Seeking Advice on Screen Quality of MacBook Pro

[xrogers]

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One other screen comment is that the matte screen hides smudges and such better. Less cleaning is good.

 

I'll dissent on the size question. I like to travel as compactly as possible, and prefer the smaller laptop. The screen size is 1.6" different (15.4 vs. 17), the 15 is noticably smaller, and a little over a pound lighter. Bring your backpack to the store to make sure whichever computer will fit in an acceptable manner.

 

This is an excellent computer, I think you're really going to like it. If you get the version with 1Gb memory, buy more memory immediately (try Memory upgrades, graphics cards, flash media, and usb storage at Crucial.com, Apple uses them as an OEM, and it's much cheaper than getting it from Apple).

 

--clyde

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[ericperlberg]

I have a 17" MacBook Pro with a calibrated and profiled glossy screen (using eye-one spectro). I prefer it to the matte screen. I feel it gives images a crisper look. There is some more reflection than with a matte screen but I still prefer the glossy.

 

I run a MacPro with an Eizo CG 210 Monitor for my photography and when I compare my images on the MacBook Pro to what I see on my Eizo I'm almost always disappointed. (This goes for both the matte and glossy screens). Laptop screens at the moment just don't measure up to the best desktop monitors. It will be interesting to see what happens when Apple shifts to LED screens later this year.

 

The one thing I made an error on is on my hard disk. I bought the 7200rpm hd thinking faster was, well, faster (hence better for photoshop work).

 

But it turns out that along with spin speed, the amount of data on an HD effects the speed. So a 3/4 full 7200 rpm drive may be slower than the same amount of data on a larger 5400 rpm drive. Since the 5400 drive that apple sells is significantly larger than the 7200 rpm drive, you might want to think this through, see this Barefeats.com article

 

The 17" is heavy, sometimes too heavy to sit on my lap for extended periods. It's an incredible machine though, right down through the smallest details. I've found the LaCie Little Big disk 360gig firewire 800 drive is a useful and fast acessory.

[markjames]

Bill,

 

I've owned the last 4 generations of the 15" Powerbook and just bought the latest MBP with the glossy screen. I have to say the glossy is a nice change and I don't find any trouble with glare. Images look a little richer on this screen than the matte (I compared the two before I parted with my prev. laptop with the traditional matte finish).

 

I'm up in Newburyport and I always drive up to the Apple Store in Salem to save the tax $$ when buying Mac items. Worth the short drive for you, I think, if you're in Boston - more cash for new lenses...

 

I don't have a screen space problem with the 15" and do a lot of editing in Photoshop if I'm not in my studio with the 23". I'm out of the office quite a bit and also working from home and aside from complex web programming where you need a ton of menu bars and 5 or 6 related apps open at once, the 15" does the trick. To keep it in a backback I would recommend an InCase Neoprene sleeve too - got one for my wife (who has my prev. laptop and just slips it into another bag). They weigh almost nothing and have removable straps so it's bare bones protection without extra pockets or weight. Maybe more info than you need -- just thought I'd mention it.

 

Mark

[wparsonsgisnet]

...

I'm up in Newburyport and I always drive up to the Apple Store in Salem to save the tax $$ when buying Mac items. Worth the short drive for you, I think, if you're in Boston - more cash for new lenses...

 

Thanks, Mark. How many trips out of state to afford a Leica lens?

[stunsworth]

Bill, I have a MacBook with a glossy screen. Best portable screen I've ever used. The wow factor is big. But, at least on the MacBook you need to be pretty square onto the display to get good colours/contract.

[macusque]

The one thing I made an error on is on my hard disk. I bought the 7200rpm hd thinking faster was, well, faster (hence better for photoshop work).

 

But it turns out that along with spin speed, the amount of data on an HD effects the speed. So a 3/4 full 7200 rpm drive may be slower than the same amount of data on a larger 5400 rpm drive. Since the 5400 drive that apple sells is significantly larger than the 7200 rpm drive, you might want to think this through, see this Barefeats.com article

 

Fully agree.

I should have read barefeats article sooner.

I bought my 17" MBP with the 7200 rpm 100 Gb HD, but since I never use it at less than 3/4 capacity, it would have been probably better to get the relatively slower but bigger 5400 rpm one.

