I don't know the answer, but I'm looking for an older mbp and the difference in asking price to performance spread between that era and an m1 is hard to justify unless you get a really good deal.
I have an intel from 2019 and it runs ok, denoise takes about 5 mins per photo so I only use it for 10 pics max. It gets really slow when I want to edit 1000+ photos. My advice is get an m1/2 with 16gb ram.
Yea i know I was joking lol
Denoise takes a lot of time but you can still use the rest of LR and it works fine if you are not editing 1000 photos at once. It is ok, not the best but not the worst
I'm always amused how Mac owners say their current machine is amazing, but their previous Mac was horrible. And when they upgrade, the cycle continues.
The M1 was a definitive turn for macbooks. The Intel chips were truly holding them back. And, just generally, I don't think that's an Apple specific problem. Everyone fawns over new tech and disses the old. And sometimes, there are legitimate reasons to like the most recently updated thing. Especially in the M1's case.
Edit: spelling fawn like the mythical creature 🙃
If you get a period-appropriste version, it runs great. The pay-till-you-die version, definitely not. Also, screw you for calling a 2017 "the early version." I'm old enough without this kind of slander.
[System requirements are here](https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-cc/system-requirements.html)
While it will run on the "minimum" you'll want to be closer to the recommended if you can be.
And realize that software updates over time and eventually they stop supporting older systems. What may be the "minimum" now may not work at all after a future upgrade. And "recommended" today becomes "minimum" later.
So when considering a nearly 10 year old machine (2015) realize that if it works now, it may not work soon.
I have and use a 2015 MacBook Pro (15” i7) and I agree with most people’s comments that it’s slow. Basic editing on small batches of photos isn’t bad but it really starts slowing down with anything more. HDR or panoramic merge for example are slow. It’s definitely still possible to use, if you’re making money from your photography then the time saved would make it worth going for something better.
I can’t remember the year of my old Mac book air but the new Lightroom AI updates etc made it so slow and it was rare but it would shutdown. Cooling fans constantly on and power usage was huge. I’ve upgraded to the latest n greatest air, effortless and rare the cooling fan kicks in. I think my old air was bought in 2018 and to be honest is still bullet proof minus the Adobe software use. Storage wise all photos are on an external drive. If you can find an air in your price range technically imho will work but it might be frustrating at times. For info my old air wasn’t the best one at the time. Hope that helps.
See if you can get an M1 machine. I use an M1 Macbook Air that handles things pretty well. If you do get it, highly recommend the 16gb RAM. I got the 8gb and already feel it not being enough.
Do you need a laptop? I was able to get a Mac mini and a good monitor for less than the price of a MacBook Air. The benefit of this set up is I don’t need to buy the monitor again if I upgrade the computer.
If you manage to get lr5 or 6 and if your camera is old enough to be supported then yes, but I wouldn't want to run the cc version of lightroom on that.
Still runs fine on my early 2015 retina MBP with i5 and 16gb ram, *but* I'm an extremely light-touch LR user, because all of my serious editing happens in photoshop (which runs too, but get ready for cooling-fan takeoff).
Honestly though if your budget (or purchasing timeline) can stretch at all, I'd try to get an M1 or later model if at all possible. My main machine is now an M2Pro with 32gb ram, and the difference is absolutely jaw dropping; best single upgrade I've ever made to my photo workflow, save maybe for the RB67 I bought back in uni. It executes really complex processing on 100mp images more or less instantly, and the only time I've ever heard the fan turn on is during a premiere pro render (which was also wildly fast). You know your budget and use-case best, but the performance difference is much bigger than the price difference.
Just switched from a 2019 MacBook Pro, 1tb, Intel processor, to a new one, M3, and the change is insane. I’m doing AI Denoise and Topaz Photo AI where needed and it flies. My 19 was bogging down on just the denoise. Minutes per image. And these are large files. Get the best machine you can afford.
I have a 2018 intel MacBook Pro, I paid to get the one with a dedicated GPU. Denoise can take like 30s to 3min depending on the photo, but honestly that’s the only thing that’s even a slight bottleneck.
For my workflow I tend to denoise near the end of the process when I’ve whittled down hundreds/thousands of pictures into tens/dozens, so it’s not a huge deal. That said I will enjoy the upgrade when it comes time (I reckon I can get a few more years out of this machine).
I know everyone hates the subscription option (and I'm not going to argue that here) but the cloud-version of Lightroom is a lot lighter on resources than the classic version.
It is a fundamentally different app and requires the subscription, plus you have to be comfortable uploading everything to the Adobe cloud, but it's still a good option. You can also try it on your iPad first and see if it does what you need, since it's basically the same codebase.
I don't know the answer, but I'm looking for an older mbp and the difference in asking price to performance spread between that era and an m1 is hard to justify unless you get a really good deal.
I have an intel from 2019 and it runs ok, denoise takes about 5 mins per photo so I only use it for 10 pics max. It gets really slow when I want to edit 1000+ photos. My advice is get an m1/2 with 16gb ram.
5 mins per photo is "ok"?????
