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Thread: Laptop for digital photo editing, scanning, etc.

  1. #11
    Preston Birdwell
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Columbia, CA
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    1,587

    Re: Laptop for digital photo editing, scanning, etc.

    My choice was an Acer 15.6" laptop. It has an I7-6700 processor, 16GB RAM (upgradable to 32GB), 512GB SSD, 1TB HDD. The graphics processor is an Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M with 4 GB memory. I decided to go for a machine with the 4K UHD screen....It has one HDMI port, two USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0, and one Thunderbolt.
    David, this sounds like a nice machine, and should serve you well. The nVidia video card will give nice performance in Photo Shop. If, at some point you work with really large files, upgrading to 32 GB will enhance performance. Have fun!
    --P
    Preston-Columbia CA

    "If you want nice fresh oats, you have to pay a fair price. If you can be satisfied with oats that have already been through the horse; that comes a little cheaper."

  2. #12
    Dave Karp
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
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    Los Angeles, CA
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    2,960

    Re: Laptop for digital photo editing, scanning, etc.

    Locutus. I agree about the Dell monitors. Mine is very nice at a fraction of the price of the high end screens many photographers use. It may not be all the way there, but for me, it was the ideal combination of features/quality/price. I learned about it here on the forum too!

    Thanks for the info on 4K. Looking forward to seeing what that is like.

    As far as gaming laptops go, just to set the record straight, you are right that most of them have TN screens. However, you are wrong in that many of the gaming laptop manufacturers are introducing machines with 4K UHD screens. There is chatter about this on the various sites I found while researching. Some of the gamers think it is a great idea, others think that the TN screens are better for gaming. Alienware, for example, sells a 15.6 laptop with a 4K UHD non glare screen. Most of the gaming laptops I saw did not have built in card readers. Not a deal breaker, but an inconvenience.

    From what I read, it appears that there are a flood of laptops coming with the 4K UHD screens. The problem seems to be that the manufacturer(s) do not yet have the capacity to feed the demand.

    I was leaning strongly toward a Lenovo P51. (Love the name.) It had everything I wanted, and more. However, they were sold out of the 4K screen models, with no idea when more would be in stock. When I purchased, it appeared that my current machine was dead (that is another story), so I kept looking. The P71 (17 inch screen) was still available with the 4K screen, but we decided that it would be too big in case we used it on the move. Plus, the P51 (like the Alienware) was at the outside edge of my budget (and it was on sale for 20% off until May 31).

    The extra looking paid off. The Acer I found was significantly less expensive than the Lenovo, Dell, or Alienware machines. On top of that, it was on sale for 15% off. It also comes in one size fits all. No upgrading the graphics card, etc. You get what you get. The Dell, Lenovo, and Alienware computers are all nice machines. They are following in the steps of Apple, with aluminum bodies and high end materials. The XPS, for example has an aluminum case and a Kevlar top deck. The Acer has the high quality internals in a plastic case. One of the reviewers, who actually takes the machine apart and measures color accuracy, commented on how impressed he was with the engineering that made it so stiff. Like the Lenovo, the keyboard is supposed to be excellent. I should have it tomorrow, so I will have to break out a photo I have not yet edited and take it for a whirl!

  3. #13
    Dave Karp
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    Dec 2001
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    Re: Laptop for digital photo editing, scanning, etc.

    I thought it might be helpful to relate what happened with my other laptop. After multiple phone discussions with techs at ASUS and Costco (when you purchase a computer there you get "Concierge" service, which gives you tech support and an extra year of warranty identical to the manufacturer's warranty), they determined that the computer needed to be reset, with a fresh install of Windows. There were real problems. I could see files in the explorer, but could not copy. I needed to save some files that had not been backed up. None of the Microsoft Office applications would load. We tried to do the reset by working in Windows, where we could see, but not access, the required features. They told me I had to purchase recovery media from ASUS for about $50. This was to reset the computer to its original state - Windows 8.1. No, they would not sell you one with Windows 10. Of course, you can purchase Windows 10 elsewhere and download all of the necessary drivers from the Internet, so I decided I would probably do that instead. I was worried about the drivers issue - I am not a computer expert. I was starting to think about taking the computer to the Geek Squad to have them fix it, even though I had that free Costco extra year on the warranty.

    I decided to poke around the computer for a while to see what I could see before purchasing Windows 10. In the meantime, I stopped by Best Buy and talked to a Geek Squad guy. He showed me a SATA to USB cable that I could use to copy the files from my laptop using another computer. I removed the hard drive, and copied what I needed to copy from the sick laptop. Then I reinstalled it. Eventually, I found an alternate way to trigger the reset. It took a while, and I wish I wrote down what I did, but it worked. The computer reset itself to its original state with 8.1. Then I went to Microsoft's site and upgraded the machine to Windows 10 for free. In the meantime, Amazon delivered a Samsung 850 EVO SSD and I used the SATA to USB cable and the software to clone the hard drive. I swapped the old drive and the SSD and now I have a nice ASUS with an SSD that works great!

    All my repairs happened after I purchased the Acer! Deep down, I believed that my computer was a lemon. Once I ordered the Acer, I felt compelled to keep digging because it just seemed like there had to be something else to try. Lesson learned - Push the techs a little harder and dig on your own. The worst I could have done after saving my data was require a trip to the Geek Squad. If I could find an answer in my ignorant lay person's way, the techs should have been able to do so too.

    In the end, all is OK because we needed to get a laptop for my 16 year old to use for school. He is going to get the ASUS, which is now a really speedy machine.

    All this to say that a little perseverance and exploration may save you lots of money if the tech support people don't prove very helpful.

