Camera Labs

Well all I just bought a new 13 inch Apple Macbook Pro and figured I would do a review as it pertains to photography.
Specs:
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 Ghz processor
8 GB DDR3 RAM (Upgraded from the 4GB that is standard. upgrade bought from OWC [url](www.macsales.com[/url])
250 GB Hard Drive
Nvidia Geforce 320 256 MB Shared Video
SD Card slot
Superdrive
2x USB 2.0 ports
Mini-display port
Firewire 800/400 port
Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard
iLife 11
Self-provided software:
Adobe Creative Suite 5 Design Premium
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3


At first glance you would think that this small laptop that it wouldn't be much of a photography powerhouse, but you would be wrong. I have used this in the photo studio at my college shooting tethered into Lightroom shooting RAW. The Macbook Pro functioned beautifully a lot better and faster than I expected as this is a replacement for my aging Late 2006 model 15-inch Macbook Pro.
As far as doing any retouching in Adobe Photoshop CS5 Extended while it's not ideal because of the small screen size, but compared to my former MBP that this machine replaced it performs 10 times faster. I can start up and open Photoshop in a matter of 15-20 seconds compared to over a minute with my 15". Rendering any lens blur filters and any of the content-aware features the 13" is 20 times faster than the 15" MBP and the same goes for rendering any 3D effects.
I admit I'm not much of a user of the iLife suite especially iPhoto 11 so I can't really say anything either way about that application or the speed and efficiency of the MBP as far as using it.
Cons:
Small amount of screen real-estate
No dedicated graphics card
Only 2 USB ports
No blu-ray
No USB 3.0
Pros:
Excellent battery life
The ability to upgrade the RAM and hard drive is a great
Speedy
Lightweight portability
Well that is my observations on this 13" Powerhouse.

Core 2 Duo and GT330... sounds quite old for year 2011 ^^

Core 2 Duo (2006)
GT320M (2009)
Apple still uses old technology ^^ *chuckles*


its an alright review though.


so how are the temperatures? since its only 1 air outtake.

I'd say that the only positive thing about Apple is that they have nice designs, and that is all

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http://www.AnderssonPhoto.com
Cameras: Leica M8, Nikon FE-2, Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, 5D Mark II, 40D
Lenses: Voigtländer Nokton Classic 35mm 1.4, Ultra Wide Heliar 12mm 5.6 ASPH II, Nikkor AI-S 28mm 2.8, Canon 24-70 2.8L, 85mm 1.2L II, 300mm 2.8L IS, TS-E 45mm 2.8, Sigma 105mm 2.8 Macro
Canon 1.4x/2X TC II, Canon 580EX II X2, Gitzo + Manfrotto.
Wishlist: Leica Monochrom, Summilux 50 ASPH, Voigtlander 35mm 1.2 ASPH II

the only impressive thing is the 8GB DDR3 (enough for any kind of editing)
13 inch screen is not large enough for my liking & I'm surprised they're not using i5 or i7 processors. & the graphic card sounds ancient...even my 4-5 year old computer has a a Geforce card with 512MB

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Gear: Nikon D80, 18-105mm, 35mm F/1.8, 85mm F/1.8, SB-600
Visit my work here

The NVIDIA chip is a dedicated graphics processor but it shares RAM with the main processor using a minimum 256MB of the 8GB you have installed. It can support 2560 x 1600 pixels in millions of colours on the internal and an external display (including the Apple 30 inch monitor).

For £500 more you would get a 15inch screen, 2.4GHz i5 processor and both the Intel HD graphics and an NVIDIA GT330 with it's own 256MB of RAM. The operating system can switch between graphics systems to give you the option of better battery life vs faster graphics processing.

As with any purchasing decision, price vs performance.

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Nikon D90
Nikkor AF-S DX; 18-105 f/3.5-5.6G VR, 55-300 f/4.5-5.6G VR, 35mm f/1.8G
Speedlight SB-700

http://keystrokesukimages.com

I still prefer my Acer TimeLineX 3820TG

i5 (can be upgraded to i7) + intel HD and a dedicated graphics chip with 1GB, HD5650 which beats the ancient GT330M


anyways in terms of Benchmarking, performance and Temperature my laptop still wins against the 15" Macbook Pro


in other words a £800 laptop beats a £1700 laptop..... what a SHAME!

