# laptop for editing, bad idea?



## janineh (Feb 27, 2013)

Hi there, I am not sure if I post in the right section, but I want to get a new computer for editing. I was thinking of a laptop, HP seems to have some great ones for editing ENVY V7. My question is, is it a bad idea to edit on a laptop? As the screen is never at the same angle? I would like to be a bit more flexible where I do my work. Just don't know if a big screen is nesessary to get consistant results. Any comments welcome!! THANKS


----------



## 480sparky (Feb 27, 2013)

Color is also an issue.... rarely are they displayed correctly.


----------



## bratkinson (Feb 27, 2013)

Because of all the manufacturer/model-unique screens on a laptop computer, color is a big issue.  What looks good on the laptop may or may not look good when viewed on another computer or even when printed.  BUT...buying an external monitor and plugging THAT into the laptop will solve the problem.

Perhaps an even bigger issue with laptops is their limited hard drive storage capacity.  While some of the higher-end laptops sport a decent size hard drive, after 6 months, maybe even more than a year, you'll be running out of space due to the ever increasing size of the pictures produced by ever increasing megapixel cameras.  One solution is to get a USB external hard drive for your photo storage, but it should also be backed up to yet another USB hard drive, just in case the first one goes bad...and they DO.  

While laptops can do close to everything that a desktop computer can do, and be portable as well, there are some instances where they fall short.  In my estimation, picture editing and storage is one of those shortcomings.


----------



## Overread (Feb 27, 2013)

You can get a laptop screen which won't change contrast with the viewing angle, however it tends to be a feature on only the top range models and in limited availability. If it were to be your primary editing rig then it would be a viable option only if you can get the model with the upper most screen feature. 

Of course you could always use a laptop with an external screen which will lessen your costs; that would give you a laptop for mobility and a screen for when you're doing the more serious editing at home.


----------



## Big Mike (Feb 27, 2013)

As mentioned, a laptop can function and the computing power for your photo editing, but the bigger issue that only very few laptops have a screen that is suited for consistent display and editing.  Also, the nature of a laptop is that you can use it anywhere.  That again poses a problem because the ambient lighting conditions will influence how you see the display, and thus how you edit the photos.


----------



## Patriot (Feb 27, 2013)

I have a HP laptop as my only computer and it works just fine. I had to calibrate my monitor to get the right colors. If my three year old machine will work I'm more than sure a new will be every better.


----------



## thomas30 (Feb 27, 2013)

ENVY V7 is a good choice, yest with the screen resolution, with every laptop there are some issues but you can do the testing in different resolutions or keep your screen resolution same as desktop , so it would work fine on all machines.


----------



## rexbobcat (Feb 27, 2013)

If you are willing to spend some money, there are the Dell Precision notebooks or the HP Elitebooks which come with the option of having an IPS monitor built in.

They're workstations though so they get crazy expensive depending on the features you want.


----------



## janineh (Feb 27, 2013)

rexbobcat said:


> If you are willing to spend some money, there are the Dell Precision notebooks or the HP Elitebooks which come with the option of having an IPS monitor built in.
> 
> They're workstations though so they get crazy expensive depending on the features you want.



Thank you


----------



## tirediron (Feb 27, 2013)

I do a lot of processing on my laptop, and it's not a problem, *IF* you calibrate it and you ensure that your screen is at the correct viewing angle.  I keep a zone-system strip chart on my desktop and whenever I'm going to edit, I ensure that I adjust my monitor so that I can see all ten divisions.


----------



## imagemaker46 (Feb 27, 2013)

I edit and do all the minor fixes (crop, colour corrections, light, dark) on my lap top 100% of the time.  Most of my work is shot on the road so I really don't have an option.  You get used it after using a new laptop every 2 years, with a different screen.


----------



## .SimO. (Feb 27, 2013)

I guess I will have to look into this for when i'm in Korea for a few months.


----------



## Drew1992 (Mar 4, 2013)

I started out editing on a laptop and I realized within a few weeks that it was a HUGE mistake! Not only do you sacrifice having hard drive storage, but the viewing angle(s) stink. I could NEVER get my screen at the correct angle to edit properly and was CONSTANTLY messing with it. Not to mention if you are sitting too close or too far away from the screen. My screen was 18 inches and I still found myself leaning in to see details, etc. It also had bad screen glare. I paid a pretty penny for that laptop, thus, I could not afford to go right back out and buy a desktop. So, I bought a separate monitor, a 24 inch NEC MultiSync LCD 2490WUXi2 monitor and plugged it into my laptop. I still use this setup, but plan to upgrade to a desktop as soon as I can get some extra cash saved up. My laptop ALWAYS runs too hot(even sitting on a cooling base with a fan) and I find myself transferring files too often to free up space. Also, you should ALWAYS have 2 back-up's of your files/images on external drives, etc as insurance against losing all of your hard work.  Like you, I thought I wanted a laptop so that I could be portable and edit where I wanted. In reality, it's quite impossible to do. Here's why: If you are serious about editing, you will have calibrated your monitor with hardware and calibration software. If you have calibrated, you will most likely be working in the same room/same lighting/same viewing environment, therefore, there really is no need for portability unless you are just doing some real basic edits and then doing your more serious editing on a separate monitor when you get to your workspace at home. Just some thoughts from my experience with working with a laptop for serious photo editing. Hopefully this has been helpful to you!


----------

