MacBook Pro for Travel Photo Editing and Storage
Jan 6, 2020 16:14:17 #
There was a terrific exchange last year on laptops for photo editing and, as I recall, the MacBook Pro had some strong supporters. I'm a current iMac user at home, but am about to embark on some European trips, and wonder if anyone would like to comment on the utility of the 15.6" MacBook Pro -- portability, quality of performance, advice on RAM and Storage, etc. If I'm missing out by not considering a Windows platform, I'd be interested to hear recommendations, though I confess I'm lukewarm on their OS. Thanks in advance.
Jan 6, 2020 16:22:26 #
I bounce between a MacBook and an iMac desktop, the latter being fairly old. When out of country for months at a time the MacBook has never failed. Because I shoot RAW I generally carry an external drive with me and move that between the two computers.
Jan 6, 2020 16:31:24 #
petercbrandt
Loc: New York City, Manhattan
Strange question? Why carry a laptop on a Euro tour? Instead carry extra memory cards...much smaller and process when you are home ! A big purpose to a MBP is extra ram to do work. I have 2 iMacs but process photos on a MBP with additional ext hard drives.
Jan 7, 2020 07:19:13 #
If want the flexibility of editing on the road as well the ability to send and receive emails and keep up with current events I strongly recommend the MBP 13". I upgraded mine to 16gb of memory and 1tb SSD. The weight is about 3 pounds which is manageable. I also carry an external SSD as a backup
Jan 7, 2020 07:44:40 #
eadler wrote:
If want the flexibility of editing on the road as well the ability to send and receive emails and keep up with current events I strongly recommend the MBP 13". I upgraded mine to 16gb of memory and 1tb SSD. The weight is about 3 pounds which is manageable. I also carry an external SSD as a backup
This is a good recommendation for basic specs for a photography friendly Mac travel laptop.
Another alternative and the one I’m now using is an iPad Pro. 256 g gives me plenty of space to hold my travel photos. I use LR and now PS, with Apple Pencil to edit on the road. If I have wifi on the trip I back up to the cloud, but if I don’t I just keep the camera cards for backup. When I get home I sync the new photos with the desktop so everything is in one workflow, then remove the excess photos from the iPad to keep it lean and responsive.
Jan 7, 2020 08:29:47 #
Geographer wrote:
There was a terrific exchange last year on laptops... (show quote)
I have a Tenba Messenger bag. There is a zippered section in the backside of the bag. My MacBook Pro fits in there. My plus side id I travel with a camera and two lenses. I leave the kitchen sink at home. For me there is enough room and zippered pockets for all that want to bring.
Jan 7, 2020 08:49:53 #
I use my MacBook Pro 13" for travel and home. It has a 2 Terabyte external hard drive for my raw photos. I like it, it fits (barely) in the laptop pocket in my LowePro backpack. It's a 2013 model, has spent time living aboard our sailboat and done 5,300 miles circumnavigating the eastern US aka The Great Loop with me. So far it hasn't given me any fits - although the "V" key is sticking. Life aboard a boat is not what any laptop is designed for so to me the fact that this one survived is good.
When this one dies, I'll go to the Apple store to look at a 11" MacBook Pro. Not sure the screen is large enough but it doesn't hurt to look. In a prior life, for an extended camping trip to Alaska, I used my IPad Pro and left the MacBook at home. Not an ideal solution for me, but the compact size was nice.
When this one dies, I'll go to the Apple store to look at a 11" MacBook Pro. Not sure the screen is large enough but it doesn't hurt to look. In a prior life, for an extended camping trip to Alaska, I used my IPad Pro and left the MacBook at home. Not an ideal solution for me, but the compact size was nice.
Jan 7, 2020 09:07:08 #
mizzee
Loc: Boston,Ma
i used a 13” MacBook Pro on a six week trip with a 1T external. The 13 was a more convenient size to travel with. As I had a good idea of our itinerary, I set up folders on the external ahead of time. I used the MacBook as a conduit to the drive. In the interest of marital bliss, I promised my spouse no processing or even culling until we returned. That freed me up from worrying about hard drive space. I shot between 700 to 900 photos a day. Worked like a charm!
