What photo editing laptop do you use?

[satans worm]

Looking to replace my creaking old iMac with a new portable machine, partly because the imac is 6 years old and seems to hesitate on every click of the mouse, and partly as im planning to travel to China for a month and would like do some photo editing on the fly, hence aportable machine is needed.

My initial thoughts are for the Mac book Pro 13inch, smaller and lighter than the 15inch so will be useful for portability.
Or should I compromise for the month and get the 15inch so larger screen for all other times?

Im not familiar with non apple laptops but open to suggestions of other brands if people think they are leagues ahead and genuinely better.

Chances are, its only going to be used for photo editing, at some stage i would like to do some time lapse stuff too, so to be able to process this effortlessly would be great.

I would buy an exteranl hard drive to keep them on when not traveling, so hard drive size not so important, i dont think.

Any thoughts?

[MitchT]

satans worm said:

My initial thoughts are for the Mac book Pro 13inch, smaller and lighter than the 15inch so will be useful for portability.

The 15 is hardly heavy. Either way, hold out as the MacBook Pros are long overdue an update.

[ian in lancs]

I have a MacBook Air with an SSD, the smallest for travel storage and editing. It has LR/PS loaded, actually creative cloud and it runs fine with D800 36meg raw files.. I would say anything with a retina screen is ok.

I've travelled with a 2Tb usb drive for time machine backups and photo backups. I've also run it accessing a network drive and Lightroom creating smart whatever they are and connected editing or disconnected editing and subsequent sync also worked fine.

I'm running a western digital my cloud 4Tb raid 1 drive on my network and experimenting with the PC (main editing station) and the MBA accessing the same library of 160,000 pics... So far so good...

So, I would say any MacBook is fine but the best you can afford; fastest, biggest ram and SSD.

[mikef]

I use a 15" MacBook Pro and it's as good as you would expect. But not light and as mentioned it's overdue an update so not the ideal time to buy. Also available as 13"

I also have an i7 Dell XPS 13" which is light, fast and equally good for Photoshop and Lightroom if you can adapt to Windows 10. Also available as 15". It's not as well built as the Mac but good for travel - the lighter MacBook Air and MacBook both lack the processor power to quickly process hundreds of hi-res images IME

Both my machines have i7 CPUs, 16Gb RAM and 512GB PCIe SSDs and I could,recommend either of them

[rich888]

Nothing wrong with a six year old iMac, can you fit more RAM in it because that tends to works wonders. Also am led to believe that the latest OS X El Capitan will speed it up compared to the previous versions which tended to slow older Macs down. I have an elderly 2007 iMac with 4GB RAM and it still seems plenty quick enough for photo and 1080p video editing - unofficially it would appear that the RAM can be increased to 6GB on some of the older iMacs by purchasing one 2MB and one 4MB chip to boost the performance. Several videos are on YouTube showing the upgrade process.

For interest I have a 2011 13" MacBook Pro which I've just installed El Capitan on and it seems to work very well indeed. Has definitely speeded things up and it wasn't exactly slow in the first place since I increased the RAM in it to 16GB. Ought to mention I also fitted a larger capacity 1TB HDD in it. NOTE: I'm not sure whether you can do this on the latest Macs.

Before doing any upgrades of OS do ensure you have made backups using either Time Machine or similar products such as Carbon Copy Cloner just in case the worst happens.

If you're considering buying a MacBook Pro or Air and aren't in any particular hurry then I would wait for a few more weeks because I'm led to believe that some major upgrades are in the pipeline - I nearly bought a MacBook Air and heard a conversation in store so have held off from purchasing.

As a footnote I do actually prefer photo editing or video editing on the iMac simply because the screen is larger.

EDIT: Just a thought here, I assume you occasionally run 'Disk Utility' on your iMac and select 'Verify Disk Permissions' and 'Repair Disk Permissions' which does tend to make things run quicker - most Mac users don't even know the application exists let alone use it - it can be found in the Applications -> Utilities folder. Once again, make sure you have a Time Machine or similar backup before you start.

Edited by rich888 on Friday 29th July 22:31

[satans worm]

rich888 said:

EDIT: Just a thought here, I assume you occasionally run 'Disk Utility' on your iMac and select 'Verify Disk Permissions' and 'Repair Disk Permissions' which does tend to make things run quicker - most Mac users don't even know the application exists let alone use it - it can be found in the Applications -> Utilities folder. Once again, make sure you have a Time Machine or similar backup before you start.

Edited by rich888 on Friday 29th July 22:31

Thanks, I have not run any of those , could give it a boost.
I've already maxed the ram on the machine but that swirling cursor keeps going.
I need to buy a portable device anyhow, even if just to log onto work occasionally , so I may as well get something photo editing friendly while I'm at it.
Sounds like I should hold off buying until November time, thanks for the replies

[K12beano]

I use a 5-year old 15" MBP (8gb RAM) and it's always been great. The only thing holding it back was I selected an SSD drive and it was/is only 256, so also use a (FireWire) external HD. I would reckon the next gen of MBP would be good for 5-7 years of service without issue and would end up being terrific value when considered over this sort of timescale.

