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MacBookPro M4 Pro Display performance nano texture

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The new MacBookPro M4 Pro: It’s gorgeous

I was 100% happy with my MacbookPro M1 Pro. (see my review here) 
It was lighting fast and even when screencapturing Photoshop I didn’t see any hiccups.
But when Apple showed the new screens I was already looking for my laptop to order a new one.
The biggest frustration with the MacbookPro for me was the very annoying  glare on the screen, it could drive me nuts when travelling, if you need a mirror…..

The nice thing about Apple is that you often don’t have to wait too long and indeed today I got the new MacBookPro M4 Pro with Nano Texture  14″, 1 TB, and wanted to share the first experiences with it, mainly focussing on the screen.

And the screen is indeed absolutely gorgeous and kills the reflections better than expected. It’s something you have to see to believe case 😀
I also opted for the space black color and also here I can say I’m glad I did, I love the normal color of the MacBookPro but the space black is my new favourite.

Ok till now it’s been more like an unboxing, and as you know I’m not really the person for that kind of posts 😀
So let’s dive into the interesting stuff.

Shine a light on me

Let’s do a quick test

the MacBookPro M4 Pro

Left is the….really?
As you can see there is a huge difference. On the previous screen you can clearly see the reflection of our led lights, on the new screen there is nothing visible. And remember the reflection of the previous screen was even worse in some older generations. I’m really glad with this outcome because the screen was my main reason to upgrade.

Now when you see this we want to see something more extreme of course.
So we used the flashlight of the iPhone on full power.

On the previous screen you can clearly see the light and its a pretty large circle and you can see the light actually breaking down in RGB.

Now on the new screen it might seem that the circle is also large but thats probably not what you’re seeing.
This is an extreme example, shining a very bright flashlight right on the screen from 20cm distance.
The little circle in the middle is what you also see in the image above but a lot smaller and much less intens.
The “glow” around the circle is probably the Nano texture doing it’s anti light reflective work, when the lightsource is less extreme this would mean it totally takes out the reflections, as you can see in the first example.

In other words, wow.

Performance of the MacBookPro M4 Pro with Nano Texture

As creators we of course demand the absolute best from our screens.
Of course it’s always better to use a dedicated monitor. For example the BenQ monitors I use have a hardware calibration option and are tracking very close to the AdobeRGB colorspace. (and they have a great anti glare coating :D) but does that mean that you can’t use your laptop screen for editing ?

Well decide for yourself, I will post the validation of the screen in a moment.
It really depends on how color critical your work is, but in all honesty when I look at the results I would not hesitate to edit my work on the MacBookPro, as long as I’m able to check it on the BenQ before it goes to the client.

the MacBookPro M4 Pro

Calibration

The first thing I do when I get a new laptop is make a 1:1 copy from my old laptop (I love the way the Mac does this).
This mostly takes an hour or slightly longer, in that time I keep my screen on at my preference light output.
When my whole system is up and running, this often means the screen has been on for a few hours.
Now it’s a good time to do the first calibration (and repeat this after a few days).

Do make sure you use the proper analyser for the XRD screens.
We highly recommend the Calibrite HL series due to the high luminance output of the screens.
On the photo you still see an older analyser which was handy for the moment, calibration should be done with the HL series by preference.

With MacOs you do have to make sure that you check your display settings and disable the two settings you can see in this image, these settings can really mess up your calibrations.

the MacBookPro M4 Pro

After the calibration is done it’s possible to run a validation of your screen.
I’ve setup the screen to the brightness I normally use in a bright room, this is brighter than my BenQ which is in a controlled environment.
I highly recommend calibrating at the brightness you use the most. You can always go up or down 1 click.

 

As you can see the performance of the screen is actually pretty good 😀
I’ve been working on the MBP for a few hours now and coming from the M1 Pro I can say that especially plugins like Luminar Neo and BorisFX are running a lot faster. That doesn’t mean that the M1 Pro was slow. But the M4 Pro is clearly a lot faster.

Conclusion, should you buy the MacBookPro M4 Pro with Nano Texture screen?

