[Reportage]

I travel a lot, I need something small and tough which I can use for photo editing and the occasional connection to EVE Online.

I thought the MacBook Pro 13" seemed to be the right thing but is it? Please advise! My budget is limited so I might be able to upgrade one thing. Memory? Hard Drive? Processor? I would also appreciate comments on the screen! Thanks a lot!

PS: I do not own a desktop and never will. I travel too much for that. So far I have had a 5cm thick 17" laptop which is super heavy and looks like a bomb. I need something really light with a better battery capacity!

All depends on how much you want to spend.

If tight on budget and need something maybe 11" but considerably more powerful then current netbook...i would seriously look at used Thinkpad X60/X61 with low voltage processor for the battery life.

And you could still use it for college if you want to.

[eddie1960]

I'm in need of a new laptop as well (my old gateway crapped out on day one of my vacation in october) I run a desktop at home, and went windows. personally i've been kicking myself for not making the move to apple when i upgraded it as i will be stuck with it for some time.
For the laptop I'm pretty much sold on the basic macbook with big ram upgrades. I have a license for lightroom I can apply to the mac so I will likely not get aperture right away. I have several external drives I can use for image back up
I have a Friend editing a documentary on a macbook So I know it's potential from talking with him. It sold me
Macs are built for graphics professionals first since that is their core clientele. Windows need to be everything to everyone.

Let us know which you chose and how it worked out (my purchase won't happen till later this year unless a small windfall comes my way

[mikemike]

As a SW engineer I find using Windows somewhat depressing as I know for a fact that it should be quite possible to do much better

I don't want to get into the PC/Mac war too much;-)

Because I have enough trouble with crashes, viruses and having to reinstall software and drivers at work. I want to go home, turn on my computer and play with my photos and surf the web. I want my home computer to be a tool, not a science project. We have 8 windows and embedded programmers in my group, 5 are mac users at home. In the 6 years since I switched I've had to reinstall the OS one time because of a hard drive crash and once because of a hard drive upgrade. When I switched I was doing that with windows every 6 months because of bloat and windows messy way of working with drivers etc. Windows is better now but I have absolutely no desire to go back.

If I factor in my time, the mac is much cheaper than my PC to use and maintain. And a lot less stressful.

I use PC-BSD and Windows 7 at home. My logic has always been that I see very little difference between how I use an would use OS X computer and how I would use a BSD computer so why would I (or anyone versed in unix) pay for OS X when BSD is free and the hardware is cheaper and there are more supported options. Maybe I am just a cheapskate I haven't actually looked at OS X in about 7-8 years so I didn't know if anything had actually changed to make it better or more compelling than free alternatives. I was considering doing a hackintosh install, but I don't have the free time at the moment for a science project

[cwood]

My number 1 recommendation for a photography laptop (in the PC realm - since thats what I use) is the Dell Studio. They use a high-res display that is insanely nice - and lots of battery life.

My number 1 recommendation for using a laptop as your primary computer is to not store anything important on the internal drive unless you have it backed up. The chance of laptop drives failing is generally higher than drives in desktop computers that never get dropped.

A quick word of warning... if you get an encrypted laptop (anything with a fingerprint scanner or face recognition) make sure you give the password to someone you trust. The IT guy from my mom's company dropped dead (age 50) and all his passwords were stored on his encrypted laptop. There is no way (that I know of) to recover data from these encrypted drives. My mom's company had to completely re-build their office network infrastructure because nobody knew the passwords to the servers.

[RioRico]

ThreadMorph: I'm a PC'er because 1) I have a huge suite of legacy W'Doze warez that I don't wish to shitcan/replace and 2) I've never been an AppleCorp fan -- and I date back to Apple I days. I'm sure a Macbook is fine for its customer base. I just ain't part of that.

cwood recommends a Dell. I have been ripped off by Dell and will have nothing more to do with them. Check their history of knowingly using substandard and defective components. And my customer service experience was atrocious. Dell (computer) and JVC (video) sit high atop my shitlist. My best experiences were with Sony (computer, A/V, P&S), but that's been a few years. The highest-rated computer firms seem to be Apple, Toshiba, and Lenovo.

