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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
MAC Book Pro & Software Questions II
Mark Sutton, Photographer
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Herndon | VA | USA | Posted: 10:33 AM on 05.22.07 |
| ->> In an earlier thread I posted yesterday I stated that I was in the process of purchasing a MAC Book Pro. I have a few questions to ask for those who own MAC’s, do you prefer the glossy screen or the regular screen. Do you prefer a 17 inch or a 15.4 inch machine? Which software do you prefer to handle your work flow? Do you prefer Photo Mechanic, Adobe Lightroom or Apple’s Aperture? I just started using Lightroom a few weeks ago and although I can’t stand the noise reduction feature in the program (I had to go to Photoshop and Noise Ninja an entire night shoot which slowed me down) I love this program. I’m sorry for all these threads, but I’m looking at purchasing this machine in the next week or so. Thanks for all your help! This is the one thing I love about SS, is everyone’s willingness to help. That’s what makes this site so GREAT!!!!! |
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Colin Lenton, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Philadelphia | PA | United States | Posted: 10:45 AM on 05.22.07 |
->> Hey Mark, here are my opinions on the matter - so take it for what it's worth, cause they're just opinions.
I think the 17" is too big, and the 15.4" is fine. In my office I hook it up to a 21" CRT so I make up for the lost monitor space that way. On the road, its still big enough to use.
I prefer the matte or regular screen. Friends of mine have the glossy screen, and though it appears "sharper" - the added sharpness is minimal and the glare is really distracting. Plus - their screens get dirty more easily.
As for software, I prefer Photo Mechanic for its speed, and although I'm not too familiar with Aperture or Lightroom it is my understanding that they are not entirely comparable - apples to oranges type deal.
Cheers. |
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Greg Ferguson, Photographer
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Scottsdale | Az | USA | Posted: 4:14 PM on 05.22.07 |
->> I agree with Colin that the 17" screen is too big for my normal stuff. It'd be great if you have to use the big screen and have a table to use it on, but if you're going to be traveling on a plane and want to use the computer then that screen will be in the way. It's also a bigger chassis, which means a bigger bag and that it won't fit in the slip covers available with a lot of backpacks and camera bags. It's also heavier and the extra screen space uses a bit more electricity.
I used a 15" G4 Titanium Powerbook for years until the hinges finally froze, when I turned it into my desktop machine by plugging in a big LCD display and keyboard and trackball. It's finally blown its second drive so I'm considering whether it is time to retire it. I've had it over five years, worn the paint off it, processed a lot of images on it, carted it all over the countryside, and, at 500 MHz with just under 500MB of RAM it's done a really nice job doing all my Photoshop-ing. The screens are really nice at that size too - not too big and not too small.
My wife uses the 12" PB and loves it. The screen is great too, but a bit too small for Photoshop work on the road. It'll do the job but I preferred the extra space.
I like the regular matte-surface on the screen. The glossy screens have never impressed me.
I have been using iView Media Pro and Lightroom increasingly and been phasing out PhotoMechanic. Both iMP and LR have awesome keyword and meta-tagging capabilities, and make it trivial to do complex searches for images in your various folders on your drives. I have custom code I wrote that does my importing, but once the files are on the disk and renamed like I want, then Lightroom is in control of of my workflow until the very end. As you said, it doesn't have the features for final image tweaking like Photoshop. I have to pull my images in PS for a few final steps because LR doesn't support filters or layers like I need, but it's become a primary part of my workflow.
Similar to getting the white-balance right before shooting, you're better to get enough light on the subject before you shoot to allow you to reduce the ISO, rather than rely on noise reduction afterwards. Sometimes we don't have a choice, and we have to revert to the filters. The extra time needed for processing is the tradeoff. |
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Samuel Lewis, Photographer
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Miami | FL | USA | Posted: 6:27 PM on 05.22.07 |
->> I had a series of discussions with Apple's sales people before ordering my MacBook Pro regarding the screen. The glossy screen is supposed to look better for general uses (e.g., word processing and the like). However, when I mentioned that I wanted to use the computer for digital imaging, intended to attempt to calibrate (as best as possible) the display, etc., I was strongly encouraged to go with the standard screen. Apparently, the glossy screen does not represent images as accurately as the standard screen.
As for software, that's really more of a personal choice. I played with the Lightroom beta, and was never terribly impressed with it. I've been more impressed with Aperture when playing with it at the Apple store on the superfast desktop system; the real question is how well it performs on a notebook.
Personally, I've stuck with the combination of PhotoMechanic and Photoshop. With the release of CS3, both programs have universal binaries that run well on both Intel and PowerPC platforms. |
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Robert Deutsch, Photographer
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NY | NY | USA | Posted: 7:25 PM on 05.22.07 |
->> Mark,
The MacBook Pro is overdue for an update, with the current rumors pointing to June 11th (the macbook was just updated).
You might want to wait for that. An update is likely, since we just updated ours now :) |
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Slobodan Juric, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Saint Petersburg | FL | USA | Posted: 8:17 PM on 05.22.07 |
->> I'm in the same boat as Mark. I plan to order the MacBook Pro, with Aperture. How was does Aperture run on a MacBook Pro, does anyone know - or is it really made for desktop strength?
Suggestions please? |
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James W. Prichard, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Portland | OR | USA | Posted: 8:59 PM on 05.22.07 |
| ->> I run Aperture on my 17" and it works just fine. |
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Slobodan Juric, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Saint Petersburg | FL | USA | Posted: 9:15 PM on 05.22.07 |
| ->> Thanks for the reply James. I plan on waiting a couple of weeks to see if the new MacBook Pro is coming out. |
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