What recommendations do you have for mobile editing hardware?

I’ve avoided learning Lightroom and Photoshop, but it’s clear I need to jump in. I use my iPad for personal travel, but PC and Laptop for work. I’m retiring soon and contemplating moving to all Apple for synergies between iphone, ipad, laptop, and desktop.

A friend recommended nano-texture MacBook Pro 14” with M4 Pro, 48 GB unified memory, 1TB SSD.

Now that the M5 is out, but no mention of M5Pro, do I get the M5 or wait for the M5Pro?

Thanks,

Evan

If you wait you will wait forever. The 5 Pro will beget the 6 then the 6 pro etc. For travel I have a Mac Air (M4) 24 GB ram and 1 TB ssd. Plenty fast enough and have no issues. We bring a bunch of 4TB ssds with us as primary and backup.

BVA

Bill,

Thanks. I figured as much, but my buddy did stress that the M4 Pro was significantly faster than the M4 for LRC work. I assume the M5 Pro will be a similar step up.

I just checked configs on the Apple site, and all the MacBook 14s max out memory at 32GB, so I think I'll wait a bit anyway. I'd like to get 48GB memory.

Evan

I jumped to Apple (14", M1Pro, 32 GB RAM, 2 TB SSD) when I retired almost 3 years ago and these M processors became available (In my profession I needed some programs that exclusively ran with Windows PC, no chance for Apple).

It was a leap forward when working with LR and PS, I never looked back (although the reliability/stability of MacOS in general, reminds me at the earlier stages of windows 🫤)...

I am using this laptop during travelling and also at home (at home I have a second calibrated monitor for photo processing). The laptop is still perfect for me for travelling - no complaints for standard procedures...

At home I frequently use the new AI functions of LR and PS (e.g.: denoise in LR and also the backscatter removal by Erin Quingley in PS). Then the M1 chip comes to its limitations (amost 1' for AI denoising in LR or backscatter removal in PS; 61 Mpixel raw files). I read that the new M5 chip is the first of this series that has special hardware, that accelerates AI functions. I guess the time ripens to upgrade (the bottleneck is AI, all other performance is totally o.k.), but no hurry, I easily can wait for M5Pro or M6Pro...

Just for travelling, for me, any Mx laptop would do it (small 14" for better fit into the backback), but I like the "Pro" because it has multiple slots, including a card reader (the "Air" versions are quite spartanic with just a single USB-C slot and I would nee dto carry an adapter with me (also o.k. but better "Pro")).

When buying new, however, I would not go for an older model, the newest hardware is the most futureproof and will serve the longest time (buy cheap, buy twice...)...

Wolfgang

Edited October 27Oct 27 by Architeuthis

7 hours ago, Architeuthis said:

(the "Air" versions are quite spartanic with just a single USB-C slot

I think all the MBAs have 2 usb c ports.

10 hours ago, shokwaav said:

I think all the MBAs have 2 usb c ports.

Pro have now again all needed ports including HDMI and SDcard, but Air have still 2 usb-c.

I have a pro M1 with 2 usb-c and it is sometime a little bit painfull when you forgot your adapters...

We run all kinds of Windows programs on Macs, first with bootcamp (Intel) and now with some virtual machines. We use them for controlling lab instruments and for some coding on some proprietary 3D modeling software. YMMV.

And yes we have a dedicated bag of adapters permanently in our travel bag (had to buy some once in the Singapore airport).

Bill

Id suggest what you've spec'd there is Overkill. Ive been using professionally Lightroom since ver1 and Photoshop since the 90s - I was a beta tester on Lightroom and even wrote a textbook on Pshop. And my current laptop is a basic M4 MacBook Pro with 16gb memory. Its is way more than enough for Pshop and Lightroom (I'm processing hundreds of RAW images every week and running advanced plugins with round - trips to Photoshop and back. Not to mention a metadata rich catalog of tens of thousands of pix). You really do not need 48gb RAM! And don't bother with the massive internal drive (mine is only 256gb), buy a few portable external flash drives for working large catalogs. Cheaper, easy to back up and manage. The days when you needed to pay a fortune for high spec computers for photo work are long gone.

16 gb of ram and 256 gb storage is simply not adequate for Photo or video processing with Lightroom Classic and Photoshop. It might work for some people but it is a recipe for regret and wasted money on an non-upgradable system like a Mac. Get a bare minimum of 32gb ram and 1tb storage.

I do own a 14" MacBook Air with 512GB and 8GB Ram. Even using LR CC is a mess, if you like to use AI denoise and Backscatter removal tool. Ai denoise takes often more than a minute, and switching over to photoshop and coming back ist a PITA.

Go for the recommended machine. I think it's the adequate configuration.

I have always some programs running in the background (Mail, Reminders, Firefox, Loupedeck, etc...) When I open LRc and PS, I have already 20.45 GB RAM occupied (Macbook M1Pro (32GB).

Smaller RAM works, but much slower since data are swapped between SSD and RAM then...

First, if you can hold out until Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving), there will be reduced prices on Macs and very attractive interest-free finance deals. I bought my 16" M4 Pro 48GMB/1TB last year for $300 off and an $800 trade credit for my old Mac w/ 24 month interest-free. (Best Buy) $1100 off a new Mac with 0% financing is a pretty rare deal!

Yes, I overbought for today, but I'm not buying just for "today", I am buying for several years of use in the future. My i9 Mac lasted quite a number of years which made it a good investment. I expect my new machine will be the same.

M4 v M4 Pro is not much of a gain for normal processing. This may save you a few dollars. M5 vs M4, again, does not seem to be a huge difference. See what the similar price difference is as it could also be a way to save a bit.

Since we cannot upgrade the RAM, 32GB is a smart move. 48GB is even better. As said above, reducing the swap files by having adequate RAM helps the entire workflow speed.

Yes, you can get by with 512GB storage, but 1TB is a common, safe way to go. Buy it now so you don't regret it later. LR, PS, etc. is not going to get any less resource intensive in the future.

And yes, high-quality 2TB or 4TB external SSDs are relatively affordable.

Again, you're not just for today, but most likely for years of use to come.

Hope this helps!

chip

Edited 21 hours ago21 hr by ChipBPhoto

Thanks all. I already pulled the trigger on the 14” M4 Pro with 48 GB and 500 GB SSD. Also two SamsungT7 4TB SSDs. It should do the job. I actually got a few hundred off by going through Apple directly as part of the M5 launch.

Now to figure out my back up strategy…

Edited 14 hours ago14 hr by ACHiPo

8 hours ago, ACHiPo said:

Thanks all. I already pulled the trigger on the 14” M4 Pro with 48 GB and 500 GB SSD. Also two SamsungT7 4TB SSDs. It should do the job. I actually got a few hundred off by going through Apple directly as part of the M5 launch.

Now to figure out my back up strategy…

Congrats! Best of luck with your new machine.

Many in my circles use and swear by Back Blaze for backup. I typically buy 2x of my external drives (I.e. 2x a 4TB SSD) and manually copy them. It’s a manual process, but it gives me complete portability and independence as needed.

Edited 6 hours ago6 hr by ChipBPhoto