I'm thinking this guy might make me sell my iMac and eventually just use a Macbook Pro for photo editing. The retina screen is 2880x1800 pixels and it is IPS. They announced that Aperture is already updated, and that Adobe Photoshop CS6 is going to be updated. Now Adobe just needs to update Lightroom and I can't think of a better notebook computer for editing photos.

http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/

Thanks. Certainly a good thing in principal! But how much an advantage might depend on your point(s!) of view, and there is newer competing tech:

http://www.imagescience.com.au/kb/qu...+Eizo+Monitors

Neil

I guess my point was, up until now, a Macbook Pro hasn't been a viable option for using as a main machine for photo editing because of the lack of IPS display. I think the quality of this display once calibrated will be fine for a lot of photographers, including me.

Originally Posted by jdorseydesign I guess my point was, up until now, a Macbook Pro hasn't been a viable option for using as a main machine for photo editing because of the lack of IPS display. I think the quality of this display once calibrated will be fine for a lot of photographers, including me.

Yes, sure, understand!

You know, I would be a willing victim of Apple, goodness knows I tried a few times! But I just couldn't be convinced. The Photog Dept of the uni where I study has all the latest Apple tech, and I still see better rendering on my HP + Windows.

I am also impressed by Sony + Windows displays (Eizo is a step too high atm!).

http://pro.sony.com.au/pressrelease/...adcastreleases

Old link, but you get the drift.

If Apple is really making advances in display tech, then that is good news for everybody!

Neil

I had my mind all set on a Lenovo workstation laptop that has the IPS display and is even offered with a color calibration device. But this macbook is looking pretty sexy for about the same $$. The thing that has me is all of the Flash stuff on it. That thing will flat out rip. But will it rip as much as the Lenovo with 16gb ram? I love the macs. But every time I touch one I can not for the life of me figure it out. I had to have a little kid tell me how to launch safari. So intuitive I can not figure it out. I guess I am just a PC guy? A mac would be a serious learning curve and investment in time and $$$

I just learned the the RAM on the retina MBP is **NOT** user upgradeable. I was having a hard enough time with the SSD not being user upgradeable and only 256gb. I will have to consider this purchase a little more.

They offer one at 500gb and it said up to 750gb FLASH! Didn't see the price on the 750 option.

That option isn't on the base 15in retina, only on the already upgraded model.

Originally Posted by Zerodog I had my mind all set on a Lenovo workstation laptop that has the IPS display and is even offered with a color calibration device. But this macbook is looking pretty sexy for about the same $$. The thing that has me is all of the Flash stuff on it. That thing will flat out rip. But will it rip as much as the Lenovo with 16gb ram? I love the macs. But every time I touch one I can not for the life of me figure it out. I had to have a little kid tell me how to launch safari. So intuitive I can not figure it out. I guess I am just a PC guy? A mac would be a serious learning curve and investment in time and $$$

yep it's almost like right hand vs left hand for me! shame!

re Flash, I had the impression that it was on the way to sunset??

Neil

Originally Posted by pmaxwell I just learned the the RAM on the retina MBP is **NOT** user upgradeable. I was having a hard enough time with the SSD not being user upgradeable and only 256gb. I will have to consider this purchase a little more.

It's soldered on, so not upgradable at all really (once purchased). The ssd is proprietary as well, and the battery is glued in. At least from what I've read. Based on this, I would t consider buying one. I'll be keeping my 2011 and NEC monitor.

Originally Posted by mstens It's soldered on, so not upgradable at all really (once purchased). The ssd is proprietary as well, and the battery is glued in. At least from what I've read. Based on this, I would t consider buying one. I'll be keeping my 2011 and NEC monitor.

NEC good!

Neil

I was pretty dazzled when I saw the announcement. The basic machine is a little pricey for me, though not utterly out of the question. But the lack of upgrade possibilities makes me reluctant to buy the base configuration. It's probably good enough for my current needs, but not enough for the life of the machine. Given the essentially sealed case, an extended warranty is not really optional--memory chips and batteries do fail. I would also need to buy an external optical R/W drive and possibly a USB3 or Thunderbolt hard drive. And of course, since I'm on Windows CS5, I'll have to pay for an Adobe upgrade to switch to Mac, once they release a retina aware version of CS6. I haven't added it all up, but I'm guessing the final price will be closer to $4k, which is more than double what my current ThinkPad cost. Way too much for me, I'm afraid.

