Here's how I worked it out today, for fun (I have no need to upgrade my current 2011)
Retina display: (maxed due to lack up upgrade ability)
$4,098.00
2.7GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.7GHz
16GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
768GB Flash Storage
Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide (English)
AppleCare Protection Plan for MacBook Pro - Auto-enroll
non Retina: (how I'd build it)
$2,798.00
2.7GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.7GHz
8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
750GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
MacBook Pro 15-inch Glossy Widescreen Display
OWC:
RAM 16GB Kit (8GB x 2) $169.99
480gb SSD $599
Total cost: 3566.99
leaving $500, which will easily cover an external monitor, and leave you with a 750GB external hdd (chassis will run ~ $40-$70).. oh and sell your 8gb of stock RAM
For me, the whole point is to not have an external monitor, so that's why I find the retina display so intriguing.
Right now though, I think this machine is too expensive for me. Plus I never buy the first generation of any redesigned Apple product. So I'll reevaluate next year.
My goal is to get rid of my iMac and current MBP and replace it with a 15" Retina MBP. Eventually.
So this could pose a problem with my big external Lacie drives that are firewire, USB2 and ESATA.
You can plug your USB2 drives into the new MacBook no problem. The FW and eSATA are a different story. Its possible there might be Thunderbolt converters for those interfaces though.
I understand the issue about how different it is to use a Mac versus a PC. Lots of stuff to learn. You put me up to a Windows machine and I just get freaked out about how difficult and clumsy they are to use.
The specs described in the above posts are certainly relevant, but not the whole, nor perhaps the most important story. The latest Microsoft products making an entry demonstrate that Apple does not have exclusive monopoly over the bag of exciting tech goodies. The specs/features of particular products of any brand can change very quickly. Apple's distinctive market strategy is enforced consumer loyalty, a oneway street which channels your spending to its products through Apple's particular mode of planned obsolescence, and because changing brands from them you lose too much, both in terms of what you can get with a suite of Apple devices together, and in terms of your investment. What truly advances the benefit of developing tech for the consumer is the Microsoft model of OEMs, where heterogeneous input from a variety of manufacturer sources, and upgradability, extendability, storage and connectivity options are kept wide open, rather than a closed and monolithic (and inbred) model which deeply ties benefits to the consumer to limitations of such options. You pay a rather expensive and binding subscription to Apple for the duration, where Apple is in total control.
I didn't start this thread to create a mac vs pc debate. I just wanted to talk about the new Macbook Pro, because for those of us already using Macs and happy with our macs, it seems like a very good machine for Photographers who also use macs.
Will do....I'm in the process of weeding out my current MBP, and getting it transfer ready...amazing how much crap I have on it.
Some background: I've been an avid macintosh user well before apple become cool. My 2010 13" MBP with 8gb ram is my only computer, which I will sell when I'm fully up and running on the the 15" MBP-R. I shoot w the D800 and postprocess in LR4 (no CS)...the 13" MBP runs quite smoothly with the large files in LR4.
Also, I probably won't move over to the MBP-R not until Mountain Lion is release to save any possible heartburn when the new OS is released/installed.
I'm thinking this guy might make me sell my iMac and eventually just use a Macbook Pro for photo editing. The retina screen is 2880x1800 pixels and it is IPS. They announced that Aperture is already updated, and that Adobe Photoshop CS6 is going to be updated. Now Adobe just needs to update Lightroom and I can't think of a better notebook computer for editing photos.
So...a year has passed, Apple has introduced more flexible configuration options and Adobe has released retina aware versions of CS6 and (I think) LR. I'd be curious to hear first hand reports from users. Is it as good as you expected? Any gotchas with non-retina-aware applications?
I'm sorry to say that my six-year old Thinkpad just went to bit-heaven, so I'm in the market for a new machine. The Mac option is still considerably more expensive and a great deal more complex for me (software issues) than Windows would be, but I have to say the Windows laptop world has never looked more boring than it is today. Nothing comes even close to the 15" retina MacBook Pro. Dunno.
Interesting stuff, Ziggy. Thanks. It's a little disconcerting that the top of the line has Q/A issues, but I suppose that's not entirely unusual in new product lines. Still, Apple outside the US is not as well behaved as inside--I've been burned twice by battery issues that were corrected without charge in the US, but not in Europe--so this makes me even more reluctant.
I'd still like to hear some first-hand reports. Surely someone here is using one.
