Apple M3 Gen Pro Photography Buyers Guide / All M3 Chip Compare! 

Amazing video, so comprehensive, fair and in depth. Really worth a watch

Best comparison ever!

Amazing job!

So Helpful. I still work on a 2015-macbook and lost track since than. Thanks!

Thanks man!

Thanks Art!

Thanks, Art!

Thanks!

Aloha Art, thanks for your very thorough videos. I'm coming from an 2019 i9 MBP w/64gb & 4TB and I was having a hard time debating which M3 to upgrade to. I didn't want to go over $3.4 because I don't think I used my i9 to its greatest potential. I took your advice and didn't chase the spec monster for what I really do with my laptop. I opted for the 16 M3 MBP Pro w/36gb & 2TB to me this is the perfect compromise for what I do with landscape photography. Keep up the good work.

been holding my M1 Max for a bit now, thanks for the recommendations previously Art!

great ! But for future I would suggest maybee to show also how is to work with machine for example brusing panorama shots in high megapizels in lightroom or magic mask timer in captgure one for this machines. I mean exposrts are impornatn but also fast and stable workflows when we are doing stuff. keep good work!

Hi Art. I think you are missing out on a big pro photographer performance test issue when it comes to capture one. It's a test I haven't seen anyone doing... yet, but it's something that is SO IMPORTANT for professional commercial shoots ect. "Tethershoot speed" both with no and very heavy "styles" added to a tether shoot. Styles in C1 has become very sophistocated as they now can contain complex edited layers also with masks and a ton of adjustments. This slows tethering down a lot on old SEO. So there will probably be huge differences from seo til seo. A test you should look into performance testing as I think it a big deal for a pro protograpers. Well I know it is, cause it is to me and all og my colleagues :)

Thank you for yet another awesome, extremely informative and totally sensible video. I eventually went for a 14” M3 Max 16/40 essentially because of better portability (size-wise) and a little more RAM (48 vs 36) than the base M3 Max that I would have otherwise gone for if Apple had provided a RAM bump in between 36 and 96. I just got it a couple of days ago, but so far so good - it is an unbelievable machine with top desktop performance. Thanks again Art!

These videos are so helpful. I've decided to go for the base spec 14" m3 pro (11 core, 18gb ram and 512 ssd). I had a 16gb m2 air and using Lightroom and PS with that much memory didn't touch swap once, so I know I don't need 32/36gb ram for my use case. If I was merging huge files or working with high res video I think I'd want to upgrade and spend the extra money but I think people need to be careful upgrading when it simply wont be needed for them. But it's extremely compelling as well to realise that the base spec m3 pro is performing within just a few seconds of the 12 core, that's what swung me. I'm assuming as well that I will get better battery life with it being the binned cpu. I was considering the 16" but as I have a powerful desktop pc too I just know that it would sit downstairs like a big heavy lump of metal rather than being able to transport around and use more easily if I'm honest. Thank you for the fantastic detailed video, enjoyed watching!

Can you make this type of video but diving deeper into video editing? Like editing 4k and 8k videos . The import and export times don't matter that much to me since I can do those overnight if needed

Thanks for the comparison, one of the best in RU-vid if not the best for multimedia, I´m trying to decide between M3 Pro and M2 Max, looks like the best option is M2 Max, I use Photoshop and Davinci, in Photoshop all are mostly the same, but the big difference I see in Video where the M2 Max is much better. I will be glad to know what is the battery life difference between M2 Max and M3 Pro...

This was a great video. Thank you. I was all set to purchase the base 14" M3 Max with 36GB Ram and 1TB SDD (currently with a $200. discount). I opened LrC on my M1 Max 64GB to check the memory pressure on this 64GB machine with all other apps shutdown. I was surprised to see that the memory used shot up to above 40GB when I applied one of the newer AI features to a 45mp raw image from a Nikon Z8. I have a large catalog and most of my images are large 45mp raw files. If I store my images on an external SSD and keep most the internal 1TB drive mostly free will this machine handle edits on the large files well or do I need to bite the bullet and get 96GB Ram for $1,000. more to get good performance?

