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Developers and photographers, please chime in on 15" MBP resolution

V

vibe

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 6, 2007
14
0
Hey guys,

Well, it looks like i'm about to jump ship and purchase my first Mac product. Originally, I was leaning towards a Mac Pro since my side job as a photographer has me doing alot of post processing of 8 MP+ pictures. However, my day job as a web developer has got me traveling a good bit as of lately, so a portable would seem to be more useful.

My question deals with the resolution of the 15" macbook pro. Does the resolution provide enough real estate for post processing and web development on the go? I typically like more real estate to see more code when I'm developing. As far as photography work goes, I'm currently doing my post processing on my AMD 1700xp+ PC ( i know. it's really slow) on my 24" dell LCD (1920x1200). I'm guessing the insane downgrade of resolution will be quite noticeable for me.
 
vibe said:
My question deals with the resolution of the 15" macbook pro. Does the resolution provide enough real estate for post processing and web development on the go? I typically like more real estate to see more code when I'm developing. As far as photography work goes, I'm currently doing my post processing on my AMD 1700xp+ PC ( i know. it's really slow) on my 24" dell LCD (1920x1200). I'm guessing the insane downgrade of resolution will be quite noticeable for me.
Click to expand...

I'm no professional, but for web design and photoshop I definitely would like a little more screen real estate. Have you considered one of the high resolution 17" MacBook Pros? I think that the resolution for them is also 1920x1200.
 
For web development the 15.4" resolution is fine.

Bear in mind that the average user won't have an ultra high resolution screen, so its good to design websites with a resolution most users will be using.

Gives you an idea of what it'll look like to them.
 
yes,

I was also checking out the 17" HD display. I just wish it had LCD technology like the new 15" MBP's. I read that the color rendition on the new LCD displays topple any of the current LCD's in other laptops. I guess you can't always get everything you want.
 
I'm doing post processing on a PowerBook with the 1280x854 resolution and sufficient so the 1440x900 would be helpful but either should be fine when you're out.

Obviously, an external monitor will be of use when you're not out somewhere but even the 30 inch monitor doesn't come close to handling better resolution photos now without some scrolling.
 
I do a lot of photo work in Aperture & Photoshop, so I recently upgraded to the HD 17". Love it. It has the same amount of pixels as the 23" Cinema Display (and your 24" Dell Monitor) so you would probably really appreciate keeping that working space.
 
vibe said:
yes,

I was also checking out the 17" HD display. I just wish it had LCD technology like the new 15" MBP's. I read that the color rendition on the new LCD displays topple any of the current LCD's in other laptops. I guess you can't always get everything you want.
Click to expand...

Uhm.. Have you read all the threads about people with the new LED screens and their problems with 1/3 of the screen beying yellow?

Anyhow, the colors are not better or anything like that with the LED screens.
That's stated in several tests and by Apple.

The advantage of LED screens are that they don't need to warm up(where as the old CCFL needs 10-15 minutes). They don't contain mercury and then they shouldn't degrade in brightness over time as the old CCFL tends to.

I have the 17'' hi rez and I really couldn't imagine "just" having the 1440 x 900 resolution of the 15''.

Okay the 17'' is not as portable, but as a photographer I personally felt that screen real estate was more important than the (small) loss in portability.

The 1920x1200 screen is REALLY nice!!!
 
I also do a lot of on location stuff and I find the portability of the 15 a godsend. With all the gear and crap that we have to carry around, an additional cumbersome (not necessarily weighty) piece of kit can easily frustrate when travelling.

That being said, most of the "real" tweaking will be done on a properly calibrated external screen at home or the office anyway. The MBP will help you get started and your home/office kit will help you finish.

The 15 is the best compromise.

To pimpdaddy: I like your photos.
 
I think the 15" MBP is a happy medium, but the 17" is a bit too large for traveling comfortably. If the laptop were to remain on a desk most of the time, then the larger would work.

You can see my setup in the sig below. I do a little bit of travel but most often meet up with people to show them ongoing work on the laptop. Upon return to the office at home, I put it on a Griffin stand, hook it back up to the Dell display and use that for graphics, photo and web work.
 
vicious7 said:
I also do a lot of on location stuff and I find the portability of the 15 a godsend. With all the gear and crap that we have to carry around, an additional cumbersome (not necessarily weighty) piece of kit can easily frustrate when travelling.

That being said, most of the "real" tweaking will be done on a properly calibrated external screen at home or the office anyway. The MBP will help you get started and your home/office kit will help you finish.

The 15 is the best compromise.

To pimpdaddy: I like your photos.
Click to expand...

In that case, yeah then the 15'' is the best for sure.

And thanks. I'm glad you like them :)
 
I am a photographer too. I'm using photoshop and Aperture a lot. And the 15" for me is perfect! Of course the 17" HD is gonna be better but the 15" is also just fine ;)
 
I compared the 15" and both versions of the 17" display in my local Apple store a couple of weeks ago, and I couldn't see me working with the 15" display after working with a 24" iMac for nearly a year. The 17" displays looked a whole lot better for me, so will be getting the HD variant when Leopard comes out.

Not totally sure on the Matte vs. Glossy argument though. Will be using it mostly for web development, a bit of video editing and photo manipulation, with an old Dell 20" monitor for extra space whilst at home (may change this for a 24" Dell/Samsung w/s in due course). Can't say I'm fussed whether Apple stick a bluray drive in the MBP next time around, as I'd prefer an external drive that could be used with my Home Media Center PC and the MBP.
 
since u were considering a desktop also...


how about:

1) Buy a 15" Macbook Pro

(most laptops at 15" only have 1280x800 rez, and u get 1440 x 900 with MBP)

2) get a nice high rez monitor for your desk at home for your photo editing

(the MBP easily supports Dual-Link DVI so u can run like a 30in Apple Display)

..... right now i just have a MBP, keep looking at nice monitors, i will prolly get the 20" ACD just to keep the aluminum look :)
 
I upgraded from the same computer as you and purchased the 15". I find that it works good for post processing, but if you are pp multiple photos an external screen is a necessity.
 
vibe said:
Hey guys,
As far as photography work goes, I'm currently doing my post processing on my AMD 1700xp+ PC ( i know. it's really slow) on my 24" dell LCD (1920x1200). I'm guessing the insane downgrade of resolution will be quite noticeable for me.
Click to expand...

you can use that screen with the laptop and have dual screens.

1920x1200 + 1440x900 is a lot of screen

i have the same setup and it is great.
 
AstrayCliche Thanks for the article...nice read!

I am a freelance photo retoucher and graphic designer and also am a hobbyist /amateur digital photographer. I also own a 15" Macbook Pro 2ghz with 2gb ram.

I am very happy with it and its the perfect size for carrying around, a 17" would be nice but is extra weight. The new lcd screens have a larger gamut, which is still bad but is better than nothing. I could never use the laptop screen for any kind of color correction or retouching, as the color gamut just isn't there, and the viewing angle falloff is no good (but to be expected for laptops)

If your using it for tethered previews on photo shoots I would recommend at least a calibrated 20" or 23" cinema display or better yet an Eizo CG series for best viewing. The lcd's are pretty portable and work great if you can get power. Downloading photos to the macbook sure beats using a 2" lcd on camera.

I use the 15" with 11mp photos and it works just fine, mostly in PS and aperture I am working full screen with palettes hidden, using the tab key to hide/reveal palettes is a must in ps!
 
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