There will be a lot of reviews about the speed of the new MacBooks, for me it was already clear I would get more speed than I would probably ever really need. However the screen is one of the most important things on a laptop for me. We travel a lot and having a screen that functions like a mirror is insanely annoying. To be honest the screen alone was worth the upgrade. But a good screen should also be able to show proper shadow detail, don’t clip the whites and have a proper performance for color “critical” work. So in this short review I focussed on the screen and wanted to share the validation of the new MacBookPro 14″ Nano structure screen.

 

If you are in the market for a great monitor, make sure to check out the BenQ series.
I’ve been using them for years and they always deliver a great price/performance.
For the European customers we have a few 10% discount coupons we are allowed to give away. (Email)

Check this link for more info about BenQ SW monitors

 

 

 

Check out my YouTube video about retouching on the iPad 

Directional light is so much cooler

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With directional light, you can really make your model jump out

We recently filmed a brand new class for KelbyOne with our model Claudia.
The video is all about using one strobe and how, by changing light shapes and angles, you can still create totally different looks like using directional light.

Today I wanted to show one of the sets in which I show one of my favourite setups.
In this case, I’m using my main light under an angle from above aimed down.
Because Claudia is wearing glasses I don’t have any problems with shadows under the eyes, or the eyes not getting enough light so I can maximize the direction of light.

The cool thing about this kind of setup is that if you move around your subject the look changes dramatically.
For the mainlight you can use a small softbox like our Geekoto Quicky or for example the Frank Doorhof Rogue Flashbender in striplight configuration.

directional light

Although the whole class is about using one strobe. In this setup, I decided to break that rule and add one more strobe with a blue gel.
In this case, I’m using a blue gel from our Rogue magnetic system.
This is an awesome technique in which you first create a focused light pattern on for example the face of the model and make sure the rest is as dark as possible. Now use the second strobe with the gel on a lower setting than the main light and you can get the effect you see below.

Of course, you can experiment with the output and colors.

directional light

Want to see the whole class?

Of course you want 😀
visit www.kelbyone.com for all my classes.

 

Want to visit a workshop?

If you think “that’s for me, I would love to learn more”
Then visit photography-workshops.eu for the Dutch workshops.
But if you are not living in the Netherlands or don’t speak Dutch we also have other options.
If you let is know 2 weeks in advance I can teach the workshop you want to visit in English.
Or if you can’t travel to our studio we also now offer the option to get a full 1:1 experience with 5 different camera angles, lightroom/Photoshop view and a talkback channel, you also get all the raw files and retouched results from the workshop. Visit our online workshops page for more info.

Exciting news from BenQ

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Hardware calibration using BenQ’s Palette Master Ultimate (PMU)

We have some exciting news to share about the AQCOLOR ecosystem! The BenQ SW series can be hardware calibrated using the Palette Master Ultimate software. Now the PD series is also able to be software calibrated with PMU

The importance of calibration

When we capture our images you might expect that the camera will do everything just fine. But in reality, the camera just “guesses” and not all cameras, lenses, and sensors are the same.
Of course, we all know the Rogue ExpoDisc and the Calibrite ColorChecker series for white balance. And we must not forget the light meter.

de nieuwe ExpoDisc v3 voor de lens van een camera

Of course, it’s also important to make sure that the display you use can show you the colors as accurately as possible.
To make sure this is done as accurately as possible you have to calibrate your monitor with a so-called color analyzer.
This is a small metering device you put in front of your monitor and just follow the steps the software asks.

More ways to calibrate

As with most things, there are different ways to do this.
One of the things most people will do is follow the operating system. Often you are shown different patterns and squares and you have to adjust some sliders till they look right. In essence, there is nothing wrong with this. And if it’s the only thing you are willing to do, please do this at least.

But it doesn’t really make your screen more accurate for proper color judgment, it just takes out some clipping and major problems.

For a proper calibration, we can’t trust our eyes.

To calibrate you need tools

I’ve been doing high-end calibrations since 1997. And can say that even with all that experience, and spotting problems almost immediately, I’m not able to do a perfect calibration without using tools.

But also when doing it right there are several options

When we look at the calibration of your monitor we roughly have two options:
1. The first one is calibration via software.
This is where you use the software delivered with your hardware analyzer. By the way  if you want something really simple but that works like a charm check out the new Calibrite123.
When you use the software the calibration is done via the operating system, it will create a so-called ICC profile. The profile is loaded when the OS starts. And is used when the software supports the use of color management.

