How important is Retina Display?

[ho_co]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Am looking for a Mac laptop to take along on photo shoots.

 

Have found a couple models that look good, but some have and some lack the Retina Display.

 

I'd appreciate hearing any opinions on whether this is a coin-toss decision or whether Retina Display is that much better than non-Retina screens for photo use.

 

Thanks!

[Dougg]

I think it would depend on whether you're going to do post-processing on the laptop or use it for making decisions about printing or other publishing output. And how much extra the retina screen would cost you. I do not use my MacBook Pro for that, just for first-look evaluations of the "take" while on the road so the standard screen will do until I upgrade in a few years.

 

But my home desktop machine is a 27" Retina iMac, and the screen is glorious, and that's where I do final editing and post-processing. Yes, the screen is much much better than my previous non-Retina 27" iMac. It appears Apple is trending to retina screens for all devices. You might find it useful to visit an Apple dealer and look at the difference side-by-side.

 

Doug

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[pgk]

I have a MBP with Retina display and find it useful for occasional use in editing photos when I'm away from home, but run a second display from it for editing in the office. On balance I would say that it IS worth having but I'm not sure its a vast step up from the alternative.

[ho_co]

Doug--

I should have said that i've compared  the displays as you suggest, and I prefer the Retina version.

 

But I'm looking for the opinions of people who've had practical experience--just the kind of information you and Paul have given.

 

Many thanks!

[Guest]

I visited my local Apple store recently as I am considering upgrading my 27ins iMac to the Retina version.Take some files you are familiar with if you can get to an Apple store. I was very impressed with the difference the Retina display makes.  Definitly worth the extra.

BrianP            

Edited June 25, 2015 by Guest

[hoppyman]

Howard my Mac Book Pro (and my iPad and phone) all have the Retina screens. My view is that it is absolutely worth the difference. Screen images are not globally scaled directly according to the resolution, rather individual elements are treated differently. What you do get though is very crisp and legible text, thumbnails, any small objects etc as well. While using Lightroom or indeed any app you might think of the improvement is very noticeable. You will be looking at more than just your images of course.

[ho_co]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Thanks, everyone, for your experience. Sounds to me as if the consensus is that the Retina Display is the way to go, though there's still room for the older screen depending on one's needs.

 

Very helpful input from everyone, as I had hoped!

[menos I M6]

I would never ever buy a mobile computer without a Retina screen.

It is simply in every way a better experience in daily work (not just in how crisp blown up photographs will look).

 

I am still on a first gen MacBookPro Retina 15".

 

Do not forget to take connectivity into account. Apple like to shuffle connecting ports on their devices around every now and then and depending on your backup solutions and peripherals one or the other model is a better fit.

 

Also look into which models do allow for third party internal upgrades.

Part of my choice to this model was that there was an OWC SSD upgrade available.

[batmobile]

I wrote about this a while back here: http://thephotofundamentalist.com/?p=1327

 

I would not go back to regular screens. No. Way. At 220ppi, you can get a very good idea of how detail will present on print.

[Chuck Albertson]

Not universally loved, apparently:

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33311223

[menos I M6]

Not universally loved, apparently:

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33311223

I would say that although this article focusses on display issues of Retina MBP computers this is not an issue particular about Retina screen computers or not.

 

This is an issue taking stage about Apple products in general. Everyone who is prepared to buy an Apple product should know what he/she is financially getting into and that all the glossy design, tasty marketing and overly big promises mean absolutely nothing extended over the expiration of the warranty terms.

 

I went through many Apple products, used professionally over the years. Every single one of the Apple laptops I have used over the years had issues within it's normal warranty time.

Some of them repeatedly.

Every single one of them had additional (heavy) issues once the standard warranty time expired and the additionally purchased AppleCare plan took over (I ALWAYS factor in a purchase of AppleCare for professionally used Apple computers to extend their useful life in operation to 3 years, as I know from experience that these machines simply are not designed to be heavily used extending over 2 years - they simply fail, often disastrous to the extend that a normal repair bill would lead to a financial write off).

 

When you buy an Apple computer, plan to have backup at all times accessible (Apple won't provide a backup device when your computer is in service).

Plan to use the Apple device at most as long as it is covered by warranty.