Re: my attempt to find a CPU metric -- I gargled for CPU PERFORMANCE and found some interesting charts, including megaflops-per-buck ratings. Some Intel i5's seem faster (and give more bang-per-buck) than some i7's, and some Phenom X6's are right up there (but cheaper). CPU alone isn't everything -- its chipset makes a huge difference, and one site argues that the Intel i7-875k is the price-performance leader. Now I just gotta find a laptop workstation containing it. More research, more research...

So I'm leaning towards Lenovo (T- or W- series) or Toshiba (insufficient data so far). Yeah, a Panasonic ToughBook would be nice, but I hope to avoid hazardous environments where it would be necessary. They're ideal for explosives techies or on-site vulcanologists.

[I shoot people]

I am getting a 13" MacBook Pro myself. The display is great but if you are outside and there is a lot of sun you won't see anything.

[joakimfors]

Personally I use a MBP 13" but if I had to choose something else it would probably be a Thinkpad T410s. Too bad that the screen on the T410 sucks compared to the MBP screen. :/

[jbinpg]

LOL @ RioRico. Some of my workmates in our marine section have Toughbooks. Love/hate them. They are sturdy but "compact" they are not. About the only choice left if you need real serial com ports.

[RobA_Oz]

In relation to the "non-replaceability" of the MacBook Pro battery, this link might be useful:
How do you replace the "non-upgradable" batteries in the "Mid-2009" and "Mid-2010" 13-Inch, 15-Inch, and 17-Inch MacBook Pro models? Is doing so a "hack"? @ EveryMac.com

I've used a 13-inch MacBook Pro for the last two years, mainly because I wanted the FireWire port for peripherals, and the new MacBooks didn't offer it anymore (and still don't). It's also light in the backpack and has a far superior screen to the cheaper opposition in the notebook market (particularly lighter than the boat anchor Lenovo ThinkPad I use at work).

Like some others, I've been a Windows user at work for a long time (from Day One, actually) and a Windows and Mac user at home (and some others most of the rest of you won't know). The difference isn't as great as it used to be, but Apple's OS quality management theses days is head and shoulders above Microsoft's, although it wasn't always like that. Comes down to personal preference to a large degree, now.

A tethering app on an iPad would be good, though. Got to happen some time.

[soppy]

All these Mac suggestions, why not a PC?

Asus U41JF-A1 Review & Rating | PCMag.com

Gives you an extra inch of screen real estate over the Macbook for a lower price. Even has a brushed aluminum case. Longer battery life, better graphics performance (for photoshop, etc.) extremely lightweight and thin, and the lowest failure rate in the industry. Having owned an ASUS through 2 years of college, I can attest to their reliability. Not a failure yet on mine and thats after a few falls as well.

Laptop Reliability Study: Asus and Toshiba Come Out on Top

Or a step up the latter:
Amazon.com: ASUS U53JC-C1 15.6-Inch Laptop (Bamboo): Electronics

I'll hand it to Mac, they look great, but when push comes to shove I just can't justify the extra expense, particularly when there are better performing computers out there.

On a side note, you really shouldn't use your laptop for any professional grade printing (I'm assuming you do this since you travel for photography). Just spring for an external monitor that you can keep calibrated and don't need to worry about constantly changing light.

Hope that helps!


Note: I just realized how much of a fanboy I sound like. Sorry for that, but I do like Asus computers. They haven't served me wrong yet.

[Pentaxor]

I travel a lot, I need something small and tough which I can use for photo editing and the occasional connection to EVE Online.

I thought the MacBook Pro 13" seemed to be the right thing but is it? Please advise! My budget is limited so I might be able to upgrade one thing. Memory? Hard Drive? Processor? I would also appreciate comments on the screen! Thanks a lot!

