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Current mbp suitable for photography?

W

weipim

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 17, 2008
22
0
Hi all,

After purchasing my first mac ever about 2 years ago,( 15.4" early 2008 mbp) I was really enjoying everything this machine had brought me. However after 2 years, although it is still very fast for most application, as I am getting more serious into photography, I am not so pleased about its performance when processing raw files ( I have a 5d mark ii). And also with the poor TN panel screen, it is really a pain for color correction.

Thus now I am on the market for another laptop, this time it will be more photography oriented. I know the best option for photo-editing isn't getting a laptop, an ips monitor will fix my issue right away, however I am travelling to places most of the time and somehow I don't always have access on desktops all the times, despite the 27 inches imac available at my college.

Thus I was wondering if the new mbp, especially 15 and 17 inches are good enough for photogphy? By good enough I especially mean if their screen is good for photography purposes.

Many thanks in advance

Wei

ps. forgot to mention something, I would like to know the gamut on those screens if possible, I read somewhere on the forum saying that it covers only 70% of adobe RGB, after calibration is there any noticeable improvements? Thanks
 
Last edited:
weipim said:
Hi all,

After purchasing my first mac ever about 2 years ago,( 15.4" early 2008 mbp) I was really enjoying everything this machine had brought me. However after 2 years, although it is still very fast for most application, as I am getting more serious into photography, I am not so pleased about its performance when processing raw files ( I have a 5d mark ii). And also with the poor TN panel screen, it is really a pain for color correction.

Thus now I am on the market for another laptop, this time it will be more photography oriented. I know the best option for photo-editing isn't getting a laptop, an ips monitor will fix my issue right away, however I am travelling to places most of the time and somehow I don't always have access on desktops all the times, despite the 27 inches imac available at my college.

Thus I was wondering if the new mbp, especially 15 and 17 inches are good enough for photogphy? By good enough I especially mean if their screen is good for photography purposes.

Many thanks in advance

Wei

ps. forgot to mention something, I would like to know the gamut on those screens if possible, I read somewhere on the forum saying that it covers only 70% of adobe RGB, after calibration is there any noticeable improvements? Thanks
Click to expand...
The new ones have better gamut then yours. Just calibrate it (with hardware not just a program) And you should be good. They are good for photography. The newer ones will be faster (gpu and cpu both factor in here)
 
aimbdd said:
The new ones have better gamut then yours. Just calibrate it (with hardware not just a program) And you should be good. They are good for photography. The newer ones will be faster (gpu and cpu both factor in here)
Click to expand...
Thank you so much man. I appreciate that.
 
Your speed would increase by getting a new machine, but i'm betting your trying to pull your images off the internal disk and working with them from there, which is typically not the best.

At minimum you'll want to have your data and your OS drive seperate with a dedicated scratch disk for apps like photoshop (if that's your solution). E-Sata would work best, though firewire will still give you gains.

If your current machine is still under warranty (depending on when you bought it), you could still squeeze some usable life out of it by adding in an SSD. An SSD will make pretty much everything you do feel faster, but you'd notice serious speed increases when working with RAWs from an SSD (though processing power and ram is also important).

So if your machine is stock, there are definitely some workflow enhancements you can take advantage of before going to a whole new machine, which wouldn't address the real bottleneck of access speed (with the hard drive being the bottleneck).

edit: oh yes, 17" calibrated display looks excellent.
 
I have absolutely no problems with my Late 2008 MBP. I mainly shoot tethered to my 1DsII and process the RAW files on the machine also. I do not leave the images on it for long, I have three G Technology externals that I move them to plus I burn DVD's for archiving. I would certainly have preferred an antiglare/matte display but Apple does offer the option with the current models.
 
Hi

I have a 2010 17" MBP, core i7 with a 7200rpm drive, antiglare screen.

I process large raw files through Aperture 3 from my Canon 40D, and use PS CS5 for heavier post production.

The machine flys, you wont have any worries at all on performance with the i7's. An absolute must though is the Antigare screen, its leaps and bounds better for photographic and graphic work plus won't drive you nuts in bright conditions.

Oh, and the latest i7's have just had a speed bump also.

Good Luck!
 
Hi ~

I'm a photographer and my 4 year old MBP isn't cutting it anymore. I am days away from purchasing a new 17" MBP with core i7 2,8GHz, 7200rpm drive, and antiglare screen. The last decision I need to make is whether to go with the 4GB memory or spend the extra $$ for 8GB. I use Photoshop and Lightroom to process my photos. However currently I cannot run both at the same time.

Should I start with 4GB and see how the new MBP runs?
Should I bite the bullet and just order the new MBP with 8GB?
Is there a good alternative to the additional memory available from Apple that would less expensive?
Any suggestions would be much appreciated. THANKS!

Carole
 
Definitely don't get the RAM from Apple. It's way cheaper else where. Owc is a good place to check.8 gb is a good idea.
 
Get ram from somewhere else. Buy.com had 8GB for 120, but they appear to be sold out (I tried to get in on it yesterday, but they canceled my order). I now ordered some G.Skill sticks from newegg for about 140.00. It had the most reviews on NE about working with the MBP, plus i've used g.skill in my desktop rigs for the longest.
 
Same here. I'm running Lightroom 3 and CS4 on a Late 2008 Unibody.

Don't get the SSD drive, just get an external drive to store your photos. Most major photo editing software requires 1-2GB of RAM. If you have 4GB that's plenty. Save the money and buy a lens or accessory for your DSLR.
 
The minimum RAM requirements for some of the software may be somewhat low, but in my experience they perform better and better with the more RAM you throw at them.

There is a good reason why Mac Pros support up to 32 GB of RAM.
 
I'd go with a new MacBook Pro with the specs shown in my signature. The 1920X1200 res display is very accurate when calibrated properly. Awesome display and if you choose the i7, you won't be disappointed. An SSD is also worth consideration, otherwise, definitely a 7200RPM drive.
 
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