Calculate which financial model fits your business best - use the computer for the standard warranty only, sell or discard it or buy the computer + warranty extension (at cost) and extend it's useful life for your business to the three year AppleCare limit and discard of the computer then.

 

Despite the issues I plan to continue to use exclusively Apple computers at work and in private and do not foresee a switch back to Windows OS driven machines.

Although Apple has showed very little interest to built upon their strong, productive power user oriented OSes some years ago in favor of catering the mass market, OS X remains for me the faster, more productive and largely problem-free OS to work with.

The few times I have to use Windows machines I am always reminded of how atrociously arcane the user interface is by comparison, slowing down productivity.

[philipus]

I've used both non-Retina and Retina 13" Macbooks. I currently have the 13" MBPr. My desktop is a Mac Pro with the 23" ACD (non-Retina). 

 

For post-processing I much - as in Much - prefer the non-Retina screen, even on a 13" Macbook. In Photoshop the images are too small. On the non-Retina they are what I would expect as they open and also match the size as displayed elsewhere in the system (Preview, Bridge etc). It's difficult to explain, and it is likely a personal thing, but it may have something to do with how Photoshow draws images.

 

That said, I would never buy a non-Retina Macbooks because that's just old tech (and they're not sold anymore, I think; even the new 12" Macbook has a Retina screen).

 

The more important question is if you want 12", 13" or 15". Personally I find 13" to be the sweet spot. I loved the old 12" PowerBooks and had so hoped for something similar in the new 12". But they went for ultra-thin, omitted an actually useable keyboard and went for basically no ports, so, as cool as that laptop is, it's not for me. The 13" MBPr (I have the pre-current model) is an amazing computer. Staggering performance and simply unbelievable battery life. It's a computer I plan on using for several years (as I did with the 2008 Macbook I had). But, this is not the computer I post-process on. For that I have the lovely matte screen ACD.

 

Buy extra SSD and RAM. But as for processor power go for the lowest end (unless you have the cash or really, really, really need it for your work, as opposed to for ego boost) because for post-processing the extra Hz will only help when doing things like applying filters, rotating massive images or the like, and will then only shave off a few seconds.

[MarkP]

Menos, not all Mac users have had such problems.

 

I use a current model Mac-Pro with NEC Multisync screens for my photography at home - no problems.

 

My laptop is a mid-2010 first-gen 15 inch i7 MBP with the high-res matte (low reflective) screen.  It has been used and abused for it's whole life - it has lived in my briefcase or backpack and travelled between my various worksites and home and overseas, has been dropped or kicked or fallen off desks countless times (with the dents to prove it), has had food and water spilt on it, and has been used on numerous occasions by kids including my son who DJs in his spare time at parties and other venues mixing as a DJ.  Not a single problem in the whole time! No I correct myself. A key came lose, fell off and was quickly reattached at the local Apple Store, and recently I sometimes have to put an SD card in a second time before the computer recognises it. It runs Yosemite perfectly well. I will replace this MBP it when it or the battery dies and of course it will have to have a retina screen. I really like the non-reflective screen on my MBP and think it's unfortunate that Apple can't provide a non-reflective screen as laptops are often used under more challenging lighting.

 

My previous MBP also had a 5 year trouble free life under similar circumstances (except not used by my son) before being retired.  I have also used iMacs for years for the kids and in my rooms (very heavily used dat in and day out by us doctors and our secretaries) and cannot recall having had a significant problem.

 

Regards,

Mark

Edited July 11, 2015 by MarkP

[algrove]

OP Ho Co

 

Just got my first Retina Display (RD) MBPro 13" for photo travel and I must say it is only 250 grams more than my MB Air 11" which goes to a family member. It is very fast even when compared to the Air also with SSD. 

 

I use a Mac Pro with 30" calibrated monitor for photo PP and I was quite surprised how much bluer the folder colors are on this RD versus both by 30" , 11" Air and other Mac products we have here. I have not yet calibrated the RD so perhaps that will change once I accomplish that task.  Sure it is sharp, but the more vivid colors alarmed me at first and had me thinking that it was over saturating colors at first, but friends sat that's normal with the RD.

[algrove]

Ho Co

Just a quick correction about the bluer folder colors on the RD versus a calibrated 30" monitor. I have now upgraded my Mac Pro to OSX Yosemite and the blue folder colors are the same now between the RD and 30" monitor.