Need a laptop recommendation

[BrentC]

I am looking to buy a new laptop that will be good for travel and LR. Here are my needs:

- Hobbyist photographer, just beginning.

- Need to be light enough for travel.

- Will be my daily driver. So decent power. Don't have a desktop and don't want one.

- Run LR. Not editing big RAW's, I have a Oly EM5 Mark ii.

- Not editing video

- Display that is close to 100% sRGB. Don't care about aRGB.

The two I am considering because they seem to tick off most of what I need are, especially size and weight.:

- Dell XPS 13 - not sure whether FHD or QHD yet. Supposedly FHD cant turn off CABC but you can with the QHD

- Dell XPS 15 - Same question with the display, FHD or 4K?

The form factor of the XPS 13 really interests me. Very easy to throw into a bag and great to bring on travels.

Anybody with either of these two laptops that can give their impression? Also I would be interested to hear of any other options. There is just so many out there its hard to narrow down.

Thanks.

 

[viviansungg]

I love asus zenbook pro, it has a good specification for photo editing. I don't know much about dell but if I could choise, I will choose the lightest one

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[dxqcanada]

Current laptops would be able to handle LR ... since I am using LR on a 2009 Macbook with 6GB ram.

The XPS 13 specs look pretty good.

 

[Frank F.]

Two things I recommend: go for high screen resolution. There is a lot of very usable 2000x3000 qpixel screens in Laptops out there. Surface Book, Thinkpad T, ASUS Zen e.g.

Today I would not settle for less than 16 Gigabyte RAM. I have 64 GB on my 2016 Desktop but I do not see that in Laptoos soon. Display resolution and enough RAM is what makes your Laptop last.

Plus Interface: lots of USB 3 or you have to carry a powered Hub, not nice, and a very capable socket for external monitors and Beamers.

 

[Dave442]

I use a mid 2014 MBP 13" retina i5 with 8gb ram for LR and it works fine. I have my LR catalog on the 256gb SSD drive, but have all the image files on an external USB 3 drive.

The 13" size is great for travel, a bit tight for LR but I'll hide the top, left and bottom panes when in the Develop Module.

I have used a lot of Dell laptops and they have all been pretty good. With the XPS 13" I would go with 16gm ram, i7 and 512gb SSD. It always seems I load down the HD's on my Windows machines more that OSX and for that would go with the larger SSD.

My last Dell had FHD and seemed fine, I have not looked at the QHD screens.

 

[BrentC]

XPS is technically high end. If you have the budget maybe you could go for a Macbook Pro.

Definitely not an Apple guy, and too far on the expensive side. The XPS has better specs for less money.

Two things I recommend: go for high screen resolution. There is a lot of very usable 2000x3000 qpixel screens in Laptops out there. Surface Book, Thinkpad T, ASUS Zen e.g.

Today I would not settle for less than 16 Gigabyte RAM. I have 64 GB on my 2016 Desktop but I do not see that in Laptoos soon. Display resolution and enough RAM is what makes your Laptop last.

Plus Interface: lots of USB 3 or you have to carry a powered Hub, not nice, and a very capable socket for external monitors and Beamers.

The new, shortly to arrive, XPS 15 with 4k infinity-edge display, 4gb dedicated graphics card will be upgradeable to 64GB. It should be one sweet laptop but probably too pricey for me. And maybe still too big to want to lug it around all the time especially travelling.

I use a mid 2014 MBP 13" retina i5 with 8gb ram for LR and it works fine. I have my LR catalog on the 256gb SSD drive, but have all the image files on an external USB 3 drive.

The 13" size is great for travel, a bit tight for LR but I'll hide the top, left and bottom panes when in the Develop Module.

I have used a lot of Dell laptops and they have all been pretty good. With the XPS 13" I would go with 16gm ram, i7 and 512gb SSD. It always seems I load down the HD's on my Windows machines more that OSX and for that would go with the larger SSD.

My last Dell had FHD and seemed fine, I have not looked at the QHD screens.

Is your MBP your daily driver or just your travel laptop? Just wondering if you do all your editing on it? I currently have a 17" that is my daily driver for the last 3 years. Of course being a 17" it rarely left my house. Just trying to get a sense how a 13" as your primary computer.

Went to The Microsoft Store tonight so got to see laptops. Saw the XPS 13, XPS 15 and some 2-in-1's like the Lenova Yoga 910, HP Spectre x360 and Surface Pro. A lot of good choices out there.

But the screens on the XPS 13 and 15 just looked awesome. That would be the QHD and 4K. I think I am leaning towards the XPS 13. But when you are spending a lot of money on a computer that will be your daily driver you always worry you might pick the wrong one. I think I end up doing to much research and agonize more the I should. And I am still getting my head around going from 17" to 13".

 

[Dave442]

I use my MBP almost all the time. The image size when editing in LR is about 8.5" wide, it might feel cramped for a while after using a 17" but is very usable all day with the good screen.

 

[table1349]

First..... Laptops are a poor second for photo editing no matter the make, model or hardware. Good editing is done in a consistent environment sitting at the same screen at the same level, at the same distance, in the same light from a properly hardware calibrated display.

Second.....If you are going to edit on a laptop are you prepared to hardware calibrate you display every time for the above lack of constant conditions. If not then you are not editing you are just SWAG-ing it.

Third......"Definitely not an Apple guy, and too far on the expensive side. The XPS has better specs for less money."
Myth! Price building a machine with the exact same hardware in a MBP and you will understand.

