Does anyone edit on 13''?

[kashura7]

...For hours and hours? Do you get tired and crammed for space? Is a 15' a better option or is an external monitor sufficient enough?

Thank you =)

 

[Apple fanboy]

...For hours and hours? Do you get tired and crammed for space? Is a 15' a better option or is an external monitor sufficient enough?

Thank you =)

For me, 15" verses 13" is hardly any different. Get a decent external. Go for a twin set up so your image is on your external and your editing package on the laptop. That way you can make best use of your real estate. Just make sure you get a decent colour accurate monitor if you are serious about photo editing and think about a calibration tool as well.
Eizo or NEC if you have the budget. Dell if you don't.

 

[Prodo123]

I much prefer my 27" over anything smaller.

 

[ElectronGuru]

A single 13 is doable but will sap your productivity. When running lightroom on a 13, I don't close the side tabs, but leave them extended off screen and move the edit window back and forth. 13 + external is better than a single 15.

 

[The Bad Guy]

I have a hi res matte display 15" but that's only just good enough, you need to go external for serious edits.

 

[MCAsan]

Our 15" rMBP screens are OK for initial culling and editing in the field. But no laptop screen can beat a calibrated 27" or larger screen for detailed editing.

 

[kashura7]

Thank you for the input. Im learning Lightroom 5 right now, and for the volume i do I am actually okay with the amount of space i got.

 

[mofunk]

The main thing that I would be worried about is printing. So far, what I see on my screen looks like my prints.

If you are using LR you can customize your screen to work for you. When I'm editing, I mainly go to the top editing tools. Occassionally I have to add a filter or some effect. Also learn how to use the shortcut keys so that you don't have to go back and forth to your trackpad.

 

[DirtySocks85]

At the moment, equipment wise all I can afford is my 13" MBP. For me it works great. So far I haven't been disappointed with any of my prints, including a few large canvas prints (30"x40"). If I'm going to order large prints of shot I'll spot check it at zoomed levels before getting it printed. It doesn't give me the whole thing at once, but between that and seeing it full screen on a 13" screen I'm usually satisfied.

Occasionally it gets a touch cramped, but for the most part full screen mode in Aperture with the little heads up window is fine.

 

[nburwell]

At the moment, equipment wise all I can afford is my 13" MBP. For me it works great. So far I haven't been disappointed with any of my prints, including a few large canvas prints (30"x40"). If I'm going to order large prints of shot I'll spot check it at zoomed levels before getting it printed. It doesn't give me the whole thing at once, but between that and seeing it full screen on a 13" screen I'm usually satisfied.

Occasionally it gets a touch cramped, but for the most part full screen mode in Aperture with the little heads up window is fine.

Same here, but the 13" works great for me. I also don't spend hours and hours processing in LR and PS. I usually spend about 20-25 minutes on an image in both programs total, and then upload it to Flickr to share. The 13" does get cramped at times, but I have gotten used to it.

 

[fivedots]

I have two problems with editing on a 13" or 15" notebook display:

1. Size: Lightroom eats away at screen real estate with its panels, etc. Aperture is better in this regard with fullscreen editing and the floating HUD.
2. Brightness: I have my MacBook calibrated and the color is "good enough" for my casual editing. However, I have no idea what the correct brightness setting is (without doing some test prints) so nailing exposure and contrast is very difficult.

That said, I've currently got two 2x 24" Dell IPS panels that a I rarely use because I loathe sitting at a desk. In the future I may sell them for a single 27" panel for editing and the rare occurrence of gaming.

 

[kashura7]

I have two problems with editing on a 13" or 15" notebook display:

1. Size: Lightroom eats away at screen real estate with its panels, etc. Aperture is better in this regard with fullscreen editing and the floating HUD.
2. Brightness: I have my MacBook calibrated and the color is "good enough" for my casual editing. However, I have no idea what the correct brightness setting is (without doing some test prints) so nailing exposure and contrast is very difficult.

That said, I've currently got two 2x 24" Dell IPS panels that a I rarely use because I loathe sitting at a desk. In the future I may sell them for a single 27" panel for editing and the rare occurrence of gaming.

I hide panels in Lr5, so the slide onto the image only when needed. Seems to help a lot.

 

[Prodo123]

I have two problems with editing on a 13" or 15" notebook display:

1. Size: Lightroom eats away at screen real estate with its panels, etc. Aperture is better in this regard with fullscreen editing and the floating HUD.
2. Brightness: I have my MacBook calibrated and the color is "good enough" for my casual editing. However, I have no idea what the correct brightness setting is (without doing some test prints) so nailing exposure and contrast is very difficult.

That said, I've currently got two 2x 24" Dell IPS panels that a I rarely use because I loathe sitting at a desk. In the future I may sell them for a single 27" panel for editing and the rare occurrence of gaming.

Aperture's full screen UI is so horrid and limited that I can't bear to use it. I'd rather deal with Lightroom's subpar real estate management.

First thing I do when I get a computer is turn the automatic brightness off. Then I calibrate the screen and match its brightness to the "control" monitor, in this case my main external. And I just use that same setting for everywhere: outdoors, indoors, etc. and it pretty much gets rid of any brightness issues in editing.

 

[fivedots]

I hide panels in Lr5, so the slide onto the image only when needed. Seems to help a lot.

It definitely helps. Though inevitably you end up with some panels back on when you don't want them to be, but this is fixable. I wish Lightroom let you hide a bit more, like the padding around the image and the arrow bards to expand panels.

Aperture's full screen UI is so horrid and limited that I can't bear to use it. I'd rather deal with Lightroom's subpar real estate management.

First thing I do when I get a computer is turn the automatic brightness off. Then I calibrate the screen and match its brightness to the "control" monitor, in this case my main external. And I just use that same setting for everywhere: outdoors, indoors, etc. and it pretty much gets rid of any brightness issues in editing.

As with most things Aperture, they are great in theory but weak in execution. I like the idea, but I would agree that it isn't an ideal UI. I hope that an eventual version 4 improves this.

As for your solution to the brightness issue, that definitely does work, but I use my MacBook for much more than just editing (and mostly for things that are not editing) and quite like the convenience of auto brightness, etc.

All this to say, assuming you're not a professional staring at it for hours and hours, I think a 15" MBP can definitely be sufficient for editing.

 

[DirtySocks85]

Brightness: I have my MacBook calibrated and the color is "good enough" for my casual editing. However, I have no idea what the correct brightness setting is (without doing some test prints) so nailing exposure and contrast is very difficult.

I found that for me setting my brightness about 2 notches down from full on my 13" mbp seems to result in a fairly accurate image exposure.