New Portable Editing Machine

[TheSkateyBird]

Hey All,

Since I started taking photographs back in April, I've been using my Mid-2012 15" Non-Retina Macbook Pro. It's been a great machine with no real issues at all. But I've now reached a point where I want to start taking a device with me to review and edit photos while traveling - not something that is comfortable with a 2.5kg 15" laptop.

I have my Thinkpad for general home use which as some of you may know has an appalling screen, but this second machine will be my main photo machine.

I'm looking at replacements and I've gotten it down to a few devices and was hoping for some input and advice. I'm looking at the following:
iPad Pro 10.5 256GB
Surface Pro 6 - seems a lot of £ to come without a keyboard/mouse and only 128GB
HP Envy X360

I'm not really sure which way to be looking, I like the idea of the iPad as it'll be very familiar as I use an iPhone however the appeal of the other two is obviously a full desktop OS and Adobe programs to go with that. But I'm not a massive fan of Windows after years of MacOS.

Are there any other devices that would be worth considering or things that I've overlooked with the products I've picked out? Would really appreciate it!

 

[Snapshot]

Apart from the 128GB SSD, why isn't the MacBook Air on your list?

 

[Raymond Lin]

Apart from the 128GB SSD, why isn't the MacBook Air on your list?

I'd choose the MBP 13" over the MBA any day of the week, more expensive yes but also just better in every way from better screen, more USB-C ports, CPU etc and the same form factor and size, by a few mm.

 

[GSXRMovistar]

100% Macbook Pro

 

[TheSkateyBird]

Main reason for not looking at another Mac is price, and hatred of the new keyboard. Second hand 13” 2015 worth considering?

 

[Raymond Lin]

Main reason for not looking at another Mac is price, and hatred of the new keyboard. Second hand 13” 2015 worth considering?

The keyboard isn't really a concern for editing photos surely? it's not a typing machine, its a editing machine.

Price is a concern as they are very expensive, mine cost me £2300 /gulp

A used 2015 would be okay but I feel like the performance increased is justified by the price, lack of SD card slots included. Getting a 2015 one will just mean you are putting yourself up for an upgrade sooner than had you got a 2018 one. It's not a problem provided you know that going in.

Also, the 2018 model is so much thinner, it's like the thickness of the original iPad.

 

[TheSkateyBird]

I see what you mean about the keyboard and upgrade. That just leaves me with price, even the 13 seems expensive considering I paid around £1500 for my 2012 model. But I guess things move on!is there realistically any other option I can consider other than a MBP for >£1000?

 

[Raymond Lin]

I see what you mean about the keyboard and upgrade. That just leaves me with price, even the 13 seems expensive considering I paid around £1500 for my 2012 model. But I guess things move on!is there realistically any other option I can consider other than a MBP for >£1000?

Dell XPS is something worth looking at, that's what I hear.

My last MPB was 2010, and it was £869 (I got HE discount). I had upgraded to 8G of RAM in that and put in a SSD so got over 8 years out of it. I thought the new MBP would be ultimately worth it given the speed bump, especially the new 6 core CPU and with USB-C with thunderbolt 3 you can turn it into a full on desktop machine with a e-GPU. Lots of flexibility and upgrade to it...in a way, provided you get at least 16G of RAM to begin with.

 

[GSXRMovistar]

Maybe take a look at the Apple Refurb store?

 

[Vince]

The spectre/elitebook x360 really is a very nice machine. I've been running one for about a year now and absolutely love it. It's been my longest standing laptop in probably 15 years. On top of that the pen and screen are fantastic for photoshop.

It also has fantastic connectivity, my one has a couple of thunderbolt ports, sd card slot usb3 port etc etc... as I say best machine I've had since I can remember.

 

[Quartz]

Surface Pro 6 - seems a lot of £ to come without a keyboard/mouse and only 128GB

My brother absolutely loves his Surface Pro for real work; he prefers iPads for data consumption - browsing and the like. And you can get storage up to 1 TB. A Surface Pro 6 with 512 GB SSD, 16 GB RAM, and an i7 CPU will set you back £1800.