[ukaskew]

I do all my editing on a mid 2014 13" MacBook Pro (base spec), a portable USB3 2TB drive holds all my photos whilst editing, D750 files are quick and smooth to edit in LR CC.

I've been doing a wedding a fortnight for the past few months plus other events, around 24,000 photos processed since May on a 13" screen, no problems!

[Otispunkmeyer]

I had a 2010 27 iMac

To be honest it was still fine, but I sold it because I just had no use for it anymore. Maxed out the ram at 16 GB and suspect a SSD transplant would have seen it soldiering on no problem.

I now use my OH's 13 inch mac book pro (i7, 8 GB of RAM and after the HDD failed, I put an SSD in there and it absolutely flies now). The only issue I have with it really is the screen, its not a retina model so the 1280x800 display is a bit too cramped. I know a retina model is still the same physical size, but at least you can have like a 1920x1080 resolution squeezed into it and have it readable.

[rich888]

satans worm said:

rich888 said:

EDIT: Just a thought here, I assume you occasionally run 'Disk Utility' on your iMac and select 'Verify Disk Permissions' and 'Repair Disk Permissions' which does tend to make things run quicker - most Mac users don't even know the application exists let alone use it - it can be found in the Applications -> Utilities folder. Once again, make sure you have a Time Machine or similar backup before you start.

Edited by rich888 on Friday 29th July 22:31

Thanks, I have not run any of those , could give it a boost.
I've already maxed the ram on the machine but that swirling cursor keeps going.
I need to buy a portable device anyhow, even if just to log onto work occasionally , so I may as well get something photo editing friendly while I'm at it.
Sounds like I should hold off buying until November time, thanks for the replies

If you haven't run Disk Utility on your iMac since you purchased it then it may take some time to complete the Verify Disk Permissions, just let it do its stuff.

I rarely see the spinning wheel on my iMac so it might be that the HDD may be on the way out, I just use the internal drive for applications and use multiple external drives for all the other photos and videos and backups.

Having read your original post I noticed you're considering the MacBook Pro for your forthcoming trip to China, I purchased a 13" MacBook Pro back in 2011 for a similar purpose but have found it to be a bit too bulky and heavy for use in 'Cattle Class' on the flight and do wish I had purchased a smaller and lighter 11" MacBook Air for the flights or perhaps the marginally bigger 13" model which comes with an SD card slot for ease of copying photos off my cameras.

Incidentally, if you are flying to China via Hong Kong then check out the prices in the Apple Store in Hong Kong because I noticed that they are substantially cheaper than here in the UK and not far off US prices. I assume you are aware that you can connect wifi in any Apple Store in the world rather than paying through the nose for wifi connection in the hotel. When we flew out to Perth in Australia the staff in the Apple Store were absolutely fantastic in helping me transfer photos from my iPhone onto my MacBook and other useful stuff. 11/10 for help and support. Thank you Apple.

Whilst in Hong Kong, if you stay over a few nights then marvel at the bargain prices of everything electrical, cameras, computers, etc. You name it, just watch for the fake stuff like memory cards, etc. And check out the Mira Hotel at http://www.themirahotel.com/ which is absolutely awesome.

[Tony1963]

I wonder if the lowly pound has affected prices in HK for UK travelers.

[Digitalize]

For a casual user at this point it comes down to screen size rather than power. I'd not want a 13" but the trade off might be okay for you.

As said though unless you need it I'd wait, they're due an upgrade. Whether prices will be adjusted to correct the current exchange rate is another matter however.

[satans worm]

rich888 said:

satans worm said:

rich888 said:

EDIT: Just a thought here, I assume you occasionally run 'Disk Utility' on your iMac and select 'Verify Disk Permissions' and 'Repair Disk Permissions' which does tend to make things run quicker - most Mac users don't even know the application exists let alone use it - it can be found in the Applications -> Utilities folder. Once again, make sure you have a Time Machine or similar backup before you start.

Edited by rich888 on Friday 29th July 22:31

Thanks, I have not run any of those , could give it a boost.
I've already maxed the ram on the machine but that swirling cursor keeps going.
I need to buy a portable device anyhow, even if just to log onto work occasionally , so I may as well get something photo editing friendly while I'm at it.
Sounds like I should hold off buying until November time, thanks for the replies

If you haven't run Disk Utility on your iMac since you purchased it then it may take some time to complete the Verify Disk Permissions, just let it do its stuff.

I rarely see the spinning wheel on my iMac so it might be that the HDD may be on the way out, I just use the internal drive for applications and use multiple external drives for all the other photos and videos and backups.

