Should I get a Macbook?

Thylacine

I've had the laptop I'm using now for about 3 years. It was my first one when I thought bigger was better yada yada yada. It's a ZD8000. It's really a replacement desk top, and not convenient for taking anywhere except maybe a LAN party. I want something that I can actually take to school with me and that has a good battery life.

I'm a photographer, we use macs at school. I'm comfortable on macs, and I hear I can just dual boot a macbook in order to run the windows programs that I have.

In addition to still photography, I have a canon XL1 video camera and plan to do a little bit of video editing and want something that can handle that. In the future it's possible I might rent an HD camera for a project, but that would likely not happen for several years(at which point who knows I could be looking at a new computer anyway).

I'm looking at this macbook. http://www.apple.com/macbook/specs.html I want to upgrade the ram to 4 gigs, so with my student discount I would pay $1384(I don't know if this is before or after taxes).



Will this machine handle my work as a photographer? At school we use the IMacs I believe they are called. I don't always have a whole bunch of huge files open at once, but sometimes I have a few good sized ones open simultaneously. Will it handle the video editing reasonably? My video camera is an XL1, which is only standard definition. Those will be it's 2 primary functions besides me surfing around on the internet.

TL;DR
Would a macbook be a good choice, or should I really spend my money elsewhere? If you have a macbook or this macbook do you like it?

$1400 is a lot. Is this computer worth it? I don't game much anymore....at least not current games. I don't have the time/money/inclination. The most recent thing I have is Spore and TF2(which I really don't play)...but before that I really hadn't bought anything since the Sims 2...and I haven't even played that in years.

EggyToast

I do all of that stuff on a much older mac, and plenty of other people do, as well. It will fit your needs, but not for games (which you say you don't play much anymore).

They're good computers, and the macbooks are definitely one of the most portable laptops out there (before you get into "netbooks" which won't fit your needs).

Thylacine

Thanks. I don't think I would miss the games much at all. The games I do play are generally older. Occasionally Age of Empires 2 or Warcraft 3 with a friend, which he plays on his netbook.

Am I wrong in thinking that I could still play my games while dual booting windows?

proXimity

Those games should still run booting into windows.
I highly recommend the MacBook... fantastic machines

Hlubocky

They removed the firewire port from the most recent MacBooks... so if your video camera or video interface is Firewire, you are SOL with the new MacBook. The $999 White MacBook (updated this week with specs equal to the unibody one) still has the Firewire port.

edit: Also the graphics card isn't as powerful as the 9600 on the MacBook Pro and doesn't have dedicated video memory... I'm not sure what that means in terms of what games you can play these days, as the 9400 is probably more powerful than a lot of other integrated laptop video chips.

Thylacine

Well, my camera does use firewire port, but my husbands laptop had the problem of not having one and he has a firewire an Express card that has a firewire port. Unfortunately looking at that model I don't see an express card port....are there any other alternatives for getting firewire onto it?

DeathPrawn

The graphics card in any new MacBook you buy will be sufficient to play games such as Spore and TF2. Maybe not the newest newest stuff, but that doesn't seem like a big priority for you anyway.

saltiness

I do a fair amount of photo editing on my white MacBook (the previous model) and it works just fine. It's no G5 but that's to be expected. It's still fast enough to get things done efficiently. The only real drawback is the small screen but you could always get an external monitor down the line.

Hlubocky

Like I said, the white MacBook was just updated to match the specs of the unibody MacBook (except hard drive size), and unless they yanked it, the old white model when the unibody was announced had the Firewire port. If you need the sweet look and glossy screen of the unibody, and the firewire port, you will have to get the Pro model.

saltiness

Oh, I forgot one thing - the screen on the regular MacBooks is absolutely horrible for color and tonal accuracy so I always have to double check all of my adjustments on my desktop or on the G5's at school before I print or anything. The MacBook Pro screens are supposed to be better but I still wouldn't trust them for that stuff.

wasted pixels

saltiness wrote: »

Oh, I forgot one thing - the screen on the regular MacBooks is absolutely horrible for color and tonal accuracy so I always have to double check all of my adjustments on my desktop or on the G5's at school before I print or anything. The MacBook Pro screens are supposed to be better but I still wouldn't trust them for that stuff.

Keep in mind, he's looking at the unibody Macbook, so he'll have the new LED screen. He'd still be wise to calibrate it, sure, but they're pretty great.

