MBA or MBP M3 for heavy Photos work

[Ach1302]

I am hoping to get recommendations based on actual experience.

I have a relatively loaded 2019 MBP 16” i9. I have 90k photos with videos in Photos. We use all the feature of Photos - editing, people, location and Live Photos. We are reaching the point where I should consider upgrading it. often the MBP slows down doing various background tasks after importing & editing a lot of photo/videos on sessions after we return from a heavy photo sessions when traveling. (I have tried leaving the computer on without going to sleep so Photos can do its processing, without total success.)

We currently import all our photos from all our cameras, not just iPhone’s to an iPad Pro while traveling. We review, and perform some photo corrections on then. Upon returning home, we import the library with corrections to the MBP which has the master library.

We are hoping on using a 13” MBA since we can use it in the field since it is almost the size of our 12.8” iPad Pro. This will eliminate the importing of photos when we get home.

I plan to get a minimum of M3 with 16 gb RAM, and 512/1TB storage. My main library of Photos, iMovies, GoPro 4K videos and other multimedia files will be store in an external portable 8TB Thunderbolt NVME SSD with a minimum speed of 3,000 MB/S.

My question is, will the speed get throttled often for heavy Photos session on a MBA which does not have a fan? Will buying a MBA be a mistake?

Video editing is not as heavy and I am not worried about that.

TIA

Al

 

[Philip Eihuyar]

I am hoping to get recommendations based on actual experience.

I have a relatively loaded 2019 MBP 16” i9. I have 90k photos with videos in Photos. We use all the feature of Photos - editing, people, location and Live Photos. We are reaching the point where I should consider upgrading it. often the MBP slows down doing various background tasks after importing & editing a lot of photo/videos on sessions after we return from a heavy photo sessions when traveling. (I have tried leaving the computer on without going to sleep so Photos can do its processing, without total success.)

We currently import all our photos from all our cameras, not just iPhone’s to an iPad Pro while traveling. We review, and perform some photo corrections on then. Upon returning home, we import the library with corrections to the MBP which has the master library.

We are hoping on using a 13” MBA since we can use it in the field since it is almost the size of our 12.8” iPad Pro. This will eliminate the importing of photos when we get home.

I plan to get a minimum of M3 with 16 gb RAM, and 512/1TB storage. My main library of Photos, iMovies, GoPro 4K videos and other multimedia files will be store in an external portable 8TB Thunderbolt NVME SSD with a minimum speed of 3,000 MB/S.

My question is, will the speed get throttled often for heavy Photos session on a MBA which does not have a fan? Will buying a MBA be a mistake?

Video editing is not as heavy and I am not worried about that.
TIA

Al

When looking through the benchmarks on difference between MBA and MBP, I was surprised that there is not as much of a speed difference as I expected. scroll to bottom on this site for performance results:

https://www.tomsguide.com/computing...es-how-it-compares-to-macbook-pro-and-windows

There is a difference but like 20% for probably your heavy workload in the field. Memory can be a bottleneck more than anything else. As well to consider is the other differences - how many and kinds of ports between the air and Pro. And of course, future proofing to your needs further on down the line.

On this site there was a discussion on your more exact question:

https://www.reddit.com/r/mac/comments/1b96yb9/m3_mba_vs_m3_mbpwhich_one

Note again, Memory can be the bottleneck. IMO I think it a good $i nvestment to choose 32 GB memory over 16GB.

 

[graybalanced]

My question is, will the speed get throttled often for heavy Photos session on a MBA which does not have a fan? Will buying a MBA be a mistake?

I can only answer from the MacBook Pro side, and as someone who batch processes but not in Photos. The one area I can't comment on is the MacBook Air, but I will give an educated guess based on knowledge of how Apple Silicon is different than Intel.

I strongly believe the MacBook Pro will be no problem at all, and my guess is that the MacBook Air might be OK. This is my reasoning.

On your current Intel Mac, all processes are done on any core, and Intel is less efficient than Apple Silicon.

On an Apple Silicon Mac, background and low priority tasks are handed to the efficiency cores. This greatly lowers their energy draw, which also greatly lowers their heat generation, which leads to lower chance of thermal throttling. High priority tasks go to the performance cores. So if your current Intel Mac throttles due to background tasks, that should be much less of a problem on an Apple Silicon Mac.