And he really, really, rates the SP keyboard over ones available for the iPad. It's the firmness and stability of the connection.

 

[Raymond Lin]

btw, re keyboard in MBP. I put on one of these keyboard covers, it actually makes it better to type on.

 

[And]

Another MBP vote here. My late 2011 13" MBP is still serving me well for when I'm away.

 

[TheSkateyBird]

Back home now and have spend a little more time looking at the different devices. With MacOS, what sort of usable space am I looking at from the 128GB model?

If I can get a decent amount of RW2s on the 128GB model I'd consider it, I've only had 128GB OS drive on Windows and I felt like that was a bit of a joke. I do have two external drive, one LaCie 1TB Rugged Drive and a 2TB Seagate external so I can offload pictures. But it's not something I want to be doing after a weekend of shooting.

 

[And]

Stick with your existing MBP, buy an optical drive-->HD kit and replace the optical drive with 1tb or bigger 2.5" 5400rpm drive. Save a bundle of cash. I can appreciate things take a little longer on an older machine but the end result will still be the same and whatever you buy you're still going to be faffing about with that device, charger, external drive, bag for it all etc.

FWIW mine is a 240gb ssd for OS/apps and the original 500gb 5400rpm drive for storage and I find that more than enough for two weeks away while everything fits in a crumpler messenger bag.

 

[TheSkateyBird]

Stick with your existing MBP, buy an optical drive-->HD kit and replace the optical drive with 1tb or bigger 2.5" 5400rpm drive. Save a bundle of cash. I can appreciate things take a little longer on an older machine but the end result will still be the same and whatever you buy you're still going to be faffing about with that device, charger, external drive, bag for it all etc.

FWIW mine is a 240gb ssd for OS/apps and the original 500gb 5400rpm drive for storage and I find that more than enough for two weeks away while everything fits in a crumpler messenger bag.

Already put an OWC data doubler in the optical bay, issue isn't performance or storage. My issue is the weight and size of the thing. Hence looking at tablets and 13" machines instead.

 

[stuman]

MacBook Air and egpu/ external hdd ?

The MacBook Air for ingesting the SD cards on the go and maybe some light editing. Then get home, plug in usb c lead offload data and have some serious horsepower to render.

Expensive tho.

 

[Zaf]

I’d say it all comes down to how much editing you are planning to do on the road. If it’s just a few tweaks ready to upload to social media or a full blown workflow ready for print etc.

I’ve got a MBP 13” and iPad Pro with Apple Pencil and find myself using the iPad Pro more.

In my office I’ve got a PC and calibrated 27” Dell display I use for my main workflow.

Plus the iPad is easier to travel with and less nervous about breaking in my camera bag on flights etc

 

[Spleen Sauce]

So I went through almost exactly this recently, but wanted something I could take on the road as well as replace my slightly ageing desktop with (and still be able to game).

I initially got a fully loaded 13inch MacBook Pro and returned it, replacing it with a Dell XPS13 (9370) plus an eGPU for when I'm in the house. For me it's just a better set up and considerably cheaper. Did a bit of a write up on it here and here if you're interested.

 

[TheSkateyBird]

I’d say it all comes down to how much editing you are planning to do on the road. If it’s just a few tweaks ready to upload to social media or a full blown workflow ready for print etc.

I’ve got a MBP 13” and iPad Pro with Apple Pencil and find myself using the iPad Pro more.

In my office I’ve got a PC and calibrated 27” Dell display I use for my main workflow.

Plus the iPad is easier to travel with and less nervous about breaking in my camera bag on flights etc

That's why the iPad Pro was somewhat appealing to me. I don't have the means to print so all of my photography is pretty much edited then posted to 500px, Instagram and DeviantArt.

Is it possible to create panorama stitches on iOS?

Don't get me wrong, I would love another Macbook Pro but cost vs what I'd use it for is kind of hard to swallow!