laptop recs

[Mark]

Hello All,
I have never owned a laptop but beleive that it's time for me to get one to use while traveling. I could use any and all advice regarding brand and parameters to get so that I can use Photoshop CS3. Is widescreen suited to photos or does it cause distortion? Is vista working ok or do I stick with XP? How much memory? What kind of card do I need to use laptop with a stationary lcd monito so I'm running two monitors at the same time? And finally, how do I keep all this at a not exorbitant cost?

Thanks for all the help.

Mark

[brian.austin]

Originally Posted by Mark

Hello All,
I have never owned a laptop but beleive that it's time for me to get one to use while traveling. I could use any and all advice regarding brand and parameters to get so that I can use Photoshop CS3.

With Adobe products, bigger/faster is better and a more enjoyable experience.

Is widescreen suited to photos or does it cause distortion?

I like a widescreen, personally. Unlike TV, however, there is no distortion since the pixel count increases to match the new aspect ratio. In other words, a 800wx600h picture is still 800wx600h but takes less relative width of the screen.

One drawback of widescreens, however, is notebook dimensions. Many 15" widescreens are almost the same size as 17" notebooks, making them difficult to find a suitable bag for multi-use. If a photo bag says it can fit a 15" notebook, it may NOT necessarily work for a 15" widescreen. Confirm the dimensions prior to purchasing the bag.

Is vista working ok or do I stick with XP?

I'd stick with XP if I had a choice. More efficient on memory with minimal loss of features. I run XP on my desktop, Vista Ultimate on my work (non-photographic) laptop, and Vista Premium on my photo laptop (used minimally by me and more by my wife). Vista is a hog but will run Lightroom and PS CS3 from what I've seen.

How much memory?

More = better. At minimum, 1Gb for this setup. You'll see much better performance in the 2-4Gb range, however. If you have to run Vista, make it 2Gb minimum.

What kind of card do I need to use laptop with a stationary lcd monito so I'm running two monitors at the same time?

I haven't seen a laptop yet that doesn't have a VGA or DVI output for this application. If possible, stick with DVI and get an adapter if you need one. Laptops pick up the extended desktop feature automatically.

FYI: most laptops can NOT calibrate the monitors reliably. Maybe someone else can pipe up with some successfully calibrated laptop configurations. Most combinations of laptops graphic adapters and monitors don't allow the adjustments necessary to calibrate a monitor, though. It's been a while since I've tried it so maybe things have changed.

And finally, how do I keep all this at a not exorbitant cost?

Make a list of your needs, set a budget and try to get as close as possible. It's coming up on Christmas and you'll see some good deals coming out, especially with the economic conditions being what they are. The week or two before Christmas is going to have some desperate salespeople looking for a sale.

You probably won't find exactly what you're looking for at a big box store. You'll have to configure with a direct distributor/manufacturer, like Dell or (my favorite) Powernotebooks.com. I've had good luck with the Sager brand for a number of my older laptops.

Good luck.

[silentrob]

Originally Posted by brian.austin

FYI: most laptops can NOT calibrate the monitors reliably. Maybe someone else can pipe up with some successfully calibrated laptop configurations. Most combinations of laptops graphic adapters and monitors don't allow the adjustments necessary to calibrate a monitor, though. It's been a while since I've tried it so maybe things have changed.

While this may be true for the monitor built in to the laptop, it shouldn't be true if you are working on a standalone monitor.


But I agree with everything else Brian said...

[brian.austin]

Originally Posted by silentrob

While this may be true for the monitor built in to the laptop, it shouldn't be true if you are working on a standalone monitor.

Depends on the monitor and its ability to adjust RGB, luminance, etc., as needed to make calibration. And, since the same card is driving BOTH the laptop screen and the external monitor, you only get to calibrate one of the two. The other remains uncalibrated (and you'll be able to see the difference).

If you can calibrate the laptop screen, you might be able to eyeball the external monitor into the same range.

Again, this is based on a few years ago. The calibration equipment manufacturers would be the best source to see if this resolvable.

[Mark]

Thanks for the sage advice. I'm really not too worried about laptop calibration since it will mostly be used on trips. What specific card is needed to use laptop for data screen while connecting to external lcd, which would be used for actual editing? Also, do wide screen lcds distort the image or doesn't it matter? Thanks.

Mark

[brian.austin]

Originally Posted by Mark

Thanks for the sage advice. I'm really not too worried about laptop calibration since it will mostly be used on trips. What specific card is needed to use laptop for data screen while connecting to external lcd, which would be used for actual editing? Also, do wide screen lcds distort the image or doesn't it matter? Thanks.

Mark

Both of these questions were answered above. No "special' card is necessary, just make sure it's got a VGA or DVI port. No, images are not distorted.

[goggleeyed]

I wonder if I could hijack this thread as I have a similar but slightly different problem.

I want a laptop for two reasons the first being that as my monitor is old on my computer I have had to lower the brightness to nearly calibrate it(still getting slightly dark prints on my printer) and the other reason I had a model shoot organised by me for the camera club and all my shots were slightly underexposed and the shadows weren`t right at all. I would like to review a few photos when the lights and poses are changed so a laptop seems ideal?

None of the laptops say which are compatible with Adobe RGB and as I am going to have to buy either a monitor or laptop would like this option.Perhaps Adobe RGB is called something else in the specs?
I want to be able to calibrate the laptops screen as well with my Spyder 3.

Thanks for reading and help.
If possible if you are in the UK a idea of possible models of laptops.

[W.Smith]

Originally Posted by Mark

Is widescreen suited to photos or does it cause distortion?

Widescreen is especially beneficial to editing as you can put up your before & after PP images side-by-side to enable proper perusal.
It does not cause distortion.

Is vista working ok or do I stick with XP?

Run either, and/or MacOSX, on a MacBook Pro. Side-by-side, simultaneously, drag & drop.
The "MacBook Pro is the fastest Windows Vista laptop on the market"!

How much memory?

2GB is enough.
4GB is comfortable.

What kind of card do I need to use laptop with a stationary lcd monito so I'm running two monitors at the same time?

With a MacBook Pro you need no extra cards. Simply hook up a(n HDTV) monitor via the DVI port and you're in business.

And finally, how do I keep all this at a not exorbitant cost?

Get a MacBook Pro, and you effectively get 2 or 3 computers in one state-of-the-art machine! If that isn't an excellent deal then I don't know what is!