Camera Labs

Coming up in a few months i need to buy a laptop for school, but there's a problem i can't decide between a macbook and a macbook pro.

Main uses:

Photography/photoshop
Typing reports
Taking notes at class
Travel/watching movies
A little final cut (video editing)


Pro's of Macbook:

Small/portable
Cheaper



Pro's of Macbook Pro:

Has firewire 800 (MB only have usb)
Larger screen





I can't decide if a 15" MBP is too bulky to take to school, and the 13" macbook might not be large enough for photography. arrrg! I cant come to a decision. Does anyone have any suggestions?

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Canon 40D + 70-200mm f/2.8L IS + 50mm f/1.8
Manfrotto 055CX3 + 496RC2
www.thomaslowe.com

Hi Tomis,

You could consider going for the smaller form factor for the sake of portability. Then you could buy a separate monitor on the side for the @ home editing. 19" monitors are a steal these days, for example?

Cheers

It all boils down to the added resolution of the 15" or the portability of the 13". Keep in mind that the 15" isn't that much heavier than the 13".

I'd personally go with the MBP.

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PhilipGoh.com

I went through the same decision when picking a laptop for university next year. I settled on the MBP in the end but I'll have to see how that turns out so I wouldn't say I recommend it yet.

There's a couple of things you might want to think about though. Photoshop is now GPU accelerated so the 9600m GT in the MBP will give a sizeable performance increase over the integrated 9400m in the MacBook. Final Cut was not compatible with the previous generation MacBook because it didn't have the graphics horsepower to run it, you might want to check if the current MacBook can support Final Cut. Whatever the situation, the MBP will run Final Cut better. One more thing....the screen of the MBP is better than the MB's even though on paper there is not difference but they're both glossy anyway so they both aren't much use for photo editing.

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Graham
Flickr

I had a 13" black macbook and I now have a macbook pro so some valuable input here! lol

The 13" macbook screen is great if you just want to do a few basic things on it such as web browsing, writing etc.. and it will be adiquate for image editing also but a 15" screen is much nicer. I take my notebooks into uni every day with me and do lots of work, web dev, programming, networking, imaging etc..

Once I upgraded to my macbook pro the screen size felt huge and it was a really nice upgrade. if you work for hours in front of it and do lots of work you will be glad of the bigger screen and working area on the macbook pro.

Although the macbook pro seems much bigger when its open in front of you its not actually physically that much bigger when you put them closed side by side. The weight is slightly more but not that much and you dont really notice it when carrying it in a bag.

If this was an item you put in your pocket every cm in extra size counts but with something like a laptop and even a DSLR there to big for this and a small increase in size is not so important.

I vote macbook pro! you also get better hardware

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Tobywuk personal website || My Flickr
Gear: Sony a700! || CZ 16-80mm! || Sony 75-300 || bag: Crumpler PB xxxl / Lowepro slingshot 200

I say MBP. Especially since Mac's aren't prone to get bogged down with useless garbage like PC's and will be useful for years to come. I always tease my Dad (PC guy) that PC's have to be cheap since you have to replace them every six months. HAHA.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/nursediesel
Canon EOS 5D & 5D2 | EF 70-200 f2.8 L IS | EF 100-400 f4.5-5.6 L IS | EF 24-105 f4 L IS | EF 17-40 F4 L | 580 EX II | Fujifilm X10

Only if you don't know what you're doing lol.

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Haha, i used to do the same to my dad. My mac mini has lasted 5 years, and still chugging!

You need to convert your father to the good side, i just talked my dad out of a pc and into a 24" iMac, at first he struggled with it but within a few weeks he picked it up.



I'm interested to here more Graham, what were some of the reasons you chose the MBP?

Anyone see the new 17 MBP... 8 hours of battery life plus its the thinest and lightest 17" laptop in the world. they also offer a matte screen option for 50 USD... i wonder if they will have that option for the next 15" MBP.

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Canon 40D + 70-200mm f/2.8L IS + 50mm f/1.8
Manfrotto 055CX3 + 496RC2
www.thomaslowe.com

Tomis: is the 17" you're referring to the one without even a CD/DVD drive? Oh wait...maybe that's the Macbook air

My Dad is convinced he wants a Mac but can't get past the price compared to pc's.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/nursediesel
Canon EOS 5D & 5D2 | EF 70-200 f2.8 L IS | EF 100-400 f4.5-5.6 L IS | EF 24-105 f4 L IS | EF 17-40 F4 L | 580 EX II | Fujifilm X10

MBA is 13" ultra slim. MPB 17" is full-featured.

my dad didn't like the price either so he went refurbished. also try amazon they have really good prices

_________________
Canon 40D + 70-200mm f/2.8L IS + 50mm f/1.8
Manfrotto 055CX3 + 496RC2
www.thomaslowe.com

Power.

When I got mine the new unibody versions were not out yet so the MacBooks were seriously lacking any graphics power and I'm a casual gamer so I needed something, the 8600m GT isn't great but it was good enough. Also, the MBP had an LED backlit screen already whereas at the time the MB didn't but this isn't a valid point anymore.

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Graham
Flickr

@ Tomis

The MB and MBP are both fine laptops, and will do what you want them to do.
For 2 years now i have a 15" Core Duo MBP (first gen. so no Core 2 Duo). And I love this machine. although in those 2 years I did have to send it back for repair 4 times (yes even macs do break down sometime). But I always got great service, and it didn't cost me a cent.
The last time (last may) the MBP developed a graphical problem, and somehow i knew it was gonna take a long time to get it fixed. So I bought a white MB to replace the MBP until it got back.
The MB I bought was the last model with a combi drive in it, but with firewire 400 . I just used my time machine backup from the MBP and it worked like a breeze. Programs like Lightroom and Photoshop worked without problem, and even World of Warcraft worked without changing anything but the resolution.
But the bigest difference between the two that I found was the quality of the display on them. The quality of the MBP display is better then that of the MB. And I have seen reviews on the new uni-body versions that say the same.
So if you are serious about the photo and video editing, go for the MBP.
The 15" MBP is portable enough for taking it with you. The new 17" MBP looks nice, and has better battery life but its to big i.m.h.o.

cheers, Hans

I can't see anyone having problem choosing between those Anyone who can afford MPB! I have one white MB. 15" MBP isn't a brick to carry, it's really portable. Oh man, if I had the money for macbook pro, i'd certainly go for it right now

And u see the poll make my mind explained.

Thanks Hans,
i have heard that the 15" MBP has a better screen than the MB. i generally spend an average of 3 hours on the computer a day. right now I'm using my fathers 24" iMac, so I'm not confident the 13" would be sufficient enough for that kind of usage. i can already see this being used primarily as a desktop at home 70% of the time. right now I'm thinking the MBP would do the job.

_________________
Canon 40D + 70-200mm f/2.8L IS + 50mm f/1.8
Manfrotto 055CX3 + 496RC2
www.thomaslowe.com