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new macbook pro retina display... no firewire !

DeckardTrinity

New member
Just fyi, I have personally tested the following tethered setup with my 11" Macbook Air: Sonnet TB - Expresscard 3/4 adapter, Sonnet 3/4 FW 800 card, TB to MBA, FW to Leaf Afi 7 back. Generally speaking it works, but I have not had a chance to test whether or not the back can be powered with this configuration alone (mounted to the Hy6 it gets its power from the battery in the grip).

Single shots and bursts of images (10 or so in 15 - 20 seconds) all came through fine in Leaf Capture, but eventually the connection between the back and the MBA gets corrupted / interrupted to the point where you have to power cycle the back and quit / restart LCC. So I would not rely on this configuration in any sort of critical shooting situation.

But, my dream since getting the mid-'11 MBA last year has been to be able to use it tethered to my back, and short of upgrading the back or the laptop, this is probably the best I'll be able to do.

I am curious if the Belkin TB "dock" which is coming out next month will work better than this Sonnet arrangement? Maybe there is too much latency between all these devices (which does quite resemble something out of Frankenstein's lab when all hooked together).
 

Lars

Active member
This is where you need to watch the video...yes, I know "marketing" but the cooling is discussed and you can see just how much inside is battery.

Apple - MacBook Pro Family - It
Yep 97Wh. It's big because it has to be big. A large power drain means heat is generated, which means there is a cooling dilemma. Looking forward to seeing a real world test loading CPU and GPU.

Overall this is one sexy beast, more like an Italian sportscar than a delivery truck. I think Apple is after bragging rights (which they earned by a wide margin with this one). A pro workhorse design would have settled for 1920x1200/1080 resolution, at least as an option.
 

Wayne Fox

Workshop Member
Specs make me wonder what the target market is - surely not primarily imaging professionals.
I'm sure we're not large enough of a market to have much influence ...

Looks like they combined the Macbook Pro, the Air, and an iPad. I can't imagine pixel density will have any affect on calibration. It's probably still a 6 bit panel that requires dithering to simulate millions of colors so color fidelity will still not be optimum just like other laptops.

I think it sounds like a pretty sweet piece of hardware. I don't tether often, so no biggie for me. The thinner/lighter/long battery life as well as the resolution independent display was enough to get me to order one ...
 
I'm sure we're not large enough of a market to have much influence ...

Looks like they combined the Macbook Pro, the Air, and an iPad. I can't imagine pixel density will have any affect on calibration. It's probably still a 6 bit panel that requires dithering to simulate millions of colors so color fidelity will still not be optimum just like other laptops.

I think it sounds like a pretty sweet piece of hardware. I don't tether often, so no biggie for me. The thinner/lighter/long battery life as well as the resolution independent display was enough to get me to order one ...
Hi Wayne

When you get the new MBP with the Retina display, please get back to us with a quick note on how easy/hard it is to color calibrate. I am thinking of one when I replace my current Apple.

Thanks
Paul
 

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
I'm going to get one pretty soon . I almost ordered it but it falls smack on delivery when I'm on the road so I have to wait till middle of July to order it. I did read that the stores will carry the maxed out one, don't need 728 gb hard drive myself though. I'll order a 2.7 / 16gb/512. I'm trying to get away from FireWire except for my back.
 

Terry

New member
Yeah - ifixit hates this stuff - less they can do. I don't get uptight about it because I always get Apple Care.
 

Giorgio

Member
Bought a 17" in April 2012 and can not be happier!
And it has a 2.5 Gbps card reader permanently attached to the PCIe interface. Plus 16GB of ram, makes it faster than my Mac Pro which also has 16GB of ram.
Now what attaches to the Thunderbolt socket besides the incredibly expensive LaCie drive?
Files CR2 and FR3, fly through this computer.
Happy trails.
 

MGrayson

Subscriber and Workshop Member
For what it's worth:

I just had a look at the new Macbook Pro Retina at the store. It is beautiful, but I won't be getting one. It is noticeably lighter than the older 15" models, true, and I was expecting it to stick to my body and not let go, the way the Leica S2 did. But it just sat there. :ROTFL: I guess I'm just addicted to the weight and size of the 13" Air, and with the current model clocking in at about 3 times the speed of my 2010 version (which is pre-Thunderbolt), I'm going with that. 8GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD (both double what I have now) are certainly going to help.

I also have a desktop machine used for most heavy lifting. (Still faster than a laptop, but only just!) If the laptop were going to be my main workstation, I'd have gone with the new 15er.

Wonderful options we all have!

--Matt
 
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bradhusick

Active member
Just to be clear, you can't upgrade the RAM or the SSD in the new MBP, so order the max you'll ever need when new and pay Apple prices for it. Technically, the SSD will be upgradeable sometime in the future, but we will have to wait and see.

I love my just-prior gen MBP because you can upgrade everything. I now have a 480GB SSD with 6G speed inside, and I can put a second drive in place of the DVD if I care to.
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
..
Now what attaches to the Thunderbolt socket besides the incredibly expensive LaCie drive? ..
I connect an Apple Thunderbolt Display to the MBA 13". That nets USB, FW800, ethernet, and another Thunderbolt port to connect up with tons of devices, at full speed.
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
..
I guess I'm just addicted to the weight and size of the 13" Air, and with the current model clocking in at about 3 times the speed of my 2010 version (which is pre-Thunderbolt), I'm going with that. 8GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD (both double what I have now) are certainly going to help.
..
Wonderful options we all have!
+1

Might do the same. An MBA 13" with 8G RAM, 512G SSD and Thunderbolt 27" display does nearly anything I need. The Retina display is beautiful indeed, but the smaller form factor of the 13" screen is what I want for portability. I'd even go to an 11" but there isn't a model with the performance of the 13" yet.

Or maybe, by the I get around to buying, the "MBP 13" Retina Display" will have shipped. That is the machine I'd like.
 

Bryan Stephens

Workshop Member
I was about to update my older MBP 15" when the news of the new version came out, so I am going to wait a bit and get the 2.7 Ghz and 16GB of RAM. That should do me for a while anyway. Also, a heck of a lot cheaper than the MacPro option I was looking at. :grin:
 

vjbelle

Well-known member
+1

Might do the same. An MBA 13" with 8G RAM, 512G SSD and Thunderbolt 27" display does nearly anything I need. The Retina display is beautiful indeed, but the smaller form factor of the 13" screen is what I want for portability. I'd even go to an 11" but there isn't a model with the performance of the 13" yet.

Or maybe, by the I get around to buying, the "MBP 13" Retina Display" will have shipped. That is the machine I'd like.
Just purchased this exact machine (MBA 13, 8G, 512G SSD). I also purchased a MBA last August with 4G Ram and 256G SSD and never had a problem working on IQ180 files in the field with lightroom and C1. Wonderful little machine that does everything I need. My PCs take on the heavy lifting for PS.
 
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