There is nothing wrong with software/OS-based calibration, but there is a way to make it even better.
2. As an alternative, we also have something called Hardware calibration.

With hardware calibration, we use the software that is delivered with your monitor. In the case of the BenQ, this software is called Palette Master Ultimate and has recently been revamped to be easier and much much faster, and more accurate. The main difference is that the calibration is not done via the OS but inside the monitor.

In practice both calibration methods are great.
With the hardware calibration you are working with the monitor software aimed at that monitor and the calibration is in essence done inside the monitor. This means that the results will be slightly better in gradients and the whole process is more streamlined for that specific screen yielding faster and often better results.

The disadvantage of hardware calibration

The main disadvantage is price.
To get hardware calibration you need for high-end screens. It’s hardly ever found on the screens that are one step below the top-line. Or it’s a limited version of the high-end line. So for hardware calibration, you do need to spend a little bit extra in most cases.

BenQ Palette Master Ultimate

But now we have a great in-between option: BenQ Palette Master Ultimate

As the topic title probably already spoiled it, BenQ has now released the news that now not only does the SW series support Palette Master Ultimate but also the PD series is now able to use Palette Master Ultimate. Which is a huge update for these already very attractive monitors. This means a workflow that is fine-tuned for your monitor and is familiar if you already own a SW series monitor.

When someone asks me which monitor to buy I’m always honest in my reply, we have been working with BenQ for many years and every monitor I review is very nicely priced and has a great performance. With the PD series now also supporting Palette Master, I think my advice to check out BenQ can be changed to “don’t look further get the SW or PD” 😀

Oh and by the way, if you live in the EU region we have a cool discount for you.

BenQ has been supporting Digital Classroom almost since season 1. So,  every year we have some nice deals for you guys. And this year it’s the best yet. If you live in the EU region and drop me an email we have a 10% discount coupon for the BenQ photography/video/design monitors. And with this new update, I think BenQ will sell a lot of new screens to starting photographers because the PD series is I think one of the best ways to get into the more professional monitors.

 

 

 

The problem with a global shutter that a lot of people will miss

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Yes, Sony revolutionised the photography market

Without any doubt one of the biggest steps forward has been released by Sony, and it’s called the A9III
But why is it this huge step forward?

One might think that when we talk about huge steps we talk about MegaPixels, ISO etc. But this is all just adding to something we already have. When I talk about a huge step forward I of course mean the new Global Shutter.

Global shutter?

So why is this global shutter thing such a big deal?
When you work with strobes you probably know that the term X-sync.
The X-sync is the maximum shutter speed you can can use without seeing an annoying black bar due to the second shutter curtain.
For most cameras with studio strobes if you stay at or below 1/125 you will have no problems at all, and in the studio this is actually no limit. Most studios are dark so the slower 1/125 shutterspeed is no problem.

However when we go outside things change.
When we work with strobes we now have to compete with the ambient light.
Take into account the limit of 1/125 and you quickly understand why a lot of those shots with loads of strobe power have a DOF from here to eternity 😀
In other words, outside we often have to shoot at f22 to get the balance we need due to that 1/125 limit.

Solutions

Luckily there are solutions.

  1. Make sure you don’t place your subject close to the top. This way you can shoot at 1/160 and sometimes a bit higher without noticing the black bar. It’s still there for the strobe but the ambient light will not show it and the subject is somewhere in the middle so it will still get the strobe. A quick fix but far from perfect due to the huge limitation for composition (but it’s a nice one if you have to and can for example crop later in Photoshop).
  2. A bit more serious are solutions like HSS, HS
    With HSS your strobe fires a lot of flashes during the exposure making sure the sensor is always lit by the strobe. This eats both power from the strobe but also from your batteries, it’s also a system that’s not 100% stable in output and can overheat a strobe pretty fast.
    HS is a system that uses the cut off and raise of the strobe, not to make it too difficult it uses a very slow strobe to get faster shutter speeds, same issue here is that it eats power.
  3. It doesn’t help with the shutterspeed but you can use ND filters to get a shallow DOF, although this can work great there are some disadvantages, first of all a good ND filter for use with strobes will be a pretty strong one, or a variable (I have the KF concept in my kit and really like that one) And with the stronger ND filters you will get into some problems with focussing speed. Also some ND filters will give you a light drop off in the corners.
  4. Leaf shutter lenses
    Leaf shutter lenses are awesome but expensive.
    The shutter is inside the lens and this means it breaks the limit of 1/125 with ease, there is still a limit (for example 1/1500) which in most cases however is more than enough, especially because most of these lenses are found in the Medium Format cameras.
  5. Cheap cameras
    Believe it or not but years ago I shot with a very affordable small Fuji camera which was able to shoot up to 1/1000 with strobes. This was a far cry from a professional camera, but I decided to include it to make the list complete.

