I'm about to pull the trigger on a 15.4 inch MacBook Pro. I'd like to know if I need to upgrade the screen from the standard version to the higher resolution and/or non-glare options. I don't intend to do pixel-level editing on the MacBook, but I do want to be able to check for critical focusing, especially when shooting tethered. I've looked at previous FM threads on the MacBook Pro, but haven't found much relating to this specific question.
My recomendation would be to stay away from the gloss screen. The matte will be better in more lighting conditions than the gloss version. As far as editing it's a push provided the lighting condition is right.
Having purchased the gloss version as an experiment and having fully expected to return it, I'd now take it every time.
Where a bright source will entirely wipe out an anti-glare display, it remains confined on the glossy screen and I can work around it. Throw them inside a shade (as you might do when shooting outdoors wipes out that matte display) and there's zero difference. Glossy wins in my book.
Standard versus high-res... Stop into an Apple Store and compare 'em side by side. For my taste, the pixels were packed in too tightly to comfortably use Photoshop's Incredible Ever-shrinking UI Elements all day. ~130 ppi gets mighty cozy when the interface isn't designed for it.
I prefer the matte (anti-glare) screen and I prefer lots of pixels.
I've never had my anti-glare screen entirely wiped out by bright ambient light but yes the contrast takes a hit in direct sunlight. Still, I find it far preferable to bright reflections that I can't always ignore from a glossy screen (especially when what I am looking at is relatively dark). I've used both and for me the anti-glare screen is winner by far. If you only ever used MS Office wit everything on white backgrounds then it may not matter but for photos the anti-glare helps a lot more than it hurts.
Some people work in darkened environments to minimize reflections but in my place I can't do that and also see the prints or books that I am working with in reasonable light levels.
One downside of the higher resolution is that text and icons can look small because Mac OS - at least the older Snow Leopard - does not let you scale everything up like you can on Windows PCs. Many applications let you scale up text or graphics to a bigger font but it is done on a per-application basis. Despite that, for any given size on screen the greater number of screen pixels allows smoother and sharper looking text. It also lets you see more image pixels at one time and so if your eyesight is ok you'll get a better overall appreciation of the image. You just need to realize that each pixel is smaller than on a low-res screen of the same physical size.
colinm wrote:
Having purchased the gloss version as an experiment and having fully expected to return it, I'd now take it every time.
Where a bright source will entirely wipe out an anti-glare display, it remains confined on the glossy screen and I can work around it. Throw them inside a shade (as you might do when shooting outdoors wipes out that matte display) and there's zero difference. Glossy wins in my book.
This.
Also, yes on the hi-res upgrade. The 1440x900 on a 15" is too limiting.
matthewbmedia wrote:
You also might want to research buying cycles for the MB pro if you care about buying the old model 1 month before a new one comes out
Good point. A new model might offer an extra thunderbolt port or even USB 3.0 or Blu-ray support - but I doubt it Thunderbolt indirectly allows access to eSATA and USB 3.0 but the same port is needed for an external monitor.
The early 2011 MBP was a much bigger than usual step up from the previous model. Such a big step is unlikely to happen again soon but you might get a new feature that you would benefit from.
The downside of buying a new model is that there may be bugs that could take months to sort out - such as the SATA 6 Gbps problems in some of the 2011 models that affected the performance of user-added SATA 6Gbps drives (Apple got around it by not selling 6Gbps drives).
I think we will see a larger boost in the MBP line this year ONLY if they release a 15" AIR. With a 15" AIR, there isn't much of a point to get the 15" MBP from the consumer standpoint since most people are not dealing with CD's anymore. So the speculation is that if the new air's are released, and they provide a substantial boost in performance, as well as a 15" addition, then the MBP's become more "pro" so to speak, offering more ports, more speed, better video, etc., etc.
Since there was a minor speed bump in October, I'd say unless your business required it, wait and see how Q1 air releases pan out here.
When I bought my Macbook Pro a matt screen was a special order and thus was not available for the best discounts. So checkout the, effective, price difference of the matt screen. I routinely expand my desktop to a 65" plasma thru the HDMI display port adapter.
Tip: The 17" screen is the only model which has the expansion card slot. The has become very import to me.
Our 17" running a matte screen at 1920 gets a huge amount of editing work. Calibration with the Eyes One givens really excellent agreement with our HP Z3200 printer. I would not mind having more screen pixels, though.
Thunderbolt indirectly allows access to eSATA and USB 3.0 but the same port is needed for an external monitor.