One thing that might help is open Activity Monitor and during your heavy Photos sessions, see how much Photos uses the CPU vs the GPU. If it is mostly CPU, the chance of it throttling on Apple Silicon might be higher. If it has the GPU do a significant amount, it might throttle less on Apple Silicon because the GPU is more powerful and more efficient. Generally, if an app can use GPU acceleration, it is faster and uses less energy than if the CPU had to do the same task.

If no one here can help you with Photos on an Air from experience, then if it is that critical to your business I would suggest that you order an Air and test it out thoroughly during the return/exchange period. Really hammer it with your worst batch jobs. At the end of the return/exchange period, have a clear idea of whether it is doing the job, or whether you should go back to Apple and exchange it for a 14" MacBook Pro which will probably handle everything without complaint.

(I have been extremely happy with the ability of my M1 MacBook Pro to handle extended heavy loads, even three years after purchase. Rarely do I ever hear the fans.)

 

[CAcreeks]

I kind of long for the days when I had a Macbook Air. Something about the no-fan design, with just a cellphone chip in there, made me feel good.

The Air 15" is really cute, especially in midnight (blue). I think Air 13" would be too small.

My current Macbook Pro has much better sound quality, and if you are interested in HDR photography or video, the XDR screen has much higher peak brightness. Also SD card reader.

Not a huge difference in price. By the time you get the Air 15 up to 24GB memory and 1TB storage, it's $2099. Base model Macbook Pro 16 with 18GB memory and 1TB costs $2699, and is probably more than sufficient for your needs. (I suppose you could work with 16GB memory and 512GB storage for $1699, but I would not recommend 8GB.)

 

[lightandaprayer]

The ArtIsRight YouTube channel has a detailed comparison of the M3 MBP and MBA:

M3 MacBook Air vs M3 MacBook Pro Photography Review

The channel has a good reputation for its tests of Macs using photo imaging apps instead of the usual generic testing utilities.

 

[graybalanced]

I think the Air is the ideal laptop for most people, even casual photographers. (Not necessarily busy photographers, though.) The performance-to-size ratio is amazing.

I need the power and features of my MacBook Pro, so what I like about it is that almost all of the time, it is as quiet as an Air, but if I need the fans they are there, and even then, you don't hear them until they are running close to max RPM.

 

[amateurphotographer]

Hi,

Mac's have so many spec's nowadays, and is hard for us here to give you advice unless we own both machines you are looking at, and the software you intend to use with the file sizes from your camera.

My advice would be look at ArtIsRight YouTube videos, he's probably the only photographer who does very comprehensive reviews of Mac latest chips and comparison of Air and MBP and what is value for money. His reviews are very detailed , so do take time to go through them.

https://www.youtube.com/@ArtIsRight

My only advice is get min 32RAM for running photography software, and prolonging the life of your laptop.

 

[lumigraphics]

The MacBook Pro 14" and 16" have MUCH better screens, more ports, built-in card readers, and can be configured with better processors, more RAM, and more drive space. I would look seriously at the 14" unless you only need a portable for ingesting photos in the field.

An Air can only have a max of 24GB of RAM, you have to step up to the MBP with M3 Pro to get 32GB.

--
David M. Converse
Lumigraphics
http://www.lumigraphics.com

 

[EJ Fudd]

Spped diference between AIR and Pro is minimal..10% Though it is a little faster if you are exporting images and still editing but for $400+ not worth it..its not my primary machine

 

[lumigraphics]

Spped diference between AIR and Pro is minimal..10% Though it is a little faster if you are exporting images and still editing but for $400+ not worth it..its not my primary machine

For photo work that $400 buys you a lot, as I just noted above.

 

[lightandaprayer]

Spped diference between AIR and Pro is minimal..10% Though it is a little faster if you are exporting images and still editing but for $400+ not worth it..its not my primary machine

For photo work that $400 buys you a lot, as I just noted above.

If you are on a budget and/or do not need or want the MBP features, then not spending the extra $400 makes a lot of sense. . .

I would be willing to pay extra just for a better keyboard than the MBAs have. But the MBPs now have the same design. It's a pity. . .

 

[lumigraphics]

Spped diference between AIR and Pro is minimal..10% Though it is a little faster if you are exporting images and still editing but for $400+ not worth it..its not my primary machine

For photo work that $400 buys you a lot, as I just noted above.

If you are on a budget and/or do not need or want the MBP features, then not spending the extra $400 makes a lot of sense. . .

I would be willing to pay extra just for a better keyboard than the MBAs have. But the MBPs now have the same design. It's a pity. . .

Based on the OP, I'm recommending the Pro.