Hello, Because im on a budget I want yo know if anyone has this computer and if you thinks that its enough for PS, LightRoom and RAW workflow, instead of a Macbook Pro.

Thanks guys.

Fer, If you will use the computer for occasional work it may serve you fine, but if this is to be your main editing computer, I don't think it's a good choice. I have the MacBook Pro and sometimes I wish it was a bit faster, with the MacBook, because of the integrated graphics (it uses part of the computer RAM for graphics, so it reduces the total amount of memory for the overall computer), it won't have the speed as the MacBook Pro with a dedicated graphics card. I also think the processors for the MacBook is slower than the ones for the MacBook Pros. Suerte!

i have a macbook and a macbook pro. i use the macbook while away from the office and it works ok, i would not edit a complete wedding on it. go for the macbook pro, you will not regret it, it will save you lots of time editing images. time is money, so it will pay off in the long run.

thanks guys. great tips. I have a powerbook 12 inches and it still rocks.

I noticed Becker used the 13" Black MacBook as his laptop before switching over to the Air. If this is your main editing machine, stick with the 12" if it really is still sufficient for you and save up for at least the MacBook Pro. Also, check out Apple refurb models in their online store. They are a steal and are essentially new machines. Sweet!

I first operated off of a MacBook Pro and it couldn't process the RAW images quick enough for me. We recently upgraded to an iMAC and haven't figured out why we waited so long.

We do take our MacBook Pro on the road a lot and have found by storing the images on an external hard drive and running the actions/processes from there, it has saved the life of the computer. It is great if you are processing a few images, just not an entire wedding!

The Black MacBook is a sweet computer, and I would only recommend it if you are gonna get an external drive. I also recommend that you get an additional back up drive for all of your images, just in case something (God Forbid) would ever happen to that black little number!

Hope that makes sense.

I would want to jump off of a bridge if my MacBook was my main editing machine. We have iMacs in the studio and they perform very very well for editing. The MacBook is fine for the occasional job on the road but by no means would ever be my main machine.

Cheers,
Zack

Okay, revealing a bit more about myself here, but I work a day job at an IT support/Computer repair shop. In Macbooks, I have personally replaced 4 optical drives, 2 logic boards, and plenty of failed Hard drives. There is just not enough ventilation in these machines to cool them iMHO.

Of course...I am writing this on one now, my personal work computer, with a failed optical drive, and a recently replaced HD.

The performance on the newer models is ok for lighter editing, but the screens WILL NOT calibrate with wither a Huey or a spyder in my experience (mine's older). Must be the glossy coating. I wouldn't want to do a bunch of batch editing that frequently.

I will say that Lightroom 2.0 beta is running great on it so far.

Not to demeen your post in any way, just another angle/twist on what you've stated.

Since you work in a Support Shop, all of the computers you will see will be problematic or broke. I dont take my perfectly working computer to a repair shop just for kicks

So my point is for every problematic MacBook out there that you see how many perfectly working machines are out there that you don't. I'm sure the number is very high. I know many people that have had no issues with their Macbooks.

I agree that processor heat dissapation is not so great in the machines but that could be said ofthe Macbook Pros as well, hence the transition to the newer Intel Merom chips seen in the MacBook Air.

Either way the OP mentions he loves his powerbook 12":
The Macbook "Black" will be a HUGE upgrade on that machine. With a calibrated external monitor, added RAM, and a larger internal hard drive, this should be a much better editing machine than he/she has now hands down.

And may I say, to upgrade the internal hard drive in a Macbook might be the easiest hard drive swap I have ever done (seriously VERY basic)

Also as MattDJ mentions, look into Apple's refurb area for some really great deals

BTW- If you can afford it, do go with the Macbook Pro

i might get beaten for this, but i was pining for an imac also, as i couldnt afford the mac pro desktop tower, but a few friends and m work colleague whos a printing guru got them for their editing and when i checked the actual color quality and the differences between the imac processed images and one from a color colab monitor that was glossy, it was huge, and it seemed that due to the glossy monitors of imacs that it is easy to over or even under edit as the colors are much more vivid and vibrant. From my stand point i was pretty disappointed and it made the macbook pro i had collaborated for editing seem more realistic.

I definately recommend the macbook pro over the macbook or air for editing, especially on raw, the macbook will be fine for jpg conversions etc, and offloading at the wedding but i think youll be twiddling your thumbs for a long time especially for the RAW - jpeg conversion time, i know on my old mac it took over night to convert a wedding from raw to jpg, so i just scrapped the raw idea, but now with recent tech upgrades im back onto raw again.