macbook air or macbook pro

macmacmacmac Registered Users Posts: 165 Major grins
edited October 16, 2009 in Digital Darkroom
Is anyone using the Macbook Air for photo processing (photoshop and other)? I am wondering if the Macbook Air has enough power to handle heavy photo processing. I like the portability of the Air -- I like that a lot, but I'd rather go with the Macbook Pro if the Airbook is not going to do an excellent job. Anyone have thought and/or experience with this?
Thanks, Joe
Joe

www.joemcdowellphotography.com
www.joemcdowellphotography.blogspot.com

Canon 30D, EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM, EF 28-135mm 3.5-5.6 IS USM, EF-S 10-20mm f/3.5-4.5 USM, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM, EF 75-300mm 4-5.6 III USM

Macbook Air for photography workflow including Photoshop 13 votes

Yes
15% 2 votes
No
84% 11 votes

Comments

  • dlplumerdlplumer Registered Users Posts: 8,081 Major grins
    edited October 12, 2009
    macmac wrote:
    Is anyone using the Macbook Air for photo processing (photoshop and other)? I am wondering if the Macbook Air has enough power to handle heavy photo processing. I like the portability of the Air -- I like that a lot, but I'd rather go with the Macbook Pro if the Airbook is not going to do an excellent job. Anyone have thought and/or experience with this?
    Thanks, Joe

    I believe Andy uses the Air for travel and says it is fine. Personally I'd go with the Pro if you can handle the extra size/weight.
    Dan
    http://danielplumer.com/
    Facebook Fan Page
  • AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited October 12, 2009
    The Air is 'fine' but with only 2gig ram, it falls short for things like panos. I love it, but for sure, a 15" or 13" Macbook Pro will be way more powerful with 4gigs.

    It just depends on your portability needs.

    I run Photoshop, Lightroom, and all sorts of software on my Macbook Air.
    Andy

    Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
  • PupatorPupator Registered Users Posts: 2,322 Major grins
    edited October 12, 2009
    I didn't have any problem with the occasional Photoshop work with my Air either. I don't know if it would have been a problem if it was my everyday activity. It sure did get hot sometimes!

    Now I've got the 13" MBP upgraded to 4GB RAM and a 7200RPM hard drive. It ran Photoshop on OSX pretty well. In Windows 7 it's incredible. I don't have any problems using Lightroom with a very large database open.

    But I didn't switch from the Air to the Pro for speed. I switched for battery life. And I run Windows (only) on my Mac so I'm clearly deranged anyway! rolleyes1.gif
  • RogersDARogersDA Registered Users Posts: 3,502 Major grins
    edited October 13, 2009
    Pupator wrote:
    It sure did get hot sometimes!
    Darn right. I love the Air, but had to install CoolBook and a flash block add-on to Firefox/Safari. That helped a lot with the heat.

    Occasional editing is fine on the Air. I use to mostly have a back-up of the photos from the CF cards. I got the solid-state drive, too, to eliminate the risk of the drive heads moving while walking around.
    David
    GreyLeaf PhotoGraphy
  • macmacmacmac Registered Users Posts: 165 Major grins
    edited October 13, 2009
    Pupator wrote:

    Now I've got the 13" MBP upgraded to 4GB RAM and a 7200RPM hard drive. It ran Photoshop on OSX pretty well. In Windows 7 it's incredible. I don't have any problems using Lightroom with a very large database open.

    rolleyes1.gif


    Are you running Windows 7 on the MacBook Pro?
    Thanks

    I believe I'll go with the MacBook Pro rather than the Air.
    Joe

    www.joemcdowellphotography.com
    www.joemcdowellphotography.blogspot.com

    Canon 30D, EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM, EF 28-135mm 3.5-5.6 IS USM, EF-S 10-20mm f/3.5-4.5 USM, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM, EF 75-300mm 4-5.6 III USM
  • pathfinderpathfinder Super Moderators Posts: 14,708 moderator
    edited October 13, 2009
    I looked at the Mac Air when it was introduced, but finally decided for me that a titanium MacBook with 4 Gb ram made much better sense. Not that much bigger, ( a little thicker) and more RAM and still will burn DVDs.
    Pathfinder - www.pathfinder.smugmug.com

    Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
  • macmacmacmac Registered Users Posts: 165 Major grins
    edited October 14, 2009
    pathfinder wrote:
    I looked at the Mac Air when it was introduced, but finally decided for me that a titanium MacBook with 4 Gb ram made much better sense. Not that much bigger, ( a little thicker) and more RAM and still will burn DVDs.

