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Author Topic: Anecdotal laptop suggestions?  (Read 4187 times)

Stokkland

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Anecdotal laptop suggestions?
« on: January 10, 2017, 08:16:45 am »

I'm looking for some suggestions on laptops based on experience with them in the field; how do they feel, inspire you (?), sturdy and reliable...etc. I need something that can work on location and in studio, but one in which I can also use as post-processing workhorse.

I've looked at getting a fully loaded 2016 15" Macbook Pro, but find myself going through the "wait until next year" mentality with Apple again, after this seemingly incremental upgrade. I've entertained the thought of purchasing a fully loaded Surface Pro 4, but worry about it's capabilities and speed when tethered shooting with an entire team needing to check images for various reasons.
(I realize that these machines are two separate beasts altogether).

Is the 2016 Macbook Pro worth it? Should I just aim for a loaded 2015 model and call it a day for a few years, or is the Surface Pro 4 actually something special?
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DanceWithLight

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Re: Anecdotal laptop suggestions?
« Reply #1 on: January 10, 2017, 09:26:30 am »

I recently used a MacBook Pro in the field ( carried by plane in a backpack) for the first time.   Although the laptop is competent, I felt that the weight was more than I want to carry, and would sacrifice weight to have a lighter kit while traveling.  With the risks of laptop theft, my plans are to have a lighter machine, keep my Lightroom Catalog on an external drive ( to carry separately) and do my main processing on a MacPro with a large screen at home. I'll be interested in other forum members' experience.
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Hans Kruse

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Re: Anecdotal laptop suggestions?
« Reply #2 on: January 11, 2017, 09:23:39 am »

Calling the MBP 2016 an incremental update is interesting. This MBP is the first real redesign since the original MBP retina. I have written about my experience in other threads in this forum and I definitely recommend this over the 2015 model. As mentioned I used this as a single machine since I'm travelling a lot for my workshops and I also spend a significant amount of time editing and publishing in my office. I like to have everything on the same machine for simplicity and not having to move things around between multiple machines. In my office I use an external screen, keyboard and mouse. I have the LG 5K monitor on order for the reasons I have been writing about. The size and weight is fine with me given what else I'm carrying :)

I have used 15" MBP laptops since 2009 and have never had any reliability issue so far. I backup my machine to two Timemachine HD's in my office before leaving for a trip and on the trip I also have two Timemachine portable drives for backup. So if the MBP gets stolen I have backups both at home and with me on the trip assuming I do frequent backups and have the backup HD's separate. So in any case I can restore the latest backup on a new MBP when I'm home again. In addition I have all my MBP content (documents, mails etc.) and all photos and Lightroom catalog backed up in the clouds on Backblaze.

There is an Intel quad core processor update awaited in the new year that Apple probably will put into an update to the 15" MBP  later in 2017 and you wait for that but for photo processing in Lightroom the current one is just fine in my opinion. I shoot 36MP from the D810 and 50MP from the 5DSR.

Stokkland

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Re: Anecdotal laptop suggestions?
« Reply #3 on: January 16, 2017, 09:42:41 pm »

Calling the MBP 2016 an incremental update is interesting.

Sure, it's a powerful machine, it renders video much faster than the 2015 model, SSD's are faster read/write, the screen is beautiful, and the Touchbar is a cool feature (albeit one I don't have a current use for. And this is to say I would be more than happy to be working on one.

But, we have been expecting a 32gb version for quite some time, IGZO displays, and the same battery technology found in the iPhone. Now with news that one or more of these items are being offered in Q2 2017, it seems to me that the 2016 refresh is a bit of a letdown for the price point.

I realize that this is a bit of the "it will be better next year" mentality, and that there were limiting factors such as Intel production issues and battery consumption concerns over 32gb RAM modules, but personally, any one of these introduced in 2016 would of been an immediate purchase decider, rather than mulling about it like I'm doing now.
« Last Edit: January 16, 2017, 09:59:02 pm by Stokkland »
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alatreille

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Re: Anecdotal laptop suggestions?
« Reply #4 on: January 17, 2017, 06:44:21 am »

I have a close friend who swears on this methodology.

Purchase apple laptop.

Use it till new apple comes out - wait 6 months - purchase factory refurbished new apple.

Use it till new apple comes out......etc etc.

He says his purchases cost him about $500-$800 for than the sale price of the old laptop each time.

For the record, I'm not an apple person.

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Hans Kruse

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Re: Anecdotal laptop suggestions?
« Reply #5 on: January 17, 2017, 06:55:53 am »

Sure, it's a powerful machine, it renders video much faster than the 2015 model, SSD's are faster read/write, the screen is beautiful, and the Touchbar is a cool feature (albeit one I don't have a current use for. And this is to say I would be more than happy to be working on one.

But, we have been expecting a 32gb version for quite some time, IGZO displays, and the same battery technology found in the iPhone. Now with news that one or more of these items are being offered in Q2 2017, it seems to me that the 2016 refresh is a bit of a letdown for the price point.

