Need Advice on 13 or 15

[Jaybeau]

I currently have a 2015 MacBook Air. It’s the perfect computer for me. Light, USB ports, memory card reader.

Except, I would like Final Cut Pro to be faster so I’m looking at the new 13” and 15” MacBook Pros.

I currently shoot in 4K in 8bit on a Panasonic GH5. And it plays back smooth on the Air, no lag, no proxies, everything is great (unlike my 2015 Mac Pro which was laggy to the point of being useless so I edit on the Air).

The only time it’s gets slow is when I use effects, Luts and transitions. Then it’s dog slow.

The 2018 15” looks like it would solve all my problems, but it’s too big. Especially for travel.

The 13” doesn’t look like it can handle the GH5 4K footage any better then the Air from what I have seen on you tube reviews.

If I get the external Blackmagic CPU then the 13” won’t have issues, but I can’t take it with me while travelling.

So my question (sorry for the long winded story) is .... will the 2018 13” MBP be able to play smoothly in a timeline 4K GH5 footage without any lag or dropped frames?

Or do I need to go to the 15”?

 

[LogicalApex]

You'll get the most definitive answer by picking up the 2018 13" and leveraging Apple's 14 day return period to really put it through its paces in your workflow.

It should be more capable than the Air and should have no issues doing what you need, but I don't have your hardware and workflow to be exact.

 

[Jaybeau]

You'll get the most definitive answer by picking up the 2018 13" and leveraging Apple's 14 day return period to really put it through its paces in your workflow.

It should be more capable than the Air and should have no issues doing what you need, but I don't have your hardware and workflow to be exact.

Great idea.

 

[maflynn]

The 2018 15” looks like it would solve all my problems, but it’s too big. Especially for travel.

Food for thought.

The 13" has only an iGPU, and if you need any GPU power, then the 15" is a better choice. Also you get 6 cores, instead of 4 and finally for working, you have a 15" display vs. 13". I know everyone's mileage will vary, but I do travel, flight, trains, and driving with a 15" and never had an issue. My experience has been the polar opposite, when I am mobile, I'd rather have the 15 display, working off the 13" is just too small for me. Everyone's different but I do think the 15" offers more bang for your buck

 

[Jaybeau]

Food for thought.

The 13" has only an iGPU, and if you need any GPU power, then the 15" is a better choice. Also you get 6 cores, instead of 4 and finally for working, you have a 15" display vs. 13". I know everyone's mileage will vary, but I do travel, flight, trains, and driving with a 15" and never had an issue. My experience has been the polar opposite, when I am mobile, I'd rather have the 15 display, working off the 13" is just too small for me. Everyone's different but I do think the 15" offers more bang for your buck

Thanks heaps. Took your advice.

 

[Fishrrman]

The OP wrote:
"Except, I would like Final Cut Pro to be faster so I’m looking at the new 13” and 15” MacBook Pros.
I currently shoot in 4K in 8bit on a Panasonic GH5. And it plays back smooth on the Air, no lag, no proxies, everything is great (unlike my 2015 Mac Pro which was laggy to the point of being useless so I edit on the Air)."

My opinion only, but if you want to do 4k, what you REALLY need is an iMac, either with the i7 or else an iMac Pro.
(And keep the MBAir for now)

More screen space, more speed.
For the price you would pay for any MBPro, you can pay the same (or slightly more) and get WAY MORE performance from an iMac.
Not much more to add about that.

 

[maflynn]

More screen space, more speed.

Not for nothing but my 2018 MBP is faster then my iMac. I would not recommend buying an iMac as of right now, the OP would be better served if he plans on a desktop to wait until the fall.

I think the MBP's is a fine machine for this stated purposes but I 27" screen is better then a 15" no doubt.

 

[Jaybeau]

Just an update I went with the 15”
And very happy. It’s super fast.

 

[MilKat10]

Just an update I went with the 15”
And very happy. It’s super fast.

Which model ?
2.2 , 2.6 or 2.9 ?
ram: 16 or 32gb
SSD size ?

Just interested to know as I am about ro purchase a 15” myself and debating the 2.2 vs 2.6.

Thanks,
MilK

 

[Vazza]

Just an update I went with the 15”
And very happy. It’s super fast.

Which one?

 

[Jaybeau]

Which one?

Just the base model (stretched by budget enough) but I would recommend getting all those extras if you can afford it.