which laptop for photoshop and tethered shooting?

[beachbum]

hi guys,

need some recommendation for laptops. have been using mac powerbooks so far. Use mainly for location tethered shooting (C1 pro and Canon DPP) and some Photoshop CS2.

Some requirements:
1) transfer rate from camera to laptop - as fast as possible (camera, usb2/1394, HDD speed dependent?)
2) refresh rate of raw files at 100% (for checking focus) - as fast as possible - processor or video card dependent?
3) powerful enuf to do PS on 1gig files with relative ease - 2 Gig RAM?
4) accurate screen (in terms of colour)
5) at least 15" screen
6) two HDD if possible - to do software/hardware RAID 0 or 1. (possible?)

I am open to using both Macs and PCs - whichever that i can get the fastest machine.

TIA

 

[theRBK]

hi guys,

need some recommendation for laptops. have been using mac powerbooks so far. Use mainly for location tethered shooting (C1 pro and Canon DPP) and some Photoshop CS2.

Some requirements:
1) transfer rate from camera to laptop - as fast as possible (camera, usb2/1394, HDD speed dependent?)
2) refresh rate of raw files at 100% (for checking focus) - as fast as possible - processor or video card dependent?
3) powerful enuf to do PS on 1gig files with relative ease - 2 Gig RAM?
4) accurate screen (in terms of colour)
5) at least 15" screen
6) two HDD if possible - to do software/hardware RAID 0 or 1. (possible?)

I am open to using both Macs and PCs - whichever that i can get the fastest machine.

TIA

to satisfy all your requirements, I can think of 2 models...Sony's VGN-AR18GP and Dell's XPS M2010...of course they are both not on the cheap side...and both are heavy, especially the Dell...but they do have huge and high quality screens, powerful processors, the Dell can have up to 4GB RAM...and both can have 2 HDDs with RAID...and the Sony has a built in BlueRay disc burner...so if you have the budget and don't mind the weight, these 2 models would be great

 

[CyberCat]

you could try this forum http://www.notebookforums.com/ (very helpful)

 

[beachbum]

hi guys,

thanks for your suggestions!

 

[n0d3]

If you rely on Photoshop a lot, I would advise against getting the Intel Macs now as Adobe Photoshop etc. aren't universal binaries, meaning that they will only run under emulation which tends to be a little slow. Don't get me wrong, the new MacBook/MacBook Pros are fine machines, I myself use a 15" MacBook Pro.

Also, be sure to check what kinda screen your soon-to-be laptop uses, whether its glossy (Sony calls its something brite or something like that) or matte. For colour accuracy, go for matte screens.

If you can stick to your Powerbook first until Adobe releases updates for their sofware, then get a MacBook Pro.

 

[beachbum]

If you rely on Photoshop a lot, I would advise against getting the Intel Macs now as Adobe Photoshop etc. aren't universal binaries, meaning that they will only run under emulation which tends to be a little slow. Don't get me wrong, the new MacBook/MacBook Pros are fine machines, I myself use a 15" MacBook Pro.

Also, be sure to check what kinda screen your soon-to-be laptop uses, whether its glossy (Sony calls its something brite or something like that) or matte. For colour accuracy, go for matte screens.

If you can stick to your Powerbook first until Adobe releases updates for their sofware, then get a MacBook Pro.

yes, macs are fine machines indeed. but i will probably be holding out the purchase till the core2duos are available in laptops. those will really pump up the speed.

not tried glossy vs matt screens yet - but why NO to glossy screens? because of reflections? Or does the colours shift more noticebly when you view from diff angles?

The ability to do either RAID 0 is very tempting because of the huge files that we generate. Unfortunately Mac has no solution for this at the moment.

 

[nickmak]

u cud try the Dell Inspiron 9400 series...

 

[n0d3]

yes, macs are fine machines indeed. but i will probably be holding out the purchase till the core2duos are available in laptops. those will really pump up the speed.

not tried glossy vs matt screens yet - but why NO to glossy screens? because of reflections? Or does the colours shift more noticebly when you view from diff angles?

The ability to do either RAID 0 is very tempting because of the huge files that we generate. Unfortunately Mac has no solution for this at the moment.

Glossy screens saturate the colours a little more, so they tend to be nicer for DVDs/movies etc. but obviously not for photo editing. You can compare them side by side at Apple stores, the MacBooks (replaced iBooks) all have glossy screens while the MacBook Pros (the new Powerbooks) comes with matte screens by default and have gloss screens as an option. Reflections might affect your choice but they aren't really serious IMO.

For RAID solutions, I use a external firewire (beats USB2.0 anyday in terms of sustained output) two bay enclosure that supports RAID 1 (no redundancy) but I use it without RAID. There are ones with RAID 1, can try Storage Studio at Sim Lim Square.

http://www.genius-asia.com.sg/eg/index.htm

 

[Ola]

Glossy screens saturate the colours a little more, so they tend to be nicer for DVDs/movies etc. but obviously not for photo editing. You can compare them side by side at Apple stores, the MacBooks (replaced iBooks) all have glossy screens while the MacBook Pros (the new Powerbooks) comes with matte screens by default and have gloss screens as an option. Reflections might affect your choice but they aren't really serious IMO.

For RAID solutions, I use a external firewire (beats USB2.0 anyday in terms of sustained output) two bay enclosure that supports RAID 1 (no redundancy) but I use it without RAID. There are ones with RAID 1, can try Storage Studio at Sim Lim Square.

http://www.genius-asia.com.sg/eg/index.htm

RAID 1 is mirroring
RAID 0 will have no redundancy.

 

[n0d3]

RAID 1 is mirroring
RAID 0 will have no redundancy.

Whoops, typo there.

 

[alwayschampion]

Go for those Core 2 Duo based notebook with 1 GB DDR2 ram and SATA HDD will do.

 

[ExplorerZ]

Go for those Core 2 Duo based notebook with 1 GB DDR2 ram and SATA HDD will do.

there is one acer lappy with this 2 requirement (not sure about sata hdd) for sale in comex now @ about 2.8k

 

[ST1100]

Beachbum, unless you're really willing to splurge, i suggest you put down a ballpark budget. Some of these laptops can go near S$10k after upgrading, esp with 2x2GB RAM.

 

[beachbum]

i am keeping a close watch on the market now since core2duo is out on the laptops now. my budget should ideally not exceed $5k (thats the usual price for a powerbook/MacPro).

maybe i will wait till MacPro comes with core2duo chips, then i compare with what the PC laptops have to offer. Phyical form factor design, screen and OS wise, i prefer Mac. But i am still toying with the ideal of having two internal HDD to do raid 0. Will carry an external HDD for backup, so no need to do raid 1.

 

[alwayschampion]

In the recent roadshow, LG is selling its Core 2 Duo notebook at $1999. The notebook is made in korea too. That's a plus point.;p

 

[jdredd]

current mac intel dual cores cannot run CS2 natively... as they use rosetta emulation. so just something to bear in mind. but all should change when CS3 gets released.

but, one alternative is to run CS2 in XP on the macbook, which does run natively. ... can use mac OS for aperture for initial workflow.