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Yes, you can update your Godox firmware on the mac, and here’s how to do it

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As good as Godox equipment can be, it has one fatal flaw which puts many photographers off using their equipment. There’s no easy, native way to update the firmware on a Mac. And firmware updates do come fairly regularly for their various models of flashes and triggers. It’s a question I see pop up regularly in Facebook groups, and I’m asked personally quite often, too.

But there is some hope, using an application called VirtualBox to run a virtual Windows operating system inside your MacOS desktop. This video from photographer Ken Falk walks us through the process of updating his Godox firmware on the Mac.

Apple will replace your dodgy MacBook keyboards for free under new service program

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It looks like the Apple “Butterfly” keyboard saga may have come to a conclusion. After being hit with two class-action lawsuits last month over the keyboards in MacBook models since 2015, a third one was brought about at the beginning of this month.

In response, Apple has now launched a new Keyboard Service Program to replace faulty keyboards in MacBook and MacBook Pro models.

Two class action lawsuits filed against Apple over MacBook “butterfly” keyboards

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This isn’t so much a photography post, but it is related. As many photographers use Apple MacBook computers, we thought it was worth talking about. Hopefully, it will help some of the MacBook users who might be reading this and are affected by this issue.

It was only a couple of weeks ago that Apple was hit with an 8 count class action suit over an allegedly flawed “butterfly” keyboard design used in MacBook models since 2015. It claims that the company knew about defects with these keyboards before the product’s launch. Now, Apple faces a second class action suit over the keyboards, claiming that they are in breach of five more laws.

5 reasons to choose a PC over a Mac for photo and video editing

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If you have ever tried to make a decision between a PC and a Mac, I’m sure you’ve heard the suggestions from the users of either one or the other. Photographer Manny Ortiz is a user of both, and in his latest video, he gives five reasons why he opted for a PC after all.

Manny was trying to find a laptop that allows editing 4K video, and that’s small and portable enough to carry along. The choice was between Dell XPS 15 and MacBook Pro. Without the strong passion for one or the other – he chose the Dell XPS 15, and there are some good reasons for that.

$1,600 Ryzen based PC has double the performance in Photoshop than a $5,200 Mac Pro.

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Much of the software that is available for both Mac & Windows is largely identical for both. If you can use it on one, you can use it on the other. This is certainly true of Adobe’s range of software, including Photoshop. Regardless of the platform, though, one of the biggest issues many photographers and other imaging professionals face is performance.

The recent MacBook Pro limitations have already seen quite a few start to make the shift over to Windows based PCs. The lack of upgrade options, and limited RAM just doesn’t keep up with their needs. But how does Apple’s flagship desktop system compare to new, much less expensive, AMD Ryzen based systems? Well, according to this test from Tech Guy, not so well.

Your future Apple laptop could be an iPhone

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It’s not exactly a new idea, but we all know it’s not cool until Apple does it. There have been attempts at a device like this a couple of times before. But it’s just never really taken off. We’re talking about a laptop-like dock for your smartphone. The only one that’s seen any kind of popularity at all is the Motorola Atrix Lapdock. And even that is more amongst the Raspberry Pi crowd than its originally intended target.

Published recently by the US Patent and Trademark Office, Apple’s patent provides their take on the idea. And the idea is very cool. It would be very handy to be able to just plug my phone into a larger screen and keyboard while away from home. But can Apple pull it off? Or is it another “me too!” device that’s doomed to fail?

“Apple is dead to me” – Trey Ratcliffe talks about his transition to Windows

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Apple have taken a lot of criticism over the last year or so, especially from working photographers, editors and designers. Partially because of new dongle requirements, and due to the limited amount of RAM. Some blame this on Apple’s dedication to the iPhone and iPad above all else. Personally, I think they’re just turning their laptops toward the more lucrative market. General consumers.

With cameras getting higher and higher resolution with each new generation, and 4K video becoming more pervasive in our lives, many just want more power. I’ve seen a lot of people talking about making the switch, and quite a few very well known photographers have done so. One such photographer is Trey Ratcliff. Who now offers some tips and advice for those looking to make the switch.

Quick Tip: Macbook photoshop running slow? Check your downloads folder

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Here is a quick tip we got from photographer and soundman extraordinaire Matthew Monroe. If Photoshop on your Mac is running slow, or worse, giving you the “scratch disks are full” message, there are things you can do.

Let’s talk about scratch disks for a second: scratch disk is where Photoshop stores information which is too big to store in RAM. This can happen when working with big files, applying complex filters and other instances where your RAM is just not big enough. If you have not made any changes to your default Photoshop installation, there is a good chance that your scratch disk is also your system disc (which is also your documents disc).

The smaller the scratch disk is, the slower Photoshop will run. And if it’s small enough, you will get the infamous “scratch disks are full” error.

Luckily the solution is easy, or at least the immediate front line support. Just free some space on your disk. For Matt, it was the downloads folder which was hogging over 12 GB of disc space.

The 2016 MacBook Pro goes head-to-head against its predecessor in this video editing comparison

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The new 2016 MacBook Pro has been getting a lot of flak. They’ve removed all ports except USB Type-C and the headphone jack (sorry, what?), you can’t upgrade the RAM, and the highest capacity model is a mere 16GB. I know many photographers who’ve already switched to Surface Pro tablets. A few have held onto their 2015 MacBook Pro and built a desktop Windows machine for more powerful stuff. Some have gone with the new MacBook Pro anyway.

But, how does it compare to the 2015 MacBook Pro when it comes to video editing? In this video from Max Yuryev at MaxCamera, we see how the two perform side-by-side running the same operations. Max tested both of the devices with Apple’s Final Cut Pro X and Adobe Premiere Pro. The difference in performance seems pretty good, but is it really enough to make people upgrade?

Apple’s new MacBook Pro features a second touchscreen retina display

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Hot on the heels of Microsoft’s new Surface Studio, Apple have announced the new MacBook Pro. What is their thinnest and lightest unit ever, the new MacBook Pro features a brand new “Retina-quality Multi-Touch Display” called the Touch Bar. Essentially it’s a secondary interactive display to complement whatever app you happen to be running.

The Touch Bar may sound like a bit of a gimmick at first, but I really don’t think it is. It’s akin to having a second monitor that just relays important or useful information about your current app. Except, this one’s touchscreen, so more than a simple visual reference. Being able to put valuable interactive feedback and tools from each of your applications onto a secondary display is a big deal for productivity.

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