[johnjs]

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Bill, regarding a second screen to use with your new notebook, you might look into the Samsung 226BW, a 22" LCD available for about $350. It's significantly less expensive than the ACD 23 with more recent spec's, except that it runs at 1680x1050 compared to the ACD's 1920x1200.

best-John

 

edit: spelling :->

[wlaidlaw]

My tuppence worth. Glossy screen for movies and games - matte for photos. If you intend to use it in a plane - matte every time. My sister has one of the new Sony's with their shiny screen and I have to admit it is good but I think it is a bit more brightly illuminated than the Macs.

 

Wilson

[Guest WPalank]

My tuppence worth. Glossy screen for movies and games - matte for photos. Wilson

 

I couldn't agree more especially if you intend to EDIT the photos on the machine.

[bradhusick]

I have owned many Mac and PC laptops. I currently have a Macbook (glossy) and 2 Powerbooks (matte). But all of this should be irrelevant. Ask yourself - do I REALLY need to edit my photos when traveling? You're far better off shooting more than editing on the road, unless you absolutely need to for your job (photojournalist). ALL laptop screens are a poor choice because the angle of the screen changes the contrast. Get out or your hotel room and shoot more photos!

 

Wait until you get home to edit. Your screen at home should be properly calibrated.

 

For that matter, go out and buy additional memory cards (I just bought 2GB Sandisk Ultra II cards for $35) and don't carry your laptop at all, unless you need it to keep up on email, in which case you might consider a smartphone or blackberry. If you really need on-the-road backup, get an Epson P2000 or similar device. They are far lighter than a laptop. With just 6 cards in hand ($200), you can store 900 RAW+JPEG images from your M8.

 

There. I just saved you $2500. You're welcome.

[wlaidlaw]

Come on Brad - we're all human and we want to see what we have shot, when we get back to the hotel in the evening, even if it irritates the hell out of our other halves. Only a laptop can do that properly. I agree with you 100% - you must avoid the temptation to edit them on a laptop screen and then go "ohmygawd" when you see what you have done to your perfectly good images (if you were taking JPEG's) on looking at them on a profiled screen. I have come to the conclusion that it is the best argument for taking DNG's because you can always go back to your originals and start again.

 

Wilson

[bradhusick]

Wilson, you're absolutely right. As long as you regard your laptop as a big preview screen, there's nothing wrong with lugging it along. Just don't edit on it.

 

Perhaps there's a market for a big screen version of an Epson P2000 at a reasonable price. I am thinking of something that weighs 1-2 lbs and is priced under $500 and has a battery that lasts about 12 hours. To keep costs down, perhaps it doesn't even need internal storage. Think of a large digital picture frame (12 inches) with a battery and an SD slot.

 

Brad

[johnjs]

Wilson, you're absolutely right. As long as you regard your laptop as a big preview screen, there's nothing wrong with lugging it along. Just don't edit on it.

 

Perhaps there's a market for a big screen version of an Epson P2000 at a reasonable price. I am thinking of something that weighs 1-2 lbs and is priced under $500 and has a battery that lasts about 12 hours. To keep costs down, perhaps it doesn't even need internal storage. Think of a large digital picture frame (12 inches) with a battery and an SD slot.

 

Brad

 

What you describe is essentially an ultraportable notebook, which is a new popular class of machines. Within months, flash RAM will be replacing HDD's on this class and LED backlit LCD's will replace flourescent backlighting, helping that power curve.

I think lots of editing can happen on a notebook screen - maybe exceedingly accurate color work which is to be commercially printed should be left to a controlled environment, yes. For most other photography, I don't think it's much of an issue. Besides, the files from the M8 are so good that all you have to do is resize them, right?

best-John

[Fin]

Hi Bill,

 

I'm a relative newbie on this forum.

 

I have the 15" MBP (matt screen), Lightroom and the M8 and I cannot fault the combo at all. Colour rendering is excellent - with no third party calibration required and profiles are a cinch.

 

I had got so used to endless tweaking/ tinkering with digital files on previous combos that I've had to train myself to now look at a DNG and say "leave it alone!"

 

Incidentally, switching to a Mac will bring more than just better/ simpler photo editing/ viewing benefits - but perhaps that debate belongs in another forum!

