The screens on the recent MacBook Air laptops are much improved over the earlier MacBook screens, when I updated I was very pleased with the improvement. Having said that they still are not as good as an IPS desktop monitor.

If it's critical to have the best possible color in a mobile screen then the MacBook Pro with retina display (IPS) is currently the best Apple make (2880 by 1800 pixels on a laptop!) and yes it's easy to see the difference side by side even compared to the recent MacBook Airs.

However the 15" MacBook Pro retina whilst smaller and lighter than earlier MacBook Pros is still a lot heavier and less portable than even the 13" MacBook Air let alone the 11" model.

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| Olympus OMD EM-5 | Olympus HLD-6 | Olympus 12-50mm | Olympus 75-300 II | Panasonic 14mm f2.5 | Sigma 30mm f2.8 | Olympus 45mm f/1.8 | Olympus 60mm f2.8 macro | Samyang 7.5mm f3.5 fish eye | Olympus FL-36R | Olympus EPM-1 | Olympus 14-150 f4-5.6 | Olympus EPL1 | 14-42mm IIR f3.5-5.6 | 40-150mm |

I have an iMac, 13"MBA & iPad combo. I don't use the MBA, I have 4GB version and do not find it sufficient for CS6, Aperture, etc. For travel, I just use an iPad and do post on the iMac when I return. However, the 13" retina MBP that is rumored to be coming out in October might be a game changer, particularly if there is a BTO 16GB RAM option. It should have both the power and screen to make it a great photographers' laptop.

Apple has a 13" MacBook Pro with Retina display in final development. I would expect it to be released just before or just after Christmas.

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Cub
Panasonic G3, 14-45mm, 20mm, 45-200mm, Olympus E-PL1, 9-18mm, 45mm

But the the price might be beyond (reasonable) reach...

I toy with the idea of purchasing either a 13" air or an iPad however either one would be mostly a toy for me. I don't need either. Excepting the implementation of one or the other as an e-reader. Here the iPad wins out as I would do a substantial bit of reading in bed and the little pad would be better. But the air does so much more and is so much more powerful. I'm sure not going to buy two toys. I should probably get a kindle fire.

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EP-3, EM-5, 12/50, 12mm, 17mm, 14/42mm, 40/150, 75/300, Nikon 400mm f/3.5 AIS IF ED, HLD6, FL 600R

The 15" rMBP starts at the same price as the highest level of the classic 15" cMBP. So, if Apple continues that pricing strategy then the upcoming 13" rMBP will be affordable. FWIW - the 15" cMBP configured the same as 15" rMBP is MORE expensive.

Anyone else noticing a lag with Mountain Lion after opening the screen? My 2011 MBA13 used to display the password prompt immediately and was ready to type, but now takes a few seconds to enable typing.

Lee

Yep, same here.

I have a 2012 MBA 13" which I use for on the go photography fixes in Lightroom 4.1 - its pretty good at processing RAW, and I find it extremely quick (only 5 second export on really large files). So for someone who travels a lot and wishes to upload some photos on the go, its not too bad.

For really major retouching in Photoshop, the MBA is not really the ideal thing to use, as it does slow down. It doesn't deal well with masks, layers and overlaying images. I'll make a note that I mainly do architecture, so these sometimes are extremely large digital renders which may skew my opinion a bit.

I'd also note that the colours are much richer on my screen than any other, and also the comments above that says that the MBA slows down over time. I need to do regular cleans and wipes to maintain the speed.

I have 2012 MacBook Air (13") running PS 12.0.4. The performance is fine. No real idea about color accuracy as I'm not that fussy and only do photography for my own amusement. I'm happy to try something for you, if that would help.