neillaubenthal

Depends…is this going to be your only LR computer…looks like not. I have the 14 and it’s fine for road image backup and limited processing..but too small of a screen to do it all the time and would need a monitor at home…but then the 16 would also need one IMO in that situation. 16 GB will work…but since you can’t change it I would get 32…ans 2TB as well…and would sacrifice upgrading the processor if budget forced me to choose faster processor or more memory and storage…and I would prioritize storage over the 32GB as 16 actually works just fine and my M1 Pro 14 is more than fast enough for Z8 and Z9 sized RAW files. While paging is potentially an issue…the unified memory in Mwhatever Macs is faster than older style RAM and doesn’t appreciably slow down things…and while paging forces more writes to the internal SSD…Macs have had SSDs for going on a decade now…and I can’t remember any issues with the SSD wearing out due to too many writes…you’ll upgrade the computer before that happens.

You also need to decide how to manage the LR catalog for home and away…option 1 is put the main catalog and images on an external SSD and back that up to the internal, then at home hook the SSD to the home Mac and move the images within LR to whatever storage you need, Hudson Henry does it this way. Alternatively…separate rod catalog on the laptop with originals and backup to external SSD…then export/import on arrival home…Steve Perry does this and both of those folks have videos fully explaining the process. I went with the export/import option myself…seemed to make more sense to me.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Ram is NOT upgradeable on Apple Silicon Macs. Internal storage is “sort of” upgradeable only on the new Mac Pros.

Get what you will need for the life of the machine.

doclrb

Sorry but not true. Macs are not easy to upgrade. The standard and accurate advice for RAM on a Mac is buy what you need at time of purchase. The so-called upgrade kits require one to literally deconstruct the sealed case. If someone is wondering about 16 vs 32 I doubt they have the experience to deconstruct their Mac to upgrade the ram.

doclrb

BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA

I have a 16" and it feels more like a brick comparied to my M1 MacBook Air.

I would consider the M2 13" MacBook Air with 24G unified memory and either a 1 or 2 TB SSD drive. I'm not sure which of the two available power sources to recommend.

My HMO. My M1 Macbook Air worked superbly at post processing Nikon Z7-II files in Antartica and many of these were taken into PS and contained multiple layers.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

The 35W dual port supply can charge the computer and a phone at the same time, although probably not optimally. The 70W power supply can fast charge the computer.

Of course, if you get a monitor with USB-C connectivity that also has charging power, that probably delivers 80 to 100 Watts...

I own and recommend this: LG 27UP850-W 27” UHD (3840 x 2160) IPS Monitor

https://www.amazon.com/LG-27UP850-W-DisplayHDR-Virtually-Borderless/dp/B08YJMMYBX/

It charges my MacBook Air much faster than the Apple 30W brick that came with the computer. I keep the 30W in my backpack, for use on the road.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

As far as the disk drive is concerned, you will probably want to keep your images on an external drive so you don't fill up your internal drive assuming you go with Apple silicon because you can't upgrade the internal storage. If you want your images on the internal drive, you will have to estimate the amount of space you will need at the end of life of the computer.

So first you have to guess how many years you will be using the new computer before upgrading it (N). Then figure how many files you have added to the disk over the last year (F). Your new computer will have to hold more than 2*N*F files (the factor of 2 allows for increasing the number of shots you take over N years and the size of the files). If you get into video, that number will go way up.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

The smart thing to do is buy enough INTERNAL storage to leave half of it empty, as memory paging and scratch disk space. Store all your files on removable devices.

CAVEATS:

1) External drives must either be bus-powered or backed up with an uninterruptible power supply (along with a desktop computer if that's what you use; laptops have batteries). If external drive power dies while the drive is mounted on a running laptop, very bad things can happen! A bus-powered drive will be shut down by the operating system when the computer goes to sleep, if that's your option set in Settings.

2) DO NOT unplug any external drive until it is properly UNMOUNTED by dragging the drive icon to the Trashcan. If files are open when you unplug, very bad things can happen! (I learned this the hard way. Now I put a Post-It note on my USB cable going to the drive or hub that says, UNMOUNT FIRST.)

I generally put all the files for a given Lightroom Classic Catalog on the same external drive with the .lrcat file. That way, I plug in the drive, navigate to the .lrcat file, double-click it, and Lightroom Classic opens that catalog and the images linked to it. When I need to work on a different project, I quit Lightroom, unmount the drive, mount another drive, find the correct .lrcat for the project, double-click on it...

This lets me back up a project on an external drive to another external drive. It lets me move a project seamlessly to another computer, just by moving the drive!

I do the same for video projects, keeping my media files and the Final Cut Pro files on the external.

When you need speed, buy good ThunderBolt 4/USB4 drives and ThunderBolt 4 cables. At around 3000 MBPS or faster, you won't notice any slow-down due to using an external drive, unless you're sharing the port with several other devices at the same time.

leftj Loc: Texas

No denying that MB 13" are great little machines but sadly there's just not enough real estate for editing photos.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

That’s going to vary from user to user.

Most laptop users have a desktop monitor and other accessories. I use the Air on the road. In hotels, I’m usually able to connect the TV for more display space. I have a dock with HDMI out, and a 10’ HDMI cable extension. It’s not color accurate, but for cull editing, cropping, rotation, and other basics, it’s fine. My Air’s monitor is calibrated, so I’ll adjust color on that.

MJPerini

They can all work, the thing to look for is weather the software you intend to use is optimized to take advantage of the multiple processor and graphics cores. If it is, then a higher spec machine will provide noticeable gains in speed.
16 GB Ram is adequate for many things 32GB gives you headroom, Those decisions are more important than screen size for a 'Travel' computer. A bigger screen is always nice, but only you know what you will find comfortable to carry.

kb6kgx Loc: Simi Valley, CA

Not the the current M1/M2 MacBooks, but you can with the one I have, which was still an Intel Mac. One of the main reasons I bought one even though the M1 models were coming out a month or so later.

hpucker99 Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

I have the 2021 14" MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro processor, 1 TB storage and 16 GB RAM. I bought it from the Apple Refurbished store. If I had to do it over again, I would get 32 MB. The unified memory setup makes the memory more efficient, but I find that Lightroom can create problems with 16 GB. This laptop is far better than my 2018 13" MBP that I was glad to be rid of and sold off once I got the 2021 model.