So I bought one. . .
15in, 512SSD, 2.7 quadcore, 16GB ram. Couldn't justify the price jump to the 768 gb drive when I have all these USB and firewire external drives. The extra 100mhz of clock didn't sell themselves, either.
I'm still settling it down and loading software, while waiting out the first 100 hrs of operation/infant mortality part of the bathtub curve before I really get attached to it.
I'm coming out of a 17" 1920x1200 MBP which was getting increasingly frail (mostly due to some nasty abuse on my part), and when the airport card and the battery both went casters-up a week apart. . . . Ah, well, it was time to knock the cobwebs off the ol' creditcard anyway.
So: first impressions:
pros::
The SSD is really a nice step up. . . *Bip* and this is loaded. *Boop* and that's erased. *Blap* and these are all saved. WheeEEEeeee! And I'm told by the tame geeks over at Apple that the SSD and the battery are the only things that aren't soldered directly to the Motherboard. (Believe that as much as you like. . . I'm not digging into it to find out until I have to.)
It's about half the weight of the old machine. BUT. (see below)
It's really quiet! I mean, *REALLY* quiet. The loudest thing on this beast is the singing noise of the power-supply brick when it's charging the battery. And you have to get pretty close to THAT to hear it in the first place.
The backlighting is *very* bright. I might finally be able to do things like sort and crop in the car with this without putting a jacket over my head. I haven't done any serious editing/photoshopping yet (license issues . . . haven't made time to call adobe and sort that out.) It'll be interesting to see how the brightness setting affects the color curves when i get around to calibrating it.
its got a LiPo battery, which means gobs of run-time and fast recharges.
Cons::
the native pixel doubling for text makes things feel a smidge fuzzy when surfing the web or wordprocessing. This is definitely a screen pointed at visual media, not textual presentation. My initial impression is that the screen FEELS less sharp than my old one. I'll probably revise that when I start in on the post for my latest shoot. Stay tuned.
No analog audio line in. Might be a thing if you're bent on capturing wild sound to combine with a slideshow or something. . . . I didn't realize that before I bought it, but I'm sure there's a USB or bluetooth or separate device work-around for those occasions I need it. See below about ports, though.
No optical drive: loading software from an external isn't a big deal, but burning optical media in the field means another gadget to pack, and a cable to keep track of. It's an expected and mitigated issue for me (I had a separate drive already) but others may want to consider that as an additional expense. The biggest thing is the external drive adds more mass to my gear than was gained from the lighter computer. . . but I don't always need that ability, so it's nice to ditch the weight when I can. I think I miss the internal drive most because I can't easily watch DVDs in bed with the new machine.
No Ethernet port. REALLY?! all the *fast* built into this thing, and no native ethernet port?) This means another dongle to cart around and keep track of if you've got hard-line access needs for big data operations like RAID backup units or talking to a large-format network printer. . . AND you have to give up one of the thunderbolt ports for it.
I can see this thing becoming port-limited pretty easily in the desktop replacement role or on location for a big shoot with card readers, multiple backup disks and optical drive, etc, etc. It boasts a total of 2 Thunderbolt, 2 USB, 1 HDMI, and 1 SD card reader-- which is useless to me and my 5D2, but others of you may appreciate it. I'd much rather have 2 more USB or an ethernet and a firewire instead. My old MBP didn't have this bottleneck so badly with 3 USB, 2 Firewire, ethernet, the full-size DVI port and the built-in optical drive. I may live to regret the lack.
The palm rests and bottom tend to run a bit warm, which is disconcerting in the summer. Might be nice in the winter, though. . .
The matte black keys tops smudge easily with finger oil. kinda gross, really.
Its got a LiPo battery, which means very expensive repairs the first time you run it too flat. When it says you're low on juice, take heed!
Bottom line: this is an Air with a steroid habit and a fetish for pretty pictures. It's a lot of power packed for the pro-on-the-go but not suitable as a desktop replacement; very much a sports-car, not a sport-utility vehicle.
Macbook Pro Q's (Retina)
A few q's for those who are rocking the MBP w/ Retina displays. The time is drawing near for a new laptop and I'm not quite sure which direction to go. An upgraded 'normal' MBP or MBP w/ Retina to take advantage of the flash storage & speed.
- What size flash drive do you have? 512 or 768gb?
- According to how you answer, do you find it is enough storage for your workflow and needs? (I don't do much video, mainly stills)
- Is the speed really worth it/amazing?