    I am going to go with the Mac Pro. The biggest leep is software. My Adobe Design Suite is the Windows version. Does Adobe has any kind of upgrade policy for Window to Mac or do you have to buy a suite again at full price?
    Joe

    www.joemcdowellphotography.com
    www.joemcdowellphotography.blogspot.com

    Canon 30D, EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM, EF 28-135mm 3.5-5.6 IS USM, EF-S 10-20mm f/3.5-4.5 USM, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM, EF 75-300mm 4-5.6 III USM
  • pathfinderpathfinder Super Moderators Posts: 14,708 moderator
    edited October 14, 2009
    If you contact Adobe, they will usually allow you to transfer your license from the Win world to OS X. You usually need to deactivate your software on your PC, and then activate your software on your MAC. You will need to speak to Adobe support to accomplish this.
    Pathfinder - www.pathfinder.smugmug.com

    Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
  • BradfordBennBradfordBenn Registered Users Posts: 2,506 Major grins
    edited October 14, 2009
    pathfinder wrote:
    If you contact Adobe, they will usually allow you to transfer your license from the Win world to OS X. You usually need to deactivate your software on your PC, and then activate your software on your MAC. You will need to speak to Adobe support to accomplish this.

    The gotcha could be the versions. When I went from CS2 Win to Mac, I had to go up to CS3. Not a big problem as I was planning on it anyway, just a month earlier....
    -=Bradford

    Pictures | Website | Blog | Twitter | Contact
  • macmacmacmac Registered Users Posts: 165 Major grins
    edited October 15, 2009
    pathfinder wrote:
    If you contact Adobe, they will usually allow you to transfer your license from the Win world to OS X. You usually need to deactivate your software on your PC, and then activate your software on your MAC. You will need to speak to Adobe support to accomplish this.

    Thanks for this info! I'll make contact with Adobe support.
    Joe

    www.joemcdowellphotography.com
    www.joemcdowellphotography.blogspot.com

    Canon 30D, EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM, EF 28-135mm 3.5-5.6 IS USM, EF-S 10-20mm f/3.5-4.5 USM, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM, EF 75-300mm 4-5.6 III USM
  • pathfinderpathfinder Super Moderators Posts: 14,708 moderator
    edited October 15, 2009
    I did say usually, Brad ......ne_nau.gif
    Pathfinder - www.pathfinder.smugmug.com

    Moderator of the Technique Forum and Finishing School on Dgrin
  • SLRdudeSLRdude Registered Users Posts: 166 Major grins
    edited October 15, 2009
    I use the high end 15 inch MacBook Pro for everything. It's my only computer.

    To be honest with you, even with 4gigs of RAM and dedicated graphics processor, LR is taking quite a toll on the performance. Based on that alone I'd stay clear of the Air.

    PS stuff the Air should be just fine as long as you are not working with giant files or doing rendering, but for serious LR work... MB Pro.
    Chip

    ad astra per aspera
  • PupatorPupator Registered Users Posts: 2,322 Major grins
    edited October 16, 2009
    macmac wrote:
    Are you running Windows 7 on the MacBook Pro?
    Thanks

    I believe I'll go with the MacBook Pro rather than the Air.

    Yes, Windows 7 only. I don't even have OSX installed.
  • AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited October 16, 2009
    Pupator wrote:
    Yes, Windows 7 only. I don't even have OSX installed.
    Just to keep us on our toes lol3.gif
    Andy

    Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
  • AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited October 16, 2009
    SLRdude wrote:
    PS stuff the Air should be just fine as long as you are not working with giant files or doing rendering,

    15524779-Ti.gif
    Andy

    Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
  • PupatorPupator Registered Users Posts: 2,322 Major grins
    edited October 16, 2009
    Andy wrote:
    Just to keep us on our toes lol3.gif

    Yep, I'm always a trouble-maker. rolleyes1.gif

    I used OSX on this laptop longer than I ever used it in my MBA. In the end it was a software issue more than an OS issue. Windows 7 does run faster on my MBP than OSX did but that's not hugely important. The battery life on OSX was better than Windows 7 and for that reason alone I would have stuck with OSX if not for software.

    But, I require Office 2007 and the Mac version sucks. iWork was pretty good but couldn't consistently deal with my .docx files without hassle. The other big thing was that I have 1 piece of rather expensive software for my work that I use constantly and doesn't do well on Mac. I tried Parallels and just didn't like the experience. Maybe one day I'll try OSX in VMWare Fusion but for now I'm going to stick with this setup. I do hope that battery life on Windows 7 improves.
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