Hi Art, very good video, as always. Very informative. Can you please do a thermal and fan noise test comparison between the 14" m3 max base, 14" m3 max top, 16" m3 max base, 16" m3 max top, 14" m3 pro top, 16" m3 pro top. Thanks.

Hi Art, following your recommendation I have ordered an MBP 11/14 with 512gb and 36gb of memory, I have monitored the memory using Lr classic, Ps 2024, Topaz (all modules) DXO Nik Software and Safari, all at the same time, the memory go to near 30GB but has never used the internal SSD swap. A wonder for photographic use. Thank you very much for your videos and recommendations.

Awesome video! Would you suggest the M3 with 24GB vs the M3 Pro with 18GB?

Thanks Art. Still flipping between the M3 Max Binned (14/30) with 36GB ram, 1TB and the M3 Pro Binned (11/14) with 36gb ram, 1TB. The price difference between both is US$500 for me. I am coming from an intel mac which I use mostly for office (at this point, I can only get

I’ve watched this several times, thank you!!! I hear you, it feels like you are saying the base models in terms of processors seems to be enough - i mostly do photo now but am about to digitize over 100 tapes editing in video software. So I’m thinking I need the Max vs Pro. But is 36GB RAM really enough - for tomorrow. Apple is confounding since the only jump is from 36 to 96! Or you upgrade processors to get to 48 or 64 - is that enough? I think you are saying that with today’s software there is diminishing return over 36 but with all the new AI introduced in Adobe software and now Apple Intelligence will that be RAM intensive or processor? Will Adobe continue to hog RAM in future releases? I kept my last Mac for 5+ years and it worked fine, slow lately and finally it died this week.

I am going to get the m3 ultra when it comes out because why not.

This isn’t about this video . I have the display plus hl. On a mac running Sonoma. I wold like to know with app in benq I should download. Should I download calibrite profiler or palet master ultimate for photography?

Great summary Art! I went with the 16" M3 Max, 1TB SSD, 64GB of memory. For me, I’m fortunate to get a military discount of 10% from Apple, so I paid $3779 versus $4199, saved $420 so well worth it to me to go with that configuration, it should take me into several years before ever considering another Mac. I upgraded from a 2019 MBP (I9, 5600 graphics, 32 memory, 1TB SSD) which is still a great laptop, it just choked when running PS and LRC simultaneously doing panorama merges in LRC and editing in PS.

Art.. 14C 96 RAM vs 16C 64 RAM MBP?, about $100-200 price difference… which one would you pick for video and photography?

Hi Art, kinda unrelated question, would you know if Apple Silicon will ever support 16bit Table calibration like intel days? I find the Matrix calibration only for apple silicon a little limiting. Esp for tonal gradients. I mainly match paintings to make prints so accuracy is quite important.

how does the m3 compares to last MacBook Pro with intel 2.6 GHz 6-Core Intel Core i7 ? idk if to switch to a desktop but idk if base is better than what i have. thanks

Hello sir. I recently bought a Mac Studio M2 Max and struggling to settle on a monitor. I upgraded from a 27” 5k iMac, I do photography as a hobby. BenQ PD2725U $850 BenQ PD3220 $1000 - u/ua $650-700 BenQ PD2705q/u/ua $4-$600 Haven’t been able to figure out what is so different among the Q/U/UA variations nor what pd2725 vs pd2705…2725 newer version? If you could help me make my decision (or make my decision for me haha) it’d be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time!!

