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on the road: Macbook Air vs 13Retina

Paratom

Well-known member
Which do you use on the road/in the plane etc. ?
I have a 15inchRetina MBP for office but I find it too large when traveling and can't make up my mind
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
I've used the MBA 13 for travel for 3 years and found it perfect for that purpose except for the SSD size (was 256GB on mine), which meant I needed other computers for home/office use. So I've traded up to a MBP 15 and intend to use it as my only computer, with 1TB SSD but still with external discs for photo archives at home and office.

If I were to have 2 computers, the other one would probably still be a MBA, possibly an 11", to make it even more travel friendly.
 

Paratom

Well-known member
I've used the MBA 13 for travel for 3 years and found it perfect for that purpose except for the SSD size (was 256GB on mine), which meant I needed other computers for home/office use. So I've traded up to a MBP 15 and intend to use it as my only computer, with 1TB SSD but still with external discs for photo archives at home and office.

If I were to have 2 computers, the other one would probably still be a MBA, possibly an 11", to make it even more travel friendly.
MBP is what I have as my main Notebook for office and home use.
But I find it a bit too large for travelling.
I was thinking about 11 MBA vs 13 rMBP.
The MBA has the size advantage, but the rMBP has that nice display.
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
I have both an MBP Retina and MBA 13", the latter a year older. Both have 128G SSD in them, so they're equal on that front (a 1T external SSD on USB3 connection is where the larger bulk of my files live). The MBP Retina display is definitely a plus, but for travel purposes I'd go for the MBA in a shot due to its slimmer profile and lighter weight.

Truth is that I've not carried a laptop for travel for since 2011. An iPad mini with 64G storage does that job nowadays, soon to be updated to an iPad mini Retina with 128G storage. The Camera Connection Kit cables for SD cards and USB handle transferring photos from my iPhone and camera cards when needed. I try not to spend too much time doing image processing when on travel, just the occasional quick-fix-up for posting.

G
 

Paratom

Well-known member
I have both an MBP Retina and MBA 13", the latter a year older. Both have 128G SSD in them, so they're equal on that front (a 1T external SSD on USB3 connection is where the larger bulk of my files live). The MBP Retina display is definitely a plus, but for travel purposes I'd go for the MBA in a shot due to its slimmer profile and lighter weight.

Truth is that I've not carried a laptop for travel for since 2011. An iPad mini with 64G storage does that job nowadays, soon to be updated to an iPad mini Retina with 128G storage. The Camera Connection Kit cables for SD cards and USB handle transferring photos from my iPhone and camera cards when needed. I try not to spend too much time doing image processing when on travel, just the occasional quick-fix-up for posting.

G
Hi there,
the ipad is what I tried on my last 2 week dive vacation. For some reason at some point it didn't want to import any more images (it said"no new files for import") and so I got somewhat disappointed. I also found it difficult to see any information like f-stop etc. I don't want to do much post processing, but I want to see my files and see if they are ok or if I need to do change any parameters the next days.

For what do you use the MBA if not for travel?
 

Godfrey

Well-known member
Hi there,
the ipad is what I tried on my last 2 week dive vacation. For some reason at some point it didn't want to import any more images (it said"no new files for import") and so I got somewhat disappointed. I also found it difficult to see any information like f-stop etc. I don't want to do much post processing, but I want to see my files and see if they are ok or if I need to do change any parameters the next days.

For what do you use the MBA if not for travel?
Both my laptops are provided by my office for work (my personal system for image processing specifically is a Mac mini on my desktop at home). At present, the MBA is my standard work system, I use the MBP for making screenshots using prerelease operating system and software to capture the best quality due to the Retina display. They bounce back and forth in uses depending upon what project(s) I am working on. (I write documentation for a living...)

When I'm going on travel, I make sure that at least half of the space in my iPad mini is empty (32G storage). That lets me download and check up to a full 32G card's worth of photos from the cameras (nowadays, typically the A7 or E-M1, sometimes the M9). With the A7 or E-M1, I can also check the files without downloading by connecting up using wifi. To obtain EXIF information on any image file, I use Photogene.

I don't keep what I've downloaded in the iPad as backup storage. After I do a check of what I've shot that session, I delete all but the exposures I'm going to quick edit for posting purposes. All of the photos are coalesced back together when I get home and roll them into Lightroom.

With the A7 and to some degree with the M9, the lens information is often only an approximation or not there at all since I don't own any coded Leica lenses and all the lenses I use on the A7 are adapted lenses that don't supply any data to the body. With the Leica M9, I manually set lens codes for the lenses I carry and have to translate between what the camera writes in EXIF to the actual lens I'm using, and it estimates the aperture anyway since there is no direct connection from lens to body. Of course, you can always get exposure information directly from the camera anyway ... I don't need the iPad at all to do that.

There are many different ways to work this stuff. For some, a laptop on the road is essential—I realize that. For me, the less I carry the happier I am, and the iPad mini works very well in that respect. I carry it in my camera bag, I toss a lightweight Bluetooth keyboard in my rollaway bag just in case I want to do any extended writing.

G
 

LocalHero1953

New member
Has anyone tried Lightroom on the new Surface Pro 3? I've been thinking about a MacBook Air 11" for travel, and I've used LR without real problems on my wife's MBA 13". But I'd much rather have a Windows machine than iOS - I'm used to the Windows ecosystem, and use a desktop PC for most post processing.

Paul
 
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