A bit of background to help the discussion:
I'm on the move a lot and prefer not to tote an external HD along with me no matter how thin it is. I do all of my editing on this machine and don't own a desktop nor plan to in the near future. I currently have a 2009 MBP with 750gb of capactity and haven't done a great job of keeping my HDs freed of space. I assume I can get away with 512 if I only keep current projects on it and don't archive a bunch of crap. Just need to be less lazy and actually move things off my HD. Everything is backed up, but I'm bad about moving things off to create room.
Thanks for your thoughts, looking forward to pulling the trigger soon.
It's not unusual for products on the "bleeding edge" of performance and design to have some problems. The Retina series of Macs do seem to have more than the normal share of problems:
It's not unusual for products on the "bleeding edge" of performance and design to have some problems. The Retina series of Macs do seem to have more than the normal share of problems:
I'm going to disagree with this, Ziggy. The display on the Retina MacBook Pro is WORLDS better than any other display out there, for photography and for everyday use. It's not even close. If you haven't used one, posting to links of reports of issues really does a disservice.
I've been using one for almost a year and it's colossally better than anything else I've ever used, including my Mac Pro with 30" Cinema Display.
And I actually have a display that shows the ghosting. I may go take it in to get the display exchanged, but the "ghosting" is barely noticeable: If you go from a light object to a back object you can see the ghosting but we're talking about a value of 4 on a 0 to 255 scale of black to white. Yes you can see it's there, and the persistence can be an "affront" if you're expecting perfection on a display (with the cost, I can see why some would be offended), but for actual use and photo critical work, it's not an issue at all.
There is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY I'd consider the older MacBook Pro or the MacBook Air displays to be in the same league as the Retina MacBook Pro display, reported problems or not. Aperture (or, these days, Lightroom too) on a Retina MacBook Pro is the best thing I've ever seen happen with computers and photography.
As to what I'd order, absolutely go with 16 GB of RAM (as it's not upgradeable and the price over 8 GB is not that much). I stayed with 512 GB of storage; given it's not upgradeable either it depends on how many photos you'll have, and what your workflow is.
No Ethernet port. REALLY?! all the *fast* built into this thing, and no native ethernet port?) This means another dongle to cart around and keep track of if you've got hard-line access needs for big data operations like RAID backup units or talking to a large-format network printer. . . AND you have to give up one of the thunderbolt ports for it.
If there were an Ethernet port on it, the whole laptop would have to be 2-3 mm thicker. An Ethernet port physically won't fit on the side of the computer. Would you want a computer that's 3mm thicker and 1/2 pound heavier for this?
Its got a LiPo battery, which means very expensive repairs the first time you run it too flat. When it says you're low on juice, take heed!
.
Absolutely untrue. Recall that batteries these days are actually little computers. The machine will shut down before any damage is done to the battery. Apple actually recommends you let the machine run down until it powers off about once a month to calibrate the computer in the battery:
Comments
Here's how I worked it out today, for fun (I have no need to upgrade my current 2011)
Retina display: (maxed due to lack up upgrade ability)
$4,098.00
2.7GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.7GHz
16GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
768GB Flash Storage
Backlit Keyboard (English) & User's Guide (English)
AppleCare Protection Plan for MacBook Pro - Auto-enroll
non Retina: (how I'd build it)
$2,798.00
2.7GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.7GHz
8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x4GB
750GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
MacBook Pro 15-inch Glossy Widescreen Display
OWC:
RAM 16GB Kit (8GB x 2) $169.99
480gb SSD $599
Total cost: 3566.99
leaving $500, which will easily cover an external monitor, and leave you with a 750GB external hdd (chassis will run ~ $40-$70).. oh and sell your 8gb of stock RAM
So, do you need the retina display.. or not?
Right now though, I think this machine is too expensive for me. Plus I never buy the first generation of any redesigned Apple product. So I'll reevaluate next year.
My goal is to get rid of my iMac and current MBP and replace it with a 15" Retina MBP. Eventually.
You can plug your USB2 drives into the new MacBook no problem. The FW and eSATA are a different story. Its possible there might be Thunderbolt converters for those interfaces though.
I understand the issue about how different it is to use a Mac versus a PC. Lots of stuff to learn. You put me up to a Windows machine and I just get freaked out about how difficult and clumsy they are to use.
