Laptop dedicated to photography

[mobuchu]

So what suggestions would everyone make for a laptop used primarily for storage, organizing, editing, etc, for pictures?

What hardware is more important? Should I get a custom built, or does Dell or another company make a laptop that would be ideal? Anyone care to make a review of what they have? I'm a noob when it comes to computers so I really needed to ask...

Mo

[gilp]

I don't know about using a laptop for editing..unless you are ok with LCD or have a huge Mac LT

I do use a laptop for transer/storage, I have the smallest one I could find and HP pavillion 1100. but there are even smaller ones from toshiba.


I only have a 40g HD because I transfer the files from the laptop onto our studio server once I return from my location/trip.

[ghsmith178613]

I don't know about using a laptop for editing..unless you are ok with LCD or have a huge Mac LT

and somebody to carry it for you.

I do use a laptop for transer/storage, I have the smallest one I could find and HP pavillion 1100. but there are even smaller ones from toshiba.

even with a seperate 80 gig, 2.5" usb drive, i only use mine for temporary and rough viewing.

I only have a 40g HD because I transfer the files from the laptop onto our studio server once I return from my location/trip.

that wifi thing i was telling you guys about works really well. only needs a hot spot or a cell phone tower.

[gilp]

sorry there...but your comments make no sense.

what does the wifi thing have to do with file storage and transfer?

[ghsmith178613]

let's see if i can clear this up...

So what suggestions would everyone make for a laptop used primarily for storage, organizing, editing, etc, for pictures?

i'm not sure that i would invest in a laptop for this, especially if you have a desktop as a choice.

What hardware is more important? Should I get a custom built, or does Dell or another company make a laptop that would be ideal? Anyone care to make a review of what they have? I'm a noob when it comes to computers so I really needed to ask...

Mo

processor, ram, display, and disk storage are critical to performance, and you satisfaction with the system. let's not forget the ergonomics either.
if you have choices, go for photoshop cs3. learn how to use it. most cameras today come with some really decent editing and printing packages.

I don't know about using a laptop for editing..unless you are ok with LCD or have a huge Mac LT

and somebody to carry it for you.

the 17" mac book pro weighs 6.8 pounds (3.1 kg) and at $2799 US. it might be good to work on after you run monaco or color vision on the screen. i would'nt drag it around as my primary storage. if you shoot much at all, you might have to start looking for external storage sooner than you think.

I do use a laptop for transer/storage, I have the smallest one I could find and HP pavillion 1100. but there are even smaller ones from toshiba.
I only have a 40g HD because I transfer the files from the laptop onto our studio server once I return from my location/trip.

even with a seperate 80 gig, 2.5" usb drive, i only use mine for temporary and rough viewing.

my toshiba has a 40 gig internal. i have an 80 gig 2.5" usb powered external. if i use my laptop, it is tethered. i preview and do a really rough edit. that is the limit. no way i would do a days work on it.

sorry there...but your comments make no sense.

does that clear up that part of the comment?

that wifi thing i was telling you guys about works really well. only needs a hot spot or a cell phone tower.

what does the wifi thing have to do with file storage and transfer?

ok.

I transfer the files from the laptop onto our studio server once I return from my location/trip.

the wifi system lets you transfer by ftp, or file copy in >REAL TIME< back to your server or to a client by email. in the ftp and file copy mode, you click, and it's on your server at electron speed.
it is very like the wifi systems that are built for the nikons and canons, but more features and better range. the software package lets you deliver press ready images immediately. i have one more test on the "hobby" canon camera (XT and XTi). it has been tested on the other canon and nikon dslr. if you need more info about it, drop me a note.

[gilp]

First off, Canon does NOT have a wifi system, I use their system and it's a UHF narrow band (like wireless mics) and it's not ftp or usb but rather FireWire 600.

secondly, since you mention all your applications for storage... where exactly are those incredible images? why not show some of the here? or on a website?

[ghsmith178613]

First off, Canon does NOT have a wifi system, I use their system and it's a UHF narrow band (like wireless mics) and it's not ftp or usb but rather FireWire 600.

http://www.sportsshooter.com/news/1356
http://www.dphoto.us/forum/showthread.php?t=2672
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/conten ... -6465-7672
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/3 ... _File.html

i dunno ron, there sure is a lot of material about it? i never said that this other thing was from canon or nikon. i said that if you wanted to know more about it, you should drop me a note. if you don't then don't bother.

secondly, since you mention all your applications for storage... where exactly are those incredible images? why not show some of the here? or on a website?

for the 38th time, be patient. that contract is running out, and i'm not renewing it. the lab that i can "smuggle" my 8x10 and 4x5 film images into and out of, is still in remodel for another week or so.

[marxz]

I wouldn't unconditionally recommend or dismiss using a laptop for primary storage.
Though I'm non professional photography enthusiast, I am however an IT professional and as much as I like laptops their limited expandability (and other issues) makes them less than ideal for use with large databases (which is what your photo management system is).


Previously I used a Apple Powerbook 1ghz machine (top of the range in it's day) and found my self having, very quickly, to start investing in external drives for primary storage, so with additional external drives for back up I had 6 external drives.


Power wise as an enthusiast or part time professional you should be able to work at a more than satisfactory pace with the processors that Laptops have. Not as fast as with a professionally spec'ed desktop graphics workstation but still no slouch - I first started using Photoshop on an 8mhz (yes 8 megahertz) machine with 4 MB of RAM! .... so trust me I know what slow is really like.


my current set up is a G5 tower dual 2 Ghz 4GB RAM 1TB internal (2x500GB) 2x 1TB external drives. I store new images that I want to access frequently on one of the internal drives and have my entire library one external drive and a weekly back up on the second that is used as off line back up ( after backup switched off placed in a separate room)

My laptop is occasionally used for importing and sorting "in the field" then it transfers the files to the Tower in to Lightroom's "monitored import" folder.

I rarely use the laptop for editing in the field apart from cropping due to small monitor size, difficulty of having consistent lighting for colour adjusting, and no external keyboard/mouse or graphics tablet.



However if you want to go the laptop path then

1: get a large, good quality, external screen say 20" or bigger.


2: get a good UPS/power conditioner... .... for your external disk packs. I've found these suckers seem to be very sensitive to power supply issues so you want to mollycoddle them and give them the best, cleanest power you can.

3: Purchase double the amount of external drives you think you'll need and by this I mean don't just double the capacity in a single case - you'll be using one lot for primary use and another for back ups.

4: Max out the RAM in your laptop as soon as you buy it, RAM is dirt cheap right due to over production for a (non realised) increase in sales to cover MS Vista's high RAM requirements but its price fluctuates and expect an increase later in the year as memory manufacturers switch production to more profitable storage memory like SD and RAM drives

[fschifano]

sorry there...but your comments make no sense.

what does the wifi thing have to do with file storage and transfer?

WiFi has nothing to do with local storage, but does have a lot to do with file transfer capabilities. From a public internet WiFi hotspot, you simply connect up to the network and initiate a file transfer over the internet to your home server. USE FTP or whichever file transfer mechanism makes you happy.