I realize that this is a bit of the "it will be better next year" mentality, and that there were limiting factors such as Intel production issues and battery consumption concerns over 32gb RAM modules, but personally, any one of these introduced in 2016 would of been an immediate purchase decider, rather than mulling about it like I'm doing now.

Some rumours say a refresh during 2017 https://9to5mac.com/2017/01/16/kgi-macbook-pro-update-32gb-ram/ which is very likely, of course, and it will be 32GB and the new Kaby Lake CPU's. I have now used the 2016 MBP for more than a month now and and I do not have anything negative to say about it. Is it worth the price? For me it is as I use this as my professional tool like my cameras and the only machine I have. The price was consistently the same the last two times I upgraded. The second hand value of MBP's is very good. 16GB is plenty for what I do.
« Last Edit: January 17, 2017, 07:17:40 am by Hans Kruse »
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luxborealis

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Re: Anecdotal laptop suggestions?
« Reply #6 on: January 17, 2017, 11:38:00 am »

A bit off-topic...but with all the talk on this thread and on another about the MBP "only" having 16GB, I have a question...

I am using a MBAir w/ 8GB RAM and am easily processing, in LR, 42MB raw files from the D800E, including the odd image blend (panoramic and HDR). I do this with other apps open such as Chrome/Safari, Mail, Affinity Photo and, for web authoring, EverWeb. These 8GB of RAM in a 2012 machine seem to work without a hiccup. Image blends can take moment or two, but not frustratingly so.

My question is this... is the fact that the MBAir has an SSD the reason it seems to use 8GB of RAM so effectively? i.e. My guess is that it's "swapping" between the SSD and the RAM much, much faster than, for e.g., my older 2011 MBP also with 8GB of RAM but a HDD.

Furthermore, is it Apple's thinking that 16GB is "sufficient" for pro needs because of how fast "swapping" happens between the SSD and RAM?

I realize I am not doing video, nor am I doing high MB PS files, both of which would put much more strain on the RAM.

Anyway - some insight into this would be helpful, perhaps for the same reasons the OP is asking about laptops.
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davidgp

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Re: Anecdotal laptop suggestions?
« Reply #7 on: January 18, 2017, 02:46:10 am »

My question is this... is the fact that the MBAir has an SSD the reason it seems to use 8GB of RAM so effectively? i.e. My guess is that it's "swapping" between the SSD and the RAM much, much faster than, for e.g., my older 2011 MBP also with 8GB of RAM but a HDD.

Furthermore, is it Apple's thinking that 16GB is "sufficient" for pro needs because of how fast "swapping" happens between the SSD and RAM?

Hi,

Yes, if your laptop or computer has a mechanical disk, the best upgrade it is to out a SSD disk on it, even the "slow" ones that go via SATA connectors (in the latests laptops Apple is using a PCIe x4 connector that it is much much faster). But RAM is still much faster and with lower latency...

For a big group of people 16GB is enough... Editing a photo in Lightroom... It is enough. That includes a lot of pros.

But there is a small group of Pros that really need that extra RAM. Those are raising their concern... For me it is not that the MacBook Pro it is not enough machine, it is more that this is the last thing Apple did ignoring some Pro needs, and people is starting to wonder if the Mac ecosystem it is a good investment for the future.

Apologies for going off topic here.

NancyP

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Re: Anecdotal laptop suggestions?
« Reply #8 on: January 18, 2017, 06:59:10 pm »

Might the need for 32 G RAM be mostly among video editors? (Of course, why would a person edit video using a laptop?).
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davidgp

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Re: Anecdotal laptop suggestions?
« Reply #9 on: January 19, 2017, 02:45:43 am »

Might the need for 32 G RAM be mostly among video editors? (Of course, why would a person edit video using a laptop?).


Well, this summer in Skye Island they were recording a movie or tv series... They had two or three people there with laptops going through the footage inside a tent... No idea what they were doing...

Anyway, I as software developer will want to have 32GB of RAM... Many times I start several VMs to check my work under different conditions...

But really for me, since my laptops last around 5 years before I make the change, the most important factor is thinking if I really need 32GB of RAM in three years...

Stokkland

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Re: Anecdotal laptop suggestions?
« Reply #10 on: January 26, 2017, 09:53:33 pm »

Some rumours say a refresh during 2017 https://9to5mac.com/2017/01/16/kgi-macbook-pro-update-32gb-ram/ which is very likely, of course, and it will be 32GB and the new Kaby Lake CPU's. I have now used the 2016 MBP for more than a month now and and I do not have anything negative to say about it. Is it worth the price? For me it is as I use this as my professional tool like my cameras and the only machine I have. The price was consistently the same the last two times I upgraded. The second hand value of MBP's is very good. 16GB is plenty for what I do.

Thanks a lot for your recent input, I think I'm ready to pull the trigger on this. I do have one concern, the 2015 13" MacBook Pro with 16GB Ram I'm currently using lags quite a bit in C1. How much of a difference between a non-dGPU and dGPU MacBook in speed in Photoshop and C1 am I going to see?
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