went 13" because of the SD slot and bigger screen. Aperture just isn't built for a screen so small because fonts and with so many settings it gets tough to see.
Okay, well thats my thoughts. I love the Air for Aperture.
Pros:
-Everything is smooth including brushes
-My 40k library doesn't choke the machine at all the way my MBP did
-Portability didn't hurt performance because Sandy Bridge is a very capable chip
-SSD is hilariously fast in transferring photos
Cons:
-No FireWire and no Thundbolt Drives
-I do a managed library but the .aplibrary is still 42GB just for thumbnails and the iPod photo sync cache
-I had to return my 128GB for 256GB because an external drive for the library is inconvenient and slower than SSD
-Fullscreen mode sucks IMO. What I want is the Aperture interface full screen but what I get is that workspace thing which isn't very convenient for accessing the library and all. It's a cool mode but I just want a huge aperture window in it's own space with no OS X UI in it.
-The Air should be touchscreen. Aperture is an app id love to have it be an OPTION
And finally, I originally wanted an 11" because they're so powerful and I can dock when necessary. But I went 13" because of the SD slot and bigger screen. Aperture just isn't built for a screen so small because fonts and with so many settings it gets tough to see.
Okay, well thats my thoughts. I love the Air for Aperture.
Some quick feedback after using the 13" air for a couple of hours. Im agreeing with most of the things urkel's comments.
I copied over my current working set library that weighs in at 37GB. Thanks to the SSD, Aperture runs ALOT faster then on my previous macbook. The slight higher resolution of the screen also makes a noticeable difference. As you already probably know, Aperture isn't that great on a lower res screen so every +100 pixels is welcome.
So nothing negative to report so far.
I copied over my current working set library that weighs in at 37GB. Thanks to the SSD, Aperture runs ALOT faster then on my previous macbook. The slight higher resolution of the screen also makes a noticeable difference. As you already probably know, Aperture isn't that great on a lower res screen so every +100 pixels is welcome.
So nothing negative to report so far.
Stock 13": 4/1.7/128
I felt it was to steep to go for 256GB. I have optimized my workflow, I move/archive old projects to external drives so I never have a local library larger then 50GB. If anything it is a good way of forcing you to backup regularly
I've tested Aperture 3 on my new Macbook Air (13", 1.8 i7, 256 GB) with a fresh library of ~13 MB RAW files and have experienced mixed results. Overall performance has been good when traversing the images and applying general adjustments. It's when I use the brushes that things are unpredictable.
How much brushing did you do? Were you editing RAW or JPEG? I started a thread about what I'm experiencing when I attempt to use the Skin Smoothing brush:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1200122/
Is it likely that I have faulty hardware? I'm considering taking it in to Apple but would like to hear more about the experience others are having for comparison.
How much brushing did you do? Were you editing RAW or JPEG? I started a thread about what I'm experiencing when I attempt to use the Skin Smoothing brush:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1200122/
Is it likely that I have faulty hardware? I'm considering taking it in to Apple but would like to hear more about the experience others are having for comparison.
The MBA has some strong advantages. The biggest being the high resolution screen which is big with photo editing. It big disadvantage is the SSD size. Can you afford the 256GB, and is that going to be large enough for you. At least you'll have thunderbolt for an external drive.
I bought the base 128GB model. Spending the extra $300 for more space was a bit much for me.
I bought the base 128GB model. Spending the extra $300 for more space was a bit much for me.