MacBook Pro - Standard or Hi-Res screen??

Update:

Ok, so I went to the Apple Store and they did have one MBP with a matte screen on display. I compared it with a glossy one and did like the matte better. Putting the two side by side I can see how the reflections could get very annoying especially in a well lit room. The colors on the glossy screen are a bit more vibrant but not that much more. Looks like I'll have to shell out the extra cash for the hi-res matte afterall.
 
Isn't it only about a $100 extra for hi-res matte or did they add more now? Also do remember to take advantage of "education" discount from their website. Enter the school you are attending or attended. Whether as a student or teacher. It's worth a c-note off of regular price.
 
f16sunshine said:
Isn't it only about a $100 extra for hi-res matte or did they add more now? Also do remember to take advantage of "education" discount from their website. Enter the school you are attending or attended. Whether as a student or teacher. It's worth a c-note off of regular price.
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It's $120 for the hi-res and $185 for the hi-res matte where I live. It's much less in the US.

I will definitely get the education discount which is about $150. Unfotunately I missed this year's ''back to school'' special (free iPod Touch) and it's too long until next year's starts.
 
JSU said:
In the USA it is $150 extra for the high rez / matte option ($100 for the high rez & $50 for matte) for the 15" MBP. The matte applique' from PowerSupport.com was ~$35 for my daughter's 13" MBP, it might be worth considering if you don't absolutely have to have the high rez screen.

A couple days ago I watched a DVD on my computer and wondered what the difference would be with high rez. I may have to visit the Apple Store and do an A:B comparison. I've had no issues working in PhotoShop CS3 with my standard rez 15" monitor. I have a 20" high def for my desktop and it is very nice but I attribute that to its physically larger size. Likewise, my old 12" MB G4 with a lower res smaller screen is a bit of a pain in the butt now for working images. Scrolling back and forth is a drag.
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I think the resolution probably doesn't make much of a difference when watching a dvd. What does make a difference, though, is that the tool palettes etc. in Photoshop are smaller on the hi-res which leaves more room for the image plane. That's nice especially for tethered shooting in C1 or Lightroom as the image plane isn't that large to begin with.
 
I'd go for the 17 inch over any of the 15's, it an all around better laptop and it's more 'future proof' than the 15. I almost bought a 15 for work and luckily didn't as it would've turned out to be a poor investment for my work on set.
 
About size, I have 17" matte, but I work 3D and motion graphics in video, many of friends in work have 15" matte for photography and design, if you use car to go anywhere size is not important, but price does. Think about size and what you want, 15" or 17" are good, but maybe 15" is enough.

Regards.
 
My last three Macs have had the glossy screen, and I haven't minded it a bit when it comes to photo editing. I don't use them outdoors, and am prepared to alter position to control reflections. I always calibrate the screen with an i1 from xrite. The last of the three is just one day old, and working very nicely for photo editing - a MBA 13". However, I mostly do B&W, so you might ignore my experiences! (Who cares? - most of that B&W is being done in a wet darkroom these days.😉)

Chris
 
Matus said:
Laptop screens are constantly improving, but I think that they have still a long way to go to reach what average IPS LCD panels can deliver..
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Yes, this is true. I have 15" MBPro with glossy screen calibrated with a ColorMunki and it's still just awful for editing. My NEC and Dell external screens are FAR better; more contrast, saturation, etc. I cannot use the MBPro screen for any fine tuning of images. With the external screens and proper calibration, what I see on screen is very very close to what comes out of the printer. Impossible to achieve this with the MBPro glossy screen. Funny because my old G4 12" powerbook had an excellent matte screen....
 
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Today I finally 'bit the bullet' and ordered a 15" MBP with the hi-res anti-glare (matte) screen.

Too bad you cannot get the matte version in the Apple Store. Ordering from the online store takes three days for the matte version to be ready for shipment and then another ten days estimated for shipping. I would have much preferred to just pick one up at the local Apple store as then the bad feeling of spending $2k at once would quickly be made up for by the joy of using the new laptop.
 
Jamie123 said:
Today I finally 'bit the bullet' and ordered a 15" MBP with the hi-res anti-glare (matte) screen.

Too bad you cannot get the matte version in the Apple Store. Ordering from the online store takes three days for the matte version to be ready for shipment and then another ten days estimated for shipping. I would have much preferred to just pick one up at the local Apple store as then the bad feeling of spending $2k at once would quickly be made up for by the joy of using the new laptop.
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Hello Jamie, congratulation for your MBP, you will enjoy it and work good with it.
Regards.
 
@ Jamie123 : Be carefull the first question isn't the screen, it's the size!!!
I've got a MBP 15" because I bought it before the 13" exists.
And now I've got a lot of issues when I'm travelling with my bags…

Never forget a laptop is done for nomad use, so it must be easy to carrying!
@ home, you can easily plug an other (big) screen for dual screen use… a matte one for example!
 
gekopaca said:
@ Jamie123 : Be carefull the first question isn't the screen, it's the size!!!
I've got a MBP 15" because I bought it before the 13" exists.
And now I've got a lot of issues when I'm travelling with my bags…

Never forget a laptop is done for nomad use, so it must be easy to carrying!
@ home, you can easily plug an other (big) screen for dual screen use… a matte one for example!
Click to expand...

Believe me, if a 13" was enough, I would've loved to save some money and get the regular MacBook. But 15" is really the minimum screen size I need. As already stated, I will also need it to shoot tethered on location every once in a while and a 13* just doesn't cut it.
Also, I've been working on a 15" notebook for over 5 years now so I know what I'm getting myself into.
 
Got my MacBook Pro today. Found out that one of the local distributors has some in store with the matte screen so I cancelled my order from Apple and picked one up at the store.

I got the 2.53 i5 version with the 500gb 7200rpm (because that was the only one they had available). So far it's great and I'm happy I went for the matte screen. However, one question:

I calibrated the screen with my Spyder 2 Express and it doesn't look quite right. Actually, it looks really terrible as I know that RFF's standard background is black, not purple. What are the settings I have to set the screen to when calibrating? The software says I need to set everything to factory standard but what's that? Maximum brightness and maximum backlight???
 
Jamie123 said:
Got my MacBook Pro today. Found out that one of the local distributors has some in store with the matte screen so I cancelled my order from Apple and picked one up at the store.

I got the 2.53 i5 version with the 500gb 7200rpm (because that was the only one they had available). So far it's great and I'm happy I went for the matte screen. However, one question:

I calibrated the screen with my Spyder 2 Express and it doesn't look quite right. Actually, it looks really terrible as I know that RFF's standard background is black, not purple. What are the settings I have to set the screen to when calibrating? The software says I need to set everything to factory standard but what's that? Maximum brightness and maximum backlight???
Click to expand...



Yeahhh Congratz!
 
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