  4. #14
    Dave Karp
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    Dec 2001
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    Re: Laptop for digital photo editing, scanning, etc.

    Hi all,

    I received the Acer today. I have to say it appears to be a really nice machine. The keyboard is nice. The materials, although plastic, seem top notch.

    The screen. The screen. Yes. The screen. It is beautiful. It really is.

    It was beautiful, but bright, right out of the box. You can select the colorspace. I elected Adobe RGB. Then I ran my Colormunki display on it. After calibration, the before and after option showed very, very little change from the out-of-the-box Adobe RGB selection. To my eye, the only real change was to tone down the brightness. The colors and the definition are delicious.

    The time I have had with the computer has been to set it up, download my Adobe software, load printer and scanner drivers, etc. No chance to play with Photoshop, but I did start the program. It loads FAST. What a nice change. I think I am going to be very happy with this computer, assuming that it is durable and reliable. I have high hopes. It seems quite well made.

    In case anyone is interested, it is an Acer Aspire V 15 Nitro with the UHD 4K display (there are other versions).

    Thanks again for your input.

  5. #15
    Dave Karp
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    Dec 2001
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    Los Angeles, CA
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    Re: Laptop for digital photo editing, scanning, etc.

    Update.

    I have been using the Acer Aspire V 15 Nitro with UHD display since last May. I am quite pleased with the purchase. It runs Photoshop just fine. The screen is beautiful and maintains calibration well. Sometimes I use the laptop without an external monitor to edit photos. Adobe products don't play as well with the UHD 4K resolution as do other software products - The text is quite small. Other than that, I am satisfied that the screen colors are accurate as might be expected going from screen to print.

    Highly recommended.

  6. #16
    Muttley
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Minneapolis, Minn
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    46

    Re: Laptop for digital photo editing, scanning, etc.

    Quote Originally Posted by David Karp View Post
    Thanks for the input. I appreciate it.

    I decided not to get a super duper gaming computer. It just seemed overbuilt and overpriced for what I need. For as long as I tend to use things like this, it might end up being what I need years down the line, but that is another story.

    My choice was an Acer 15.6" laptop. It has an I7-6700 processor, 16GB RAM (upgradable to 32GB), 512GB SSD, 1TB HDD. The graphics processor is an Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M with 4 GB memory. I decided to go for a machine with the 4K UHD screen. Again, not for the 4K, but for the color space. They claim 100% Adobe RGB. I found a review that puts it at 80+% of Adobe RGB. There will be many times when I will not be able to access my other monitor. I have a Colormunki calibration setup and will run that on the monitor. It has one HDMI port, two USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0, and one Thunderbolt. Reviews say it has a nice keyboard and that the display is excellent.

    I will let you know what I think after I have it. It is on the way.
    I have close to the same set up as you. You can upgrade the 512 SSD and also replace the 1TB HDD with a SSD. That will speed things up. If you do that, you have a fresh, clean backup. Also, if you need to send it back for some reason, you can swap back in the original drives before you send it in. You keep your drives and configs intact and nothing happens to them when they fix your laptop.

  7. #17
    Dave Karp
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    Dec 2001
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    Re: Laptop for digital photo editing, scanning, etc.

    Right now, all is good with the standard setup. I use the HDD to store image files before I archive them. I don't have too many programs on the computer. The SSD handles Windows and the Adobe apps. Maybe in the future I will upgrade and run a backup on the second drive. Funny thing, the computer I upgraded to an SSD is running great! Much nicer than it ever did before the upgrade. My kid is using it for school and it has been totally reliable.

  8. #18
    jp's Avatar
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    May 2009
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    Maine
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    Re: Laptop for digital photo editing, scanning, etc.

    Quote Originally Posted by David Karp View Post
    Update.

    I have been using the Acer Aspire V 15 Nitro with UHD display since last May. I am quite pleased with the purchase. It runs Photoshop just fine. The screen is beautiful and maintains calibration well. Sometimes I use the laptop without an external monitor to edit photos. Adobe products don't play as well with the UHD 4K resolution as do other software products - The text is quite small. Other than that, I am satisfied that the screen colors are accurate as might be expected going from screen to print.

    Highly recommended.
    Every photoshop upgrade zaps the setting it seems, but you can have PS display the user interface at 2x size, which is just right for 4k monitors.

    I like the Acer laptops with dual hard drives... SSD for fast startup, 1tb for data storage.

  9. #19
    Dave Karp
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    Re: Laptop for digital photo editing, scanning, etc.

    Thanks JP. I was looking from for something like that, but missed it.

  10. #20

    Join Date
    Dec 1999
    Location
    Forest Grove, Ore.
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    Re: Laptop for digital photo editing, scanning, etc.

    I recently purchased a BenQ monitor, and I'm really pleased with it. It claims 99% of Adobe RGB '98, and what's even better, it offers a 14-bit look-up table. This is a true graphics monitor, and the price is right: $399 for a 24" monitor. For another $99, you can add a professional quality shade. The also offer larger, 27" monitors for reasonable prices. Too large for me though.

    It comes with it's own calibration software that's required in order to get the 14 bit lookup table. (Be sure to opt for the lookup table, versus the matrix based calibration.) I was able to use my X-Rite Display Pro colorimeter with this software. Not sure if Colormunki will work.

    This monitor had favorable comments on the Color Mgt sub-forum on Luminous-Landscape, so that reassured me on its quality. Apparently, they're one of the few that manufactures their own screen, so they control all aspects of the quality. (I do't think this is true for NEC.)

    Here's the monitor that I purchased. . . . .

    https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...l?sts=pi&pim=Y

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