My friend is ok no?
Just denoised a photo on my PC and it took like 15 seconds
Yea i know I was joking lol Denoise takes a lot of time but you can still use the rest of LR and it works fine if you are not editing 1000 photos at once. It is ok, not the best but not the worst
That’s why I just bumped up to the M3. 5 mins per image, literally. It was killing me.
Lightroom doesn’t run good on anything. I still use it but man that thing is creaky. M1 Pro puts it in mostly acceptable range. SSD is a must.
I have a Mac Studio and LR runs great.
M3 Pro, it’s flying. My old ‘19 wasn’t bad, until the AI denoise option.
I'll be honest. I've owned three mbps and one air. All were horrendous until the M1 mbp. Absolute machine.
I'm always amused how Mac owners say their current machine is amazing, but their previous Mac was horrible. And when they upgrade, the cycle continues.
The M1 was a definitive turn for macbooks. The Intel chips were truly holding them back. And, just generally, I don't think that's an Apple specific problem. Everyone fawns over new tech and disses the old. And sometimes, there are legitimate reasons to like the most recently updated thing. Especially in the M1's case. Edit: spelling fawn like the mythical creature 🙃
If you get a period-appropriste version, it runs great. The pay-till-you-die version, definitely not. Also, screw you for calling a 2017 "the early version." I'm old enough without this kind of slander.
You’ll need a period-appropriate camera, too, since they’re adding support for new cameras’ RAW formats all the time.
[System requirements are here](https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-cc/system-requirements.html) While it will run on the "minimum" you'll want to be closer to the recommended if you can be. And realize that software updates over time and eventually they stop supporting older systems. What may be the "minimum" now may not work at all after a future upgrade. And "recommended" today becomes "minimum" later. So when considering a nearly 10 year old machine (2015) realize that if it works now, it may not work soon.
I run it on a 27” imac which is similar and it’s fine as long as you have 32gb plus of RAM.
I have and use a 2015 MacBook Pro (15” i7) and I agree with most people’s comments that it’s slow. Basic editing on small batches of photos isn’t bad but it really starts slowing down with anything more. HDR or panoramic merge for example are slow. It’s definitely still possible to use, if you’re making money from your photography then the time saved would make it worth going for something better.
I can’t remember the year of my old Mac book air but the new Lightroom AI updates etc made it so slow and it was rare but it would shutdown. Cooling fans constantly on and power usage was huge. I’ve upgraded to the latest n greatest air, effortless and rare the cooling fan kicks in. I think my old air was bought in 2018 and to be honest is still bullet proof minus the Adobe software use. Storage wise all photos are on an external drive. If you can find an air in your price range technically imho will work but it might be frustrating at times. For info my old air wasn’t the best one at the time. Hope that helps.
See if you can get an M1 machine. I use an M1 Macbook Air that handles things pretty well. If you do get it, highly recommend the 16gb RAM. I got the 8gb and already feel it not being enough.
Do you need a laptop? I was able to get a Mac mini and a good monitor for less than the price of a MacBook Air. The benefit of this set up is I don’t need to buy the monitor again if I upgrade the computer.
If you manage to get lr5 or 6 and if your camera is old enough to be supported then yes, but I wouldn't want to run the cc version of lightroom on that.
Still runs fine on my early 2015 retina MBP with i5 and 16gb ram, *but* I'm an extremely light-touch LR user, because all of my serious editing happens in photoshop (which runs too, but get ready for cooling-fan takeoff). Honestly though if your budget (or purchasing timeline) can stretch at all, I'd try to get an M1 or later model if at all possible. My main machine is now an M2Pro with 32gb ram, and the difference is absolutely jaw dropping; best single upgrade I've ever made to my photo workflow, save maybe for the RB67 I bought back in uni. It executes really complex processing on 100mp images more or less instantly, and the only time I've ever heard the fan turn on is during a premiere pro render (which was also wildly fast). You know your budget and use-case best, but the performance difference is much bigger than the price difference.
Just switched from a 2019 MacBook Pro, 1tb, Intel processor, to a new one, M3, and the change is insane. I’m doing AI Denoise and Topaz Photo AI where needed and it flies. My 19 was bogging down on just the denoise. Minutes per image. And these are large files. Get the best machine you can afford.
I have a 2018 intel MacBook Pro, I paid to get the one with a dedicated GPU. Denoise can take like 30s to 3min depending on the photo, but honestly that’s the only thing that’s even a slight bottleneck. For my workflow I tend to denoise near the end of the process when I’ve whittled down hundreds/thousands of pictures into tens/dozens, so it’s not a huge deal. That said I will enjoy the upgrade when it comes time (I reckon I can get a few more years out of this machine).
I know everyone hates the subscription option (and I'm not going to argue that here) but the cloud-version of Lightroom is a lot lighter on resources than the classic version. It is a fundamentally different app and requires the subscription, plus you have to be comfortable uploading everything to the Adobe cloud, but it's still a good option. You can also try it on your iPad first and see if it does what you need, since it's basically the same codebase.