PS: I do not own a desktop and never will. I travel too much for that. So far I have had a 5cm thick 17" laptop which is super heavy and looks like a bomb. I need something really light with a better battery capacity!

personally, you will be spending unnecessarily more for getting a MacBook Pro if your concerns were the things that you mentioned and disregarding Mac O/S preference. basically, you are paying more for the brand's premium. the PC counterpart offers those things or even better for much cheaper price.

I would recommend this model over the MacBook >>> ASUS U36Jc-A1 or this as already mentioned, ASUS U41JF-A1

[Gashog]

I'm eagerly following tablet technology. I'm typing this post on an iPad.
I think these devices could revolutionize professional photography, the way cell phones revolutionized the construction industry. I'm planning to wirelessly tether my camera to my iPad and/or my Android phone. No stressing about a backup. I will be able to upload from my camera to my iPad to the internet instantly and automatically just by pressing the shutter. With Android tablets well under two hundred dollars, these little computers might be the best bang for your buck since air.
They are no substitute for a real computer yet but they will be...pretty soon. I have a silly photoshop app on my phone now. It doesn't do much of anything but it won't be long before you can do RAW conversions and masking, unsharpening, curves...... all on your phone.
I'm primarily using an old Dell M65 running Ubuntu 10.04 LTS and using GIMP 2.6 and LightZone. I'm really trying to ditch Apple and DOS once and for all and once I'm satisfied that I can do what I need to with Android and Linux, Photoshop is history.

[C-Factor]

My two cents: I have a new Mac Book Pro 13" with the 2.4 processor and 4gb memory. I love it so far and portibility and weight are steller. I do hook it up to a 27" samsung monitor for lots of editing, but the 13" screen works very well too. The one recomentdation I make is get more memory because it will cost more later to upgrade. I find that 4GB doesn't cut it when working on HDR or large panoramas in Phototshop. Lots of waiting.........I have tried a friends Mac Book Pro 13", but with 8GB of memory and it actually makes a differance. Large projects in PS just go faster, no more spinning color wheel..I have tried to optimize the PS settings according to recomendations I found on Adobes site and that has helped a little, but ultimately I want more memeory.

[boriscleto]

My two cents: I have a new Mac Book Pro 13" with the 2.4 processor and 4gb memory. I love it so far and portibility and weight are steller. I do hook it up to a 27" samsung monitor for lots of editing, but the 13" screen works very well too. The one recomentdation I make is get more memory because it will cost more later to upgrade. I find that 4GB doesn't cut it when working on HDR or large panoramas in Phototshop. Lots of waiting.........I have tried a friends Mac Book Pro 13", but with 8GB of memory and it actually makes a differance. Large projects in PS just go faster, no more spinning color wheel..I have tried to optimize the PS settings according to recomendations I found on Adobes site and that has helped a little, but ultimately I want more memeory.

RAM is very cheap. 8GB of PC3-8500 DDR3-1066 is $94-112.

[Pentaxor]

My two cents: I have a new Mac Book Pro 13" with the 2.4 processor and 4gb memory. I love it so far and portibility and weight are steller. I do hook it up to a 27" samsung monitor for lots of editing, but the 13" screen works very well too. The one recomentdation I make is get more memory because it will cost more later to upgrade. I find that 4GB doesn't cut it when working on HDR or large panoramas in Phototshop. Lots of waiting.........I have tried a friends Mac Book Pro 13", but with 8GB of memory and it actually makes a differance. Large projects in PS just go faster, no more spinning color wheel..I have tried to optimize the PS settings according to recomendations I found on Adobes site and that has helped a little, but ultimately I want more memeory.

mind you that getting additional memory is not the end of it but rather knowing what memory to get. there are things such as clock latency, class, type and memory channel considerations that affect performance. it's not just simply 8GB of memory is equal to 2 x 4GB memory. you will find it surprising that the 4 GB combo is much more faster than the single 8GB memory.