Is the 13" MacBook Pro Retina good for photo editing?

EddCope

EddCope

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Name
Edd
Edit My Images
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Hello All,

My first time posting in a while and I am after some advice.

As the title of the thread I am contemplating getting a new 13" MacBook Pro with retina display for photo editing purposes. I usually use Photoshop CS and take everything in RAW.

I'm wondering if anyone has experience of using the 13" retina to edit photos, is the screen big enough, is the computer capable enough to handle RAW files efficiently?

Ideally I'd like to get the 13", because the smaller size would be great for transport purposes.
I understand the 15" has a dedictated graphics card and is more powerful, but is the 13" more than capable for my purposes?

Any advice is appreciated.

Thank you,
Edd
 
The answer to your question is yes you can. However I would add that the 13" screen is a lot smaller than the 15" ( obviously) so it does mean that the canvas you are working on is fairly small. I know at least one photographer that uses a 13 MBP in the field due to size, but a lot of the edits are done on a larger machine at the studio.

One option you could think about is to attach a larger monitor to the MBP if you feel you need to work on a larger screen.

I would suggest though if you are thinking of spending a significant amount of money on a MacBook Pro ( good choice I have two) , it would be a good idea to visit an Apple store or an Apple Authorised retailer and try the machine itself. Apple stores tend to have Photoshop installed so you can decide for yourself if the 1" meets your needs.
 
Hi,

Thank you for the reply.

I was thining of trying the 13" MBP retina at an Apple Store before I decide.

I'm thinking due to the high pixel density of the retina display then the canvas available to work on should be fairly good?

My concern also is about the power of the 13" MBP, is it capable of handling RAW files properly?

Currently I use a 17" iMac, which has been a loyal companion for the last 7 and a half years, but an upgrade is certianly due.

Regards,
Edd
 
Good for editing - no. Usable, yes.

13" is really tiny for image editing - it certainly can be used, but it requires more care and you will work more slowly (and likely less accurately, because you might miss things you'd spot on a bigger screen) than if using a 24" external screen. If the basic Macbook has a quad core processor then it will handle the files OK - for now. Remember there is no upgrade path for these machines, because memory and storage is soldered to the motherboard, so what you buy it with it what it will retain for it's whole working life. As software and cameras are developed they will put higher and higher demands on the computers running them.
 
I used to use a MBP with a core 2 processor and this handle photoshop files fine ( Depends on the size of the files ) .So a more modern machine should be OK.

If you are going to an Apple store see if you can book an appointment to run some of your files through the machine you are interested in . Most stores seem happy for you to do this
 
Just done a bit of research:

The 17" iMac I use currently has a resolution of 1440x900 pixels
The 13" MBP retina has a retina resolution of 2560x1600 pixels

On that basis I should be much better off with the MBP, my only concern is does the MBP run photoshop at that retina resolution?
 
Edd - I have looked at PS & LR running on a 13" retina screen and TBH there's not a lot of difference between that and the older 1280X800 screen. Unless you get a lot closer than comfy working distance the biggest difference is a lack of jaggies on fine detail. It isn't that retina can't present more detail, but the detail is too small to see easily.

FWIW my 15" laptop runs at 3200 X 1800, and it is a lot harder to edit on that than a 24" 1920 X 1200 screen. Retina makes stuff look smoother, but it doesn't give a lot more detail *at normal working distance*.

Yes, it runs PS at that resolution, but will rescale the sidebars etc to make them readable.
 
I use a 13" MacBook Pro retina. 2.6ghz i5. 8gb ram. I just opens the below 26mb raw file in under 7 secs. I find the tool bars are fine to work with. And general editing fine. If I want something higher then I plus external
Minute in. View attachment 17862
 
I use a 13" MBA...And I choose it over a MBP Retina due to its size/weight/portability with the i7/8GB/512SSD it has never run out of steam whether I'm editing 4K Video, RAW Images, or developing stuff with 3-5 virtual machines running as well...Likewise all Creative Cloud applications are just fine....So performance wise there really isn't an issue....

However when back into my office, I plug it in an external 30" 2560x1600 screen and run in dual screen mode. I couldn't possible do half the stuff I do comfortably if I always had to do it from the 13" screen...And to me, that would be exactly the same for a 15" screen which I still find way to small to do all that stuff....Either screen size require a proper and decent external screen, so to me portability made more sense....
 
simonm8 said:
I use a 13" MacBook Pro retina. 2.6ghz i5. 8gb ram. I just opens the below 26mb raw file in under 7 secs. I find the tool bars are fine to work with. And general editing fine. If I want something higher then I plus external
Minute in. View attachment 17862
Click to expand...

Thank you for that advice.

It seems pretty ideal judging by that screen print.
 
I use a 13" macbook pro retina with 16GB ram. I sold my 15" version purely for portability reasons as the 13" fits in my camera bag for travelling.
I don't find the screen small at all for ps editing but yes you could use an external screen when needed.
I went for 16GB ram this time to future proof it a bit but the 15" worked fine with 8GB.
 
canon_togger said:
I use a 13" macbook pro retina with 16GB ram. I sold my 15" version purely for portability reasons as the 13" fits in my camera bag for travelling.
I don't find the screen small at all for ps editing but yes you could use an external screen when needed.
I went for 16GB ram this time to future proof it a bit but the 15" worked fine with 8GB.
Click to expand...

I agree, max it out on memory and SSD when you buy of what is available and you'll be fine...
 
I use a 13 inch macbook retina for editing etc while away from home and it's great for that it's fine with the 18mp files from my 7D with light room and Photoshop
At home I use a PC with a bigger screen though
If you decide to get a external screen I would check that it's compatible the Dell one that I was considering apparently won't work with a MacBook Pro
 
LCPete said:
I use a 13 inch macbook retina for editing etc while away from home and it's great for that it's fine with the 18mp files from my 7D with light room and Photoshop
At home I use a PC with a bigger screen though
If you decide to get a external screen I would check that it's compatible the Dell one that I was considering apparently won't work with a MacBook Pro
Click to expand...
Why was that? I've never come across a monitor/projector that wouldn't work with my Mac?

Keeping an all digital path using thunderbolt or mini display or dvi will be advantageous and allows driving higher resolutions, but even when I plug in a thunderbolt->vga adapter in my MBA they all just work...
 
dejongj said:
Why was that? I've never come across a monitor/projector that wouldn't work with my Mac?

Keeping an all digital path using thunderbolt or mini display or dvi will be advantageous and allows driving higher resolutions, but even when I plug in a thunderbolt->vga adapter in my MBA they all just work...
Click to expand...

it was the Dell UltraSharp U2413 I googled and found some people have had issues getting it to work connected to a MacBook pro retina

not saying it doesn't work just put me off as I'm not tech savvy :)
 
LCPete said:
it was the Dell UltraSharp U2413 I googled and found some people have had issues getting it to work connected to a MacBook pro retina

not saying it doesn't work just put me off as I'm not tech savvy :)
Click to expand...
Cool, that is useful....quick google indeed shows up issues...They seem to be related to the EDID information the monitor transmits making other devices think it is something else...Sounds like Dell need to fix that, I'm surprised such issues still exist in 2014 with monitor makers, quite some mess up.
 
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