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blitz
11th October 2011, 03:45 PM
My laptop has finally bitten the dust, so I need to get another one.

this time I thought I would get one with the camera in mind, to upload pics and use photoshop etc. I am open minded regarding apple or 'normal' ones, my brother raves about his apple - I have never used one, the graphic arts teachers I have spoken to all recommend apple, I have no idea I just want one that I can carry with me for when I do FIFO and also use for the camera?

Any thoughts

bee utey
11th October 2011, 04:26 PM
How much dust and water is the laptop going to see? You could look for a toughbook on ebay, they seem to be pretty rugged.:)

TrustedReviews.com abuses the Panasonic ToughBook CF-30 - YouTube

WhiteD3
11th October 2011, 04:39 PM
I'll preface the following statements by saying I hate Apple products, do not understand how to operate SWMBO's Macbook Pro and detest their marketing strategies and being tied to iTunes.

But


If I were buying a laptop with photography in mind I'd buy a Macbook Pro. The screen image is fantastic, the battery goes forever, they turn on in a few seconds, backup works perfectly and is quick, etc.

Bushie
11th October 2011, 09:07 PM
Do you have a copy of photoshop for the apple/PC or will that be an extra expense ?

Something to consider.


Martyn

dmdigital
12th October 2011, 06:14 AM
Portable, light weight, fast, robust (no moving parts), excellent battery life - the MacBook Air can't be beaten. However there are cheaper alternatives. The MacBook Pro would be my next choice.

Remember you can run Windows on Mac's now days too.

When travelling I keep my MacBook Pro in a Pelican laptop case.

blitz
12th October 2011, 10:12 AM
Do you have a copy of photoshop for the apple/PC or will that be an extra expense ?

Something to consider.


Martyn

No I dont that will be something I will have to get as well.

I have purposely held off in buying anything as I have simply been getting my head around the 'new' technology of DSLR's to me there is an accurate analogy between records and CD's mostly superior but a richness was lost along the way; this is where photoshop and the like come in.

dmdigital
12th October 2011, 08:34 PM
If you don't need Photoshop consider Lightroom or if you go Apple then there is also Aperture. Both are excellent without the really advanced editing of Photoshop. Also if you couple either with the Nik Software collection (or Topaz's plugins) then it really works wonders.

blitz
13th October 2011, 09:39 AM
If you don't need Photoshop consider Lightroom or if you go Apple then there is also Aperture. Both are excellent without the really advanced editing of Photoshop. Also if you couple either with the Nik Software collection (or Topaz's plugins) then it really works wonders.

This is stage 2 of getting the computer, I dont really think I need something as advanced as photoshop at this stage. I think I would rather just enhance the photo's rather than completely change them but until I get to play I really dont know.

blitz
13th October 2011, 09:58 AM
How much dust and water is the laptop going to see? You could look for a toughbook on ebay, they seem to be pretty rugged.:)



looked good until I found the price :eek:

I could buy good second hand defender for that :D

mfc
2nd November 2011, 10:49 AM
If you don't need Photoshop consider Lightroom or if you go Apple then there is also Aperture. Both are excellent without the really advanced editing of Photoshop. Also if you couple either with the Nik Software collection (or Topaz's plugins) then it really works wonders.

plus 2 for lightroom, cs3 has been relegated now as all but heavy manipulation is best done in lightroom

Hoges
2nd November 2011, 11:42 AM
I had the same dilemma... I had the use of daughter's MBPro for some 6 months and everything worked flawlessly...backups /photography etc etc but I was continually frustrated at the lack of simple stuff which the MS OS does very well.

I looked around for a replacement when the MBP went home to Cape York with daughter.

I ended up buying an ASUS N53S with a true (1080p) screen, quadcore i7 CPU and 16GB RAM. Runs Win7 Home Premium 64bit and a full factory 3 yr warranty. Also has USB3 port, HDMI etc and got it for $1300, which is about $1000 cheaper than the equivalent MBP.

Why: while I found that while the Apple OS boots/shuts down very quickly it lacks several features which totally frustrated me... there's no "delete" key on the keyboard, I find Windows Explorer invaluable for keeping things in order, I could not run my Black Box Solutions OBDII diagnostics for the P38 :twisted: nor sync outlook with my iPAQ PDA ...yeah I need a new phone..but the PDA also has an App for clearing faults and recalibrating the EAS on the P38 should the need arise... (once!).

I did put an upgraded HDD (500Gb) into the MBPro (7200 rpm SATA) (in place of the 160 GB,) and partitioned it with a 32Gb FAT partition to take the Windows OS...I used XP Pro Service Pack 3) Ultimately was a waste of time ...I developed a split personna :eek: Also I really didn't want to have to go and fork out $$$$$ for the Mac version of Office...

Came to the conclusion that the Apple stuff is quite good but there's a lot of hype and cult behaviour associated with the brand. The Win7 shuts down very fast and is only 10-15 seconds behind the Mac on boot time

Frankly if I want real fast action I go LINUX /Open Office in the partition I put on the new machine... runs like a cut snake!

EDIT:
Sequal to the story: I had the MBP in the first place because daughter's colleague mishandled it and cracked the display screen...by replacing it myself it saved her about $850. It had sat in her unit for several months and she finally had to buy another because she needed it for her work and the effective changeover price was going to be about $1000 based on the first quote to fix the broken one..
So I said if it was spare I'll replace the screen...

Well the second MBP suddenly refused to fire up... when she was visiting on leave I swapped the HDDs but still it refused to fire. Did a heap of other checks ...stuffed logic board. Can't get a new one but maybe a refurbed one for $800-1000!
So we upped the RAM in MBP#1, upgraded the OS to 10.6.whatever, and she was gone back to the Cape... all systems go.
Very disappointing for a 3yr old machine... Well at least if the screen goes on the original again I have a brick with spares!

Hoges
2nd November 2011, 11:50 AM
I had the same dilemma... I had the use of daughter's MBPro for some 6 months and everything worked flawlessly...backups /photography etc etc but I was continually frustrated at the lack of simple stuff which the MS OS does very well.

I looked around for a replacement when the MBP went home to Cape York with daughter.

I ended up buying an ASUS N53S with a true (1080p) screen, quadcore i7 CPU and 16GB RAM. Runs Win7 Home Premium 64bit and a full factory 3 yr warranty. Also has USB3 port, HDMI etc and got it for $1300, which is about $1000 cheaper than the equivalent MBP.

Why: while I found that while the Apple OS boots/shuts down very quickly it lacks several features which totally frustrated me... there's no "delete" key on the keyboard, I find Windows Explorer invaluable for keeping things in order, I could not run my Black Box Solutions OBDII diagnostics for the P38 :twisted: nor sync outlook with my iPAQ PDA ...yeah I need a new phone..but the PDA also has an App for clearing faults and recalibrating the EAS on the P38 should the need arise... (once!).

I did put an upgraded HDD (500Gb) into the MBPro (7200 rpm SATA) (in place of the 160 GB,) and partitioned it with a 32Gb FAT partition to take the Windows OS...I used XP Pro Service Pack 3) Ultimately was a waste of time ...I developed a split personna :eek: Also I really didn't want to have to go and fork out $$$$$ for the Mac version of Office...

Came to the conclusion that the Apple stuff is quite good but there's a lot of hype and cult behaviour associated with the brand. The Win7 shuts down very fast and is only 10-15 seconds behind the Mac on boot time

Frankly if I want real fast action I go LINUX /Open Office in the partition I put on the new machine... runs like a cut snake!


EDIT Sorry for double post...