MacBook Pro 16” - accessories & photo apps?

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Orange Cola
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MacBook Pro 16” - accessories & photo apps?

Post by Orange Cola »

I’ve just ordered a MacBook Pro 16”, my main use will be photo editing on a portable platform. What accessories and photo apps do you all recommend?

I’ve already got a USB and SD card adapter so I can plug my DSLR SD card straight into it and I bought a case earlier. I was thinking of a Magic Mouse 2 but don’t know if I’m missing something else?

Photo apps - I don’t want a subscription service so that’s lightroom out the equation but I’m thinking photo shop elements free trial plus anything else I get recommended with a free trial to see what I get on with. I’ll then buy the app(s) I like the most. I’ll only be editing still photos in RAW or less likely JPEG too.

Just hope Apple can deliver the Macbook on time, i’m well signed up to tutorials following another camera and editing training day and with coronavirus about it feels like a good time to learn new skills.
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Re: MacBook Pro 16” - accessories & photo apps?

Post by KiwiDave »

We have a few users here at work using paid Elements licenses - my experience with them (circa 45 users doing some of photo stuff) is compared to the CC apps which update frequently, the fixed paid apps quickly become a PITA as they fall behind. Personally I wouldn't do it and just pay for the photographer bundle from Adobe at $10 a month or whatever it is.

But, alternatives - if you're a Canon user, just install Digital Photo Professional that comes with the camera. For other cameras, don't think they offer much free. GIMP is a great alternative to Photoshop that's free. Other than that, Capture One is still a paid license, very in depth and techy but excellent. Doesn't offer much in the way of retouching etc.
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Re: MacBook Pro 16” - accessories & photo apps?

Post by Brannen »

I'm paying the £10 a month Adobe subscription as well for Lightroom and Photoshop. I've tried a few other apps, but just found it the best for me.

I've tried Luminar in the past. I think I had a free trial, then I bought the full version. Didn't really get on with it and went to Adobe. I know it's probably not ideal if you've bought a laptop, but there's some good phone photo editing apps as well. Lightroom mobile lets you do a lot of basic adjustments. I've added most of my presets to it as well, so can adjust mobile photos quickly to look like shots from my Sony camera. Snapseed is pretty decent free app as well (if you're doing basic stuff and don't want a subscription).

Regarding the Magic Mouse, I had the original version, and barely used it. I really like the MacBook track pad, so use that a lot. I've also got a Wacom tablet thing which was pretty useful in Photoshop.
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Re: MacBook Pro 16” - accessories & photo apps?

Post by Orange Cola »

Cheers guys. I’ve got Snapseed on the iPad but getting past their capability already plus I don’t like the user interface for anything complex. I’ll give the others a go before deciding and see what I get on with, might start watching some YouTube stuff too.

I’ll see how I get on without a mouse :D
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Re: MacBook Pro 16” - accessories & photo apps?

Post by Brannen »

Just saw on Instagram if you go through the motion of cancelling your Adobe subscription (I have the full bundle as got a deal on it for a year), you can get 60 days free. You have to go to manage plan, click cancel and give the reason. There's a progress bar at the top, and the second from the end is Offers. If you get to that page you have the option for 60 days free. Think it's in relation to Covid-19, to help "creatives" out.

If anyone uses the full suite, it's worth a look. I just adjusted my account. Not sure if it does it for smaller subscriptions, but worth a look.
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Re: MacBook Pro 16” - accessories & photo apps?

Post by Ascender »

Nice laptop :)

If I didn't need something more portable that would be my choice of machine at the moment. Am sitting waiting to see if they update the 13" any time soon....
Cheers,

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Re: MacBook Pro 16” - accessories & photo apps?

Post by Orange Cola »

Ascender wrote: Thu Mar 26, 2020 3:41 pm Nice laptop :)

If I didn't need something more portable that would be my choice of machine at the moment. Am sitting waiting to see if they update the 13" any time soon....
June apparently, the biggest change is they're fixing the flaky keyboards.

