Editing away from the iMac - best options?

[mark green]

Hoping for a bit of a reality check on the question I am working on -  what to buy to work on images when I am away from my iMac.

Currently I have a 27 iMac at home - see 'About my Mac' jpeg attached & it has a 1TB hard drive, & I am very happy with it - it does everything I want and together with gentle guidance from Damien allows me to produce some great images  

The 1st world problem I have is that I work away from this machine 50% of the time and want to have a device that will allow me to continue to edit while I am away.  The Mac Book Air portable I use at the moment is slowly fading - its a mid 2011 4GB 1.7Ghz machine that has served me well (but now requires an external keyboard to use it.) So the question is what to replace it with? 

There seem to be at least three options:

1. Get a new portable with a high specs, e.g. Mac Book Pro, but as you said in your earlier January thread it works out very expensive but would allow me to continue to use full Photoshop with a tablet.

2. Get a lower spec machine e.g. the Mac Book with retina screen + 16GB. Still able to run full Photoshop.

3. Try a iPad Pro &  try the somewhat limited Photoshop apps or go over to the darkside and do some editing in Lightroom (expecting Damien to strike me down here)

For images that I want to get the very best out of then the iMac is 'my go' to option. Do you have any advice on what to do while away from the iMac?

[Brian]

On 6/8/2018 at 12:02 PM, mark green said:

Get a new portable with a high specs, e.g. Mac Book Pro, but as you said in your earlier January thread it works out very expensive but would allow me to continue to use full Photoshop with a tablet.

 

Yeah, it still works out to be around $3600-ish for a Mac Book Pro Laptop configured to edit photos. That's way too much money to spend on a laptop, in my honest opinion. $3600 on something that you will only get around 4-5 years out of. I'm also heavily AGAINST using a laptop for photo-editing; I just got tired of arguing. Plus, you'll need to budget for a new calibration tool, you'd be surprised on just how different a MBP screen is compared to a iMac. It's not an apples-to-apples comparison, more like apples-to-oranges; two different worlds when it comes to screens. That said, your experience could be different. I'm just basing my opinion on what I've seen with my own eyes. My friend's MBP has A LOT more Reddish tones than her 2013 27" iMac. It could be the new Retina Screen, but since you have an older iMac, I have a feeling that you will have similar results; meaning re-editing photos all of the photos when you get home for the color accuracy, so what's the point?

On 6/8/2018 at 12:02 PM, mark green said:

Get a lower spec machine e.g. the Mac Book with retina screen + 16GB. Still able to run full Photoshop.

If you can wait a little bit, rumors are spreading for an update to a newer Mac Book Air or you could get a more affordable Mac Book. Either way, I'm not going to suggest editing on a laptop. You are asking the wrong person. That said, I think this is your best option at the moment.

On 6/8/2018 at 12:02 PM, mark green said:

Try a iPad Pro &  try the somewhat limited Photoshop apps or go over to the darkside and do some editing in Lightroom (expecting Damien to strike me down here)

Hmm. I have no experience in this dept, since I do not currently have an iPad. I did play with a 12" iPad Pro just the other day and it's no heavier than an older 10" iPad, though the screen wasn't "Hashtag Amazing" in my humble opinion. It did look "Nice" though.

 I really want to see what Apple does with the update to the Mac Air though getting a Mac Book and boosting the options is your best-bang-for-the buck, in my humble opinion:

 

Start with the $1599 Mac Book and choose the 1.4Ghz CPU and 16GB RAM...that will raise the price to $1949.00, plus tax, shipping and AppleCare.

At this point, if it were my money...that's what I would do if I were in your shoes. That said, I still wouldn't edit photos on a laptop.

[mark green]

Thanks for the comprehensive response and honest advice on editing on a laptop - I do love my iMac screen   

I will continue with triage on the old Mac Book Air for as long as possible and wait to see what happens after summer/autumn. I mightb come back to you then. 

Cheers