Ugly Hedgehog - Photography Forum
Home Active Topics Newest Pictures Search Login Register
Main Photography Discussion
Best economical Laptop for DSLR Photo editing
Page 1 of 4 next> last>>
May 18, 2017 14:55:51   #
Silverman Loc: Michigan
 
I presently have a Chromebook, and want either a Windows or a Mac so I may download "Lightroom" or another another decent Photo editing software.
All suggestions are requested. Thank you.

Reply
May 18, 2017 14:56:55   #
Silverman Loc: Michigan
 
Could I possibly buy a clean used Laptop cheaper?

Reply
May 18, 2017 18:06:54   #
WayneT Loc: Paris, TN
 
Check for refurbished or used at B+H, Amazon or Newegg.

Reply
 
 
May 18, 2017 18:10:19   #
Quantus5
 
If you don't need the portability -- you might want to consider a Desktop system. You always get more power for the same price with a Desktop (at the expense of portability). There is no free lunch.

Main recommendation either way are a Core i5 or better CPU and at least 8GB of memory.

Reply
May 19, 2017 05:28:15   #
Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)
 
Silverman wrote:
I presently have a Chromebook, and want either a Windows or a Mac so I may download "Lightroom" or another another decent Photo editing software.
All suggestions are requested. Thank you.


What is your budget?

Lightroom will "choke" on a system with only 2 cores. It will be fine with 8 gb ram, unless it is shared with the graphics function. In that case 16 gb is far better. Lots of photo editing programs that you may want to use in conjunction with LR will want quad core i7, definitely a separate graphics card, and multiple drives, otherwise it will be pretty slow. Most cheap stuff will have i5 dual core cpus, 8 gb or less ram, and very limited internal storage.

Current software can be pretty demanding on machine resources, so I really don't advice buying an older refurbished computer. It will be cheap, but may be be frustrating to work on.

Reply
May 19, 2017 06:28:52   #
DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX
 
There is no "best economical" laptop. Going with that thought will cost you more because you will end up buying again. I put my money on a MacBook Pro with 16GB with 500GB storage. I only use it for short edits. I use external HD and never store images on the HD. I use a desktop for major editing with 32GB and a 27" monitor and several external HD's. Good luck.
Silverman wrote:
I presently have a Chromebook, and want either a Windows or a Mac so I may download "Lightroom" or another another decent Photo editing software.
All suggestions are requested. Thank you.

Reply
May 19, 2017 06:46:10   #
jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY
 
Silverman wrote:
I presently have a Chromebook, and want either a Windows or a Mac so I may download "Lightroom" or another another decent Photo editing software.
All suggestions are requested. Thank you.


Photo processing doesn't require a super computer. Check the requirements of the program you want to use and then add a bit to the base requirements. If they say it needs 4GB or RAM, get at least 8GB. Any decent laptop will be able to run processing software.

They call these "budget," but they're in the $1,000 range. Keep in mind there's "best," and there's "budget."
https://www.slrlounge.com/top-five-laptops-photographers-2016/

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2371334,00.asp?
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/laptops/best-laptops-for-photographers
http://www.iotechie.com/photo-editing-laptops/
https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-best-budget-PC-laptop-for-photo-editing

Reply
 
 
May 19, 2017 06:50:49   #
mborn Loc: Massachusetts
 
Silverman wrote:
I presently have a Chromebook, and want either a Windows or a Mac so I may download "Lightroom" or another another decent Photo editing software.
All suggestions are requested. Thank you.


At home, I have a Loaded desktop, for trips, I use an ASUS Zen 350 not too expensive

Reply
May 19, 2017 06:53:23   #
sb Loc: Florida's East Coast
 
I don't feel that you need to spend a fortune. I often use my laptop - I don't know how it would handle Lightroom or the full version of Photoshop - I use Photoshop Elements. It is an HP ProBook 6470b. It is the smaller 14.5 inch laptop that I prefer. It has an Intel i5 processor (the i5 has built-in graphics support). 8GB RAM, and I swapped the hard drive for a 500GB SSD drive. The original laptop was on sale for about $600. This system is not only adequate but very fast, even when processing large images. I admit that when working with Photomatix on a large RAW image or melding three large raw images into an HDR, it takes a few seconds to get the final results - sometimes as long as 5 seconds. I don't consider that to be too slow, maybe because I have grown up with much slower computers.... I am sure that I would be impressed with a large, expensive Mac, but this works well for me.

Reply
May 19, 2017 07:12:46   #
Haydon
 
Gene51 wrote:
What is your budget?

Lightroom will "choke" on a system with only 2 cores. It will be fine with 8 gb ram, unless it is shared with the graphics function. In that case 16 gb is far better. Lots of photo editing programs that you may want to use in conjunction with LR will want quad core i7, definitely a separate graphics card, and multiple drives, otherwise it will be pretty slow. Most cheap stuff will have i5 dual core cpus, 8 gb or less ram, and very limited internal storage.

Current software can be pretty demanding on machine resources, so I really don't advice buying an older refurbished computer. It will be cheap, but may be be frustrating to work on.
What is your budget? br br Lightroom will "c... (show quote)


Well I guess that's subjective Gene; I'm presently tethering and lightly editing on a 6 year old Lenovo Workstation with dual-cores and 8 gigabye of Ram and it's not choking. Will it run as fast as today's systems? Absolutely not! It's fine for my use but then again I'm not loading 75 megabyte RAW files from a D810.

Back on point though, I won't edit on a laptop with my old eyes nor can I find the palette acceptable on such a small screen. For myself, laptops have never been a primary computer and never will do. My eyes demand much larger screen resolution despite my color blindness.

Reply
May 19, 2017 07:15:57   #
pelha Loc: middlle of nowhere NY
 
my $600 13" Zenbook is Ok for using PS CC (i7, generic graphics card, 16gb mem, 1T harddrive,) but I've read that ASUS is coming out with one with a better graphics card this summer. The drawback to this config is the graphics card & the resultant (nontouch & a bit muddy) display. But the loading & processing power is beautiful.

Reply
 
 
May 19, 2017 07:32:34   #
easy8
 
I work tethered to a laptop an they take lots of abuse I now buy them on eBay from companies that refurb them I just bought a 2008 mac book pro with new battery an charger new processor an ram with sierra for 300 free shipping 90 day warranty looks an works like new

Reply
May 19, 2017 08:14:22   #
mas24 Loc: Southern CA
 
Get a Dell, Asus, or Lenovo laptop with Window 10. Get at least 500gb to 1TB HHD and 16gb of RAM. Unless you are running a photographing business, this should be sufficient for the amateur photographer. Check to see if it can be upgraded to more storage of RAM and hard drive.

Reply
May 19, 2017 08:24:44   #
larkahn
 
I bought a refurbished Fujitsu Lifebook on eBay. i5-2520M (2nd generation), 8 gb of RAM, 1 TB Toshiba Hard Drive (7200 RPM), and a built in Wacom digitizer screen. Windows 10. Cost; $350.

Reply
May 19, 2017 09:29:50   #
caljr Loc: Indiana
 
Macbook pro, i7, 16 gb RAM, Good Graphics card SSD-250GB or more and store everything on the cloud or an external HD. I run LR 6 and have no problems.

Reply
Page 1 of 4 next> last>>
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.
Main Photography Discussion
UglyHedgehog.com - Forum
Copyright 2011-2024 Ugly Hedgehog, Inc.