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Traveling with LapTop

billco

By billco
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billco

billco

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Has anyone here traveled with the MacBook Air 11" or 13" (for backup storage and such) and wished they had the other, or an IPad for that matter? I received a 13"er for Christmas and wondered about the advantage/disadvantage (processor speed, storage size, etc.) of going down to the smaller 11" model.

 

I'm going on an 18 day trip overseas and want to make sure I have the right backup companion. I will also probably watch a movie or two on the airplane and occasionally access the internet while in Italy.

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

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Marty

Marty

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The 11" is in just about every way a little "less" than the 13": speed, storage, size/resolution, and perhaps more importantly lacks an SD card slot. But none if this matters if it only serves as backup. The size is what is really attractive when traveling. If still in doubt a visit to an Apple Store if there is one nearby will give you a good feel for the differences.

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thighslapper

thighslapper

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Hi Rick......

 

The one thing that has stopped me getting one if the quoted '5 hour' battery life...... these figures are usually notoriously optimistic and involve you doing nothing more than single finger typing in word with long coffee breaks......

 

What are you getting in 'real world' use ????

 

Is a 256 SDD swap an easy user upgrade... and will the Macbook recognise it ???

 

thanks

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jlindstrom

jlindstrom

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11' mba doesn't use convetional ssd-drives, but rather ssd sticks that resemble normal memory sticks. At least at the moment it's very close to proprietory solution. I know there are already 1 or 2 3rd party vendors making these ssd sticks, but they're still kind of hard to find/get. So it might take a while to get a 256GB SSD stick from a 3rd party vendor.

 

I have no experience of the battery life (nor MBA) in real life, but Apple has said the new ratings are achieved with a more realistic load. Thus I suspect you might get around 4 hours out of the 5 hour battery...

 

Personally, when I need storage or have something even slightly more advanced thing to do, I take my 13" pro with me. Otherwise I just go with the iPad 3G.

 

reg ipad and raw, you might want to read here:

 

A photographer's workflow for the iPad | Accessories | Digital Photo | Macworld

 

//Juha

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stunsworth

stunsworth

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I don't yet have an ipad, but the article you reference notes that the ipad handles raw files when everything i have read on this forum runs 100% counter -- jpeg fine, raw absolutely not.

 

The image shown when you import a DNG is the Jpeg embedded in the DNG, not the DNG. Just because something is on the Internet doesn't mean it's true.

 

If you want to see a high resolution image from an M8/9 on an iPad you need to shoot DNG + Jpeg.

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billco

billco

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Thanks for the great input!

 

I do remember reading several (somewhat confident) posts over the past few months, that state the IPad is not a viable "photographers travel companion". Based on the above link to the MacWorld article, it sounds like the IPad would actually work quite well as long as it were just being used as a storage and jpeg viewing device, as opposed to something you could actually use to view and edit RAW files while on the road.

 

This does open up another option.

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Rick

Rick

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Hi Rick......

 

The one thing that has stopped me getting one if the quoted '5 hour' battery life...... these figures are usually notoriously optimistic and involve you doing nothing more than single finger typing in word with long coffee breaks......

 

What are you getting in 'real world' use ????

 

Is a 256 SDD swap an easy user upgrade... and will the Macbook recognise it ???

 

thanks

 

First off, It seems like I'm getting about the same time as my 17MBP (the one with the internal battery). If, you keep the screen reasonable bright, and if you are just surfing/email/LR3... it seems fantastic. I'll time it sometime, but I bet I get an easy 5-hours.

 

The 128 SSD is swappable for 256 with just a unplug from the socket on the board. It isn't part of the mother board like Apple says. There was one company making them, but Apple got to them and they agreed to stop for a period of time. I suspect it will be just a matter of time before someone makes one. I understand they will also have the faster USB3 standard and they should be 30% faster. I just read this stuff. Hope I'm not wrong.

 

Lastly, I can't tell you how good this little rascal is. I thought I'd miss the big 17" screen, but I don't. It is plenty fast for LR3, but yes you can get me to admit it is not as fast as the MBP17 if, I'm paying attention to some of the LR3 functions. Also, 4Gb of ram is not getting used up, it seems to be fine. I just can't tell you how liberating it is to get away from the 17MBP. Oh, as I'm getting older I thought I would never go back to little laptops because of the small displays were getting to hard to read... not with this MBA11, it is so sharp it gets away with being only 11" just fine for my eyes.