Having read your original post I noticed you're considering the MacBook Pro for your forthcoming trip to China, I purchased a 13" MacBook Pro back in 2011 for a similar purpose but have found it to be a bit too bulky and heavy for use in 'Cattle Class' on the flight and do wish I had purchased a smaller and lighter 11" MacBook Air for the flights or perhaps the marginally bigger 13" model which comes with an SD card slot for ease of copying photos off my cameras.

Incidentally, if you are flying to China via Hong Kong then check out the prices in the Apple Store in Hong Kong because I noticed that they are substantially cheaper than here in the UK and not far off US prices. I assume you are aware that you can connect wifi in any Apple Store in the world rather than paying through the nose for wifi connection in the hotel. When we flew out to Perth in Australia the staff in the Apple Store were absolutely fantastic in helping me transfer photos from my iPhone onto my MacBook and other useful stuff. 11/10 for help and support. Thank you Apple.

Whilst in Hong Kong, if you stay over a few nights then marvel at the bargain prices of everything electrical, cameras, computers, etc. You name it, just watch for the fake stuff like memory cards, etc. And check out the Mira Hotel at http://www.themirahotel.com/ which is absolutely awesome.

Again thanks for the comments, I actually live in the US now (NYC) so Apple prices and earning USD does help:-)

I can fly direct to China, but tempted to drop off in Hong Kong if I have time, a month sounds a long time but in reality it's not so much with such a huge place to visit and so many amazing things to see.

[Craikeybaby]

I was in a similar position to you last year, I had an aging iMac and a need for a more portable machine.

I narrowed my choices down to two options:

• A specced up MacBook Pro 13" as my everyday machine. However, that would need to be run in a docking station with a decent external monitor and proper keyboard/mouse etc for proper editing. I'd also need to use/carry external drives for my files.
• Keep my existing iMac, with its large screen and harddrive for photography work, with a view to replacing it in a few years and buy an ultra portable MacBook 12" for on the road and day to day general use.

Speccing up a MacBook Pro was starting to look expensive, even before adding the peripherals I would need. I also came to the conclusion that a powerful laptop wouldn't be as good for editing at home as an iMac, nor as portable as a 12" MacBook. So I bought the MacBook for my trip and will be upgrading my iMac soon.

[ukaskew]

This is my £1k setup, best of both worlds as I couldn't afford a Mac and Macbook. Plenty of power when out and about and still nicely portable, yet can be turned into a full home editing station with no trouble at all by just plugging it in to my 4K screen via Displayport.

13" Macbook Pro (Mid 2014) + AOC 28" 4k Monitor + 2TB Portable HD...

Home Office by Chris Harrison, on Flickr

Having the monitor handle the preview in Lightoom whilst I'm working on the Macbook (with all the data and controls on there) is dreamy. The little Samsung portable drive is USB powered, so travels everywhere with me and is not noticeably slower than working directly off the SSD in Lightroom.

It's worth finding somebody with an Education discount if you are buying a new product direct from Apple. Somebody who works in Education is enough, I got 15% off that way.

Edited by ukaskew on Monday 1st August 13:17

[Digitalize]

They've lowered the education discount amount now and you no longer get free AppleCare, which is a shame.

[ukaskew]

Digitalize said:

They've lowered the education discount amount now and you no longer get free AppleCare, which is a shame.

Ah yes, must have been a very recent change as it's asking me to login via Unidays (and that's not working at the moment). Discount seems nearer 10% for Macbooks now.

[Digitalize]

ukaskew said:

Ah yes, must have been a very recent change as it's asking me to login via Unidays (and that's not working at the moment). Discount seems nearer 10% for Macbooks now.

I think it was at the start of summer when the school promotion started. Shame but I'm not eligible for it anymore anyway.

I realised I never specifically answered the question, but I use a rMBP 15", 2.5 i7 Quad, 16Gb RAM, GT750M, either out and about or hooked up to a 32" BenQ 4k display along with loads of USB3 storage. When connected to the external it does chug a little (Using HiDPI mode where it's rendering a 5k display then downscaling to 4k, 4k native is too small, 4k HiDPI is too big), I do wish it was faster for things like Final Cut Pro etc, but it does the job fine. When the next big jump in power comes I'll most likely make a move to that.

Edited by Digitalize on Tuesday 2nd August 14:12

[james_tigerwoods]

I use a 9 year old Macbook 2,1 (the dual core Intel one) - It's got 4Gb RAM (it can only access 3Gb) and a quick 500Gb SATA disk. It does a pretty good job of editing for an old thing - I may swap out the DVD drive for the 500Gb and stick an SSD in.

Might be worth a complete rebuild on your Mac if you can get away with it? When I did that, the difference was notable.

[mikef]

For me the downside of the MacBook Pro (which is a great laptop) is relying on thunderbolt for high speed external storage; drives are expensive and I don't see it has much future as a standard. i much prefer USB-C on the Dell XPS. Maybe the next Macook Pro refresh will offer that?

Edited by mikef on Wednesday 3rd August 16:46