Macbook Air Thoughts

uniQ · 1 Jan 2013 at 21:43

Really? That's interesting considering the minimum requirements are only 2GB on Mac. I also run it on my own MBA w/ 8Gb and have no problems.

Here's my Mac Pro's activity monitor which hasn't been rebooted in nearly 6 weeks. Running Photoshop, memory hungry IDE, Virtual Machine and various other bits of software.

I also run all of these apps on a 2012 MBA with no problems.

Sure I could ramp up my VM's to use 14 of the 16gb then dump a batch of huge PSD's into Photoshop or start converting a video with handbrake to create some page outs. But that's not a realistic scenario.

Raymond Lin · 1 Jan 2013 at 21:48

Photoshop you typically work single photos.

My library in my older iMac has almost 100,000 photos.

This new iMac, only 1 single wedding loaded so the system is fresh and the library is small.

Now you see why I went with 32G of Ram in my new iMac? People keep telling me I am nuts, not from where i am sitting.

uniQ · 1 Jan 2013 at 21:52

I somehow don't think the OP plans to have 100,000 photos on his MBA lol. You can argue as much as you wan't but it won't change the bottom line that 8GB will run LR and everything the OP has said he would use it for more than adequately.

By the way you may wan't to setup a scratch disk or separate swap drive if you're paging out on 32GB regularly.

Raymond Lin · 1 Jan 2013 at 21:55

uniQ said:
I somehow don't think the OP plans to have 100,000 photos on his MBA lol. You can argue as much as you wan't but it won't change the bottom line that 8GB will run LR and everything the OP has said he would use it for more than adequately.

By the way you may wan't to setup a scratch disk or separate swap drive if you're paging out on 32GB regularly.

But I don't have 100,000 in my new iMac....it is using 18G of Ram with 1 wedding (like 3,000 photos, not 100,000). I am not arguing, I am showing you a real world numbers with Lightroom 4 usage. 3,000 photos is not that many. The numbers speak for itself.

And I am in the process of getting a Thunderbolt RAID to set up scratch disk, but money is tight after buying this iMac and a Intous in the same week...

uniQ · 1 Jan 2013 at 22:04

Ok Lin, A MBA with 8GB RAM is not enough to run LR even though I and many others do it and it's only 400% more than the minimum requirements to run LR but you clearly know best. You win enjoy your victory

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/insights/blogs/photography/pro-photographer-who-uses-macbook-air.html
http://pindelski.org/Photography/2012/07/04/macbook-air-2012-part-ii/

So the 2012 MBA is a credible and fully usable Lightroom/Photoshop machine where the 2010 was sluggish. If you try the 2012 and are using the 2010, you will want to upgrade. The improvement over the 2011 will be less noticeable. For those just seeking a speedy web and email laptop, the 2010 MBA at $650 used is a great deal.

rctneil · 1 Jan 2013 at 22:06

Thanks for the conversation. If I went for a Windows netbook which yes is a lot less price wise, I would still be running LR on it for the small amount of work doing basic organisation and tagging whilst away. They also, (the ones I have had a look at) have smaller screens at a lower quality, are heavier, less durable and I would have to by equivalent software that I already have on my mac to do the same tasks on Windows.

Whereas with the air, I can literally turn it on, sign into my various accounts, and have the majority of my info on it within 25 minutes of it arriving at my front door.

I also have something against Windows 8. Just don't like it. Yes, I could put on Windows 7 but that's just trying to go backwards. Linux, it would be fine for my development work but I use multimedia applications such as the aforementioned LR which don;t run on Linux so everything seems to point to the Air.

jaybee · 1 Jan 2013 at 22:06

You don't need 16gb - let alone 32gb - to be able to edit high quality photo libraries in photoshop/lightroom. I used to do it with 2 and 4gb machines with my DSLRs over the years. Right now though, yes 8gb would be preferable. 16gb better, but certainly not necessary. 32gb...certainly usable but overkill for most people, even photo editors.

My "thoughts" on the Macbook since the OP asks...have you used Apple products before?

rctneil · 1 Jan 2013 at 22:08

Yes, I own an iMac 27", iPad 3 and use a MacBook Pro from work.

jaybee · 1 Jan 2013 at 22:09

rctneil said:
Thanks for the conversation. If I went for a Windows netbook which yes is a lot less price wise, I would still be running LR on it for the small amount of work doing basic organisation and tagging whilst away. They also, (the ones I have had a look at) have smaller screens at a lower quality, are heavier, less durable and I would have to by equivalent software that I already have on my mac to do the same tasks on Windows.

Whereas with the air, I can literally turn it on, sign into my various accounts, and have the majority of my info on it within 25 minutes of it arriving at my front door.

I also have something against Windows 8. Just don't like it. Yes, I could put on Windows 7 but that's just trying to go backwards. Linux, it would be fine for my development work but I use multimedia applications such as the aforementioned LR which don;t run on Linux so everything seems to point to the Air.

It sounds like you have already made your mind up to be honest with that kind of talk. But it's ok...there's still time to talk sense in to you.

Apple = bad. Mmmkay? Let's start with that.