I applaud Apple for pushing the envelope with their new display and am looking forward to reading real-world reviews once Photoshop can take advantage of it. But I'm also looking forward to seeing the Lenovo and Asus equivalents, once they are produced.

Also the video card is NVidia 650M which is not currently on the list of cards supported by the Adobe Mercury engine that's in Premiere and Photoshop CS6. Maybe it's in the process of being added though, because the AMD card in the previous Macbook Pro was supported.

Originally Posted by Richard much for me, I'm afraid. I applaud Apple for pushing the envelope with their new display and am looking forward to reading real-world reviews once Photoshop can take advantage of it. But I'm also looking forward to seeing the Lenovo and Asus equivalents, once they are produced.

Richard, I thought there was a cross-licensing process for CS/PS from Adobe between PC and Mac platforms. So in theory, you'd only have to buy the upgrade to CS6. Also, USB2 external drives should continue to work. The two USB ports are 2 & 3. I've been on a machine with 8GB memory for a while and I know that that's the minimum I'd ever want, so just going for 16GB isn't a big leap. The question would be whether to plonk for the 768GB SSD. My gut says no. 512GB is enough given a laptop will never have enough internal storage for a fixed work location. Enough for a working image library when on the move and all my apps.

Sadly the retina display would be wasted. I have a big screen on my desk with a 2009 17" MBP attached and travel with an MBA. I'm seriously Jones'ing for a major desktop update that will include a big TB storage investment. If I was only going to have a single machine, it would be the new MBPr. Best of most worlds.

Oh, and you can always run Win 7 on it with the old PS5 until you save a bit more.

This thing also has dual thunderbolt ports, so you could add an external thunderbolt hard drive for more storage, or a USB3 external drive if you don't need the thunderbolt speed. Or you could run a USB3 drive and two external monitors. One of these MBPs and a couple of 27" IPS displays would be pretty badass.

Originally Posted by NeilL yep it's almost like right hand vs left hand for me! shame! re Flash, I had the impression that it was on the way to sunset?? Neil

I don't know if you are making a joke or not, but this is the OTHER kind of flash ;) Not the crappy one from Adobe ;)

Originally Posted by michswiss Richard, I thought there was a cross-licensing process for CS/PS from Adobe between PC and Mac platforms. So in theory, you'd only have to buy the upgrade to CS6. Also, USB2 external drives should continue to work. The two USB ports are 2 & 3. I've been on a machine with 8GB memory for a while and I know that that's the minimum I'd ever want, so just going for 16GB isn't a big leap. The question would be whether to plonk for the 768GB SSD. My gut says no. 512GB is enough given a laptop will never have enough internal storage for a fixed work location. Enough for a working image library when on the move and all my apps. Oh, and you can always run Win 7 on it with the old PS5 until you save a bit more.

Yeah, there is cross-licensing on CS but only on the current version, and I had been planning on skipping CS6 and waiting for CS7. You're right that I could run CS5, but the main attraction of this machine for me would be to have a better screen than my current 1680x1050 laptop. A non-retina aware application will use pixel doubling, and I think that would effectively reduce my current resolution.

I agree that 512 GB seems like the right number for the SSD--my current HD is 250GB and there's no way in hell I would buy a new machine that doesn't have more. In order to get 512, you have to also get a faster processor, which I wouldn't have done on its own merits. Up the memory to 16GB (also a long-term no-brainer, IMO), add a few other things I mentioned earlier (plus VMware and a Windows license--I have some Windows programs that I simply refuse to replace) and I'm looking at $4300 before tax. It sure would be nice, but too rich for me.

Originally Posted by jdorseydesign I don't know if you are making a joke or not, but this is the OTHER kind of flash ;) Not the crappy one from Adobe ;)

No, I don't know either!

Neil

Originally Posted by Richard too rich

I find that a serendipitous epithet for the manufacturer in question!

Neil

Still one thing I have trouble with that resolution on a 15in screen is not needed because to see the detail it puts out you need to be much closer to the screen. I feel The strong point for editing photos is having enough desktop space otherwise it feels cramped and small details are harder to see. The SSD and quad core I7 with loads of ram are tempting but for the price you can get a much better iMac or even entry MacPro.