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              retina
              June 11, 2012
              Lee Morris

              The New Macbook Pro Is Every Photographers Dream

              Just a few hours ago Apple announced their all new Macbook Pro line of laptops. The most impressive of the group is the 15inch model which includes a retina display! I’m currently typing this on a massive 24inch ultra sharp monitor that has 1920×1200 pixels. Apple’s new 15 inch screen has a shocking 2800×1800 pixels. Apple also finally made the jump to USB 3.0 which makes this the most impressive laptop for creative professionals on the go. Pre-order the new machine here.

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              Newer Comments →
              • ajmills

                I’m too scared to look and see how much it costs…

              • robert1290

                they killed the 17″ mac pro and also killed the MAC PRO today. Very sad day for professionals.

              • http://twitter.com/int3nsive Int3nsive

                Mac Pro was not killed but silent upgraded. The only one who was “killed” was the 17′ MacBook Pro or it’s maybe in standby because there’s not possible yet to get a “retina display” for him since DPI are a factor of “Size/Resolution”.

              • http://www.rlmorris.com Lee Morris

                I’m not a Mac user but I’d take pixel count over screen size any day. I also think they will eventually get rid of the mac pro but they have not yet, they just gave it a new update today. 
                http://gizmodo.com/5917271/the-mac-pro-is-half+dead-apple-has-kind-of-updated-one-of-its-most-venerable-lines

              • http://www.michaelkormos.com/ Michael Kormos

                I guess zooming into 100% just won’t do.  iForsee an apple magnifier, optional for $499 :-)

              • http://twitter.com/kissclick Brad Lensman

                Really nice resolution, but after using a 17″ machine for a while, I could never go back to 15″ for editing. I like it for making my images just slightly larger and more immersive; resolution is somewhat less important to me. The Retina display gives more pixels, but not more user interface, on-screen text, etc. I’m also using a machine that’s less than 1/3 the price of that new one, so I’m not in Apple’s target demographic. Obviously. :-)

              • http://www.michaelkormos.com/ Michael Kormos

                I don’t think Mac Pro is going to be killed anytime soon. There will always be a need for a robust, upgradeable workstation.

              • robert1290

                15″ is not big enough for professional work.. .  And releasing a “new” Mac Pro with no thunderbolt, no USB 3, and a video card from 3 years ago is not an upgrade… its a big F-U to the professional.   As Lee Morris himself just said he doesn’t use mac, I will follow. In fact, Lee seems to be pretty damn good at all this so maybe he will post what he uses so all of us that blindly followed Apple all these years have someone with a bit of vision to follow now.

              • http://www.facebook.com/jasonwaynelee Jason Lee

                That is an insane pixel pitch 

              • http://www.facebook.com/hiroschneider Jaron Schneider

                Uh… what? It has Thunderbolt. It has two Thunderbolt connectors. And two USB 3s. And they made it smaller. With a much better screen. And they changed the harddrive to flash. And a slough of other changes. 

              • robert1290

                jason, where do you see mac pro has thunderbolt and usb 3? wow i take back everything bad i just said.  O wait a second.. you are wrong. The new MAC PRO does not have anything but a new processor…

              • http://www.facebook.com/jason.berge.712 Jason Berge

                Looks really great except for the fact that there is no Firewire 800 port. Grrrrrrrrrrrr. 

                I guess I will just have to rough it with my current MacBookPro until the adapter ships. Or throw away my AptusII, Hmmm, decisions.Really, do Apple even talk to photographers when they make these decisions. Ever Digital back available today uses FW 800, two, the Phase IQ series and the Leaf Credo series have USB 3 ports, and they don’t work yet, they are promised to be enabled at a later date with a firmware upgrade. How long have the IQ’s been out?

              • http://twitter.com/TuneBridge TuneBridge

                umm….
                http://www.apple.com/macbook-pro/specs/

              • http://www.facebook.com/natecain Nathan Cain

                2 minute mark in the video confirms what Jaron said.