I'm going to jump in here with my opinion about the M3 Pro. I have a 16" M1 Pro with a 1Tb SSD which I bought 3 month ago for a grand sum of £1600, the equivalent M3 Pro is £2799 although you get an extra 2 gig of memory. That is over £1000 more than my MacBook. I use the Adobe CC Suite (inDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat Pro) and also Capture One as well as Nikon NX Studio and a few other apps. All these fly on the M1 Pro so I would question the need for a M3, especially in my usage, is it a case of saving a millisecond on a filter in photoshop, or an export from Capture one. I would suggest that if you can get an M1 16" for around the price I paid then go for it and save a grand, trust me and spend the money saved on something else, like a new lens.

Hi Art , would you recommend 14"MBP M3P (11/14)C 36gb or 14" MBP M2MAX (12/30)C 32gb for video and photo eiditing ..

I still own an MacBook Air M1/16GB/512GB from 2021. I want to upgrade to a MacBook Pro 14/M3Pro/18GB/512GB. Is this a good idea? The Macbook Air M1 ist without fan. So it is slower than the MacBook Pro M1. Because of this I think I will get an extra boost to my upgrade. What do you think?

Do we have to match 12 core cpu with 36gb or we can upgrade the ram with the base 11 core cpu?

Do you still need a lot of memory if you don’t have multiple tabs or multitask?

the m2 pro vs m3 pro worth the upgrade? its like 15% faster..

What about the iMac?

wheres AE? it was in the thumbnail? 🤦‍♂️

Thank you Art, why my mac m3 max (gpu 40) LRC export just 800 A7RV Raw (Lossless L) spent time almost 18 mins. Why does it take so much time? :(

Hi Art, I have a question. In your Mac Studio M2 Ultra 64GB vs 128GB comparison from 10 months ago, you have the M2 Ultra 24/60 128GB 1TB completing the Capture One Pro Export task in 16 minutes and 40 seconds, and the M2 Ultra 24/60 64GB 1TB Mac Studio completing the Capture One Pro Export in 16 minutes and 57 seconds. That can be found here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-f4EWI9jcnS0.htmlsi=UGAJKpV_MKrQvQL8&t=1015 In this video you have the same M2 Ultra 24/60 128GB 1TB Mac Studio competing the Capture One Pro Export in 19 minutes and 47 seconds. There also seems to be an M1 Ultra Mac Studio difference of nearly 2 minutes, with the other video comparison being faster than this comparison. Can you tell us what the reason is for this difference in performance? Thanks.

I know it’s not realistic because of limited resources but the machine that I’m ordering is the 14 inch M3 pro top. It will have 36 GB ram, 1TB SSD. your testings have never had this spec. I Really believe the ram and SSD upgrades would have made a difference in this comparison.

So much good info in this video. I'm guessing the majority of the viewers are running just fine on their 3 year old 8gb M1s and need an excuse to move up to the 32gb M3 Pro (like me :-)

Both your videos and Max Tech videos make the same mistake by not testing apples to apples. 1TB Read/Write is the same fast speed across M3 Pro and M3 Max. Most of your tests are WRITE speed based, and your you can't draw fair conclusions because you're trying to compete the fast 1TB against the slow 512GB. 1TB and those Read/Write speeds would have matched the Max, that's potentially 20% boost that your data isn't showing.

