Laptop for photo processing.

Rojin

Rojin

Rojin

Soldato
Joined
19 Oct 2002
Posts
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Location
Gloucester UK
I'm looking at a desktop replacement laptop, any recommendations for a decent screen? I want one that'll do a bit of gaming as well, but gaming laptops don't tend to have a good screen unless you spend a hell of a lot. Budget is around 1k plus a few more hundred if really needed.
 
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mac laptop, great screen 15", although a 17" high end dell would do aswell. also look at battery life, some offer bad battery life! big screens tend to eat battery life!
 
Unfortunately a Macbook wouldn't help on the gaming side. I've got a lit of stuff for the PC!
 
The Macbook can be dual boot for Windows, plus, Steam supports OSX now, so you can still game et.c. I do however, suggest getting a decently priced Acer with dual HDD like my Acer 8930G, 18.3" screen, not the best but it comes 2 HDD so storage aplenty, the 9600M GT runs my game and graphical needs. Any spare cash left, you can get a ISP monitor for editing when you're home (unless you need to edit on the go?)
 
Dual boot will just mean I end up using it in Windows all the time, on hardware of a lesser spec than if I bought a Windows PC in the first place. I'm looking at laptops with a 5870m for my gaming needs.

The screen needs to be decent on the laptop for editing. It'll be used sat at a table, I have a 24" monitor and 40" screen but they're not always practical for use (its a long story!) hence the need for a laptop. The Sony F series has a nice screen but only a 330m gfx card.
 
mcc49 said:
15" macbook pro with optional matt hi res screen would be my choice :)
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The matt screen?

You get much higher contrast on the gloss screen.

You just need to control your working environment so that you don't get reflections.

MBP 17" 8GB 500GB. Love it. More than double the OP's budget though :-(

Andrew
 
A laptop I am tempted by is the MSI GX660. I don't particularly like the "gamer" styling but it's got a decent spec. Bit of a mixed bag with the screen though, viewing angles dont bother me but lack if contrast does...

As with the desktop market, is there certain type of screen I should be looking for on a laptop?
 
Gaffer said:
The matt screen?

You get much higher contrast on the gloss screen.

You just need to control your working environment so that you don't get reflections.

MBP 17" 8GB 500GB. Love it. More than double the OP's budget though :-(

Andrew
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There's a good reason no-one in any industry to do with colour has anything to do with glossy screens, nor any manufacturer of the highest end products make anything glossy either. Not to mention the fact it's a laptop, varied working environments kinda come with the territory.

In answer to your last question Rojin: Unfortunately very few laptop manufacturers state any specs of their screens beyond the backlight type and sometimes gamut. HP did make a 'dreamcolor' laptop, but it was insanely expensive and I don't think they ever did say why it was so good beyond it being RGBLED backlit and having a massive gamut. I'm not even sure how many laptop displays are true 8bit panels either. Perhaps someone who reviews laptops in detail would be more helpfull, but as I say, you don't tend to see much detailed specification.
 
I wouldn't buy a laptop for true photo editing purely because of the panel is almost always TN type and not IPS.

Glossy is not an issue, i work on a glossy screen, an 24" iMac, but it is IPS.
 
It does look like I'm on a hiding to nothing with this, especially with my budget. There are IPS laptops out there, the HP8740w is 10bit and looks pretty good. (dreamcolour 2 required).
 
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Possibly of no help at all: At the sidelines most use Dell business dual core laptops for photo editing. Just edit with no editing. Just caption :p
 
I have a dell Precision M4300 at the moment, but it's quite slow with CS4 and LR. This is actually a works laptop so whilst they turn a blind eye to personal use I thought I better get my own! The screen is 1920x1200 but isn't the sharpest, it was also very blue until calibrated!
 
p0ss3s3d said:
Possibly of no help at all: At the sidelines most use Dell business dual core laptops for photo editing. Just edit with no editing. Just caption :p
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latitudes are the way forward :)

edit - although i would seriously concider saving some budget for an IPS monitor such as the dell 2209aw available for about 150 refurb..
 
Gaffer said:
The matt screen?

You get much higher contrast on the gloss screen.

You just need to control your working environment so that you don't get reflections.

MBP 17" 8GB 500GB. Love it. More than double the OP's budget though :-(

Andrew
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In which case why use a laptop over a desktop/all in one? Controling your workspace means using it in the same place essentially.

Either a high end VAIO or a decent Dell would be my suggestion to, the RGB-LED screens on some of the Dell models are supposed to be brilliant.
 
I do all my editing on a HP 17" laptop - its got one of those glossy black screens and I have to say its easily on a par with the tft I had previously been using. I bought it to replace the PC as did not have room for a desktop (same situation as you). The screen was the most important thing about it for me and having looked at a lot of different manufacturers, well HP stood out noticably from the rest. A macbook would also be good as the screens are really good on them aswell.
 
In the end I picked up a refurbished Dell M6400 with a Q9100 Core 2 Quad, 4GB RAM, ATI M7740 and a WUXGA 17" 1920x1200 matte screen. I had a look at the RBG LED screens and I just don't like glossy screens. The M6400 is ok for my needs, I nearly went for a M6500 covet but had a reality check!
 
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