Mine arrived today, it's lovely, just setting it up and downloading the suggestions from this thread 8-)
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Re: MacBook Pro 16” - accessories & photo apps?

Post by Orange Cola »

KiwiDave wrote: Tue Mar 17, 2020 12:30 am We have a few users here at work using paid Elements licenses - my experience with them (circa 45 users doing some of photo stuff) is compared to the CC apps which update frequently, the fixed paid apps quickly become a PITA as they fall behind. Personally I wouldn't do it and just pay for the photographer bundle from Adobe at $10 a month or whatever it is.

But, alternatives - if you're a Canon user, just install Digital Photo Professional that comes with the camera. For other cameras, don't think they offer much free. GIMP is a great alternative to Photoshop that's free. Other than that, Capture One is still a paid license, very in depth and techy but excellent. Doesn't offer much in the way of retouching etc.
I'm just downloading the free ones, I'll see how I get on before going down the subscription/paid for route. I see your point about falling behind and even at the moment the one off payment jobbies are much less expensive they are much less capable than the subscription services. Either way, I'm hoping it's going to be a doddle on this laptop as I can take the computing power and screen with me quite easily 8-)
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Re: MacBook Pro 16” - accessories & photo apps?

Post by Ascender »

Orange Cola wrote: Fri Mar 27, 2020 5:55 pm
Ascender wrote: Thu Mar 26, 2020 3:41 pm Nice laptop :)

If I didn't need something more portable that would be my choice of machine at the moment. Am sitting waiting to see if they update the 13" any time soon....
June apparently, the biggest change is they're fixing the flaky keyboards.

Mine arrived today, it's lovely, just setting it up and downloading the suggestions from this thread 8-)
It’s been rumoured for months and is now apparently by the end of Q2/ it’s just a bit annoying they’ve gone and fixed the Air keyboards but still nothing on the Pro.

12.9 iPad Pro arrived today, so will see how I get on with that with trackpad support. If it’s ok, I’ll go for the Magic Keyboard case thing when it’s available.
Cheers,

Mike.
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Re: MacBook Pro 16” - accessories & photo apps?

Post by Orange Cola »

Ascender wrote: Sat Mar 28, 2020 6:42 pm
Orange Cola wrote: Fri Mar 27, 2020 5:55 pm
Ascender wrote: Thu Mar 26, 2020 3:41 pm Nice laptop :)

If I didn't need something more portable that would be my choice of machine at the moment. Am sitting waiting to see if they update the 13" any time soon....
June apparently, the biggest change is they're fixing the flaky keyboards.

Mine arrived today, it's lovely, just setting it up and downloading the suggestions from this thread 8-)
It’s been rumoured for months and is now apparently by the end of Q2/ it’s just a bit annoying they’ve gone and fixed the Air keyboards but still nothing on the Pro.

12.9 iPad Pro arrived today, so will see how I get on with that with trackpad support. If it’s ok, I’ll go for the Magic Keyboard case thing when it’s available.
They fixed the keyboard on the 16" Pro in November, that's how I've ended up with mine because just before I bought the 13" one that I spec'd up, I had a moment of sense and went and read Mac Rumours which made me spec up a 16" with a 'fixed' keyboard to see the cost difference 'for a laugh' and I found the 16" was a higher spec for less money for the spec I really wanted :shock: I'm amazed Apple didn't fix their higher volume sellers first, but there we go, they seem to value their halo models and top end products to protect their up sell...

I really, really, like the iPad Pro's, that's where I started out shopping until I realised I wanted more power. My parents have just bought a new iMac and MacBook Air (pre update) which are slick and lovely bits of kit. After trying them I realised I needed a Pro for what I wanted and that'll also take the pressure off my ageing iMac (late 2012, base spec, it's getting quite slow...). I can see me upgrading the iMac in as it reaches 10 years to a semi-decent spec and keeping my iPad mid-range and iPhone changes top spec for the camera as I go along, the Windows machines we get in work are Apple equivalent level Dells (decent SSD's, 32GB RAM, i7's, metal bodies, 4k screens, proper keyboards and docks etc) and although it feels like we're actually getting a decent amount of money spent on us as employees they just don't last beyond 3 years software wise and after 2 years they seem to crash at least once a day (blue screen of death is about once a week). Physically they're ok though considering they get worked hard in that sense.