2:18 - the best M3 Max... says 32 GB RAM. Should be 48 GB RAM? Just based on what I've seen the binned Mac got 36 GB and the non-binned got 48 GB. You're forced to do that RAM upgrade when going from binned to non-binned. So it's impossible to get M3 Max un-binned with 32 GB RAM? And yes, I totally agree that the Mac is a tool. It's your "digital hammer". No matter if you're a social media nerd, content creator, developer, gamer or whatever. And this is why Macs may not be the best option for gamers. So for example, on Dec 7 (2023) it's the annual The Game Awards, a yearly thing since 2014. And how many "Game of the year" winners are on Mac OS or also on Mac OS for 2014-2022? Answer: zero! Of course you can use BootCamp on Intel Macs and there's solutions for M Macs but then you're not in Mac OS. These games are not native for Macs. And not winner that's only on Mac. So for gamers you got so many options for hardware. Maybe a Mac is the best option, maybe a gaming PC is the better option. I've seen no Twitch gamers with a Mac, they always got gaming PCs and probably using OBS that historically worked so much better on PCs and is a joke on Mac. Maybe it's better now, but PC gamers can always upgrade their graphics cards or pick a card that they can afford. Gaming PCs destroys Macs - for gamers and Twitch gamers. And if you like to use these media apps and you're using your Mac mainly for these apps and you like to play games here and there, don't waste your money on also having a gaming PC. Play the games on your Mac instead. Maybe there's some PC games that you can't play on your Mac but you got many options of games. I'm not a PC gamer, so I can't say more than this. But I know that MacBook Pros can go loud (fan noise) when playing games and that's not fun. In that case you want a gaming PC with good thermals so you don't get "That Fan Noise". I mean a desktop gaming PC. Now let's see on Dec 7 if the winning game in the main category is a game also for Mac. It will not be a game only for Mac, that's for sure (based on the nominations). Mac got a loooong way to go to become a serious gaming platform. I've seen a number of attempts during the years and I still remember MWSF keynote in Jan 1999: G3 Blue&White with ATI Rage 128, the PS1 emulator and the hope for making Mac a great gaming PC. Also remember when Quake 3 Arena came and that first Halo demo (before MS bought Bungie), and it felt like Mac will become great at games, but it turned out like this: NO difference. Apple just did the bare minimum for game developers. And the history repeat itself and probably the same thing now in 2023. Mac is still not a serious gaming platform. Mac got a huge hardware problem, only these few Macs to choose from: Mac Mini and Mac Studio. Macs are made in the first place for content creators, not for gamers. Mac Studio is too expensive for gamers, it got only 512 GB SSD - a big fat joke, and no option for an additional internal SSD. If you BTO a Mac Studio with 2 TB or more it's crazy expensive as a gaming PC. It's so bad economics for a gamer. A Mac Mini got the same price as a Mac Studio with similar specs. And this is the problem: Macs are too expensive for gamers! And here comes the reality: For most GAMERS an expensive Mac will not bring you any return of investment. It's a tool for entertainment. The "hammer" for games. For most CONTENT CREATORS an expensive Mac will bring you return of investment. If the Mac is the "hammer" for you job, it's no problem if a Mac will cost you 1000 dollar more. Now we can talk economy: investment and how much money that Mac will HELP you to bring to your bank account. This is why Apple's Macs are great for some stuff and will not become great for gaming because there's so many options for gaming. For content creators Mac is the best option because of one thing: Final Cut Pro. You can buy any PC you want but that PC cannot run Final Cut Pro. It's like Mario and Zelda for Nintendo's gaming consoles. And also, most media apps are more nice on Mac than on PC, mainly because Mac OS is always a more nice environment than Windows/Linux. So Apple's hardware lineup says everything. I remember when Jobs returned to Apple and talked about how to save Apple. He talked about how big Mac is for people doing DTP and related things. That's what Mac should focus on. Jobs gave Macs FireWire and that plus Final Cut Pro (and iMovie) made Macs so good for content creators. FireWire is now history but Apple is focusing now on Thunderbolt which content creators love. All these things are for content creators - not gamers. Mac cannot be best at everything and at the same time be a cash cow for Apple and the shareholders. I think it's pretty good as it is now and been for decades: you - can - play games on Mac but gaming PCs are much better if you're a hardcore gamer. So... you're so right about how to look at it. Look at a computer as a "hammer": which computer will work best for my needs and making money?

Got m2 max 64gb and 2 tb for the price of base m3max... good luck apple with those ladders

Way too many machines and hard to follow.....serious users always get a minimum of 32 or 64 gig of ram...so lets focus on that!

200$ for 8gb, just ridiculous.

Memory prices are insane. Apple look us totally dumb.

Mmmmh is it me or you are dong the same video over and over ? Since the m3 range was released you are doing the same comparison with no real life use case . It’s fine but irrelevant