Macbook Pro good enough for photo editing?

David Taylor · September 10, 2006

:dunno Title sorta says it all. At the moment I have a Gateway laptop and the screen is next to useless to do anything accurate on (not that any of my images are masterpieces :cry). I want a lappie because I like the flexibility they offer. I also think Apple is subliminally seducing me....

I'm thinking of a MBP that I could connect to a 23 inch ACD and then have a dual display. Is that possible? Can the MBP screen be calibrated?

I know you guys have the answers :wink

wxwax · September 10, 2006

Mac newbie here. I use a Macbook, not a Pro.

Yes, the screens can be calibrated.

Your plan is exactly what I'm contemplating, if the new MBP has enough memory.

Andy · September 10, 2006

David Taylor wrote:

Title sorta says it all. At the moment I have a Gateway laptop and the screen is next to useless to do anything accurate on (not that any of my images are masterpieces :cry). I want a lappie because I like the flexibility they offer. I also think Apple is subliminally seducing me....

I'm thinking of a MBP that I could connect to a 23 inch ACD and then have a dual display. Is that possible? Can the MBP screen be calibrated?

I know you guys have the answers

Macbook Pro here, 2gb RAM, Photoshop CS2, it works great. I use it for field editing and on the road.

David Taylor · September 10, 2006

Thanks wxwax. I see that the MBP maxes out at 2 GB ram. Are the new ones expected to have more?

David Taylor · September 10, 2006

Andy, how much do you trust it for editing?

StevenV · September 10, 2006

fwiw...
I use my Powerbook (G4) exclusively, though I'm sure it's not quite as optimal as others would like it's good enough for me. 512Mb RAM right now, but I'll quickly be moving to at least 1G if not more.

wxwax · September 10, 2006

David Taylor wrote:

Thanks wxwax. I see that the MBP maxes out at 2 GB ram. Are the new ones expected to have more?

I sure hope so. But I fear not, since the rumormill is silent on the issue.

Andy · September 11, 2006

David Taylor wrote:

Andy, how much do you trust it for editing?

Trust it? Completely. I calibrate the monitor, it's great.

David Taylor · September 11, 2006

Andy wrote:

Trust it? Completely. I calibrate the monitor, it's great.

Oooohhh, so tempting. Is it better to get the matte screen over the glossy?

THE TOUCH · September 28, 2006

David Taylor wrote:

Oooohhh, so tempting. Is it better to get the matte screen over the glossy?

My PowerBook G4 finally broke so I'm shopping for a new MBP. I have the same question - which screen is more "realistic"? Anybody?

David Taylor · September 28, 2006

THE TOUCH wrote:

My PowerBook G4 finally broke so I'm shopping for a new MBP. I have the same question - which screen is more "realistic"? Anybody?

I read it from a few sources (don't ask me to remember them all, one I think was from a mac forum) that the matte was best for colour correction, but the glossy had more impact when showing photos to others who were not so picky regards accurate colour rendition. Apparently the glossy is almost impossible to calibrate meaning blacks are too black. Maybe someone else can explain it better...

Plan B · November 9, 2006

THE TOUCH wrote:

My PowerBook G4 finally broke so I'm shopping for a new MBP. I have the same question - which screen is more "realistic"? Anybody?

I have the same question. Andy, which screen did you get on your Macbook Pro? Glossy or Matte?

wxwax · November 9, 2006

A poll by pros on a Mac website shows a significant majority (60%) going with matte.

Why?

A truer sense of colors, contrast. Gloss screens are finicky, need to be set at precisely the right angle, you never know if you've got it right or not. A truer sense of saturation.

IOW, for real work, matte was preferred.

If I can find the thread, I'll post a link.

wxwax · November 9, 2006

Matte haters.

Here's the poll.

Plan B · November 9, 2006

wxwax wrote:

Matte haters.

Here's the poll.

thanks wxwax......I read the theads and I STILL don't know which way to go.
I need to decide fast (ordering in a couple of minutes)

Don't you have a Macbook (glossy) ? All I care about is accuracy in regards to colors for my photography.
Plan B

wxwax · November 9, 2006

Plan B wrote:

thanks wxwax......I read the theads and I STILL don't know which way to go.
I need to decide fast (ordering in a couple of minutes)

Don't you have a Macbook (glossy) ? All I care about is accuracy in regards to colors for my photography.
Plan B

Yes, I have a Macbook glossy.

Things look swell, when the angle's right. But it still saturates the images.

Frankly, I'd hesitate to make a glossy screen my primary work screen. I wouldn't trust it.

If you can, I'd suggest delaying your order, and going to an Apple Store to look at the matte and glossy screens for yourself.

pathfinder · November 9, 2006

The glossy screens are more eye catching ( I came from the Windows world with several HP lappies over the years ) so I had some reservations about Apples matte LCD screens also.

Apple chose the more matte screen originally to help the screen match printed output - pretty good idea, right?? That's why their Gamma was 1.8 also. Now, my Apple LCds are set to a Gamma of 2.2 like everyone else on the web, I calibrate them with a Spyder2 Pro, and would not go back to the glossy screens. They're easier on my eyes also.

Let's see if Andy agrees with my assessment......

wxwax · November 9, 2006

Here's another thread on the same topic, different forum.

Click on the link in the first post and vote, in order to see the poll results.

Andy · November 9, 2006

pathfinder wrote:

Let's see if Andy agrees with my assessment......

Standard (Matte) FTW!

Plan B · November 9, 2006

Andy wrote:

Standard (Matte) FTW!

Thanks guys--- I went with a matte screen. I know it's bad form to ask a (lame-ish) question on your first post but I'm so comfortable here from lurking (back to when Andy switched to Macs!) and I 'know' wxwax from advrider-- seems like the same group of people some times.

I'll head over to the de-lurk page and post a pic.

B

marlinspike · November 9, 2006

IBM/Lenovo Flexview?

That was taken to mimic me sitting in my chair facing straight ahead...notice, one is totally readable. In fact, just for fun, I'm typing this with the monitor like that

Seriously, you want matte.

DavidTO · November 14, 2006

Plan B wrote:

Thanks guys--- I went with a matte screen. I know it's bad form to ask a (lame-ish) question on your first post but I'm so comfortable here from lurking (back to when Andy switched to Macs!) and I 'know' wxwax from advrider-- seems like the same group of people some times.

I'll head over to the de-lurk page and post a pic.

B

That's some serious lurking!

Macbook Pro good enough for photo editing?

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