              • robert1290

                wow. I am really speechless.  the fact that you guys do not know the difference between a macbook pro and a mac pro tells me everything.. not just one, but 3 of you.  Maybe apple is right in targeting the consumer that have no clue… 

              • http://twitter.com/140_Photography 140 Photography

                Can’t wait to put Windows 8 on this puppy.

              • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1573572332 Michael Montalto

                If you’re calling yourself a “professional” and your editing on a laptop screen on the regular I would seriously reconsider my profession.  17″ nor 19″ nor 20″ is enough to edit high res files that cameras are getting out today.  At MINIMUM, as a professional photographer you’re going to want a 24″ EXTERNAL screen that is properly color calibrated.

                The power of this machine is it’s display and portability.  When paired with the soon to be released Retina 27″ external Cinema display this mobile device becomes a portable editing station that not only allows you to import, edit, organize and quickly transfer your images/video but it’s a wonderful way to display your work to clients on a screen that is … magical.

                17″ was just too heavy and bulky.  The concept of being able to dock my machine and utilize a huge, beautiful counterpart and then take my data with me AND use it for 7 hours…..brilliant.

                ….and I’ve never owned a Mac in my life.
                mM

              • Joey Sylvester

                Agreed with the other guy, you might be an idiot.. Comparing a guy that runs a reasonably successful blog with other industry professionals is about as irrational as “FAN posts” get. That notebook’s price point and specific feature set are unmatched in the industry as of now. There is absolutely no professional carrying around a 17″ notebook however, there seems to be a LARGE following for the 13-15 models to be more powerful. My guess is the 13″ screen/processor/battery life weren’t full optimized so apple held it back. Cudos to apple, I’ll be upgrading VERY soon :)

              • Joey Sylvester

                thus the release of the thunderbolt adapters.. My guess is the fw800 ports affected the rigidness of the body and they nixed them

              • http://www.facebook.com/people/Andrew-Williams/1049288034 Andrew Williams

                the reason apple did that is the mac pro sales has really fallen off so it makes no sense for them to put the money into the mac pro when there’s not a lot of people buying it. With the release of final cut X it really slowed down sales.

              • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=878510113 Yves Chanthachith

                Eeek… guys calm down, if you don’t think this is it for you then don’t buy it. I am personally very impressed and can’t wait to get one. On the other hand… who da hell edits on a 15″ for “professional” work. I own a 17″ right now and I love it, but finding its a fatass when it comes to travel or location work. I agree that a 24 or 27″ calibrated is a must for the guys that are far better than me. I also intend to get a 27″ once they release a newer and higher res version of that screen. But let’s face it, for tethering and for studio work, this thing is like Victoria Secret’s gorgeous bum, everyone wants it! haha. Quick on the SSD, fast processor, killer graphics card, thunderbolt and usb 3.0 and even hdmi out, i think this sucker is a win. Just remember, this is a LAPTOP, PORTABLE powerhouse is key here, not to be mistaken or compared to a dual 27″ or dual 36″ (for the rich) combined with a desktop “mac pro”. 

                Just my 2 cents. Cheers :)

              • http://profile.yahoo.com/ETPJ57YAECCMLJWJRV3JBO4ZOI SCoach

                 Mac Pro sales have fallen off because they haven’t upgraded the machine in FIVE years.  Every professional forum I am on, whether its photography, video, 3D, Animation, etc. is all pining for an upgrade to the Mac Pro.  Apple is killing it through attrition.  Fair enough.  I bought an iMac when Avid included it on the certified list.

              • http://profile.yahoo.com/ETPJ57YAECCMLJWJRV3JBO4ZOI SCoach

                Well, as a “professional” I have to work in press-rooms, at the fields, on the floor of the civic center, and other places when I am shooting in the field.  And my two 27″ screens at the house aren’t doing me any good when I am on deadline hours from home.

                I bought an iPad for client review, I am not handing them my laptop.  And I do agree that 17″ is just too big and bulky.  I never carry the 17″ any more.  My current model MBP is 15″ and pretty nice to travel with.  Fits nicely on the tray on the airplane too.

              • http://profile.yahoo.com/ETPJ57YAECCMLJWJRV3JBO4ZOI SCoach

                 ” who da hell edits on a 15″ for “professional” work.”

