Best Windows Laptop for Photographers?

[Fleetwood271]

First of all, nothing against Macs. I used Mac for many years at work and at home, and loved them. My workplace switched from Mac to Windows several years ago. About that same time, my two daughters were in high school and much of their work done at home on our Mac was not useable at school on the Windows based computers. So, we switched to Windows.

Having said all of that, I do not own a laptop. I prefer to do my work at a desktop computer. I have been told (no personal experience) that laptop monitors basically cannot be calibrated to display accurate colors. Is this true?

Due to an upcoming model shoot, and the capability to shoot tethered in the future, I am now considering a laptop purchase.

My desktop has 3GB of RAM and could use more when editing images, so I know I am looking at 4 to 6 GB of RAM.

What processor? Intel Core i5, or i7? Or Pentium?

I would appreciate your suggestions.

Thanks!

 

[chaosrealm93]

i would say a powerful 13 to an i5 would do. i assume you would be shooting on location and would not have a power outlet handy, with that said, an i7 would draw too much power too quickly to last you through the day. pentium/core 2 blah blah blah is wayy outdated. i wouldnt even consider it. 4GB of RAM is pretty standard, dont go below.

 

[D-B-J]

Well on my mac i have 4gb ram, a 750gb hd, and a dual core i7, and a 1 gig graphics card. It runs ps, lr, safari, and itunes all at the same time wiith no problems. Also, the non transferability problem is old. Now i save in windows 97-04 format and never have a problem. Personally, getting a Macbook pro was the best choice.

Now, i don't know what to suggest for a windows, but i have never had a problem with my mac, and i gave the list of stats just to give you an idea of what i find works.

Regards,
Jake

 

[DDGphotos]

You're not going to believe this but I use some fancy smancy ACER 6gb Home THEATER POWER NOTE BOOK but . . . . .
I have a 24 inch Back Light monitor attached to it for EDITING and movie watching ! ! ! and its ABOLUTLY GORGEOUS ! ! !

 

[Village Idiot]

The only reason I'd recommend an Apple laptop in this situation is the form factor. If you could find a PC laptop that shares the same small size and profile of the Macbook, like a Sony (which I'm not a fan of), then it would be ideal for this in my opinion. Carrying around you typical (are they still typical) large plastic Wintel laptop means you need more space to setup. The last Windows notebook I owned was bought probably about 5-6 years ago, so I'm a bit out of the loop in what everyone is offering as far as size and weight.

 

[Big Mike]

Having said all of that, I do not own a laptop. I prefer to do my work at a desktop computer. I have been told (no personal experience) that laptop monitors basically cannot be calibrated to display accurate colors. Is this true?

Yes, that is pretty much true.

Laptops are a bad choice as your photo editing machine. But if you want to use on-location, for shooting tethered and viewing etc, that's fine.

 

[KmH]

I have been told (no personal experience) that laptop monitors basically cannot be calibrated to display accurate colors. Is this true?

Not across the board. Some laptops have IPS type display's that can sort of be calibrated, but because of a laptop's portability, the ambient lighting and screen angle are so variable you have to re-calibrate almost everytime you use the laptop. Another issue is that many laptops just don't have the range calibrating adjustments, like for gamma, that are needed to do a good calibrating job.

Many with a only a laptop keep an external IPS display at home that they plug into the laptop rather than use the laptop's display.

 

[Fleetwood271]

Well on my mac i have 4gb ram, a 750gb hd, and a dual core i7, and a 1 gig graphics card. It runs ps, lr, safari, and itunes all at the same time wiith no problems. Also, the non transferability problem is old. Now i save in windows 97-04 format and never have a problem. Personally, getting a Macbook pro was the best choice.

Now, i don't know what to suggest for a windows, but i have never had a problem with my mac, and i gave the list of stats just to give you an idea of what i find works.

Regards,
Jake

Thanks for the input Jake!

 

[Fleetwood271]

Hi,

Get yourself a ASUS N73 laptop - you'll not regret it.
You can get it with the Core i7 and 8Gb-12Gb Ram.
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Notebooks- ASUS N73JqThe sound system is made by B&O (Bang&Olufsen) and sounds well - like B&O should!

I have a Core i7 with 16Gb ram running Photoshop CS5, and I create pics with ease, without any delay!

The laptop is quite heavy on the battery, but still - you get a masterpiece made by ASUS.

Been looking at a ASUS on Amazon.com. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Fleetwood271]

Having said all of that, I do not own a laptop. I prefer to do my work at a desktop computer. I have been told (no personal experience) that laptop monitors basically cannot be calibrated to display accurate colors. Is this true?

Yes, that is pretty much true.

Laptops are a bad choice as your photo editing machine. But if you want to use on-location, for shooting tethered and viewing etc, that's fine.

I have been told (no personal experience) that laptop monitors basically cannot be calibrated to display accurate colors. Is this true?

Not across the board. Some laptops have IPS type display's that can sort of be calibrated, but because of a laptop's portability, the ambient lighting and screen angle are so variable you have to re-calibrate almost everytime you use the laptop. Another issue is that many laptops just don't have the range calibrating adjustments, like for gamma, that are needed to do a good calibrating job.

Many with a only a laptop keep an external IPS display at home that they plug into the laptop rather than use the laptop's display.

Thanks Guys!

I appreciate your input.