_________________
http://www.AnderssonPhoto.com
Cameras: Leica M8, Nikon FE-2, Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, 5D Mark II, 40D
Lenses: Voigtländer Nokton Classic 35mm 1.4, Ultra Wide Heliar 12mm 5.6 ASPH II, Nikkor AI-S 28mm 2.8, Canon 24-70 2.8L, 85mm 1.2L II, 300mm 2.8L IS, TS-E 45mm 2.8, Sigma 105mm 2.8 Macro
Canon 1.4x/2X TC II, Canon 580EX II X2, Gitzo + Manfrotto.
Wishlist: Leica Monochrom, Summilux 50 ASPH, Voigtlander 35mm 1.2 ASPH II

I found almost every laptop to be better than Macs,at just half the price...I also found that most Mac users don't know why they bought Macs in the 1st place,they are using the same softwares as they would with other PCs.

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Gear: Nikon D80, 18-105mm, 35mm F/1.8, 85mm F/1.8, SB-600
Visit my work here

We get the point Razvan, you like PCs

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Nikon D5000 and D300 with 12-24mm, 35mm f1.8, 50mm f1.4, 60mm f2.8 Macro, 18-200mm, 17-55mm f2.8 (all Nikon)

I agree that you can get a windows pc/laptop for half the price of a mac and it will be just as quick. If not even quicker. This is why I bought one. But there is something about macs which make you want one. I think its the fact that they are so well designed and don't run an awful operating system

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Camera: Canon 550D with battery grip
Lenses: Canon 24-105mm f/4L, Canon 50mm f1.4, Canon 18-55mm, Tamron 70-300mm,
Accessories: Manfrotto 055XPROB with 808RC4 head, Canon 430ex II speedlite, Lowepro Nova 180AW and Lowepro Pro Runner 450AW

Oh that is so lame, every hot girl who can aim a camera thinks she’s a photographer -Stewie Griffin

You can always spec a faster PC at a lower cost than a Mac. However a PC will have components specified by different manufacturers working with third party software (Microsoft) that all has to work together.

Apple spec all the components in their hardware and write all of the OS software. If there is a problem with the machine you go to Apple rather than choose from a list of companies who will all blame each other.

Every Mac has bluetooth and wifi capability as standard, every Mac runs the same version of the operating system with the same feature set. With other manufacturers you make a choice on OS features and cost. The last upgrade to Mac OS cost £25, the minimum Windows upgrade cost £125.

If you trip on the mains lead of a PC laptop you will either pull the machine to the floor or damage a connector. With a Mac laptop the lead will just pop out (as it has been designed to do).

If you want to buy a machine to just use it you buy a Mac, if you want to make lots of decisions about specs and how to set it up you buy a PC. Yes you can pay less for a PC but it is about the difference in time spent maintaining your machine and using it.

There is no one solution fits all for a computer user in the same way there is no one solution fits all for a photographer. You pays yer money and takes yer choice.

_________________
Nikon D90
Nikkor AF-S DX; 18-105 f/3.5-5.6G VR, 55-300 f/4.5-5.6G VR, 35mm f/1.8G
Speedlight SB-700

http://keystrokesukimages.com

Don says

{I'd say that the only positive thing about Apple is that they have nice designs, and that is all}

Can you get more speed for the buck, I'm sure you can, are Apple machines pricey sure, but as a guy who has 2003 desktop PC that still does what I need in a decent time frame, and a 2009 macbook pro I find it has all the power and speed I need for basic Raw convertions and photo-shop editing.

Going back to your coment above, if by designs you mean ergomics, ease of use and very nice tatile feel then yes the macbooks are a nice design and my own view is it counts for a lot. The few PC laptops I have used, I just feelI am fighting with them.

I'm less about speed and power and just care more about ease of use and I am not talking about operating systems.

Dave

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Canon 40D, G10 and S90
17-40L 70-200F/4 L 50mm F/1.8II Speedlite 420 EX
Sigma 10-20mm.
Assorted older canon and sigma lens.