Tablet / Laptop Recommendations for photo editing

[DXHI]

Hey guys.
Which device do you use?
Ive got one friend that swears iPad, the other swears Surface Pro, so really doesn't help my dilemma
Which one do most of you use?
I like how photos are stored better on the microsoft system..(from years ago) i can find them better for later ..
Im looking to swap to a system and use it...

 

[WS007]

I have a very good Lenovo Thinkpad (i7/8th gen) that is small and very powerful for postprocessing in LR and Photoshop.

Now I have acquired a calibratable monitor (BenQ SW270c) and it turns out that (most or all?) Laptops under Windows 10 are unable to transmit 10-bit color signal to the (10-bit) monitor, just 8-bit (you still have 99% Adobe RGB, but less intermediate gradations). I had a lot of conversation with technical staff from Intel, Lenovo and BenQ, it turns out this is the state of the art. Intel says they are working on a new graphic driver that may solve the problem, but they cannot promise anything...

In case you want to postprocess your photos with a high quality standardized monitor under Windows 10 in 10-bit color, you need a desktop with powerful graphic card...

Since you are starting with computer, I recommend an Apple. Any Apple computer will do it without the least problem...

Wolfgang

 

[Altamira]

MacBook Pro which supports 30 bit color (10 bits per channel) is great for what I photo processing I do. If I was to get a lot more active in UW photography and photo processing, I would get a Mac desktop for compatibility with our other Mac gear.

 

[OceanEyes]

Mac Pro desktop with Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom while at home.
MacBook Pro with Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom while traveling.

 

[Chris Ross]

I prefer laptops, tablets have issues with file storage and getting the photos onto the system - it can be done but seems like a cludgy workaround last time I looked at it . Surface pro is effectively a tablet sized laptop and available with good sized HDD for storage. This is for travel - for home usage I have a desktop tower with a 30" monitor. Mac or Windows? use what you are used to and know how to use - life is too short to re-learn an operating system if you already know a perfectly good one. 10 bits? my monitor can do it as can my card but I have not activated it. Yes there should be advantages but seems like too much trouble to me for limited advantage. You need everything to line up monitor, system and application need to support 10 bit video output. See this: 10 Bit Output Support | Image Science where you need high bit level is processing the images - import them in 16 bit - this avoids introducing banding as you process.

 

[davehicks]

Decide on your Budget, Screen size preference, and weight.

There are a lot of great PCs and 1 good Mac model available. I pretty much only use my Laptop for photo editing on dive trips. I've been using a 15" Surface Book 2 which is great but getting old. A new i7 Surface Pro would likely be faster than my SB2, but the screen is under 13". If I were to buy a new laptop right now I'd likely get a 2020 Dell XPS 15. Very well reviewed. Similar to the Surface PCs it has a 16x10 ratio screen, so it's taller than most laptops which is great for editing.

 

[Hoag]

I use a MacBook Air while traveling and a 21.5inch iMac at home. I chose these for many reasons but one of the reasons was that both have built-in SD Card Readers. I store all of my images on a Sandisk Extreme SSD that I will typically bring with me. While traveling, I will do only minimal editing after all, I am on vacation and I don't typically want to spend a lot of time on the computer; even on a dedicated photo trip, I would rather wait till I get home to do the bulk of my editing. (Vacation time is better spent in a hammock slung between two palm trees than on the computer IMHO.)

On both computers, I use ON1 Photo Raw 2020 as my image editor. I find that ON1 does 95% or more of what can be done in PS+LR but all in a single easy to use program and I am not held to Adobe's subscription model. ON1 has recently released a mobile app but I have not tried it and ON1 2021 will be released shortly.

 

[dhaas]

I only travel with my late 2014 Apple MacBook Air 11" mainly to answer emails.

I'll put pics in it each day and usually grab 5-10 shots, edit them quickly in Apple's Photos App and post them if I feel like doing so before breakfast.

This has worked for me for but many of my trip customers who are more hobby UW photographers (but a few are almost pro capability shooters too) have migrated to an iPad or Surface tablet.

At home I have a 27" retina iMac and sometimes will transfer the best keepers once home.

As others have said I don't want to spend valuable travel time editing. Oaccionally I've Wifi'ed a pic to my iPhone straight from my camera (Canon G7X II.) I quickly and easily edit it in Snapseed and post to Facebook. The ultimate lazy way

If it's not light and small I don't want to own or haul it on trips these days. I want to enjoy travel, not make it a burden.

When my laptop dies I may not replace it. Maybe take a hard drive the works to download my SD cards then deal with all the pics when I get home. Over the years since beginning shooting digital in 2001 I've become adept at wearing the DELETE key label off any computer Saving a pile of "almost" shots or duds is a waste of time and energy.

Maybe a new iPhone 12 PRO or PRO MAX will be a better travel solution on the horizon too

Just one old guy's opinion

David Haas
Haas Photography Inc.

 

[lowwall]

I suggest a laptop with a discrete graphics card, a high quality monitor, and a metal case. At home you can hook up an external monitor and keyboard for ease of use. On the road, you get to have the same fast editing environment in a light and tough package.

On the Windows side, the Dell XPS 15 and the Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Extreme are no-compromise options. The HP Spectre x360 is a good choice if you want a convertible (has a touchscreen and the screen can be flipped around for standalone display).

 

[TuckerIdaho]

In case you want to postprocess your photos with a high quality standardized monitor under Windows 10 in 10-bit color, you need a desktop with powerful graphic card...

You can do it with a $150 video card just fine.