Forth.....4K is nice but the difference between 4K and 5K is quite noticeable. Not as much between current IPS displays and 4K displays.

I have a laptop that I live with, but my editing is done in the same room on the same 27" 5K display. The display is calibrated once a week and when I edit WISIWIG.

 

[BrentC]

First..... Laptops are a poor second for photo editing no matter the make, model or hardware. Good editing is done in a consistent environment sitting at the same screen at the same level, at the same distance, in the same light from a properly hardware calibrated display.

Second.....If you are going to edit on a laptop are you prepared to hardware calibrate you display every time for the above lack of constant conditions. If not then you are not editing you are just SWAG-ing it.

Third......"Definitely not an Apple guy, and too far on the expensive side. The XPS has better specs for less money."
Myth! Price building a machine with the exact same hardware in a MBP and you will understand.

Forth.....4K is nice but the difference between 4K and 5K is quite noticeable. Not as much between current IPS displays and 4K displays.

I have a laptop that I live with, but my editing is done in the same room on the same 27" 5K display. The display is calibrated once a week and when I edit WISIWIG.

I'm a beginner. This is a hobby for me not a profession. A hobby among other hobbies. I don't need the best equipment or a display calibrated to absolute perfection for every use. I don't print. In the future I can always get a desktop monitor to hook up. I can always upgrade in the future if it becomes a full time hobby but I also need money for my other hobbies as well. I don't own a desktop and a desktop does not fit my other needs. That is why I need a daily driver that can travel well and can handle all my needs.

I won't go into the reason why I hate OSX and Apple but I'd rather use Linux, Windows and Android. LR and Photoshop are the top 2 on my app list that require the most RAM, CPU, graphic card and quality display. I am tailoring the specs to meet those needs. I am leaning heavily towards 13". There are quite a few 13" ultrabooks and 2-in-1's that fit all criteria. It's a matter of narrowing it down. Not sure if I would really make use of a 2-in-1, but it one of those things you never know until you try. A lot of photographer seem to like the Surface Pro for travels. The new one is very nice and probably close to the top pick but way too expensive for me.

 

[Frank F.]

In practical terms you need to keep environmental light and display brightness constant to achieve constant output.

Even a reference print you put next to your screen and make it look the same as the impression on your screen will take you a long way.

The most common mistake editing for print is a too bright display in a too bright room, giving the impression of a much wider gamut than the factual gamut. Result is a dull dark picture.

If you do not edit for print you can post test pictures to eg an online platform and ask.

Calibrating using a Colorimeter or a spectral photometer is a bit over the top if you are not doing customer work or working with a calibrated laboratory.

This kind of calibration makes sense in your editing studio at home in fixed lighting and positioning.

 

[Nevermore1]

I'm not going to chime in on actual specs, just want to say if you go with a Dell make sure you verify all the specs as soon as you receive it. They have some good systems but their quality control is almost non-existent the past year. I work for a govt contractor that is a reseller for Dell doing customer service and we have had several customers receive systems with the wrong components even though the config that is listed for the order on their site is correct. If they get you the correct config then it will be a great system, just verify things like the graphics card, HD, keyboard (backlit or non-backlit) and memory are correct as soon as you take it out the box. We've even had them ship desktops to customers when the order is for a laptop.

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[BrentC]

I'm not going to chime in on actual specs, just want to say if you go with a Dell make sure you verify all the specs as soon as you receive it. They have some good systems but their quality control is almost non-existent the past year. I work for a govt contractor that is a reseller for Dell doing customer service and we have had several customers receive systems with the wrong components even though the config that is listed for the order on their site is correct. If they get you the correct config then it will be a great system, just verify things like the graphics card, HD, keyboard (backlit or non-backlit) and memory are correct as soon as you take it out the box. We've even had them ship desktops to customers when the order is for a laptop.

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Dell is the vendor of record where I work. We had these kind of issues with their Optiplex systems in the past because there are 101 configurations for them. The XPS systems don't have any configuration except RAM, Display and HD size. But I know their quality control can be hit and miss as well. If I go with the XPS 13" I will give them one chance to get right. If it comes with the coil whine or any other hardware issues I'll send it back and pick another brand. We probably get, on average, between 200-400 new machines every year where I work and I have to admit our experience over the last couple years have been near excellent unlike in the past. But Dell isn't the only one that seem to have quality control issues. You here about issue with HP and Lenova as well. And its especially anoyyting when you pay for their high end systems where you would expect higher quality control for the money.

 

[Frank F.]

13 inch for picture editing is too small.

It is possible but you will tire fast.

Better go for high res 15 inch machine.

 

[BrentC]

13 inch for picture editing is too small.

It is possible but you will tire fast.

Better go for high res 15 inch machine.

Yeah the bigger screen would be better but then I would sacrifice ease of travel. I have been going back and forth between XPS 13" and 15". I could go with the XPS 13 and then a monitor for home. Decisions, decisions, especially with the new XPS 15 that just went on sale a couple days ago.

 

[Frank F.]

If it followed the Intel Ultrabook Standard even the 15" will be very portable...

Lay your hands on these. Wow. And if you have students in your family you can get great deals on portable workstations from the Lenovo Thinkpad line. A friend architect just got one of these (T series) 40% off. A real bargain compared to the same specs on other systems. i7 with 16GB and 2000x3000
Very good. AutoCAD is her main working environment