A former sports shooter
Follow me at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjurasz/
My Etsy store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/mercphoto?ref=hdr_shop_menu
Neil
http://www.behance.net/brosepix
facebook.com/robertchenphotography
I can!
But yes I take your point. It's your thread and you're looking for feedback about the new display.
I'm interested in what Apple does, so welcome your thread.
Neil
http://www.behance.net/brosepix
Will do....I'm in the process of weeding out my current MBP, and getting it transfer ready...amazing how much crap I have on it.
Some background: I've been an avid macintosh user well before apple become cool. My 2010 13" MBP with 8gb ram is my only computer, which I will sell when I'm fully up and running on the the 15" MBP-R. I shoot w the D800 and postprocess in LR4 (no CS)...the 13" MBP runs quite smoothly with the large files in LR4.
Also, I probably won't move over to the MBP-R not until Mountain Lion is release to save any possible heartburn when the new OS is released/installed.
facebook.com/robertchenphotography
I don't have an iMac or a Mac Pro...just my 13" MPB. I absolutely love it! I use it for all my photography needs.
facebook.com/robertchenphotography
I'm sorry to say that my six-year old Thinkpad just went to bit-heaven, so I'm in the market for a new machine. The Mac option is still considerably more expensive and a great deal more complex for me (software issues) than Windows would be, but I have to say the Windows laptop world has never looked more boring than it is today. Nothing comes even close to the 15" retina MacBook Pro. Dunno.
http://www.ibtimes.com/macbook-pro-retina-display-problems-apple-faces-class-action-suit-ghosting-issue-1129939#
https://discussions.apple.com/message/22244756#22244756
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/cracking-open/teardown-shows-retina-macbook-pro-is-nearly-impossible-to-upgrade-difficult-to-work-on/696
http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-3121_7-57588649-220/the-current-enigma-of-the-retina-macbook-pro/
http://www.gizmag.com/macbook-air-vs-retina-macbook-pro-2013-specs-comparison/27871/
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
I'd still like to hear some first-hand reports. Surely someone here is using one.
15in, 512SSD, 2.7 quadcore, 16GB ram. Couldn't justify the price jump to the 768 gb drive when I have all these USB and firewire external drives. The extra 100mhz of clock didn't sell themselves, either.
I'm still settling it down and loading software, while waiting out the first 100 hrs of operation/infant mortality part of the bathtub curve before I really get attached to it.
I'm coming out of a 17" 1920x1200 MBP which was getting increasingly frail (mostly due to some nasty abuse on my part), and when the airport card and the battery both went casters-up a week apart. . . . Ah, well, it was time to knock the cobwebs off the ol' creditcard anyway.
So: first impressions:
pros::
The SSD is really a nice step up. . . *Bip* and this is loaded. *Boop* and that's erased. *Blap* and these are all saved. WheeEEEeeee! And I'm told by the tame geeks over at Apple that the SSD and the battery are the only things that aren't soldered directly to the Motherboard. (Believe that as much as you like. . . I'm not digging into it to find out until I have to.)
It's about half the weight of the old machine. BUT. (see below)
It's really quiet! I mean, *REALLY* quiet. The loudest thing on this beast is the singing noise of the power-supply brick when it's charging the battery. And you have to get pretty close to THAT to hear it in the first place.
The backlighting is *very* bright. I might finally be able to do things like sort and crop in the car with this without putting a jacket over my head. I haven't done any serious editing/photoshopping yet (license issues . . . haven't made time to call adobe and sort that out.) It'll be interesting to see how the brightness setting affects the color curves when i get around to calibrating it.
its got a LiPo battery, which means gobs of run-time and fast recharges.
Cons::
the native pixel doubling for text makes things feel a smidge fuzzy when surfing the web or wordprocessing. This is definitely a screen pointed at visual media, not textual presentation. My initial impression is that the screen FEELS less sharp than my old one. I'll probably revise that when I start in on the post for my latest shoot. Stay tuned.
No analog audio line in. Might be a thing if you're bent on capturing wild sound to combine with a slideshow or something. . . . I didn't realize that before I bought it, but I'm sure there's a USB or bluetooth or separate device work-around for those occasions I need it. See below about ports, though.
No optical drive: loading software from an external isn't a big deal, but burning optical media in the field means another gadget to pack, and a cable to keep track of. It's an expected and mitigated issue for me (I had a separate drive already) but others may want to consider that as an additional expense. The biggest thing is the external drive adds more mass to my gear than was gained from the lighter computer. . . but I don't always need that ability, so it's nice to ditch the weight when I can. I think I miss the internal drive most because I can't easily watch DVDs in bed with the new machine.
