Questions Regarding MacBook Pro

Hello, All,

I'm thinking of purchasing a 15" MacBook Pro with 2 gigabytes of RAM and a 120 gigabyte internal drive. I have some questions:

1) Running photoshop and Adobe Camera Raw (in emulation, for now, I suppose), how fast (how many seconds does it take) does it open a RAW file from a 1Ds Mark 2? How fast does it convert it?

2) Does matte or glossy make much difference? (In photographic prints, it seems like glossy is more reflective and higher contrast. I tend to prefer matte for prints, despite the slightly lower contrast and slightly lower apparent resolution, because the reflections of glossy are just too problematic for viewing prints with a lot of dark areas. Is it similar with screens to prints?) Which screen type do you prefer, and why?

I am sure that I will have a lot of other questions. Until then, please feel welcome to interject anything else you feel is relevant.

Thank you.

Mike

www.mikespinak.com

I only supply matte prints unless asked specifically for gloss, which I rarely am. As for screens, I much prefer the matte style screens. I don't know what they were thinking when all the manufacturers started making LCDs and laptop screens glossy. Especially for a laptop where the ambient lighting is beyond your control, there are too many distracting reflecions with a glossy shiney screen.

Thanks, Gary.

Another question: How does the battery life of the 17 inch MacBook Pro compare the battery life of the 15 inch?

Thanks, everybody.

Mike

www.mikespinak.com

I have the 17". If you tell me a test to run I can give you an answer to the battery life question, although not as it compares to the 15". Since this is my first mac Laptop, I have no point of reference. it is my fastest windows machine that I own however!

Thanks, Michael. I just ordered a 17" Macbook Pro, with 2 gigs RAM, a 120 gig drive, and a matte screen. I guess I'll be able to answer these questions for myself, on Tuesday, when my laptop comes. Of course, I'm sure I'll have lots of new questions, once I have it, and am trying to figure everything out, and get it all set up....

Mike

www.mikespinak.com

It's here.

Initial impressions:

It's FAST!

It does get little bit uncomfortably hot on my lap. I don't think it is overheating; I think a processor this powerful in a box this size on my lap is bound to feel hot. I need to get a trivet or something to put this on, on my lap.

The screen isn't just larger, it also has greater pixel density, so my pictures look smaller onscreen.

The screen is very nice.

The speakers are much better than on my ti book.

The backlit keyboard is neat.

The screen can't be angled nearly as far back nor as far forward as with my 4 year old titanium powerbook.

The magsafe cord seems to work.

The "whine" i've read about does not seem to be a problem with mine.

The flicker, at the lowest light setting, that I've read about does not seem to be a problem with mine.

The keyboard feels nice, but I think I'd prefer if it wasn't quite so far back.

Did I mention it's FAST?



Alright, I have to get back to setting everything up the way I like, then get some processing done before my trip to Lassen, this Friday.

Mike

www.mikespinak.com

Glad to see you have the Macbook Pro, now you can catch up on the image processing.

Cheers

Mike,

Congratulations on the new Mackbook Pro. I looked at the 17inch and it turned out to have screen no wider than my current 15" Powerbook.

I really was close to buying the new Powerbook Pro but was disappointed by the width.

Now my Powerbook has a broken hinge and one thin blue vertical line one inch from the right border.

Still it works.

Asher

I looked at the 17inch and it turned out to have screen no wider than my current 15" Powerbook.

Click to expand...

Asher,

I think you are in error on this point. I just measured my screen on my new 17" Macbook Pro, my four year old 15" Titanium Powerbook, and my housemate's one year old 15" aluminum powerbook. Both of the 15" Powerbooks had the same dimensions, which were (LCD only):

~12 5/8" wide
~8 3/8" tall
~15 1/4 diagonal

My new 17" Macbook Pro measures as follows (LCD only):

~14 1/2" wide
~9" tall
~17 1/8" diagonal

Indeed, my 17" Macbook Pro's LCD display is wider than my entire 15" Powerbook, case and all.

Also, another loosely related comparison:

My 15" ti Book had a screen resolution of (if I'm remembering correctly) 1200 pixels by 800 pixels

My 17" Macbook Pro has a screen resolution of 1680 by 1050

Thus, you can see a larger portion of a picture onscreen with the 17 inch than a simple inches-comparison with the 15 inch would indicate... a much larger portion, overall.

Nevertheless, I didn't choose the 17 inch (in comparison to the 15) because of the larger screen. I chose it for a number of other reasons, such as 8x double layer superdrive, firewire 800, more ports overall, etc. The fact that it wasn't much more expensive (at least, not much more expensive if you intend to get all the upgrades, anway, since the upgrades you have to pay for on the 15" are standard features on the 17") made the the decision a little easier to swallow.

Simply in terms of form factor, I prefer for my laptop/portable computers to be little smaller. In fact, I was using my close friend's 12" aluminum Powerbook, yesterday, and I prefer that size over the 15" or the 17".

Mike

www.mikespinak.com

Thanks for for going to all that effort to inform me. I appreciate that Mike!

I'll go over the specs and see how they price out for my needs.

What size hard drive did you get? Also did you get any remarkable price deal?

Asher

You're welcome.

I got the 120 gigabyte 5,400 rpm drive. At some point in the future, as they become available and comfortably affordable, I may change it out for a drive that is both much larger and much faster.

No special deal. I did order it from out of state, for reasons you can surely guess, which I won't publicly state. Also, by ordering from Mac Connection, the cost of the RAM upgrade was much lower than it would have been from Apple. Finally, Mac Connection is offering a $150 rebate.

All these together, and it still isn't cheap. However, I think it will be the most financially sensible alternative, over time. It is powerful enough to replace a desktop computer (at least, with today's and the near future's technology), obviating the urgent need to additionally buy a one. The screen is a substantial improvement over previous Apple laptops, and somewhat makes a viable alternative to an external monitor (or at least makes the need a little less pressing.) And... whoah! it's fast. I can download data from my CF card a little more than 11 times faster; I can burn a DVD several times faster (I still need to carefully test exactly how much), I can open Photoshop with alacrity, and open 1Ds 2 files with ACR or lightroom in literally just a few seconds. Various photoshop operations, such as smart sharpening, stitching, HDR, etc., all go much faster. When dealing with hundreds of pictures each week, shaving an hour from downloading CF cards, and hour or two from burning DVDs, 10-15 seconds from each file opening, and seconds-to-minutes from each big Photoshop operation will add up to a lot more time which I can use being productive in the field taking pics, or hustling sales, etc. If you factor in the value of your time, this computer can be well worth the cost.

Mike

www.mikespinak.com

Just a quick comment on the screen: the gloss screen has a higher contrast than the matte, but it's not as easy to read outdoors, or even in an office with windows (the light bringing kind). Therefore it's just an option - it's not considered as "professional" I guess, like having a "green zone" mode on a 1Ds, regardless how useful it may be (in some people's eyes at least).

The MB comes only with gloss because the target clientel finds it superior / "expected" and also it makes it cheaper not to offer an option on the assembly line.