WGWATSON

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I have a Surface Pro 3 with an I-7 processor. Limited ports but it does have an SD micro port for downloading your images

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

That would be Apple you’re referring to.

bobfitz Loc: Kendall-Miami, Florida

Whatever you decide, Amazon has a WD(Western Digital) 5TB Passport outdrive for sale today at $109.00. It is very small and weighs less than a pound. You can offload as you go which would negate the need for a laptop with an enormous hard drive. You also may consider how you intend to keep your gear warm as it is very temperature sensitive. No matter what you decide, Bon Voyage and enjoy.

APSHEPPARD

I think you have received some excellent advice already. I went another direction and got an LG 17 inch. It supports memory and storage and weighs under 3 lb. It is pricey but is nice to have large high quality monitor in such a low weight package. I agree with trying to get 16GB memory and an ssd, but as pointed out these features are not cheap in a lightweight laptop. I had a Surface and it did a good job but again pricey and I did not care for the small screen, having poor eyesight.

george19

Let me know if you’re stopping in Ushuaia…some recommendations.

Jeffers

I recently bought a Dell XPS 13 9305. It's my second XPS (the first wore out after six years). It's very compact and lightweight for travel. Screen resolution is the best of any computer Ive owned. I carry it in a tomtoc case which easily holds the computer, its charging chord and chip reader. It has 16 GIGs of RAM and a TB of storage. It also has an Intel i7 chip which is great for pictures.The XPS keyboard is easy to read if you don't touch type. Some other keyboards are difficult to read.
By going direct to Dell Sales, I saved several hundred dollars compared to other local and internet sources and got more storage.
A couple of words of caution: Dell is staying ahead of coming technology. This version has three Thunderbolt Ports which neans your plug-ins must be USB-C, not USB. There are several Bluetooth Mice on the market and the XPS 13 can work with a Bluetooth Mouse. Dell can sell you one. Wireess Mice with a USB-C plug-in can be hard to find at this time.
Also, my XPS came with Windows 10 installed as the default. But it is Windows 11 compatable.
Today, a Dell rep told me they still have the promotions, also that it now comes with Windows 11 installed.
He told me that if you're not yet comfortable with Windows 11, it's pretty easy to switch back to 10. I looked in Settings > System > About and found where I could upgrade mine. That's probably where you can take it back to 10 if you want.
Finally, it comes with a cell phone chip reader but not a camera chip reader. I bought a Platinum brand chip reader that has ports for both types of chips and a USB-C Plug. It works great. If you want the name of the sales person I talked to, his phone number and extension, please private message me.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

For travel, choose a Samsung T5 or T7 SSD instead in whatever size and port you need. Much more robust than a spinning drive and not only is it a LOT faster, it will fit in your shirt pocket and consumes very low power.

Foto Fun

I had the same quandary, for what sounds like a very similar trip. I got a Microsoft Surface Pro 4 i5 with a 256GB SSD. I added a 120GB micro SD card for added memory. I've been very happy with it on multiple later trips.

Also, there's a USB 'Surface Ext.' that plugs into the USB slot and adds two USB slot,an SD card reader, mini-USB slot and micro SD slot. It's made to fit around the charging plug.

Seems like many of the recommendations are for high-end laptops.

Enjoy the trip, it's fabulous, the best we've ever done. Larry.

gwilliams6

Dell XPS series. They come in different screen sizes, but are powerful, reliable, and superb quality. I have owned my Dell XPS 15.5 in. laptop for four years, and it has travel the world with me, and never skipped a beat. It edits all my stills and videos. You can get it with less goodies, but mine has 32gb of ram, latest processors, 4k touchscreen, ssd , and more.

Best PC laptop I have ever own and ever traveled with. And Dell has great support and/or service if you ever need it. After my experience with this Dell laptop, I would never buy any other brand PC. Best PC laptop I have ever owned in my pro career of decades.

Cheers
https://www.facebook.com/GSWilliamsPhotography

Schoee Loc: Europe

HP Envy either 13 or 14 inch. Choose a high spec processor and RAM.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

It's only "a LOT faster" if the computer is connected to has a USB 3.2 interface. It will get up to around 1000 MB/s. Over a USB 3 it is about half as fast at around 500 MB/s. I much prefer the SanDisk Extreme Pro external SSD which is twice as fast and has a 5 yr warranty vs a 3 yr for the Samsung.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Once you go MacWards, you are unlikely to go backwards.

Jsykes

Get one with 16GB of RAM and also purchase 2/3 TB external hard drive. I edit a lot when traveling and I had problems in the past before I invested in the above. Laptop hard drive space can become a problem so create catalogs on the external hard drive and not the laptop C drive. Also, make sure you understand how to regularly delete temp files and general laptop hard drive clean up while you are away, MS has online instructions. Safe travels

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Although they are referred colloquially as 3.0, 3.1 & 3.2, They are all actually 3.2, gen 1,2 and 3

USB 3.2 Gen 1 is USB 3.0. It has a maximum throughput of 5Gbps. This is also known as SuperSpeed USB.
USB 3.2 Gen 2 is USB 3.1. It has a maximum throughput of 10Gbps. This is also known as SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps.
USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 is USB 3.2. It has a maximum throughput of 20Gbps. This is also known as SuperSpeed USB 20Gbps.

USB 3.2 Gen 2 (or 3.1) is a 10Gb interface or ~ 1.2 GB/sec, so at least theoretically (actual benchmarked speeds may be less depending on the file/transfer size), either port will support 1GB/sec IF the drive is fast enough. My experience has been that the T5 will benchmark at around 500 MB/sec and the T7 at around 1,000 MB/sec. Which is a LOT faster than any spinning disk in transfer rate and maxes a USB 3.2 gen 2 (or 3.1) port. When it comes to access time, we’re comparing 10-15 milliseconds for a HD and 40-50 microseconds for an SSD, so no comparison regardless of which port you’re using. The only caveat is if you’re using an OLD machine with USB 2.0 ports, but those haven’t been built in awhile. The SanDisk Extreme pro is a screamer, but you’re going to need to have a machine with a USB Gen 2x2 to take advantage of it

JBRIII

If you are going on the Eclipse trip to mainland Antarctica (My wife and I were, but no longer are), weight and space and recharging are going to be a premium from what we were told. You will no doubt find buying capacity will be impossible, get anything you want to Chile, but then no further. This was a problem we had with Faroe Island eclipse, no way to pay for extra bag. If on a ship, all this is much less of concern and can be ignored.
I have not tried them, but GNAR makes portable SSDs with direct transfer of memory cards, sold on B&H. 1TB is $1000, but weights only .7 lbs and has two rechargeable batteries. It has a screen which is nice to see if everything worked. I believe others here recommended them a few months back.
Even on river trips in Peru, charging and WIFI were often hard, or impossible, to come by.

Just some thoughts;

Enjoy trip and good luck;