Anyone here able to edit and/or work using a laptop?

Given items such as hardware specs & requirements for programs such as Adobe, screen resolution, cooling and all... Anyone here able to make due with using a laptop?

Sure there are some laptops on the market that can easily exceed 15k Euro, even without being tethered to additional hardware. Just there to observe what everyone out there could get away with in terms of hardware and/or software.

Also noting, that IF anyone out there is in the market for a new laptop, try to wait at least a month or two. Numerous 4k laptops are due to hit the market along that timeframe

I've used laptops since 2006 and never had any problems with photo editing

It's easy with mine - Asus N56VZ, very powerful and fast laptop with a great full HD screen.

Regards
David

Easy, and my machine is hardly high end ... AMD A10 2.7ghz, 8gb ram, win7 home premium, cost £479 2 years ago ... Photo editing is a breeze, including RAW conversion and 16 bit tiffs in PS, although I use the old CS2. I can even edit and output HD video using Sony Movie Studio 13. Nothing to worry about really ... I'd say 6 gb RAM is a sensible minimum RAM to get now .. For photos RAM is really the most important component. Even budget processors will do the job, although with a few extra seconds taken here and there.

Laptops can run the software, that's not a problem. The screens are something else, and are often not up to scratch.

That's a good point John and was one of the primary reasons I chose the laptop that I did. It is the best laptop screen I've ever used, clearly not as large as a decent monitor, but excellent in every other way,

Regards
David

I use a laptop, the angle of the screen (as you see it from your perch) can hugely affect the contrast/brightness of the image you see compared to a 'normal' monitor (i.e. where you're looking perpendicular to the image). Angling the laptop so the screen is vertical can help.

I use a relatively cheap Toshiba laptop, bought in 2012 - I'm pretty sure it was well-under £400; AMD triple-core 1.8GHz, 4GB RAM, 64-bit Windows 7. I only do photos, not videos, running Elements 10 and PaintShop Pro X6 together. At home, where it spends most of the time, it is attached to a 19-inch monitor, separate full-size wireless keyboard, and a wireless mouse. Seems to cope fine with anything from the K-5 II.

Cheers.
Philip

A good screen is a must to me, if it's for home use, you can always run it with a seperate screen, I used to do that, the more expensive Laptops, like Davids tend to have decent screens, it's not always obvious looking at the spec sheet, I used to sell em and repair them for a living and there are more differences between the lower and higer end models than first meets the eye...


With one caveat Nigel, DXO! My only bug bear with the program at present is the fact that however much RAM I have installed (Currently 24Gb) DXO still insists on doing everything on the CPU, part of the reason it can at times be clacially slow especially when using the "Prime" denoise, reults however are the best I've ever seen! DXO as always go their own way on everything....
Just added in case the OP was considering it as an imaging solution?
Get a recent processor (i5 third gen up) in your laptop and add extra RAM too is the answer but don't overlook the screen, there are not many cheap alternatives out there but I guess now is the time to be buying...

I also have a softspot for AMD processors, they seem to crunch bits better than the bytes so to speak, quite good for imaging, better than the spec sheet would suggest, don't get bogged down on somewhere like Toms Hardware on specs of processors, I'm running a four year old Intel I5 2500K and even the newest I7 is only a third faster than that one, just get the best processor that you can afford because you can't always change that in a laptop but you can usually up the RAM later on if you need...

I am able to use a 2011 Dell Studio 15 with a Core 2 Duo processor and 4Gb of RAM for running the latest Lightroom and Photoshop OK. I won't lie, ona large Tiff file it can sometime take time to think about things but nothing terrible. A more modern laptop with 8 or 16GB RAM, a mid range processor and SSD would probably make me happier though.

Agree with everything everyone has said, i.e. get the best processor that you're budgeted for, upgrade the RAM to the maximum and maybe consider an external monitor if needs be. A quick look online and you can get a 23" Asus IPS 1080p monitor for £90 posted, so that would allow you the versatility a notebook affords whilst also being able to work with a screen of a decent quality.

Been laptop based for around 7 years now. Most modern machines will run lightroom and Photoshop fine.

The screen keyboard and trackpad are more important for image work.

When at home I have mine plugged into a dell 23" ultrasharp monitor.

I even use my iPad mini 2 for editing on. Photogene and Photoshop work fine on the iPad showing how little processing power is required for photo editing.