                Every pro I know or work with.

              • alex atienza

                It’s the photographers dream for now . . . until the next latest technology comes along.  I though full HD was the peak of electronic display until people started talking about 4K.  What’s next?  8K?  :)

              • http://twitter.com/Jimmy_Schaefer JimmySchaefer

                can you guys just give me one?

              • http://www.facebook.com/people/Dapo-Faruk/1609369762 Dapo Faruk

                 In Europe even more,too much Apple.

              • http://twitter.com/AurelijusV Aurelijus Varna

                It is incredible machine, but resolution is to high, resolution of my 17in 1920×1200 is sometimes is too detailed and it make my eyes tired, where did they put firewire 800, what I am going to do with old G-drive on the go, it mean I will have to use USB-2 instead now. 
                They made the same mistake with Final cut Pro-X, they build machine for the future, but they didn’t care about the past and today users.

              • http://www.facebook.com/steno12 Stefano Druetta

                ahhaah you make me lough so hard! every photog dream?! b*tch, please… really?! I already own a 15″ hi-res mbpro and i don’t even attempt postproducing on this monitor, both for display size and color accuracy.. c’mon, do you REALLY need this impressive amount of pixels? 
                kudos my HP LP2475w, that’s every photographer [on a budget!] dream!

              • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_6GTHNBZ3E6XRTPFRLOROHAPOKE James

                With the HDMI port, will it be possible to use the macbook as a monitor ?

              • ajmills

                Just a note that a lot of people commenting on screen size being “too small for professionals” seem to forget that many photographers and videographers travel and need to take a computer with them. Anything larger than a 15″ laptop isn’t really feasible or convenient (well, maybe a 17″ is if they are going somewhere local), especially if they are travelling abroad by air. Something with a small screen is better than nothing.

                For the rest of us, larger is usually better, but you can edit on smaller screens. Bigger just makes it easier. I use my Dell laptop with my desktop’s screen redirected via RDC to it so I can sit in comfort on my settee and have the TV on if I want. If I need to, I can sit at my desk and use the larger screen.

              • http://www.facebook.com/steno12 Stefano Druetta

                ajmills, the biggest issue isn’t size, is color accuracy, wich is the one and only important thing when it comes to monitors, for image professionals. you can actually edit on a 15″ screen on-the-go [i do have my mbpro with me at most of shootings, since i have it as main workstation], BUT you might not want to use it on a daily basis. so that’s why the assumption “this is every photographer dream” has no reason to be. coz even if you’re wisely using a mbpro as a workstation, you’d probably want to hook it up to an external monitor with proper color accuracy properties. that’s it! no one is doubting performances of the overall machine, but the need for such a resolution, wich is actually going to deeply influence the way photographers/videomakers/graphic designers work: as these monitors will spread, people will need more detailed pictures, i.e. BIGGER file size and weight, therefore heavier contents will need faster connections, and so on.. this trend is gonna shrink our connections, and ram capacities and so on. think about it. do we REALLY need this leap? what will this mean in terms of what relates with heavier websites?

              • http://cinexcellence.com Cinexcellence

                Robert, I just thought I’d leave a comment so you don’t think you’re going crazy. ;) 

                (Typing this on a Mac Pro, not a Macbook Pro)

              • http://cinexcellence.com Cinexcellence

                My guess is that Apple will either,

                a) Transition the Mac Pro into a beefed up iMac Pro with retina display, or

                b) Update the Mac Pro when they release stand-alone retina displays.They’re testing the retina display for Pro users with the Macbook Pro, which hits videographers and photographers alike. 

              • Jeremi Blurton

                He said Mac Pro not MB Pro.

              • http://cinexcellence.com Cinexcellence

                Loving how you say “calm down”, then bashes people for doing “professional” work on a 15″ screen, and resorts to all caps near the end. ;)

              • http://www.facebook.com/people/Rafal-Jurczak/100000193339484 Rafal Jurczak

                “The New Macbook Pro Is Every Photographers Dream” 15 inches really? imac 27 which screen resolution 2560×1440 is more than enough. Who needs so high resolution for that small screen.