No Ethernet port. REALLY?! all the *fast* built into this thing, and no native ethernet port?) This means another dongle to cart around and keep track of if you've got hard-line access needs for big data operations like RAID backup units or talking to a large-format network printer. . . AND you have to give up one of the thunderbolt ports for it.
I can see this thing becoming port-limited pretty easily in the desktop replacement role or on location for a big shoot with card readers, multiple backup disks and optical drive, etc, etc. It boasts a total of 2 Thunderbolt, 2 USB, 1 HDMI, and 1 SD card reader-- which is useless to me and my 5D2, but others of you may appreciate it. I'd much rather have 2 more USB or an ethernet and a firewire instead. My old MBP didn't have this bottleneck so badly with 3 USB, 2 Firewire, ethernet, the full-size DVI port and the built-in optical drive. I may live to regret the lack.
The palm rests and bottom tend to run a bit warm, which is disconcerting in the summer. Might be nice in the winter, though. . .
The matte black keys tops smudge easily with finger oil. kinda gross, really.
Its got a LiPo battery, which means very expensive repairs the first time you run it too flat. When it says you're low on juice, take heed!
Bottom line: this is an Air with a steroid habit and a fetish for pretty pictures. It's a lot of power packed for the pro-on-the-go but not suitable as a desktop replacement; very much a sports-car, not a sport-utility vehicle.
A few q's for those who are rocking the MBP w/ Retina displays. The time is drawing near for a new laptop and I'm not quite sure which direction to go. An upgraded 'normal' MBP or MBP w/ Retina to take advantage of the flash storage & speed.
- What size flash drive do you have? 512 or 768gb?
- According to how you answer, do you find it is enough storage for your workflow and needs? (I don't do much video, mainly stills)
- Is the speed really worth it/amazing?
A bit of background to help the discussion:
I'm on the move a lot and prefer not to tote an external HD along with me no matter how thin it is. I do all of my editing on this machine and don't own a desktop nor plan to in the near future. I currently have a 2009 MBP with 750gb of capactity and haven't done a great job of keeping my HDs freed of space. I assume I can get away with 512 if I only keep current projects on it and don't archive a bunch of crap. Just need to be less lazy and actually move things off my HD. Everything is backed up, but I'm bad about moving things off to create room.
Thanks for your thoughts, looking forward to pulling the trigger soon.
It's not unusual for products on the "bleeding edge" of performance and design to have some problems. The Retina series of Macs do seem to have more than the normal share of problems:
http://dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=1877804&postcount=43
Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
I'm going to disagree with this, Ziggy. The display on the Retina MacBook Pro is WORLDS better than any other display out there, for photography and for everyday use. It's not even close. If you haven't used one, posting to links of reports of issues really does a disservice.
I've been using one for almost a year and it's colossally better than anything else I've ever used, including my Mac Pro with 30" Cinema Display.
And I actually have a display that shows the ghosting. I may go take it in to get the display exchanged, but the "ghosting" is barely noticeable: If you go from a light object to a back object you can see the ghosting but we're talking about a value of 4 on a 0 to 255 scale of black to white. Yes you can see it's there, and the persistence can be an "affront" if you're expecting perfection on a display (with the cost, I can see why some would be offended), but for actual use and photo critical work, it's not an issue at all.
There is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY I'd consider the older MacBook Pro or the MacBook Air displays to be in the same league as the Retina MacBook Pro display, reported problems or not. Aperture (or, these days, Lightroom too) on a Retina MacBook Pro is the best thing I've ever seen happen with computers and photography.
As to what I'd order, absolutely go with 16 GB of RAM (as it's not upgradeable and the price over 8 GB is not that much). I stayed with 512 GB of storage; given it's not upgradeable either it depends on how many photos you'll have, and what your workflow is.
If there were an Ethernet port on it, the whole laptop would have to be 2-3 mm thicker. An Ethernet port physically won't fit on the side of the computer. Would you want a computer that's 3mm thicker and 1/2 pound heavier for this?
Absolutely untrue. Recall that batteries these days are actually little computers. The machine will shut down before any damage is done to the battery. Apple actually recommends you let the machine run down until it powers off about once a month to calibrate the computer in the battery:
http://www.apple.com/batteries/