Interesting discussion but I would also like to add a cautionary word regarding screen / monitor calibration; whilst the latest screens are certainly much better in terms of rendering true colours, contrast and other image parameters as captured, it is worth not too infrequently checking / calibration on all screens/monitors.

I am prepared to say at the outset I am not totally confident that how I see some associated points on this topic are as relevant as they were in the not too distant past, but I have exclusive use of several laptops and desktops between home and business locations which definitely highlights the affects of ambient lighting conditions:
At different locations,
At different times of the day
In different rooms etc etc

Aside from the varying ambient conditions, having the use of several different computers/monitors definitely underlines some screen calibration issues between individual monitors particularly on finished prints or where a displayed image requires accurate colour rendition.

Regardless of the monitor brand or spec' I have found recalibration to be a necessary consideration and have used the ColorMunki products extensively but latterly the Spydercolor which I really like.

A fixed separate monitor minimises most of the variables and eliminates some; recently I tried a separate Asus ProArt 24-inch monitor which interestingly came with a Spyder 4 calibration tool.

The Asus Pro Art is such a good monitor; it is really a stunning HD tool for editing with a very high quality rendition of the image and super resolution and dynamic range

Calibration checks showed the screen to be very well set up and capable of maintaining the calibrated parameters

As regards laptop computers, 1 have used Monitor calibration tools with disciplined regularity for some years until I bought my first Panasonic Toughbook Laptop which I found rarely if ever needed adjustment; other screens change over time (and not too long a time).

Also portable computers bring other uncontrolled changes that can affect how we see the image on screen, being affected, as I said earlier, by changing locations and the corresponding changes in ambient light, colourcast, reflections etc; and even furnishings and decor (colour)

Even in a fixed location the ambient light / luminance changes with weather conditions and time of day; such variables affect colour and contrast rendition and can confuse our perception of the screen colour as we view it.

Two rules I try to adhere to;

1. Always ensure your print or archived image is based on a calibrated monitor/standard

2. Don't be tempted to change an edited image after it was adjusted / corrected on a calibrated screen ( snapshots may not be so critical).


I am using a Panasonic AX2 Tough-book at present but despite it's diminutive widescreen it does not inhibit my ability to edit based on a check of the final result on a large size monitor and of course a sample print - but for sure you can't beat the image displayed on a 24 inch (+) monitor

if a high quality, hi-fidelity colour PRINT/ Image is required it is interesting to print a sample 6 x 4 and then re-calibrate the "computer screen combination" and then print again, always remembering that the calibration process must include the ambient light component too.

Going back to laptops, Tough-books " don't die " so I have several ( some could be described as venerable) and as I said they rarely need calibration even after being exposed to non-stop use and many adverse travel experiences.

Unfortunately like all laptops the screens are a little small but I find the 15" versions are pretty good despite the size.

Final word on monitor and screen performance; get a Spyder or Colormunki if only to ensure you take out yet another variable that can affect the final image or print.

The capability of modern sensors and latest editing software to correct image parameters is phenomenal but I am not sure how you do that without a calibrated standard; maybe I am still thinking like a "film-man" but I am very happy when an image prints "as viewed".

After all, aside from the technical considerations, you would't want your Mother-in-law's posh " aquamarine wedding coat" to look green or blue as opposed to "aquamarine" when you send her a framed print or run a "post wedding day" family slide show - you could end up singing Soprano for the rest of your life

This has been an interesting thread. I'd just like to add that although my laptop has a brilliant screen, the best of any laptop I've ever used, it still does not compare with a good 23 or 24 inch desktop monitor. So, I would recommend that if using a laptop, give yourself the option of connecting it to a quality monitor too.

Regards
David

My motto is see, dont just lookI use a macbook pro with super sharp screen, iPhoto. On occasion I use photomatix pro, Since I physically do much that is done on software (I often print on watercolor or pastel paper, rework with another medium then reshoot in studio, play in iPhoto then upload. I dont want photoshop, found it too confusing,although I have it loaded - I like "Layercake" for some skies ( shooting in raw+jpeg) - Im at the age where I just dont want to stretch my brain. When I get tied up too much in one medium, I'll move on to another. -For example there is a waiting list for my Calif. wine country watercolor/gouache work. I executed about 1x per month. I toiled over each piece and developed a glaze technique that was nicely translucent. Made a very nice dollar.When technique rather than creation took over my brain then its time to find another, new "room" for my artistic endeavors. I moved on to pastels,and now combined with photo images - I think working dually with my wife is my next effort - It's a exciting and interesting proposition.