Pros/Cons of MB Air

[RickD]

Going to invest in either a small MB Pro or MB Air. I already have a 15" MB Pro, but since I purchased an iMac, the laptop has now become the family computer. So I decided to get one for mobility, since I'm on the road at least 40% of the time, plus the 15" is not exactly light.


So basics would be just to do

40% photo editing (LR/PS)
15% design (Illustrator)
10% special video effects (After effects)/loop creation (GarageBand)
25% web surfing/email.
15% learning (watching videos/training)

I was already going to go with a 13" MBP, but the 11" Air's seem attractive mainly due to size and weight. I realize rendering might be a bit challenging, but it's not my main computer.

Anyone have good experience on the MBA? Pros/Cons.

[HuyMan]

If your gonna get a 13" mbp get the 13" mba! I have the 13" mba and it does what I need on the go. Otherwise if you get a mbp get the 15" or 17". Its really up to your screen size pref. Thats just me saying. 13" mba is still compact, thin, lightweight and handles pretty well. Also depends how much your willing to spend!!

[crbeveri]

I have been using a 13" MBP from the 1st gen unibody edition. I upgraded the ram and OS and it's still pushing strong (however, does struggle when running LR, PS, and Dreamweaver at once). My only complaint is the screen size. Now that I have gotten more and more into just using it for photo editing and web design I find the 13" to be very small. However, b/c it is not your main computer (like mine is) I think the 13" will work just fine. I would go with the MBP though b/c of the thunderbolt capabilities.

[JWCustomPhotography]

I have a 15 mbp, my wife a 13 and my aunt an 11 mba.

I like my 15... Love my wifes 13 mbp.

I felt the 11 MBA was just too novelty.

I think I would take a 13 inch option, and probably just take the mbp option due to it's power.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RickD]

Thanks for the input. Still looking to see if anyone else uses MBA as part of their workflow.

[thaddeussmith]

Originally Posted by RickD

Thanks for the input. Still looking to see if anyone else uses MBA as part of their workflow.

i know several people that do, but not for photo editing. it's great for e-mail/web and coders.

why not just get an ipad and call it a day? since you've got the bigass desktop, there's no real point in trying to fully duplicate it in a portable chassis.

[JWCustomPhotography]

Originally Posted by thaddeussmith

why not just get an ipad and call it a day? since you've got the bigass desktop, there's no real point in trying to fully duplicate it in a portable chassis.

+1
My iPad turned my Mbp into a desktop.

I do all my stuf on my iPad minus editing. That includes website work.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RickD]

Thanks again. I don't think an iPad does what I need to do when I'm on the road for a week, but I appreciate the input.

Looks like based on my needs, the MBP 13" is the better option for me even though it's about 2 lbs heavier.

[darktiger]

Really, the 15" is to heavy?....Not trying to offend, but are you weak, old or disabled where carrying a 15" with camera gear gets to heavy. I can understand about a 17" laptop...

I just picked up a new 2011 MBP 15" and love it.... the 13" is pretty awesome too... between the MBA and MBP I would choose the MBP....just for the faster processor and ability to have 8GB of memory... (hey since you do not want a 15" MBP with a quadcore you might as well get a laptop that can support 8GB instead of the MBA's 4GB).

[RickD]

Originally Posted by darktiger

Really, the 15" is to heavy?....Not trying to offend, but are you weak, old or disabled where carrying a 15" with camera gear gets to heavy. I can understand about a 17" laptop...

If I were any of those, that would be offensive....but that's not me.

No, I travel 50% of the time, sometimes internationally. I have to carry the company laptop and for security reasons, it can't be used for personal business nor can I run anything from the MAC. So two 5 lbs laptops, plus all the paperwork in my bag and accessories get pretty heavy.

I've been doing this for 15 years and it wears on you.

I am a network computer security geek by trade (yes, a white-collar'd hacker), so I don't think I'm technically challenged, just decision challenged :-). I just asked the question to get opinions on what they are doing, which I got and appreciate.

[RKEnnis]

Originally Posted by darktiger

Really, the 15" is to heavy?....Not trying to offend, but are you weak, old or disabled where carrying a 15" with camera gear gets to heavy. I can understand about a 17" laptop...

I'm trying really hard not to be offended by this post.

Let me just say that the difference in weight and ease of carrying between 13" and 15" laptops DO matter to some people. Maybe they are "weak, old or disabled", or maybe they just think differently than you do! I chose a 13" laptop because size, weight, and price range matter to me. And yes, I am "disabled".

As for the original question - I haven't spent significant time editing on a MBA, so I can't comment on that directly. On my 13" white MB, I do feel that the screen is a bit small for using my usual photoshop/lightroom combination. I also don't like that the screen can't be calibrated very well. However I do like the size of the computer overall, and for light editing it's certainly adequate.

BTW, firewire is a critical feature for me when on the road. I backup my images to an external FW drive while on the road, and I use the FW target mode on the laptop to quickly transfer images to my desktop when I get home. For that reason alone, I'd skip the MBA.

[darktiger]

I forgot about the firewire option. Yeah I would skip the MBA.

I understand about it can get heavy, I am also in IT and travel internationally (well for pleasure mostly). That is one reason why I loved my 13" Sony Z laptop. But I recently jumped to the apple side for my mobile laptop and have not found my new 2011 MBP 15" to be that restrictive.

I am picking up my Vertex 3 SSD today to put in my MBP, I am excited.... :)