As a side topic my white MacBook 13" from 2007 is still fast enough to give my new Pro a real run for its money, it may even be faster, I'll do a speed test at some point.
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Re: MacBook Pro 16” - accessories & photo apps?

Post by Ascender »

That’s often been the case - I usually have a specced-up 13” MBP, but like you say, you’re at the point where you can have a 16” with bigger screen, better thermals, speakers, discrete GPU etc.
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Re: MacBook Pro 16” - accessories & photo apps?

Post by Orange Cola »

I'm ok with the larger size, but it's only been the weekend. I may yet want a 13" version but I'll find out in time. I always have the iPad I guess :?
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Re: MacBook Pro 16” - accessories & photo apps?

Post by Ascender »

Orange Cola wrote: Mon Mar 30, 2020 10:29 pm I'm ok with the larger size, but it's only been the weekend. I may yet want a 13" version but I'll find out in time. I always have the iPad I guess :?
The only time I struggled with the 16” was when travelling - its not much use on planes, trains or coffee shops - its either too big to use on whatever flip-down table you have, or it takes up all the space you have on a big table leaving no room for papers, water, food etc.

Other than that, its an amazing piece of kit imo, the best laptop they’ve made in years.

I’m in to day 4 of trying a 12.9” iPad Pro instead of a laptop....
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Re: MacBook Pro 16” - accessories & photo apps?

Post by Brannen »

I've got the 15" Pro, think it's a 2016 model. I've found it's fine for use at home, but as soon as you take it anywhere, it does feel pretty big. I still wouldn't change it though!

I've also got the 11" iPad Pro, which going to from a Mini was a massive jump in size. Wouldn't change that either! Not sure it could full replace my MacBook yet, but it's definitely a good alternative for quicker things. I've found installing Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop have been pretty good, but lacking some functionality. I've been using Procreate with the Apple Pencil as well, which has been pretty good fun. I like doodling on my photos, and it was better than what Photoshop allowed.
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Re: MacBook Pro 16” - accessories & photo apps?

Post by Orange Cola »

I’d be really interested to hear who you get on with the iPad Pro if you can get it.

The level of portability I have in mind for the MacBook Pro is to places with sofas, decent sized dining tables etc anyway. Planes, trains and automobiles are covered by the iPad and iPhone.

At home stuff such as music, iPhone back ups, car infotainment updates etc is covered by the iMac 8-)

I’m still amazed at how long the Apple stuff goes for, if my iMac packed up today that would still be 7 years of use out of a single £1k computer, everyone else I know has spent more than that on their ‘cheap’ laptops which only last 2-3 years at £500+/go, so I’m getting to be quids in on that aspect (plus I don’t like windows anyway, you couldn’t pay me to use that at home any more).
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Re: MacBook Pro 16” - accessories & photo apps?

Post by Ascender »

I’ve got an iMac on the desk here, but often have to work from different locations which is why I need a laptop. But the emphasis is on portability rather than power - but its good to have something which can do a bit of video editing, run VMs etc as I tend to do a bit of everything on it.

13” MBP is perfect but I refuse to buy one just now with that keyboard.

However, the upcoming Magic Keyboard thing for the iPad has made me reconsider if I need a laptop or not. I’ve tried to switch before as I really like iOS for lots of things - the screen on the Pros is amazing and it’s great having FaceID when using it on a desk - authorising and logging-in is just seamless. But its. PITA trying to use Safari like this as you have to keep touching the screen. But no more...

