The latest M2 MacBooks (opens in new tab) are a real force to be reckoned with, but we think the MacBook Pro 14-inch and 16-inch (opens in new tab) models with their M1 Pro and M1 Max hardware are still the best MacBooks for photo editing. They can be specced with a whopping 64GB RAM, while their ultra-bright Liquid Retina XDR displays are truly stunning. The 16-inch version is the pick of the pair, offering a more comfortable screen size than its smaller siblings.
What Mac Is Good For Editing
MacBook laptops offer everything you need when post-processing your photos. They look fantastic, are extremely durable, and have amazing system specs. The best MacBooks for photo editing benefit from a powerful Apple processing chip, plenty of RAM, and a fast storage drive. The display quality is also magnificent, which is vital for color accuracy and consistent editing.
If you are a professional photographer or a digital marketer and you need a reliable, multipurpose laptop for photo editing, this is the best option. It looks great, has an amazing display, and also has the highest current system specs available in a MacBook Pro.
As you can see, this MacBook Pro is a beast. The ARM 7100 CPU and M1 Max chip combined with a ludicrous 64 GB of RAM means that you can run any photo editing software. Not only that, but the performance will be incredible when working with multiple-image composites, doing HDR editing, and more.
The M1 Pro chip is still the second most advanced Apple processing chip available (after the M1 Max). It has a 10-core CPU and a 16-core GPU; this is combined with an impressive 16 GB of unified memory that can be upgraded to 32 GB if needed. The processing power, memory, and GPU performance should still allow you to use high-end photo editing software.
This could be the perfect photo editing laptop if you often travel to different sites. The 14.2-inch screen still looks superb, but the overall size and weight of the MacBook are smaller. This laptop has the following specs:
Despite the smaller screen, 14.2 inches is still more than adequate for photo editing. It offers an effective display resolution of 3000 x 2000 pixels, and it benefits from the Liquid Retina screen quality and True Tone colors.
This is still a highly capable MacBook and benefits from a portable body, magnificent display quality, and plenty of processing power to run advanced photo editing software. The only real difference is the GPU. You can see the specs below:
This is essentially the same laptop as the one listed above. The difference is that it has an M1 Pro chip. The M1 Pro CPU in many instances is superior to the Intel Core i7 chip. However, the GPU does not have as many cores and thus lacks processing power. Regardless, it is capable of running photo editing software like Lightroom without any issues.
The M1 Max chip is currently the best option. This is a 10-core CPU combined with (up to) a 32-core GPU. It also has unified memory, which means you get more effective system resource usage. However, anything from an Intel Core i7 processor upward is capable of running high-end editing software (provided the other components are adequate, too).
I would advise purchasing a MacBook or iMac for photo editing with at least 8 GB of RAM. Most editing software requires 8 GB to run. But if your budget allows it, go for 16 GB or more as high-end programs like Lightroom and ON1 Photo RAW have a recommended RAM amount of 16 GB.
The storage drive is also important and has two main characteristics to consider. First, the storage amount is important as it dictates how many photos you can store on the drive. Second, storage speed is important as it dictates how quickly you can access files when using photo editing software. The following are common storage drive options in MacBook Pro models:
In terms of speed, modern 2019 and later MacBook Pro models have NVMe SSD drives, which are incredibly fast. These are much faster than traditional SATA drives and thus allow for quicker access, management, and editing of photos.
Lastly, the display type and screen size are vital. Ideally, you want a large screen size so you can view your photos at high resolutions. A larger screen also helps make photo editing dashboards less cluttered. The following are the best MacBook Pro screen sizes:
As you can see, there is a range of good MacBook models to choose from. But which MacBook is the best choice for you? This depends on several factors, including your budget, intended use, and the type of software you prefer.
The Mac Studio counts as the first real "surprise" we've had from Apple in a long time. After rolling out the move to Apple Silicon (which had long been rumored), we had a sense of what was coming for about two years.
The real secret surprise was just how good the speakers sounded. One of the first things filmmakers do is set up some sort of audio board to connect some audio monitors. Getting good sound is essential throughout the edit and for previewing a remote mix.
