Macbook Air with LR4?

I am considering getting a new Macbook. My MB is from 2007 and will soon need to be replaced.

I like the size and the weight of the Air.
Does anyone use LR4 with the newest Macbook Air 13" and the i7, 8Gb RAM?
How is the performance?

Or should I just jump straight to the MBP 13", i7 and 16Gb RAM?
Do I need the retina screen? Is it that big a difference?
I tried several MBs yesterday and didn't really see THAT big a difference, using iPhoto with the demo images.

My main desktop is the iMac 27" so this will only be used for travel.

And NO!, Windows laptops is not an option.

I have an 2 year old 11.6" MacBook Air, 1.6G core 2 duo, 4 gigs of ram, it is considerably slower than today's MacBook Air's and Lightroom work is excruciatingly slow. Were I to get a new computer today, I would be thinking about the same choices you want. The solid state drive in the MacBook Air makes it seem to run faster on non-processor intensive tasks and it has a higher resolution screen than the 13" MBP, but the MacBook pro is much faster for processor intensive tasks, and can be outfitted with a solid state drive (it is user upgradeable unlike the MBA) for even better performance. The screen on the MBP is better quality than the one on the Air as far as colours and viewing angle is concerned, but there are 25% fewer pixels, which cuts down your working area when you use photoshop. You just have to decide if the size, lower resolution, and weight of the MBP is worth the extra performance

Personally, I will be waiting until spring when Intel's new Hazwell chips come out. They should give a significant performance boost, coupled with a newer gen Intel HD integrated graphics chip, and maybe even better resolution screens will make it worth the wait for me.

I'm picking up a refurb 11" Macbook Air later this year for shooting tethered and for traveling. From my research into the topic (searching various forums, talking to "geniuses"), LR 4 runs just fine. Now I'm not sure I'd use it for my daily driver since much more powerful options are available, but I have gotten the impression it runs satisfactorily on the current generation MB Air.

FWIW, my (windows) laptop that I bought in 2009 had an i7 (820QM), 8GB of ram and an SSD, and it ran Lightroom like a champ. Sadly it's a 17-incher and heavy as all get out, so not really portable.

2.8L wrote in post #15257290
I have an 2 year old 11.6" MacBook Air, 1.6G core 2 duo, 4 gigs of ram, it is considerably slower than today's MacBook Air's and Lightroom work is excruciatingly slow. Were I to get a new computer today, I would be thinking about the same choices you want. The solid state drive in the MacBook Air makes it seem to run faster on non-processor intensive tasks and it has a higher resolution screen than the 13" MBP, but the MacBook pro is much faster for processor intensive tasks, and can be outfitted with a solid state drive (it is user upgradeable unlike the MBA) for even better performance. The screen on the MBP is better quality than the one on the Air as far as colours and viewing angle is concerned, but there are 25% fewer pixels, which cuts down your working area when you use photoshop. You just have to decide if the size, lower resolution, and weight of the MBP is worth the extra performance

Personally, I will be waiting until spring when Intel's new Hazwell chips come out. They should give a significant performance boost, coupled with a newer gen Intel HD integrated graphics chip, and maybe even better resolution screens will make it worth the wait for me.

Thank you for your answer. I am considering getting a new laptop in December. Since I can take advantage of the NAAP discount and currency exchange rate.
I will save 35% if I buy in the US instead of Norway!

BrandonSi wrote in post #15258799
I'm picking up a refurb 11" Macbook Air later this year for shooting tethered and for traveling. From my research into the topic (searching various forums, talking to "geniuses"), LR 4 runs just fine. Now I'm not sure I'd use it for my daily driver since much more powerful options are available, but I have gotten the impression it runs satisfactorily on the current generation MB Air.

FWIW, my (windows) laptop that I bought in 2009 had an i7 (820QM), 8GB of ram and an SSD, and it ran Lightroom like a champ. Sadly it's a 17-incher and heavy as all get out, so not really portable.

I have the old 13" and I think 11" will be too small. I haven't tried the 11" so I am just assuming. But it will be excellent for travel and also tethered shooting.
Hmm, have to check it out also

BrandonSi wrote in post #15258799
I'm picking up a refurb 11" Macbook Air later this year for shooting tethered and for traveling. From my research into the topic (searching various forums, talking to "geniuses"), LR 4 runs just fine. Now I'm not sure I'd use it for my daily driver since much more powerful options are available, but I have gotten the impression it runs satisfactorily on the current generation MB Air.

FWIW, my (windows) laptop that I bought in 2009 had an i7 (820QM), 8GB of ram and an SSD, and it ran Lightroom like a champ. Sadly it's a 17-incher and heavy as all get out, so not really portable.

I have Lightroom V4.2 running on an original MBA with an SSD drive. (The original drive died.)
Its not the fastest computer running Lightroom but does an acceptable job. If I were going to do a lot of work on the Laptop I'd probably consider the MBP 13 inch. I have one and it works like a champ.

