Buying a MBP for photo/video fieldwork

[Tralmek]

I am interested in purchasing a 15" macbook pro (unless someone has a compelling reason why a 17" would be better suited to my needs). My primary concern is battery life and capacity decay over time.

This computer will be used to produce photo and video content primarily at football games, and need the battery to last about 4 hours (absolutely no less than 3) under intense and constant use to include some pre/post-game content.

My needs from a laptop:

• Store 21mp RAW photos in real time
• Store 1080p video in real time
• Edit live 480i video feed from 3 cameras, output as low-res stream to web

None of these tasks would be running concurrently, but I need a computer that is capable of doing each. Portability is also of great concern, which is why I am leaning so heavily toward a 15" with a matte display (allowing easier use outdoors, better photo color for editing, and removing the glass weight).

This is what I'm considering:

• 15" uMBP 2.8GHz
• 8GB RAM
• 500GB HD @ 7200 rpm
• Antiglare option

Getting the 3.06GHz processor is also an option, and could be better-suited to my performance needs, but I'm not sure how badly that would cut into battery time. Any thoughts or advice on this is much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[thegoldenmackid]

Screen space, screen space, screen space.

The portability difference is minute in my opinion. I'd get the 17", whatever you get, the matte option is a must for outdoor work.

 

[Ice Dragon]

The 17" has a much higher resolution at 1920x1200 vs. 1480x800 for the 15". I wouldn't go with the 8 GB of RAM since only 6 is recognized iirc, plus the option is an extra $1,000.00. If you can, get a 4 GB RAM compatible stick so you have a 4 and 2 or just stick with 2x2 by default. I'd also go with a SSD possibly as well either built in or Intel.

I'm still learning myself so hopefully this helps. Stick with the 2.8 GHz processor as well.

 

[thegoldenmackid]

The SSD is probably a better choice for your needs then the ram upgrade, both should be done via the third party. The only reason why the 7200 makes sense is because of how cheap it is.

 

[Tralmek]

Yes, I would do the RAM upgrade myself. I didn't realize the hard drive was also user-replacable. In that case I will probably go in that direction.

 

[Ice Dragon]

I was told upgrading the HD was super easy. You need two screwdrivers. My thread has the details.

 

[mattyb240]

The 17" has a much higher resolution at 1920x1200 vs. 1480x800 for the 15". I wouldn't go with the 8 GB of RAM since only 6 is recognized iirc, plus the option is an extra $1,000.00. If you can, get a 4 GB RAM compatible stick so you have a 4 and 2 or just stick with 2x2 by default. I'd also go with a SSD possibly as well either built in or Intel.

I'm still learning myself so hopefully this helps. Stick with the 2.8 GHz processor as well.

How do you figure? The new MBP's can support 8Gb otherwise they wouldn't offer it!

 

[Richard1028]

and need the battery to last about 4 hours (absolutely no less than 3) under intense and constant use to include some pre/post-game content.

Lots of luck. If you are going to do any rendering you might get 3.

You'd be better off getting something that can use a spare battery. Unfortunately with your selection you can't.

 

[Tralmek]

How do you figure? The new MBP's can support 8Gb otherwise they wouldn't offer it!

That's what I would assume too. If it's not true, that would be good knowledge to have before upgrading a machine.

 

[impilot]

That's what I would assume too. If it's not true, that would be good knowledge to have before upgrading a machine.

Yes, it can support 8 GB. Probably overkill unless you are running multiple memory hog programs at the same time...or multiple VMs like I do.

 

[Tralmek]

Yes, it can support 8 GB. Probably overkill unless you are running multiple memory hog programs at the same time...or multiple VMs like I do.

Thanks, ya, photo and video work does tend to be both processor and memory-heavy.

 

[fr4c]

I think 6GB of RAM and a SSD is a much better upgrade than on a 8GB RAM only. Sure its nice to have 8GB, but I think in your case a combinations of HD and RAM upgrade will show more improvement in system performance than a extra 2GB of RAM.