Copy link to clipboard
Copied
I am curious how LR will operate on a new Macbook Air with intel i5 processor and 8gb of ram. I am not planning on heavy post processing. I mostly need a laptop for importing and storing images while I am traveling. I know I could use external hard drives for this, but I am also interested in a laptop for light duty email and web browsing to replace an older, Windows model. I am leaning toward the new 13-inch Air for reasons of affordability (and the fact that I have iMac at home and iPhone), but not sure how LR will function doing rudimentary importing, keywording, sorting, etc. Any input will be appreciated!
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
I think it should do all the things you mentioned without a problem. Some are now going for the iPad Pro rather than the MBA and using a camera connection kit to get images into the Lr app and into cloud. Once in the cloud they can even be downloaded into LrC.
I suggest you also enquire in some of the Apple forums. Here is one link:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/2020-mba-lightroom-performance.2228124/
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
Keep in mind that Lightroom uploads everything to a cloud, so you don't need a lot of hard drive storage. If you want your photos stored on hard drives you should Lightroom Classic instead. If you use Classic, you need a laptop not an iPad.
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
It would be possible to use Lr mobile on the iPad and Classic on the iMac if you are subscribed to a Photography Plan. But as Theresa says if you want to use the desktop software on the go then you would need a laptop.
N.B. You cant install older versions of Lightroom on a new Mac running Catalina OS.
Copy link to clipboard
Copied
Thanks. I should have mentioned I subscribe to the photography plan and my primary LR use is the desktop LRC. I was worried about the MacBook Air not having a dedicated GPU, but it sounds as if that won't be a problem for light duty LRC tasks. The cloud-based approach with later transfer to LRC desktop is a good option to consider as well.