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Author Topic: MacBook Pro 13" or Surface Pro 4 for Lightroom on the go?  (Read 3374 times)

jrp

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MacBook Pro 13" or Surface Pro 4 for Lightroom on the go?
« on: December 04, 2015, 02:21:12 pm »

I am satisfied with most aspects of my MacBook Pro 13" for light editing of raw files on the go, other than its weight.

A Surface Pro 4, with keyboard, would be about 1/2kg lighter than its 1.6kg.

What else would I lose by moving over to it?

My initial thoughts are:

 - lapability (in return for a touch screen)
 - poorer trackpad experience
 - performance?  I imagine that the Surface Pro will thermal throttle earlier / start to use fans, because of the narrower body, although the cpu is one gen on.  This is important mainly when it comes to generating 1:1 previews
 - built in SD slot and USB slots (meaning bringing along extra adapters, adding to hassle and weight)
 - stability: the MacBook is solid, apart from the occasional Wifi glitch.  The Surface seems to suffer from an array of random glitches, including inability to use the GPU with current drivers
 - battery life seems to be shorter, although the Surface Pro's CPU is less power hungry
 - integration with iCloud

Anyone care to share their experiences?
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howardm

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Re: MacBook Pro 13" or Surface Pro 4 for Lightroom on the go?
« Reply #1 on: December 04, 2015, 09:12:36 pm »

seems like a well appointed 13" Macbook Air should be on your short list.  I think iFixit found the Surface to be pretty fragile too.

jrp

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Re: MacBook Pro 13" or Surface Pro 4 for Lightroom on the go?
« Reply #2 on: December 05, 2015, 05:45:07 am »

The Air would be an alternative, but it doesn't have a Retina screen.
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howardm

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Re: MacBook Pro 13" or Surface Pro 4 for Lightroom on the go?
« Reply #3 on: December 05, 2015, 08:19:08 am »

What did we all do before Retina?  Seems like a lot of con's of the Surface (not to mention, welcome to Windows hell).

Paul2660

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Re: MacBook Pro 13" or Surface Pro 4 for Lightroom on the go?
« Reply #4 on: December 05, 2015, 11:43:28 am »

Gotta love that windows hate,  seriously.  Both OS's have issues.   How many times has a upgrade of OSx corrupted Capture One1?  It always amazes me how polarized the OS issue can become.  I use both and each have issues, but somehow in 20 years of use, I can make it. NET, if you like the layout of the Surface product, don't let the OS get in the way.

Back to the Surface.

I have used them since the pro 2.  Hear are a few thoughts from a user. 

1.  Only 1 USB3 port, had hoped this would grow to 2 in the Surface 4, and that port still seems to have limited power.  It will tether a IQ Back.  I also don't believe even the S4 has USB 3.1. 
2.  The Surface 3 was hard to read with apps like C1 or LR as Adobe/Microsoft did not allow the screen to adapt for reading, like Mac/retina does.  Net, you would have a real hard time reading a retina on a 13 inch at full res.  Adobe only gives you a 200% step on the Surface 3 and that's too much it needs to be 150%.
3.  The Surface 4 has a slightly larger screen and I did not find as much an issue when using Adobe apps or C1
4.  The i7 on the S3 was a battery hog and got hot pretty quick.  I have the i5 and it can go about 2.5 hours when tethering in the field. (note the S2 is the king for battery life easily getting 3.5 hours of actual use.
5.  The keyboard is extra and around 100.00, which to me should be just included in the price
6.  The S4 comes with win10 and it's an overal much better version of windows than 8.1. 
7.  All of the screens become a mirror in outdoor light, just like a Macbook retina.  So tethering in bright light is tricky but can be done
8.  If you go S4 I recommend a 2nd pen as when working on the screen with apps finger touch can be a bit tricky with big fingers.  It's easy to drop and loose the pen.

As for lockups, etc.  Really I have found the Surface line to be very strong.  I purchased late in the life of the 2 and it's been solid.  Dropped it 2x, once on payment, and it's still going strong.  Purchased the 3 early and no doubt Microsoft was still tweaking that machine.  I ended up getting a full replacement as mine did run very hot.  The 2nd unit is not 1.5 years old and has not had any issues.  I did upgrade to win 10 on it.  Prefer it to 8.1.  Have LR, CC, and C1 9 on it currently.  Make sure to get 8GB of ram and 256GB hard drive if you are going to do a lot of work on it.  The keyboards on the 3 and now 4 work fine, and were a huge improvement on the S2 keyboard, which did suck. 

You can read a lot about tethering solutions for the Surface here:

https://kendoophotography.wordpress.com/2015/05/29/tethering-with-the-surface-pro-evolving-clamp-choices/

Ken has done a ton of work on this. The last solution with the magnets is what I use and love it.

The main issue on the Macbook, is the dedicated keyboard.  If you are in studio only, simple solution.  If you are going to carry in the field, the S4, with a keyboard that can bee totally removed is hard to beat, at least to me.

Paul C
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Paul Caldwell
Little Rock, Arkansas U.S.
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jrp

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Re: MacBook Pro 13" or Surface Pro 4 for Lightroom on the go?
« Reply #5 on: December 05, 2015, 06:47:04 pm »

Thanks Paul. Agree about the OSs.  Either is fine by me, provided that the base functionality is there. I am less interested in tethering than in ability to generate 1:1 previews in Lightroom without breaking too much sweat.
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Paul2660

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Re: MacBook Pro 13" or Surface Pro 4 for Lightroom on the go?
« Reply #6 on: December 05, 2015, 07:53:52 pm »

Thanks Paul. Agree about the OSs.  Either is fine by me, provided that the base functionality is there. I am less interested in tethering than in ability to generate 1:1 previews in Lightroom without breaking too much sweat.

I would bet both platforms would work fine here.  I assume the Macbook Pro will take 16GB of ram.  The Surface I believe has one model with 16GB of ram in the Surface 4, but it's pretty steep.  Both are using flash hardrives.  Based on my Macbook 15" I would give the graphics edge to the Mac, over S4, but I have not really tried the 4 hard.  Both will give you that 1:1 zoom within a reasonable amount of time.  The S4 has the advantage of the touch screen, which is nice to have at times. 

I am going to hold off on the S4 until next year hopefully get a lower price point.  Since my first post, I was was at Best Buy and looked at the S4 again, and I feel they have improved the screen over the 3.  A bit easier on the eyes, (may of course not be an issue). 

The other item Microsoft has now is the full lapbook or whatever they call it.  Nice also as it's more full sized and you can still removed the keyboard, however all the USB ports are on the keyboard part not the screen as with the S4. 

Paul C
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Paul Caldwell
Little Rock, Arkansas U.S.
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jrp

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Re: MacBook Pro 13" or Surface Pro 4 for Lightroom on the go?
« Reply #7 on: December 06, 2015, 09:05:47 am »

The Surface Book weighs as much as the MacBook Pro, so is not an option I want to consider.  It has a detachable screen, which has only limited battery life. The guts of the machine are identical to the Surface Pro, although it also has an optional additional GPU in the base.
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