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MacBook Air 11" - 2GB or 4GB Ram?

httivals

New member
Hi. I'm about to buy a new Macbook Air 11.6" for work, and also to use for some portable editing of photos, though I'll continue to do most of my editing on my Mac Pro desktop.

For photo editing/cataloguing, I'll likely only be using Lightroom 3.0 on the Macbook Air. I shoot raw with a Panasonic GH2, about 16-18 megabytes per image.

Will I notice much of a difference in performance with Lightroom if I buy the 4GB vs. 2GB model for photo editing?

Also, has anyone used a datacolor spyder to calibrate the screen of a macbook air 11"? If so, were the results decent?

Thanks in advance. Howard
 

Terry

New member
Yes,
I'm using a 13" MBA with 4GB 256GB HD 1.8GHz i7 and it easily handles processing.
The 11" has appeal to me for size but I do worry about editing on the small screen. I don't worry about the processing horsepower.
 

Agnius

Member
I would get 8GB if I could. I guess that will become available with the next generation. So go with 4GB as you can't add RAM later.
 

httivals

New member
Yes, the same considerations I have, but for me the size is more important than the screen space. I'll primarily be using it for non-photography work, but it will also be useful for some portable photo review/mini-editing, I figure.

Thanks!

Yes,
I'm using a 13" MBA with 4GB 256GB HD 1.8GHz i7 and it easily handles processing.
The 11" has appeal to me for size but I do worry about editing on the small screen. I don't worry about the processing horsepower.
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
My work machine is an MBA 13" with 4G RAM and 128G SS drive. Works fine for editing with LR3 ... I have a Thunderbolt Display for it at the office so turning it into a full desktop machine is simply a matter of plugging in the display and power cables: everything else is connected to the display (including two FW 800 external drives for backup and music/photos/other media).

For my work, the internal 128G SSD is just fine. It's great to have such a quick and portable system. I considered the 11" model but for me that's too tight on screen real estate.
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
Be aware that the 11", as opposed to the 13" model, doesn't have an SD card slot, which means you will have to (remember to) carry a card reader or connect the camera. That, and the fact that the screen feels vastly larger on the 13", particularly after all kinds of menus etc. have taken their share of it, made me forget about the 11" for photo editing.

I wouldn't count out the MBP 13". It's only 700g heavier and less than a centimeter thicker than the MBA 13", has a 750GB HDD, 8GB of RAM, faster processor, a FW 800 port, an Ethernet port and a DVD drive. The price is about the same for the two 13" models. As much as I like the MBA, I'm not sure which one I will end up with.
 
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