What to look for in a MAC laptop

canderson · August 1, 2010

What should I be looking for in a MAC laptop for photo editing? I am a PC user, but considering a change. :scratch

Thanks.

Newsy · August 1, 2010

canderson wrote: »

What should I be looking for in a MAC laptop for photo editing? I am a PC user, but considering a change.

Thanks.

For serious color accurate editing I wouldn't use a laptop, Windows or Mac, unless you have an external monitor attached. Even the Mac uses a less than ideal 6bit TN panel.

There is one laptop currently available that does use an IPS panel and their literature claims it is 10bit. This is the 17" HP 8740 (Win7) with the Dreamcolor 1920x1200 resolution display. Unfortunately you pay for the excellence... about $4500 USD give or take $500 for options.

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canderson · August 1, 2010

Newsy wrote: »

For serious color accurate editing I wouldn't use a laptop, Windows or Mac, unless you have an external monitor attached. Even the Mac uses a less than ideal 6bit TN panel.

.

I plan on using my external monitor(s) for serious work. Also considering a PC desktop and a netbook for travel.

Snowgirl · August 2, 2010

canderson wrote: »

I plan on using my external monitor(s) for serious work. Also considering a PC desktop and a netbook for travel.

Netbooks are only useful for storage, email and maybe surfing the web. Definitely no role in editing etc. because they don't have the processing capability or screen resolution.

On the MAC side I'd consider a 15" MacBook Pro with max. processor (I'm looking at one of those now) and a good quality external monitor for your serious processing needs.

michswiss · August 3, 2010

Newsy wrote: »

For serious color accurate editing I wouldn't use a laptop, Windows or Mac, unless you have an external monitor attached. Even the Mac uses a less than ideal 6bit TN panel.

There is one laptop currently available that does use an IPS panel and their literature claims it is 10bit. This is the 17" HP 8740 (Win7) with the Dreamcolor 1920x1200 resolution display. Unfortunately you pay for the excellence... about $4500 USD give or take $500 for options.

.

The MBP 17 is a wide gamut IPS panel as I think the recent 15 is as well. The issue with high end laptops isn't the screen, rather the consistency of the physical environment you have for colour critical work.

colourbox · August 3, 2010

No, I don't think any MacBook Pro displays are IPS or wide gamut (even though the iPad is IPS). Rob Galbraith's article says all three sizes use the same panel type. And the gamut plots on page 2 of the article show gamuts not much different than sRGB, even for the 17 inch.

Newsy · August 4, 2010

Rob's article is a year old and was accurate for units from a year ago. I would expect a newly introduced Mac model from the last couple of months with a 17" screen may possibly have an IPS panel but I don't believe any from a few months ago did. Some old units from a few years back may have. The last Windows laptop to use an IPS panel dated from 2006 - it was an IBM prior to becoming Lenovo.

I know the new iPad has an IPS panel but that is a different class of device. Still, it offers hope that IPS panels may be coming back to portable computing.

In any case, I'd love to see a link for a new MBP or the like that confirms that the panel is IPS. Say something that states IPS or perhaps states 178 degree vertical and horizontal viewing angles. This would be awesome news for the photography community but needs to be confirmed.

I agree with the statement that environment you edit in has a huge impact on the result - ambient light levels and temperature of the light will certainly affect your perception of what is on the screen. However, I think having a good 8bit or higher screen that you can use a hardware calibrator on is of great value.

Almost all of the laptop screens I've viewed have noticeable gamma/color shift vertically and horizontally due the cheap TN TFT panel used. Check out the "IPS vs TN" videos on YouTube for examples of the difference.

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Manfr3d · August 11, 2010

I have done editong on a 15" MBP (2007 model) and lately on a 13" MBP (2009 model) with and without an external monitor.
Garmut, WB and Colors are good on the (backlit) MBP displays but the external monitor always showed a bit more detail and tonality
(especialy in dark, yellow and purple colors). That said, I hardly had anyone complain about photos edited on the MBP ... but I am
not a professional photographer with critical clients either

I am now getting a 27" iMac for editing (similar price to a 17" MBP btw.) which has an even better screen, can't wait to test it out.
Maybe an iMac is the better option for you, or add an externel Display to your MBP.

chrisjohnson · August 16, 2010

canderson wrote: »

What should I be looking for in a MAC laptop for photo editing? I am a PC user, but considering a change.

Thanks.

The reactions in this thread focus on the display and probably you already bought something in the meantime.

In my view the MAC is a great system, whichever you buy. Basic photo editing runs well as does everything else. I would focus more on your laptop needs - lots of travel? (the 17" is heavy), viewing? (15" gives you plenty), pixel peeping? (probably not such a good idea).

In my family we have a 17" pro and a basic white version. Both perform ok. The 17" has better performance as so it should but the basic has better performance than anything I could buy at this price in the PC world and most people think it is "fantastic". I would focus more on things like weight and convenience than worrying too much about the MAC display. For demanding display work with a view to printing big pictures, you probably need to spend as much on an external display in all cases.

issacdhan · September 11, 2010

Hi, I want to know why candeson want's to move to mac. I work on my Dell XPS 1530(with Nvidia graphics card). It works very fine. But for color correction I strictly use CRT monitor with Laptop. See only Mac or High end PC will not guarantee good editing or print.
You need to know the internal work flow of software you use and maintaining your computer properly.
A good CRT and Dell xps works Super for me.

I won't see a need of a separate Desktop PC. A Good Laptop and a CRT is more then enough. 1or2Thumb drive and 1 or 2 External Hdd and a mouse that is all. If Solid state HDD then Super. Some Software to maintain your pc data.

racer · September 13, 2010

canderson wrote: »

I am a PC user, but considering a change.

Thanks.

here, :beatwax that was to knock some sense into ya, for considering a apple

(what are you thinking switching from the mighty PC to a imitation/knockoff)

Manfr3d · September 13, 2010

issacdhan wrote: »

Hi, I want to know why candeson want's to move to mac. I work on my Dell XPS 1530(with Nvidia graphics card). It works very fine. But for color correction I strictly use CRT monitor with Laptop. See only Mac or High end PC will not guarantee good editing or print.
You need to know the internal work flow of software you use and maintaining your computer properly.
A good CRT and Dell xps works Super for me.

I won't see a need of a separate Desktop PC. A Good Laptop and a CRT is more then enough. 1or2Thumb drive and 1 or 2 External Hdd and a mouse that is all. If Solid state HDD then Super. Some Software to maintain your pc data.

The iMac Backlit LED Displays are quite good for editing actualy. If you
bought a PC with an external TFT display what matches the ones on the
iMacs you'd see how cheap a mac actually is. I have the 27" iMac and
just love it for editing. Colors are rich and accurate (with proper calibration
of course).

colourbox · September 13, 2010

issacdhan wrote: »

But for color correction I strictly use CRT monitor with Laptop.

Where does one buy a photo-quality CRT these days? The only CRTs I see being sold are cheap and unsuitable for photos. For anyone purchasing today, a good IPS LCD is a more realistic choice.

By now, many good but now old CRTs are in danger of their brightness fading beyond the point of successful calibration. I have one that's like that. Was great for years, but too dim now. My LCD is now better.

What to look for in a MAC laptop

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