Is Retina display worth it? I've been a Mac user for nearly a century. I am considering a Mac Book Pro. Since I do a fair amount of Photography, does the retina display really make a...

jwenz Loc: Northern Wisc.

I've been a Mac user for nearly a century. I am considering a Mac Book Pro. Since I do a fair amount of Photography, does the retina display really make a difference? or is it all hype? And the new flash storage, does it have any advantages? Or should I save the $600 and just get the basic Mac Book pro without the Retina display and the standard hard drive? Help me if you can.

TedPaul Loc: Madison, MS

I am interested as well. Been thinking about it. Also considering a refurb, 13 inch with retina.

jethro779 Loc: Tucson, AZ

For me trying to edit on anything less than 24" is a problem. My 27" with a second 27" monitor would be a dream, but I will suffer with just one 27" monitor for now. Putting an external monitor defeats the reason for having a laptop in the first place.

EdJ0307 Loc: out west someplace

jethro779 wrote:

Putting an external monitor defeats the reason for having a laptop in the first place.

An external monitor on a laptop could be the best of both worlds. At home you have the large monitor for editing but it can be detached and the laptop is portable again.

One of the local Reno TV stations used to carry the noon news on channel 2 from San Francisco. I liked watching it since I am originally from that area. However, the local station stopped carrying because of contract disagreements. Since channel 2 live streams their news on their website, I connect my laptop to my 42 inch TV via an HDMI cable and I'm back in business again. Take that, local TV station.

sloscheider Loc: Minnesota

jwenz wrote:

I've been a Mac user for nearly a century. I am considering a Mac Book Pro. Since I do a fair amount of Photography, does the retina display really make a difference? or is it all hype? And the new flash storage, does it have any advantages? Or should I save the $600 and just get the basic Mac Book pro without the Retina display and the standard hard drive? Help me if you can.

The retina displays are very nice, the rest of the world refers to them as IPS monitors. Generally the Mac monitors are way to bright by default but you can turn them down so colors render properly. You can get a very nice IPS external monitor for around $200 for a larger home monitor.

SSD (flash storage) is a HUGE improvement in speed - if you don't need lots of storage it's the best thing in the world. If you can get by with less storage while on the road get it! Then get a thunderbolt external hard drive. A computer with an SSD boots in like 10 to 20 seconds, very nice...

The 800 lb gorilla in the room is you can never upgrade the memory so get as much as you can when you buy it! Also the SSD storage is unique so you may want to max that out as well.... that's one of the things I hate about Apple...

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

I have 3 MacBook Pros and an iMac. One of my 15" MacBooks has the Retina display. I don't see well and I am waiting for cataract surgery later this year. I think it is better but I not sure it's worth it, in all honesty. I know it's better than my 13".I would be more interested in upgrading to 16G ram (I have the 16). I would never pay this amount for a PC. I use other devices for storage. You will like it, especially if you've never had one. If you can go to an Apple store it would be helpful. I recommend the Apple Care package because if I didn't buy it something would break. I currently have a 15" down for unwarranted work. Good luck.

jwenz wrote:

I've been a Mac user for nearly a century. I am considering a Mac Book Pro. Since I do a fair amount of Photography, does the retina display really make a difference? or is it all hype? And the new flash storage, does it have any advantages? Or should I save the $600 and just get the basic Mac Book pro without the Retina display and the standard hard drive? Help me if you can.

jwenz Loc: Northern Wisc.

DavidPine wrote:

I have 3 MacBook Pros and an iMac. One of my 15&qu... (show quote)

Thank You

Marionsho Loc: Kansas

jethro779 wrote:

For me trying to edit on anything less than 24" is a problem. My 27" with a second 27" monitor would be a dream, but I will suffer with just one 27" monitor for now. Putting an external monitor defeats the reason for having a laptop in the first place.

I don't think it defeats the purpose. You can still unplug the monitor and take it with you.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

jwenz wrote:

I've been a Mac user for nearly a century. I am considering a Mac Book Pro. Since I do a fair amount of Photography, does the retina display really make a difference? or is it all hype? And the new flash storage, does it have any advantages? Or should I save the $600 and just get the basic Mac Book pro without the Retina display and the standard hard drive? Help me if you can.

A century is 100 years. Thought you should know.

I have never used Apple products so I can't comment on the Retina display.

However, there is a world of difference between SSD and hard drives. The SSD is far superior when it comes to speed. The down side is the cost and size limitation.

I would suggest a SSD as your operating system drive and a hard drive for storage and/or back up.

jwenz Loc: Northern Wisc.

joer wrote:

A century is 100 years. Thought you should know.

I have never used Apple products so I can't comment on the Retina display.

However, there is a world of difference between SSD and hard drives. The SSD is far superior when it comes to speed. The down side is the cost and size limitation.

I would suggest a SSD as your operating system drive and a hard drive for storage and/or back up.

Thank you. I know what a century is - just trying to be funny I guess.

SonyA580 Loc: FL in the winter & MN in the summer

Trying to edit pictures on a laptop is, for me, impossible. The tilt angle of the screen changes the contrast drastically. I tried one of those little bull's eye gadgets that attach to your laptop screen to, supposedly, give you a reproducible angle every time. Not close enough for me. A separate monitor is the only way I get consistent results.

Moles Loc: South Carolina

IMHO, for me it's a Yes. But it's the same questions as whether a Chevy is better than a Cadillac? Depends on how you use it and what your budget is.

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

MacBook Pro has SSD.

joer wrote:

A century is 100 years. Thought you should know.

I have never used Apple products so I can't comment on the Retina display.

However, there is a world of difference between SSD and hard drives. The SSD is far superior when it comes to speed. The down side is the cost and size limitation.

I would suggest a SSD as your operating system drive and a hard drive for storage and/or back up.

Alfresco

As David Pine suggests, if possible, visit an Apple store. I think you might find the iMac more to your liking. For me, when it comes to editing, bigger is in fact better. I went from a 24" iMac to a 27" iMac and I'm not going back. Just saying!

Erv Loc: Medina Ohio

Well I would say if you are a pro and making money with your camera, yes. I do it for fun now and when I send pictures to friends and family, they all use older computes and all that money spent on the computer would go to waste.:):) Use your money for bigger and better lenses.:):)
Erv

jwenz wrote:

I've been a Mac user for nearly a century. I am considering a Mac Book Pro. Since I do a fair amount of Photography, does the retina display really make a difference? or is it all hype? And the new flash storage, does it have any advantages? Or should I save the $600 and just get the basic Mac Book pro without the Retina display and the standard hard drive? Help me if you can.