Sorry, I'm very anti Apple so should probably leave this thread.

jaybee · 1 Jan 2013 at 22:10

rctneil said:
Yes, I own an iMac 27", iPad 3 and use a MacBook Pro from work.

Oh. Ok. Sorry a little bit of sick just came into my mouth and I had to swallow it back down. Sounds like for you, a Macbook Air is a no brainer if the virus has already taken a hold on you.

rctneil · 1 Jan 2013 at 22:13

I was extremely anti Apple from when I first used a computer up until very recently when I actually gave one a go. It's not because "It's an Apple and it must be amazing" Apple devices have just as many problems and odd quirks of their own as any other device. I have just become very accustomed to OSX. Mainly because of it's unix foundation. I would switch to a standard linux OS but as I stated above, I wouldn't be able to use Adobe software, mainly Lightroom or applications like that. So OSX allows me the unix foundation plus the ability to run that software type.

I also really like iTunes (I may be in the minority) but if you actually work WITH it rather than against it, it does work surprisingly well. and once again, it DOES have it's downsides, it is not perfect.

Also, Apple devices are a good deal pricier but I do like the flexibility of the OS so I am prepared to pay for it. I would be very happy if OSX became open source but that'll never happen.

Raymond Lin · 1 Jan 2013 at 22:13

uniQ said:
Ok Lin, A MBA with 8GB RAM is not enough to run LR even though I and many others do it and it's only 400% more than the minimum requirements to run LR but you clearly know best. You win enjoy your victory

It's not about winning and I would love it if my old iMac isn't screaming for more Ram (and I can't add anymore since it is maxed out). But the fact that it pages 4G of files on a regular basis tells me otherwise. It would have saved me a lot of money.

I can't speak for other photographers, I don't have access to their machines, I have access to mine and my own experience tells me LR4 loves Ram.

p.s. minimum requirements? you play games with minimum spec that says on the box?

rctneil · 1 Jan 2013 at 22:17

Raymond Lin said:
It's not about winning and I would love it if my old iMac isn't screaming for more Ram (and I can't add anymore since it is maxed out). But the fact that it pages 4G of files on a regular basis tells me otherwise. It would have saved me a lot of money.

I can't speak for other photographers, I don't have access to their machines, I have access to mine and my own experience tells me LR4 loves Ram.

Surely, If the ram is available applications, including LR, will attempt to take advantage of it. It does say the minimum requirement is 2Gb.

jaybee · 1 Jan 2013 at 22:19

Raymond Lin said:
LR4 loves Ram.

It does. Totally. As do all Photography/Videography centric applications. RAM is cheap at the moment so if I was buying new I would definitely be speccing 16gb of ram. Right now I feel 32gb is overkill for the majority of people. I think if you feel you need 32gb to use lightroom properly, you don't have it setup as best it could be.

Raymond Lin · 1 Jan 2013 at 22:24

I don't feel like I need to get 32G if my experience told me otherwise but like you said, Ram is cheap, its only £60 more. Seeing how much the machine costs, its a no brainer. Saves me faffing around later on too.

I see that LR wants more. If for example, the above doesn't say it is using over 18G of Ram, I would totally agree with you, but how can I say it doesn't use over 16G of Ram when it clearly does?

As for setting it up properly. The photo library is not on the same HD as the OS, when I am done, hopefully OS/library/scratch disk are all on separate physical disks, with library and scratch disk running RAID via thunderbolt.

Right now, it is a brand new install, 3,000 photos. How can I set it up any better?

jaybee · 1 Jan 2013 at 22:26

As said above, it will use the RAM if it is available. I've never seen people come onto forums and ask how you can run Photoshop/Lightroom better and people seriously recommend 32gb of ram. Have you?

Raymond Lin · 1 Jan 2013 at 22:29

jaybee said:
As said above, it will use the RAM if it is available. I've never seen people come onto forums and ask how you can run Photoshop/Lightroom better and people seriously recommend 32gb of ram. Have you?

I am not recommending 32G of Ram, I am recommending OP to get a Netbook and save his LR stuff for his iMac. Although clearly he has his mind set on a MBA so this thread is kinda redundant anyway.

As for my own preference in amount of Ram, 16G would be my own minimum. You can run it with 2G, sure it will, but it won't be as smooth.

rctneil · 1 Jan 2013 at 22:30

My aim for using LR on the air will be for importing and organising into folders, adding bulk tags and maybe GPS data, nothing more. Then importing that catalog into my main iMac one when I get home.

shine · 1 Jan 2013 at 22:31

rctneil said:
I also have something against Windows 8. Just don't like it. Yes, I could put on Windows 7 but that's just trying to go backwards. Linux, it would be fine for my development work but I use multimedia applications such as the aforementioned LR which don;t run on Linux so everything seems to point to the Air.

It sounds like you're looking at getting a laptop for general use rather than just a holiday which seemed to be the major factor listed in the OP. If that is the case then by all means get the MBA.

rctneil · 1 Jan 2013 at 22:34

Yes, An air would be great for doing dev work on the move before I go and on my return. Super light and small but still the same dev flexibility as the iMac. The iMac will still be my base machine though.