Beachhawk

I want to buy a new laptop which I can devote entirely to photo sorting, grading, editing (with Lightroom and Photoshop), storing and uploading for printing and sharing. In addition to photo use, I will also take this laptop on vacations and other trips and use the Wi-Fi capability for email and occasional web browsing. I tend to shoot a lot of photos and I rarely discard a shot unless it is clearly out of focus, poorly exposed, or has some other glaring problem making it unusable. I tend to be a packrat in that regard. This will be a totally new system, purpose built from the ground up. What I have now is a total mess of stuff on memory cards, memory sticks, hard drives, DVDs, and CDs. I want an organized system with everything in one place with an offsite backup either in the cloud or on a good quality portable drive.

I want to keep costs under $2500 if possible and I am more familiar with the Windows environment than the IOS system, though I do have both an iPhone and iPad, so I'm not ruling out Apple. I would really like to have your suggestions about both hardware and software.

Thanks!

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Where do you like to shop? B&H, Costco, Walmart, Amazon? Start by picking between Apple and Microsoft operating systems. From there is is pretty easy if you want to spend that much. Last year I found a Lenevo at Costco that does all of what you want for $1000. I do video with it too. The Lightrooms and Photoshop are no work at all.

twosummers Loc: Melbourne Australia or Lincolnshire England

Macbook or IpadPro

Beachhawk

I shop online at Adorama, B&H, Amazon, Walmart, Cameta Camera, KEH, MPB, UsedPhotoPro and Abe's of Maine, wherever I find the best price. Thanks for responding.

Beachhawk

Thanks, Twosummers

Ollieboy

Cameta Camera is currently closed. Do not deal with Abe's of Maine. Read the reviews here. Never heard of Used Photo Pro. Maybe another hogger can comment on them.

tcthome Loc: NJ

THE Lenovo mentioned above should do the job well. If sticking with Windows a Dell XP’s with 32 gab of ram & at least 1tb Sid & a video card. With all that he pics on cards etc. , I would get an external drive for your older pic storage.

ClarkJohnson Loc: Fort Myers, FL and Cohasset, MA

I have come to realize that the video card capability is more important than i had thought. Topaz programs, and probably others, have minimum requirements for the video cards that most “consumer” laptops do not have. I have learned this the hard way :-). The lesson is to see what your software requires, and take future needs into account.

eadler

I recently bought a MacBook Pro 13" which I'm very happy with. When I ordered I upgraded to a 1TB of storage and 16GB of memory. You have to order on line from Apple because the stores (were they to be open) only carry the stock configuration.

mizzee Loc: Boston,Ma

I have a MacBook and love it. I bought it after doing some research on laptops for photographers. I especially like that Apple does free updates periodically. My Mac is combined with a WD passport for Mac which is where I store all my raw files.

SonyBug

I just had to replace my laptop. I went with the Lenovo with 1TB memory, Intel I7 gen 10, ssd drive. Then I would also buy 2 Samsung 500GB T5 external drives. All this should cost about $1400. Backup time is blinding, and it is secured by fingerprint technology. It is one of the best laptops I have ever had. You also can buy 2 years of onsite one day service for $50.00.
Hope this helps.

NCMtnMan Loc: N. Fork New River, Ashe Co., NC

Would recommend that you look at the Dell outlet for overstocks and refurbished models at great prices. All come with factory on-site warranties. I recently purchased a Dell G5 15 with Windows 10 Pro, Intel i7 gen 8 processor, 16GB memory, 128GB M.2 SSD drive, 1TB hard drive, 6GB nVidia video adapter, SD card slot, USB 3.1 ports, HDMI port and USB C port. I added two additional years of on-site repair warranty and the total with tax was less than $1,000. This is a "gamer" model, but that is what you want for the better video etc. to help with post processing.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Sadly, Cameta Camera is closed. UsedPhotoPro is Roberts Camera’s used equipment branding. They’re reputable here.

Abe’s of Maine is a “house of ill repute!” Run away quickly from those scoundrels.

Dalek Loc: Detroit, Miami, Goffstown

APPLE works great although expensive

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

MacBook Pro — either the 16”, or wait for the 2020 replacement for the 13”. It should be a 14” and the best value in their lineup.

Store and backup your files on iCloud AND an external SSD AND an external hard drive.