So what’s the big deal with a global shutter?

In short….
There is no real limit anymore.
You would be able to shoot strobes up to 1/16000 or even 1/80000 when using Sony compatible strobes.
Sounds awesome right?
And it is, but there is one limit I have to tell you about that will prevent some nasty surprises.

The speed is important

The idea of shooting at 1/16000 will excite a lot of photographer but it could also be a huge disappointment, but that last part can be solved with a bit of technical information.

When we use our camera we all know that the shutterspeed will determine the “freezing power” of your camera.
The faster the shutterspeed the more action is frozen.
When we use strobes we often just look at the output. And in the past this is 100% understandable, most strobes are fast enough to freeze motion in the studio so we often don’t link shutter speeds to flash durations.

When we look at the specs of our strobes we do however see a value that links the two.
The t0.1 and t0.5 values. You might notice that those values are often mentioned in a range from very fast to slower,
Maybe you also found out that the way the motion is captured does vary depending on the power output of your strobes, especially with cheaper strobes it’s very possible that there are only a few power settings that will freeze the motion, where with the others there always is a slight blur.

When I look at the strobes I’ve worked with over the years there were strobes that topped out at 1/1000 and 1/60000.
As you can see this is a huge difference.
So what is the link with a global shutter?

Let’s shoot a mountain biker at 1/16000 with our strobe on full power.
Now let’s shoot the same mountain biker at 1/16000 with our strobe at 75% power.
I can almost predict that the 75% setting will be brighter.

So what’s going on?

You can shoot with the shutterspeed at 1/16000 and there will be no black bar in the frame, however the strobe has to be just as fast as the shutterspeed otherwise the shutterspeed will be cutting off the power of the strobe while it stills flashes.

This is very difficult to visualize because our eyes can’t see how fast a strobe fires, so we need a special tool for this.
To measure the flashduration of my strobes I’m using the Sekonic 858 lightmeter.
When I measure my Geekoto strobes I can clearly see that they are incredibly fast in the lower settings, as soon as I pass half power they are still fast enough to freeze any motion (1/5000+) but when I reach full power the flashduration gets a serious hit. Now this has nothing to do with the Geekoto strobes, but it’s all strobes and brands, it’s simply how it works.

So how does this fit in the global shutter story.
When you read the reviews and specs on the A9III you might expect that your strobe will behave the same as in the studio and this can lead to not getting the maximum performance out of your brand new camera.

The best way to make sure you get the maximum out of your system is to shoot a series of images on a white wall with the camera on a tripod. Don’t change anything on the camera itself but only change the output of the strobe. Do this for several shutter speeds and watch where the strobe starts to get dimmer and put a sticker on the strobe with those settings.

Why is this important?

When you use a lightmeter on location the meter has “no limits”, so it will give you the value of the full strobe, if the strobe has a flash duration of 1/800 or 1/16000 it doesn’t matter for the meter. Now that we know that the shutterspeed of the camera can cut off the strobe it’s also clear that when we are shooting above the “speed limit” of the strobe the value on the meter will not correspond with what you get in your photo.

Besides the trick with the white wall there is a solution for this, but it’s not cheap, but it will make it much easier.
When you use the Sekonic 858 there is a setting that doesn’t just meters the light but also the flashduration. This can be a very useful tool where you can not only find the setting with the fastest flashduration, but also to know how fast you can set your cameras shutterspeed.

A feature that was handy for reviews in the past has now become an essential tool to use your flash system to the max, and that’s a good thing, a really good thing. We can do amazing things with global shutters and flash, can’t wait to test it out myself.

 

To be clear, I have not shot with the A9III, this why there are no examples (I don’t fake examples), the technique however is universal.
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