Dark Moon

I'm also a photographer and I happen to own a last-gen Macbook. I don't go a single day where I don't curse myself for not spending the extra to get the Pro. It runs CS3 well enough and Lightroom is quite speed with a smaller library, but any combination of the two programs or any large libraries will bring it to its knees.

My advice: Pick up a Macbook Pro with standard RAM, and upgrade it after the fact. Apple charges obscene amounts for RAM upgrades, and it's really easy to do by yourself. Also consider looking around your local used market for a last-gen Macbook Pro at huge savings - particularly if you cannot otherwise afford one.

KalTorak

I heard in the Mac thread in G&T that Apple was starting to tone down the overcharging on installed RAM upgrades... of course I just got a 2gb stick of RAM for my old MBP for about $20, so at this point charging almost anything for RAM is overcharging...

Dark Moon

They still want $150 to go from 2GB to 4GB in a Macbook Pro, whereas you can pick up a matched pair of 2gb sticks from a reputable brand for $100 at Newegg. It's not as obscene as it used to be, but it's still a significant savings.

lizard eats flies

Dark Moon wrote: »

I'm also a photographer and I happen to own a last-gen Macbook. I don't go a single day where I don't curse myself for not spending the extra to get the Pro. It runs CS3 well enough and Lightroom is quite speed with a smaller library, but any combination of the two programs or any large libraries will bring it to its knees.

My advice: Pick up a Macbook Pro with standard RAM, and upgrade it after the fact. Apple charges obscene amounts for RAM upgrades, and it's really easy to do by yourself. Also consider looking around your local used market for a last-gen Macbook Pro at huge savings - particularly if you cannot otherwise afford one.

this. I came here specifically to say this. Also I have one of the previous model macbook pros i use for audio stuff. Its a work horse, great computer.

wasted pixels

ITT: Guy has trouble justifying a ~$1,300 MacBook, asks if the extra money is worth it, is told he ACTUALLY needs a $2,000+ MacBook Pro plus upgrades.

If you don't think the 2.0GHz MacBook is up to snuff, well, he can get a more powerful Windows-based laptop for the same money, so he should probably do that.

EggyToast

Dark Moon, do you think that's the chip/ram, or simply the slow HDD? Usually when people complain about slow performance on a laptop, it's due to the lesser/slower hard drive.

Thylacine

Alright, I'll hold off with the ram and do it myself if I get one. I've done it before with this laptop, so I suppose that shouldn't really be so hard.

As far as White Macbook VS Macbook. While the price is good on the white macbook, I really want the nicer LED screen that it offers, so I'm willing to pay the extra money for that.

Macbook VS Macbook pro - I'm willing to get the extra money from somewhere/pay it off monthly so if getting the pro instead of the regular macbook is that much better I will get the pro.

So far the pluses from what you guys have said are

1) It'll have a firewire port, which I really want
2) It multitasks better.

Anyone else experience what Dark Moon has? Your macbook being crippled running more than one program(such as Photoshop + Lightroom) at the same time? Do the newer macbooks handle this better, or will I just wish I got a Pro after awhile and be dissapointed?

Clipse

Thylacine wrote: »

While the price is good on the white macbook, I really want the nicer LED screen that it offers, so I'm willing to pay the extra money for that.

For what it's worth, I haven't heard much good about the MacBook's screen in terms of color reproduction. LED backlighting should afford good color gamut and eliminate warm-up concerns, but it doesn't guarantee a good quality screen. The MBP is supposed to be much better in this regard; I don't know where the White MacBook is in terms of screen quality.

noobert

Clipse wrote: »

I don't know where the White MacBook is in terms of screen quality.

The macbook has a horrible viewing angle. Apart from that I don't know of any differences.

Qingu

I have a two-year-old white Macbook. I bought it with half a gig of ram and recently upgraded myself to 2 gigs of ram and it works fantastic—with the exception of occasionally overheating when I use a bunch of programs and have it on a blanket or sweater. I use Photoshop on it a lot and it works fine.

As far as Macbook vs. Macbook Pro, you are talking about spending $800 for something that honestly sounds like a marginal improvement. Consider that the current regular Macbook is probably as good as a two-year old Pro. Is it really worth $800 to keep on the rapidly deteriorating cutting edge?