Honestly, the speakers on the Studio Display sounded clean, robust, and as accurate as my Studio Monitors and could well serve as a replacement. At least until you need a more robust solution. It seems likely we'll see editing suites specced out soon using the built-in Studio Display speakers for their audio.
Even better than that is you'll have these speakers in more clients' offices, so when you are sending in your cut for approval, what they are going to be hearing is more accurate than it would've been otherwise. And that is a huge, huge benefit. The Studio Display also has a built-in stand that is quite attractive and doesn't cost any additional money, which is a nice touch.
A new Mac Pro is coming, and knowing Apple, there will be something interesting there. But the question will really be if you need the power that is going to offer. For a lot of us, shooting projects in 12K and cranking out 4K masters, the Mac Studio is going to offer plenty of horsepower at a price point that feels pretty darn reasonable for what it offers.
You can use the Photos editing tools to easily make simple changes to your photos, such as rotating them or cropping them to get the best framing. You can also use over a dozen sophisticated adjustments to change exposure and color, remove marks or blemishes, eliminate red-eye, change white balance, and more.
Video editing can be a very sophisticated task. Mac users are famous for their skills in this area. Two applications stand out for their excellence and quality, namely Movavi Video Editor and Filmora. Both have been used in famous films and TV programs. Here below is a description of these two apps and five others that are also a frequent choice amongst Mac users.
Final Cut Pro is a series of non-linear video editing software programs, initially developed by Macromedia Inc. and later continued by Apple Inc. This well-known professional video editor for Mac stands out for its user-centered design, which has resulted in Final Cut Pro being at the top amongst the Mac video editing software programs currently available on the market.
The browser is a virtual space for referencing and arranging clips. It is complemented by the timeline, where clips are grouped in sequences, which can also be nested inside other sequences. The canvas is used to output the contents of the timeline, and editing them with features such as overwrite, replace, insert, fit to fill, and superimpose.
This video editing software for Mac has a proven record of excellence in the many movies in which it has been used. Amongst the best-known titles in a long list are: The Rules of Attraction (2002), Happy Feet (2006), The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2009), Gamer (2009), By the People: The Election of Barack Obama (2009), The Patrol (2013), and the recent Saved by Grace (2016).
This app is a simple video editor for Mac that can be used to import videos using FireWire, from a USB drive or a hard drive. It has basic editing capabilities that can be used in video clips, to add effects and music. It also has video enhancing and color correction tools.
Avidemux is an open-source and free video editing software for Mac, whose main characteristic is user-friendliness. Its ease of use and installation, with the added availability of a good tutorial, makes Avidemux an ideal tool for beginners in video editing.
Its vast array of features include 3D modeling, UV unwrapping, texturing, raster graphics editing, fluid, and smoke simulation, particle simulation, soft body simulation, sculpting, animation, match moving, camera tracking, rendering, video editing and composing, and an integrated game engine.
In summary, Blender has filled a niche where high technical functionality is required. This great video editing software for Mac is the best option for complex editing tasks, such as engineering simulation and sophisticated 3D animations.
In general, any good photo editor Mac frees up a lot of your time by automating certain repetitive tasks. On that note, let's go through some of the best paid and free photo editing software for Mac and mention which use cases each one fits really well.
Luminar is an AI-powered photo editing software that can help you perfect your shots with simple tweaks and fixes suggested by mighty AI algorithms. Use the app's tools to analyze your photo and adjust its basic settings, fix portrait imperfections, remove noise or unwanted background items, enhance details and colors, add dramatic elements like augmented sky or sunrays. Save your editing settings to use on future shots or implement Luminar's own preset looks for defined, polished results.
Apple Photos also comes preinstalled with macOS and is the natural continuation of iPhoto and Aperture. It has robust editing capabilities, letting you adjust curves and selective colors, as well as apply quick filters and do overall retouching work.
Pixelmator Pro offers non-destructive photo editing, with full support for RAW photos (even the new AppleRAW), a wide variety of presets, and automatic enhancements based on machine learning. You can even use Pixelmator Pro to draw and illustrate as it comes with an impressive set of vector tools for unlimited creative expression. 2ff7e9595c
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