 

Good luck

 

Fin

[bradhusick]

What you describe is essentially an ultraportable notebook, which is a new popular class of machines. Within months, flash RAM will be replacing HDD's on this class and LED backlit LCD's will replace flourescent backlighting, helping that power curve.

I think lots of editing can happen on a notebook screen - maybe exceedingly accurate color work which is to be commercially printed should be left to a controlled environment, yes. For most other photography, I don't think it's much of an issue. Besides, the files from the M8 are so good that all you have to do is resize them, right?

best-John

 

John,

I have long awaited a great ultraportable, but until now and, I am afraid in the future, these machines will cost upwards of $2000 and run Windoze. Panasonic makes some great ones, but with those two drawbacks. When Apple comes out with an ultraportable, I am sure it will be very pricey. I am still holding out for that under-$500 device I described.

 

You're right about resisting the temptation to tweak your files too much. By the way, the curves adjustment in Photoshop CS3 Adobe Camera Raw is much improved and prevents curve adjustments that really whack your file. FYI.

 

-Brad

[bsmith]

I think Michael Reichmann, on LL did a comparison between the 17 inch pb screen and high end monitors not too long ago. I remember the 17 inch screen was very favorable with the high end stand alones

[AlanG]

... Ask yourself - do I REALLY need to edit my photos when traveling? You're far better off shooting more than editing on the road, unless you absolutely need to for your job (photojournalist). ALL laptop screens are a poor choice because the angle of the screen changes the contrast...

 

I can't say I totally disagree with this advice as I always try to examine my images on my monitor at my office before passing them on to the client. However, my laptop screen is calibrated and I understand it very well. I photograph architectural interiors that require pretty accurate color, contrast, and exposure. I almost always adjust and convert my best raw files as I shoot so that my project will be virtually complete when the day is done. Typically there will only be 8 to 15 converted files in a day of interior shooting. I often do minor retouching and multi-exposure compositing on site as I shoot. One or more images will be processing as we move the gear to another room. This gives me maximum efficiency and almost all of my computer time becomes part of the time spent on the job.

 

I don't think the quality of the laptop screen is the whole factor here. (And one certainly has to compensate for viewing conditions on location.) I currently use a machine that has a very good screen but the one that I used before that was not exceptional. Yet I got good results with that one too. Besides looking at the image on the screen, I study the histogram and know how to get my white balance looking good. I also photograph lifestyle images with models as well as general photography and dusk/night shots and have had excellent results in all situations.

 

I have been doing it this way for almost four years and rarely have to do very much color or exposure tweaking on my office machine. Numerous times images are needed in an extreme hurry and in those cases I will hand off a disk to a client on the shoot or send it directly from the job. (always with the disclaimer that they have not been quality controlled on my main computer.) I haven't had very many problems but I have a very consistent way of working. I wouldn't expect someone who has less experience than I have or who doesn't do this on a regular basis will be as comfortable relying on the laptop.

 

Here is a typical example of a kitchen that I shot last week. So you can see what kind of quality I expect to deliver. The windows required a separate exposure and I combined them on-site. (Maybe 5 minutes work maximum.)

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[eronald]

I also use the Pantone Huey calibration device.

 

If I spring for one of these wonder-boxes, will the matte screen give me quality images upon which to base editing decisions, and do I need to haul the Huey with me?

 

Bill,

I happen to own monitor-calibration.net which indicates I actually have an opinion about these matters

 

I use only Macs, and the color management works. But the problem with the Macbook Pros is that many of the screens are defective with regards to uniformity. I have a matte 17 inch one with a good screen, but all those I saw in the shop (15 and 17) had issues. If you buy at a place with a money-back warranty, it's better.

 

The 15 is much more convenient, the 17 is a real portable office. The small Macbook screens are not that good IMHO.

 

Almost all of what I do -including camera profiles- is on the Macbook, and then checked on my CG210 occasionally for sanity. Extremely precise stuff is done with my big screen only.

 

However the screen calibration software I run is very high-end (ColorEyes or Basiccolor). I would recommend you get a bundle with a calibrator from one of these two companies. Basiccolor is based in Germany.

 

Edmund

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Hallo,

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