My advice is to get the cheapest new Macbook available, upgrade the RAM yourself, and when you're working on artistic projects that need multitasking, keep it on a flat table. Actually, I don't even know if the newer models overheat as much as mine does anyway, so that last part might not be necessary.

Jake!

I do two things for a living; design and photography. The only machine I own is a Macbook pro (the early 2008 model), although I do admit I have a large external monitor for editing at my desk. That said, I rarely have to. The only issue I see with the Newer macbook (pro or vanilla), is the glossy screen, although this wouldn't be a deal-breaker to me.

Frankly, unless your screen is cowled you're going to affect the colour, and even then the most perfect screen is a poor replica of a print. Either way, if you want to see what a photo looks like (or page, whatever), you need to print it.

Thylacine

Jake! wrote: »

Either way, if you want to see what a photo looks like (or page, whatever), you need to print it.

Yeah, I agree with this completely. I just wanted to know if the screen is good enough to work on...which I guess is a silly question. I really don't have these things in front of me to look at...I suppose I was just afraid the screens were really bad from what people were saying.

Also, at school where the printers I use are, they have the large nice iMacs there. I was just assuming when I got to print, or have time in the lab I could just plug my mac up to one of those and share monitors.

As far as for home...I have a 42" LDC 1080p TV. My husband hooks his laptop up to it easily enough, I'm assuming I could probably do the same. It might not be calibrated 100% for what I need though, I'm sure I'll eventually get a monitor when I need one...most likely after I graduate.

saltiness

The white macbook screens are really bad. There's plain old uncalibrated monitors and then there's the white macbook screen. It takes bad color and tone to a whole new level. I agree with Jake about a print being where it really counts but with the macbook screen you're looking at 2x the test prints just to get what you want.

Thylacine

Yuck thank you. That's mainly what I was worried about. It seems like the new screens are better though?

Jake!

Oh yeah, the old Macbook screen is pretty bad (although not as completely awful as is made out, especially if you get the angle right). That said, I wouldn't get one. The newer one is a considerable improvement.

Legionnaired

Thylacine wrote: »

Yuck thank you. That's mainly what I was worried about. It seems like the new screens are better though?

Spend $200 extra and get a 22" monitor of reputable brand, don't spend $800 on a better laptop.

DeathPrawn

Legionnaired wrote: »

Thylacine wrote: »

Yuck thank you. That's mainly what I was worried about. It seems like the new screens are better though?

Spend $200 extra and get a 22" monitor of reputable brand, don't spend $800 on a better laptop.

This. It also lets you run a dual-monitor setup, which can be incredibly useful as a designer and make you a lot more productive.

Goshinga

Hi OP.

I'm actually majoring in Photography as well (FIT. Don't ever consider transferring there it's horrible). I bought a macbook because I figured I would need it.
Turns out I kind of regret spending so much money since the Imacs at my school are far better for photoshop and it's nice to work in school labs around other photo majors as well.

saltiness

I'm a little scared by the fact that two people in this thread have said they're using iMacs at school for photo editing. Those monitors aren't much better than laptop ones. We use G5's with LaCie calibrated monitors with hoods at my school.

Thylacine

I don't really think the iMacs are that bad. They run photoshop without lagging. The only time I've had any problems so far is once I accidentally scanned a 4x5 negative at some ridiculous DPI I didn't need...something like 3800...and it scanned the whole 8x11 area because I clicked okay and left without noticing. I was wondering why it was taking forever to open it up when I tried later on.

It'd be nice to have a G5 with hoods and all the fancy bells and whistles...but eh c'est la vie. I love the photo program I'm in...maybe it's because I don't know any better but that's not holding me back. I do appreciate knowing how to get a good print even if my machine isn't 100% perfect. ;-) Maybe I'll move up later on...you know, when I pay off the large debt accrued from an expensive art major. Hahaha.

SillyChibi

Well, it's a matter of opinion I suppose but it's almost like Apple caters to the creative. I personally love Macs because of how user-friendly they are to photographers, musicians, etc. I have heard that Photoshop started on Macs, but I'm not sure if that's true. My uncle is a very successful professional photographer, and he does use PC but he prefers Macs because of the same reason as I, and may get one in the future. The only reason he hasn't yet it because almost his entire life's work is put onto his PC, and it's not a bad computer, it's just that Macs are better. Again, this is all based on opinion.

Whichever choice you make, I hope you make it far in your career. ^.^