Jan 7, 2020 09:34:22 #
I take all my photos in RAW, so I need a computer with me to edit. I devote a backpack to carry it all, MacBook Pro, external HD, Sony RX10-4. I take a lot of shots so don't want to just keep them on a card until I get home. I have been to about 15 countries the past few years and will go to Amsterdam in April. I also use a collapsable monopod as a cane most the time. I use the same computer when at home, but there I use a larger monitor.
Jan 7, 2020 09:54:27 #
Geographer wrote:
There was a terrific exchange last year on laptops... (show quote)
The last 15.6" MBP is the only newer one I would consider. However, given the recent release of the 16" MBP, I would listen to the advice of Max Yuryev (YouTuber) and just forget about the 15.6" model.
https://youtu.be/TtG35ioXZ24 (16" first impressions)
https://youtu.be/PlQKRFrILzU (Which to buy in 2020?)
The base 16" MBP is a MUCH better value. Yuryev says at $2400, the 16" is a better deal than the $3400 15.6" MBP he bought a year earlier. It has the old, more reliable, more tactile keyboard you're probably used to on your iMac. The 15.6" model has a newer, supposedly 'fixed' version of the butterfly keyboard. Apple is still so nervous about it, they've put it under the same replacement warranty that covered the last few versions.
The base model of the 16" MBP is also much more powerful than an equivalently priced 15.6" model.
The 15.6" MBP is discontinued and will be discounted heavily until flushed out of inventories. But it will likely have a much lower resale or trade-in value to reflect the desirability of the newer 16" model.
Jan 7, 2020 10:09:50 #
I recently purchased the 16” MacBook Pro. This is like my 3rd generation MacBook. Love it!
I travel with it as I did with all my MacBooks. I find it gratifying to sit down at the end of sightseeing day and reviewing my work as well as doing some editing. After downloading I purge my cards to have them formatted and fresh for the next day.
Performance is excellent but as always, get as much RAM as you can afford.
I travel with it as I did with all my MacBooks. I find it gratifying to sit down at the end of sightseeing day and reviewing my work as well as doing some editing. After downloading I purge my cards to have them formatted and fresh for the next day.
Performance is excellent but as always, get as much RAM as you can afford.
Jan 7, 2020 10:39:19 #
Geographer wrote:
There was a terrific exchange last year on laptops... (show quote)
For travel consider the MacBook Air. Also look into the Samsung and SanDisk 2TB portable SSD drives to further minimize weight. Personally, I found it too easy to misplace the Samsung drive, so I moved to two of the 2TB SanDisk Extreme portable drives and have been very happy. Before I turn in each night I duplicate/update my backup so I have two copies of every image.
I do not store any travel images on my MacBook Air.
Jan 7, 2020 11:12:59 #
I spent 10 weeks cruising around South America this time last year starting from the Uk and taking with me a 1DXII and a 5Dmkiv together with a range of lenses and a number of memory cards. I was concerned like you about storage and took my basic 2017 MacBook Pro with me loaded with Photoshop CC. I wasn’t worried about hard disk storage (256gb) because I took a couple of Sandisk 500gb SSD’s. This is a really lightweight and portable setup which allowed me to download daily to the SSD’s and to use the MacBook for processing pictures if I was so inclined. This worked with no problem at all other than on a couple of occasions, having to log in to Adobe to verify my Photoshop subscription. Absolutely recommend this to you.
Jan 7, 2020 11:21:18 #
I use Lightroom on an iPad Pro 11 when I travel. I have 256gb and it's great for most editing I need for posting online. Anything I'm going to print can wait until I get home for final profiled edits. If I need the space I have a 2TB WD WiFi Passport for more storage.
Jan 7, 2020 11:33:01 #
The 13" MacBook Pro similar to the one described above has worked well for me over the past five years for travel to Europe and Australia /NZ. Not much bigger than an iPad and configured with LR/PS allows full editing when on extended trips. Just export and merge your MacBook LR library with your iMac LR when you return home and all of your editing work is there. I carry enough memory cards to back up the original images until I get home and have everything backed up to the cloud. (Backblaze)
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