Of Fridge Magnets and Laptops

DSCF9176FUJIFILM X-T1 (25.4mm, f/3.2, 1/80 sec, ISO200)

Five years ago I replaced my PC with a 15 inch MacBook Pro. I never looked back since but now I finally replaced it with something new: Another 15 inch MacBook Pro. So everything the same? Not exactly – read on.

Why a Mac?

One of the better decisions in my life was to get rid on my PC and get an Apple computer instead. I was never happy with all the PC related issues but mainly with the fact that you need an antivirus software (which is the biggest virus of them all) to protect your computer and with the constant need to defrag the hard disc to avoid serious slow downs.

Every time when something went wrong I needed the help of a good friend who works as a software engineer. It seems that a had a lot of issues that I was unable to sort out myself even though I worked as a computer technician in the early 90s.  What also puzzled me was that my sister never had any computer related problems although she is completely clueless when it comes to computers. But since she worked as a journalist she always used Macs. It took me a while to put one and one together.

When I got my first Mac I was afraid that I might miss many things so I kept my PC in the basement. I never went back to it. This was a long introduction but don’t worry. This is not a Mac vs. PC thing. This article deals with Mac vs. Mac.

 

Why no Retina iMac or Mac Pro or Mac mini?

I love the big Retina display of the new iMac but I don’t like the idea to be tied on a display. I also don’t like to throw a monitor away after 3-4 years when I upgrade my computer. And last but not least the early reports of the poor Lightroom performance of Retina iMacs didn’t help either.

I would love to have a Mac Pro but it is almost three years old now without any upgrade. It’s price is very high and I would pay for something (the dual pro graphics) that I don’t need.

I also considered the Mac mini but Apple downgraded the mini and there is no quad core version anymore. Plus LR 6.0 now uses the graphics card. There is still no need for a high end card like in the Mac Pro but the on board graphics of the Mini is not enough.

DSCF9174FUJIFILM X-T1 (27.7mm, f/4, 1/20 sec, ISO200)
DSCF9172FUJIFILM X-T1 (21.4mm, f/4, 1/10 sec, ISO200)

Here I compare my 2010 MacBook Pro with my new 2015 MacBook Pro. Both 15 inch, both i7 (though the 2010 had just 2 cores), both with dedicated graphic card and both with SSD. So what are the major differences beside the upgraded CPU and the better graphics?

 

Old vs New:

First noticeable difference is the Retina display. This is just a beautiful thing and the main reason why the MacBook Air lost its attractiveness as a small laptop for traveling. I now have a 13 inch MacBook Pro for that. On my 15 inch I don’t use the display at all as it is hooked up to a 27 inch Cinema display I bought together with my first MacBook Pro back in 2010. But if you plan to use the built in screen there is good news for you. While the display is not antireflective at all it is no longer the mirror it was on the 2010 model. Just take a look at the image above (old MBP on the left).

The new MBP is thinner and lighter than the 2010 model but it is rather big for traveling. If I could have only one I would still take the 15 inch because of its much better performance. At the end it is just 0,4kg more and the 13 inch MBP isn’t a carry anywhere computer either. That would be the new MacBook which is of course pointless for photographers.

DSCF9180FUJIFILM X-T1 (55mm, f/4, 1/80 sec, ISO200)

What else is different? It has the force trackpad but I don’t use that either. The main difference for me beside the much faster CPU and the much faster graphics is the also much faster SSD. Just in case your current computer still doesn’t have a SSD hard disc. This is the biggest improvement and performance boost you can have. An SSD is much faster and as a result the same computer feels much faster and snappier in operation. I know because in 2010 I also tried the same 15 inch MBP without SSD. I was surprised how much Apple improved the speed of the already impressive SSD. Now Lightroom launches in under 5 seconds. That is fast!

 

Not silent but not annoying either

What else? In normal operation the MacBook Pro is as silent as a MacBook Air which means it is really quiet if not to say noiseless. That changes if it has to work hard, i.e. when rendering a couple of hundred previews in Lightroom. Than my old MBP was so loud that I had to leave the desk. The new one is also clearly audible when it has to work hard but the sound is much nicer. It sounds more like pink noise instead of the whirring sound of the old model. No more need to run away. A substantial improvement over the old model.

So it is a little thinner and lighter, much more powerful, has a fantastic display and is much quieter than the old one. Everything perfect then? Not exactly.

At home I still use the Apple Cinema display that can also act as a power supply for the attached laptop. I love that feature because it helps to keep the desk clean. When I wanted to attach my new laptop I learned that Apple changed to Mag Safe 2. Luckily I found out that there is a small adapter. I also needed an adapter for my Firewire RAID and another one for my Ethernet cable but there are only two thunderbolt ports. One for the screen, one for my firewire RAID so no chance to connect my Ethernet. Meanwhile I solved the issue and bought a OWC Thunderbolt dock which offers all the ports I need. I understand that Apple cut the Firewire port but when I travel I would prefer to have the opportunity to plug in a Ethernet cable in cases where the Wifi reception is poor.

DSCF9181FUJIFILM X-T1 (55mm, f/4, 1/50 sec, ISO200)
DSCF9182FUJIFILM X-T1 (55mm, f/4, 1/50 sec, ISO200)

The big Lightroom question

For most photographers the only question is: How does Lightroom perform? In one word: great! Of course my old MBP was truly old. Five years for a computer is like five years for a digital camera. It still works but a new one is better. My old computer was also still working perfectly good except that Lightroom was so slow that it was a pain in the neck. Everything was slow and choppy.

Not anymore! Everything runs super smooth now. To render previews or to export files still take some time but there is no delay when switching to the development module and all sliders work instantaneous. What a delight! I wonder why I waited so long to upgrade. No that’s not true. I know why I waited so long. 1. it is a lot of money to buy a new MacBook Pro. 2. to change a computer is awkward.

The second point is not valid anymore. Thanks to the time machine backup the transfer was painless. It took just the time it takes to write back the backup on the new computer. No manual work whatsoever. I just made a 1:1 copy of my old computer. Amazing!

 

Why it still needs a fridge magnet:

Apple has made an amazing machine. Usability is state of the art thanks to OS X and upgrading to a new computer is painless thanks to time machine. They improved the overall experience with a super display and one of the fastest SSD money can buy. So it is even harder to believe that I still have to put a fridge magnet (the small Canadian flag on the left) on my laptop in order to turn off the display when I use it with an external display. Come on Apple “How hard can it be?” I know that I can just close the lid but I think that the cooling works better when the display stays open and I need to open it anyway to turn on the computer.

It is almost perfect. To make it perfect just give it an Ethernet port and offer users of external displays a more sophisticated way to switch off its display.

DSCF9184FUJIFILM X-T1 (22.3mm, f/3.2, 1/60 sec, ISO1000)