Looking for some advice from photographers that use LrC.

[Zubba]

Hey, all.

I'm currently trying to decide whether to go with a 16" M4 Pro 14/20 - 48 GB - 1TB SSD, or a 16" M4 Max 14/32 - 36GB - 1TB SSD.

The heaviest use it'll see is dealing with Lightroom Classic, and the occasional video edit in Premiere. I'm a little confused on whether or not the Pro/Max will make nearly as much of a difference as the added ram will. Any advice from photographers actually using these apps on an M4 machine would be appreciated.

 

[jcusick]

I upgraded from an Intel MBP to a 16" M4 Pro 14/20 -24 GB Ram - 1TB SSD specifically to run Lightroom Classic and Photoshop. I have a catalog of 120,000 pictures. I use a Sony A7CR which takes 60 MP Raw pictures. I initially ordered the 48 GB Ram version but cancelled it for the 24 GB after doing a TON of research. I have NO RAM issues and with Photoshop and Lightroom both open, there is only green on the memory pressure. With the $400 I saved on RAM I purchased a 4TB external SSD (OWC Express 1M2 enclosure with WD Black SN850X) to cover the overflow on my Lightroom Photos. I'll probably trade out that drive for a Thunderbolt 5 enclosure when they are available although it probably won't make much difference.

The 16" M4 Pro will be more than powerful enough, no need to go MAX for your use case. Another thing to consider, the 16" M4 Pro MBP has the longest battery life of any Mac Laptop ever made and you give up 3 hours of that if you go MAX.

 

[G5isAlive]

I have a M1 ultra studio with 64 gb ram 4tb SSD, a M3 Pro with 36 gb 1 TB SSD, a M3 MBA with 24 gb 1 TB SSD, and finally a M4 Mini Pro, 24 gb ram 512 gb ssd. I use Photoshop and LRC heavily with 60 MP raw files.

The only time I notice a real difference in speed (and isn't that the real metric here?) is with imports and stitching together 8 pics to make a panorama. Then it's a relatively dead heat (plus or minus 10%) between the M3 Max, the M1 ultra, and the M4 pro, with the M3 MBA lagging.

I don't notice a difference in RAM (24 gb seems to be fine), but imports are at least partially influenced by SSD speed (ie the CPU is not maxed out). The thing folks dont talk about much is that the larger your storage space, generally the faster it is. My Ultra with 4tb is faster than the others with 1tb or less. But again, I really only notice this on large imports of 100 files, and even then ONLY if I put my card in a fast reader. And the difference in speed is not so much that I worry about it, and currently have my LRC library on an external SSD which is half the speed of my ultra. Nor is the difference in speed so great that I really worry about which computer I am on the time. For reviewing and editing single images at a time in LRC or Photoshop, if I am on my Air, I don't stop to go to what is theoretically a faster machine. For panoramas... sometimes I change computers.

Point is, I doubt you will notice much difference between the pro and max with LRC, and even 36 gb ram is probably overkill (but feel free to get it). But do invest in fast externals.

I think people get too excited about theoreticals.

 

[Zubba]

I appreciate the info. As of now I'm leaning for the M4 Pro. I'm using an R5ii, and I've yet to contain myself using pre-capture and the ES, so I'm ending up having to cull through a crapload of shots, but hopefully that changes as I learn to control myself a little better.

 

[Silvestru Hosszu]

Hi, I have a 16" M1 Max and M2 Pro Mac Mini both with 32 Gb of Ram.
I work on Nikon d810 files with Adobe products and COP. To be honest, there is no tangible differences between the 2 devices.
For fast and efficient culling I highly recommend FastRawViewer.

 

[Resqu2]

Any Apple machine will run either Lightroom version with no issues until you start using the AI Denoise feature and it’s dependent on your GPU. I’m still trying to pick a model that will work for my needs which is using AI Denoise on a couple hundred 24mb RAW files at a time. I’m trying to stay around the $3k mark but still having trouble deciding.

 

[lvleleven]

I use an M1 Max everyday for intense edits on premiere & full photo shoots in Lightroom classic, I’d say as long as your over 16-32 gb ram your golden. My Mac is still pretty transparent at these tasks, ie you don’t feel it lacking or struggling.