I’ve been using a 12.9” since Saturday with a Magic Trackpad and its been brilliant. Gestures work, scrolling works well and the cursor support they’ve put in is brilliant.

I’m still in two minds about whether to buy an actual laptop or not - the new Air looks like it will do everything I need and even when specced-up isn’t bad, so I’ll see what happens over the next week or so.
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Re: MacBook Pro 16” - accessories & photo apps?

Post by Ascender »

The experiment lasted a week. I've now got a new MacBook Air and an 11" iPad.

There's still some things I was unable to do on the iPad - a couple I was able to come up with incredibly convoluted work-arounds for. Some things just took longer and some I couldn't do so resorted to the iMac. Also, until the Magic Keyboard cover/dock/laptop thing gets released, I was kind of tied to my desk and after three weeks of only being able to work from home, that's meant a desk in my study and I've gone a bit stir-crazy with it.

Don't get me wrong, the cursor support on the iPad is brilliant - I love that they've not just copied the traditional pointer - but some things are quicker and easier on a laptop still. And given its practically summer in Scotland now, I'm going to sit in the garden a lot more for work this week.

The new Air is a cracking machine though, so glad they've finally fixed the keyboard.
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Re: MacBook Pro 16” - accessories & photo apps?

Post by Orange Cola »

Is that a 2020 MBA, I guess it is if the keyboard is fixed? I really like the look of the the new BMA and iPad Pro but I can't justify them. I thought an MBA would be ideal for me and I love their size but I just need more power, maybe one day I'll get an MBA as a bit of a toy :oops:

I've been sitting out with the new MBP and the works machine which is a Dell Apple competitor, the MPB has the edge in everything.
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Re: MacBook Pro 16” - accessories & photo apps?

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Orange Cola wrote: Sun Apr 12, 2020 5:37 pm Is that a 2020 MBA, I guess it is if the keyboard is fixed? I really like the look of the the new BMA and iPad Pro but I can't justify them. I thought an MBA would be ideal for me and I love their size but I just need more power, maybe one day I'll get an MBA as a bit of a toy :oops:

I've been sitting out with the new MBP and the works machine which is a Dell Apple competitor, the MPB has the edge in everything.
Yes, its an i5 2020 Air. I just don't need the power of a Pro, so have picked this up instead and so far its great.

I made the mistake of having to do a few things on a Windows 10 laptop yesterday and almost immediately regretted it. Why on why are there sometimes 2 or 3 different places you can do "stuff" - its like they've put this nice new sheen at the top level of the OS, but still left alternate versions of key functions sitting underneath and off to the side, buried. I had to resort to Google to find out how to promote a user to admin.

The first few results from Microsoft were obviously from a previous build of Windows 10 - the options they were saying to select didn't even exist. And of course, you don't do this from within the Accounts section where you can see the user account. You need to go in to Control Panel and there's an actual line item for "Change Account Type". But you also can't promote the current account to admin (even if you have another admin user), you have to logout, login as an admin user and then do it.

* and relax *
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Re: MacBook Pro 16” - accessories & photo apps?

Post by Orange Cola »

On the whole I think Microsoft are getting better in a number of ways and Apple have been stumbling for a little while now, but there's still a gulf between the two. I have given up with my Windows work machine as in I've resigned myself to giving it the time it needs to do certain things which are in my control but anything from software installs to bugs I just leave to corporate IT and go grab a drink somewhere. It's not worth the lost minutes of my life any more, but I do acknowledge I have spent a considerable amount of unpaid time out of my life doing stuff on a Windows machine which is far, far easier to do on a Mac even though it's cost me lot more money to purchase...

When I wanted to give my other half an account on my iMac I created the user and set it up, I forgot I didn't give her admin right and just went in and did it. It wasn't even a 'thing' to do :lol: Plus in the installed apps on a Mac are something else now, I'm getting a lot of use out of iPhoto, calendars, Music, FaceTime, pages/numbers/keynote, Notes, mail, Safari and the built in tools for example.
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