              • http://www.facebook.com/people/Rafal-Jurczak/100000193339484 Rafal Jurczak

                Yes and client will see the “magical looking photos” and agree to print them. And after will complain that the photos he/she got doesn´t look in the same magical way he/she have seen on the “magical retina screen”.

              • http://www.facebook.com/natecain Nathan Cain

                You’re right about that.  Last Apple product I I owned was a Mac in 86.  I don’t see anything within any of their product range that would make me buy one.  I look at hardware when determining what I am going to build for a pc or laptop so a “named” product is useless.  More power to you for studying and knowing the specs all Apple products.  I can tell you the transistor count and L2 cache on every Intel and AMD cpu back to P3 and K7′s respectively.  

              • exelentricity

                Hey, USB 3 – Apple really is on the cutting edge of technology. I can’t believe the hype that surrounds them finally catching up with 3 year old technologies.

              • Marc Richter

                “The Retina display gives more pixels, but not more user interface, on-screen text, etc.”
                Well of course it does: As the ppi increase, elements on your display become smaller.

                You might be confused because that’s not the case on iDevices with retina, that’s because all the graphics on those have been updated with higher resolutions but there probably won’t be a Mac OS “HD” ;)

              • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=878510113 Yves Chanthachith

                lol no no its not what i meant guys, yes i do realize lots do work on the 15″ but i meant it in that most don’t do the majority of their work on it, again could be my inexperience. Most i see use dual screens or use heavy duty desktops for their stuff. Oh and the caps isn’t for yelling hahaha my bad. 

              • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=878510113 Yves Chanthachith

                he said it better than I did! haha

              • http://www.facebook.com/thekingjulian Julian Jones

                Whenever there’s a new computer that comes out, all hardware and software gets redeveloped for the new system and the “older” technology gets ignored. I have a 13″ macbook pro, have no problem editing photos or videos on it – except for Adobe’s Flash limit of 2880×2880, Premiere Pro’s video issue with Nikon’s .MOV files, and Premiere not recognizing Grass Valley’s HD50 (HDMI to Firewire capture card). I have no problem connecting my computer to a bigger screen for a larger work area or attaching an external keyboard. But when you stop making peripherals for firewire 800 since thunderbolt came out, then we have a problem. I think for every new system that comes out, there should be like 50 updates or improvements made to what’s current. For example, improvements to video capture being from 720 (on firewire) to 1080 (on thunderbolt), why not offer 1080 capture on firewire, why do I need to have a new computer with thunderbolt to use 1080 or higher capture on my 13″?

                Their sales fell off because people got tired of buying new computers People that do, have to because their old software or hardware (which worked fine)  is no longer supported.

              • Joey Sylvester

                building a laptop lol… who are you chuck norris?

              • http://twitter.com/int3nsive Int3nsive

                It’s not a matter of screen size but resolution. Everything a TRUE professional wants it’s resolution and performance. Conclusion, this MB Pro 15 meets all the requirements, for sure.

                27 retina? Did you already did the math of a 27 inch screen with at least 200dpi ? Do you know how many pixels it’s needed? “soon to be released” ?!

              • http://twitter.com/int3nsive Int3nsive

                Compared to the thunderbolt, yes.. USB3 it’s old tech. Nice try Apple hater.

              • mingyang sun

                I will have to sell my 5D II and 7D to get it…lol 

              • http://www.facebook.com/matt.koby Matt Koby

                i work for a university, and our apple rep told us that they are indeed getting rid of the Mac Pro in the near future. it seems the success of thunderbolt has lead them to realize they don’t need PCI slots anymore. they’ll likely design a high performance iMac for the pro market that will probably disappoint us all…

              • http://www.facebook.com/rasmusjj Rasmus Juul Jensen

                A little comparison between the US and the Danish pricing on the new Macbook Pro Retina:

                The low specced version: $2199 USD in the US and $2,961 USD in Denmark. 
                The top specced version: $2799 USD in the US and $3,787 USD in Denmark. 
                Somewhat depressing aye!?

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