Its the machine I use for tethered shooting. Brandon, one problem with my original MBA is only one USB port. That means all the images have to go to the internal drive, not a bad thing but means having to move them to another drive after the shoot. With my MBP I can have them go directly to an external drive. Then when I get back to the studio just plug it in to production machine and copy to archive. (CF cards are still available as another backup until the second one is made.

Also, when shooting tethered, if you're shooting fast, i.e. model, the processor speed becomes a factor. Or even if its just the customer looking over your shoulder wanting to see what the shot looks like.

Thank you, David
The new MBA have to 2 pcs USB 3.0 and one Thunderbolt connection (one more on the MBP)
I have to look into what to get.
At the end it will be the wallet that decides this outcome

I have the generation before MBA 13" i7 and the performance is definitely acceptable for me shooting RAW photos.

ArcticShooter wrote in post #15263178
Thank you, David
The new MBA have to 2 pcs USB 3.0 and one Thunderbolt connection (one more on the MBP)
I have to look into what to get.
At the end it will be the wallet that decides this outcome

If the newer MBAs have adequate ports then its simply a matter of processor/memory/ and hard drive. Using an SSD does speed things up. I'm thinking about getting an SSD upgrade for my MBP for tethering.

dmward wrote in post #15263691
If the newer MBAs have adequate ports then its simply a matter of processor/memory/ and hard drive. Using an SSD does speed things up. I'm thinking about getting an SSD upgrade for my MBP for tethering.

Thanks for the info! The wife is insisting on the 11" for travel purposes.. I'd prefer a 13", but you know how that goes.. Maybe I'll drag her to the Apple store on Michigan and see if the already small form factor makes the 13" more acceptable.. we'll see..

BrandonSi wrote in post #15265712
Thanks for the info! The wife is insisting on the 11" for travel purposes.. I'd prefer a 13", but you know how that goes.. Maybe I'll drag her to the Apple store on Michigan and see if the already small form factor makes the 13" more acceptable.. we'll see..

If there are sufficient to let you connect the camera, a drive and a monitor then the size of the MBA is secondary. I think I understand the desire for small for traveling.

I have the Gen1 MBA on the kitchen counter and do most of my web surfing and emailing with it. The iMAC and MBP are in my basement workshop.

The MBA is here primarily because my wife decided the iPAD was enough for her travel needs. When we travel together I still take along my MBA so I can download images from CF cards at the end of the day. Otherwise it sits in the luggage.

They do tend to get what they want.

It makes me smile (no offence) when I hear people say they plan to buy a new computer/camera/TV/wha​tever but will wait till the next version is launched, because it's better. OK, now and then the new version of whatever is promised to have a feature that is vital to your use of the thing, but in most cases, that logic will prevent you from EVER buying a piece of technology, because there is always a better version due out soon

Personally, I need a new computer, but I'm going to wait till they launch one that fits on my wrist, has a zillion Gig storage and can beam me out of my office and onto the beach when I'm bored.

I've changed my mind because, after they launch the wristwatch supercomputer, they plan another new version that can create a hologram of its user, to sit in my office when I sneak off early. So I'll wait for that one.

Oh wait. The version after that is rumoured to have a built-in light sabre and coffee machine.......

I'm considering the same purchase now. I have the 2011 MBA w/i7 and 4GB RAM. LR4 is acceptable but if you can go for the MBP, why not? Also, I don't think the 13" MBP w/retina is configurable w/16GB; I believe that's only the 15" model. The weight is only a half-pound difference b/w MBA an MBP. Plus, LR4's new beta (4.3) is reportedly optimized for Retina. There are some reports floating around about it and that it's a big difference. Haven't seen it, though.

Anyway, my wife wants an MBA so I'm thinking about giving her mine and getting the MBP.

Steve of Cornubia wrote in post #15265889
It makes me smile (no offence) when I hear people say they plan to buy a new computer/camera/TV/wha​tever but will wait till the next version is launched, because it's better. OK, now and then the new version of whatever is promised to have a feature that is vital to your use of the thing, but in most cases, that logic will prevent you from EVER buying a piece of technology, because there is always a better version due out soon

I did precisely this because I knew the HD4000 with Aperture could render 5D mark II/III raw files in real time, while the HD3000 in the previous generation Mac Mini could not. So while you assertion may be true sometimes, it is not true all the time. It's also why the current crop of Ivy Bridge Macs (all but the Mac Pro, which has no problem with image editing anyway) with Aperture (and Pixelmator) are remarkably powerful, from the bottom up.

Tony-S wrote in post #15266048
I did precisely this because I knew the HD4000 with Aperture could render 5D mark II/III raw files in real time, while the HD3000 in the previous generation Mac Mini could not. So while you assertion may be true sometimes, it is not true all the time. It's also why the current crop of Ivy Bridge Macs (all but the Mac Pro, which has no problem with image editing anyway) with Aperture (and Pixelmator) are remarkably powerful, from the bottom up.

Ah, but had you waited till the HD4000 GT comes out next year......