Edited by RickLeica
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thighslapper

thighslapper

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First off, It seems like I'm getting about the same time as my 17MBP (the one with the internal battery). If, you keep the screen reasonable bright, and if you are just surfing/email/LR3... it seems fantastic. I'll time it sometime, but I bet I get an easy 5-hours.

 

The 128 SSD is swappable for 256 with just a unplug from the socket on the board. It isn't part of the mother board like Apple says. There was one company making them, but Apple got to them and they agreed to stop for a period of time. I suspect it will be just a matter of time before someone makes one. I understand they will also have the faster USB3 standard and they should be 30% faster. I just read this stuff. Hope I'm not wrong.

 

Lastly, I can't tell you how good this little rascal is. I thought I'd miss the big 17" screen, but I don't. It is plenty fast for LR3, but yes you can get me to admit it is not as fast as the MBP17 if, I'm paying attention to some of the LR3 functions. Also, 4Gb of ram is not getting used up, it seems to be fine. I just can't tell you how liberating it is to get away from the 17MBP. Oh, as I'm getting older I thought I would never go back to little laptops because of the small displays were getting to hard to read... not with this MBA11, it is so sharp it gets away with being only 11" just fine for my eyes.

 

Are you on commission from Apple ?? ;)

 

Looks like I'll have to buy one.......

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Rick

Rick

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Are you on commission from Apple ?? ;)

 

Looks like I'll have to buy one.......

 

You know, when I was writing that I actually thought exactly that. But, really, travel and this little notebook are so perfect. And, what will surprise you is how much you use it just around the house for everything. This is also my work computer, I don't even think about dragging my big MBP17 to work anymore.

 

I imagine that when I go on our next vacation I'll take the Air, of course, and load the pictures in as we go and I'll do some adjustments in LR3. When I get home I'll load them all onto the MBP17 and archive them onto my back-up Drobo and do all of the PP on the big MBP17. But, since I got the Air I've been doing all the casual pictures I've taken on the Air.

 

The M9 has such a crappy display, The Air with its wonderful display almost seems like a piece of gear that is a requirement for travel.

Edited by RickLeica
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coup de foudre

coup de foudre

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reviving this thread because i did he unthinkable: spilled a cheap Chilean Sauvignon Blanc on my new 13" MBA :eek:

 

the cost to repair it in europe is more than i bought it for in the first place and, more importantly, will no longer be covered under warranty -- no matter what the cause.

 

do i get a fully loaded 11" (and warranty) for the same price or repair the fully loaded 13" and cross my fingers that nothing goes wrong?

 

my main computer is/was an antique 17" (only 2GB RAM) and i am waiting until the new ones come out before i decide if i get another big laptop and screen or iMac. so the MBA was kind of subbing as my main computer in the meanwhile.

 

do i fix the 13"?

 

or look to the future and get the 11" knowing that my main objective for this was for travel?

 

help!

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PaulOD

PaulOD

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Has anyone here traveled with the MacBook Air 11" or 13" (for backup storage and such) and wished they had the other, or an IPad for that matter? I received a 13"er for Christmas and wondered about the advantage/disadvantage (processor speed, storage size, etc.) of going down to the smaller 11" model.

 

I'm going on an 18 day trip overseas and want to make sure I have the right backup companion. I will also probably watch a movie or two on the airplane and occasionally access the internet while in Italy.

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I just got back from a trip to Antarctica and brought my new Macbook Air 11'. I thought long and hard before deciding on the 11' instead of the 13'' model. In the end I opted for the smaller size and lighter weight and am not sorry. I git the 1.6 GHz processor and 4GB of memory. I used it for downloading, reviewing and keywording photos (LightRoom 3) and copied all photos to a LaCie external drive each evening. THe MBA 11' was more than adequate and the screen is a delight. Speed was fine but I plan to do most of my editing on my iMac. Email was just OK at sea and on the Antarctic Peninsula, as expected, being slow but adequate. I did not use it for watching movies.

In summary, I'm glad I chose the 11'' model - I think it is an ideal travel laptop.

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coup de foudre

coup de foudre

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Well, if the repair would cost more than you paid for the 13" new, then why not buy another new 13" for less? And if cost is a concern, and size is not, then go with the 11" (and use the savings for some insurance).

 

Jeff

it costs less in the U.S. than here (especially as my money is in dollars).

 

getting insurance to cover more than one country is difficult, especially as my homeowner's is in a different country than i live in (and rented out)... trust me, i have been trying!

 

i am asking more, i think, if i will be satisfied with the 11" in the interim or go mad.

 

and if, indeed, the 11" is that much more of a joy to travel with and adequate for processing M8/M9 files with C1 and CS3.

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