Osprey1959maine wrote:
Would love to have some advice first trip to Alaska coming up any recommendations on workflow and system to take from a long distance Maine to Alaska Thanks everyone
Here's what I use.
M1 MacBook Air: with 1TB storage, 16GB memory, Apple Refurbished
Backpack:
https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Backpack-Density-Water-resistance-Polyester/dp/B07WDL1114/ref=psdc_3345931_t1_B07JZ6SPH6 Portable dock:
https://www.charjenpro.com/products/ultimatedock HDMI 4K/60fps video
Gigabit Ethernet
Two USB 3.2 ports @ 10Gbps
Headphone jack
Power delivery input for laptop charging up to 100W
SD/Micro SD 4.0 UHS I/II readers
LG 27UP850-W 27” UHD (3840 x 2160) IPS Monitor
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=LG+27UP850-W+27”+UHD+%283840+x+2160%29+IPS+MonitorPortable 2TB SSD:
https://www.amazon.com/SAMSUNG-Portable-SSD-1TB-MU-PC1T0R/dp/B0874XWW23? About $2500 with tax, total.
I use 64GB SDXC cards (4). I have four camera batteries with a charger that works on AC or a car charger for phones. My computer and camera gear fits in the listed backpack, but I'm using Micro 4/3.
Workflow? I backup to the 2TB SSD on the road. At home, I have a 16TB Toshiba Enterprise Class drive (5-year warranty) in an OWC enclosure. And I use iCloud.
The MacBook Air is suitable as my only computer. It is quite fast, compared to any Intel computer in its price class. Note that I got the 1TB internal SSD and 16GB RAM, as I intend to keep this for at least five years.
The truth about the M1 family (M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M1 Ultra systems on chips) is that they all have the EXACT SAME single core performance, give or take a few percent. The differences are in how many graphics cores they have, how many high performance cores they have for multi-tasking, etc.
Only high end video editors working with 8K video or 4K in high bit rates, major audio recording studios, professors doing Mathematica simulations, and others doing very heavy lifting graphics tasks really need the Max or the Ultra. Performance improvements are marginal for photo editing applications like the Adobe Photoshop/Lightroom/Lightroom Classic/Bridge package, with anything beyond the M1 Pro. Probably 85 to 90 percent of users can do more than they need with a basic M1 computer. DO get 16GB memory and 1TB storage. With 16GB or more, you can run a lot of apps at one time. With 1TB SSD HALF EMPTY at all times, you can run with plenty of "breathing room" for the M1 swap memory operations.
That's not just my opinion. It is the result of many reviewers' tests and comparisons of the various models. Check out Mac reviews on YouTube from:
Everyday Dad
Mark Ellis
MaxTech
Tyler Stalman
9-to-5 Mac
Luke Miani
René Ritchie
Most of the other serious Mac reviewers conclude the same.