Posted by Howard Cihak on October 27, 2014 at 12:30 PM
I'm looking forward to retiring soon becoming permanently mobile, or very nearly so, in pursuit of my one great love, outdoor photography. Towards that end, I'm going to need to replace my desktop PC and high end 27" monitor with a 17 inch laptop.
My question is, can anyone recommend a brand/model of PC laptop that will permit calibrating the screen? I still plan to carry my Epson 2800 printer around with me in my travels.
All comments and suggestions cheerfully welcomed.
Posted by Bret Edge on October 27, 2014 at 4:39 PM
Jason Hatfield told me his Apple MacBook screen was calibrated. It was also super fast. I don't know which model he's using but if he doesn't check in on this thread I would ping him.
Posted by Grant Collier on October 27, 2014 at 6:26 PM
I think you can calibrate any laptop screen. However, most laptop screens still don't have great displays or color rendition even when calibrated. Here's a web site that might help http://bestlaptopforphotography.net/
Posted by Kurt Bowman on October 28, 2014 at 12:45 AM
Not sure this adds much, but the Macbook Pro with retina has a really good display for a laptop and it has an internal calibration you can use if you choose not to go with something external to calibrate the screen.
Posted by Scott Fricke on October 28, 2014 at 9:27 PM
I have 17" MacBook Pro that I've used the last 4 years or so. I can see little if any difference in color between my laptop and my MacPro desktop computer. Unfortunately Apple's current lineup only has 13" and15" screens, although I thought I heard a rumor of a 17" getting back into the mix. When I got mine 4 years ago I got flash storage, which has no moving parts and is supposedly faster and more durable. I love that I can pretty much leave it on most of the time without worrying about it getting jostled around. I spent about 35 days straight on the road this spring and found the laptop to be a good substitute.
Posted by Karl Buiter on October 29, 2014 at 12:06 PM
I have been looking at the HP ZBooks with the upgraded Dreamcolor monitor. They made a push at NAB promoting these and their full workstations as production-capable systems. The calibrated AdobeRGB space is 95% versus the 88% of the latest Macbooks from various reviews. Or you can find a separate monitor for studio work and not worry so much about the laptop monitor.
Posted by Monika Chace on October 30, 2014 at 12:59 AM
I use a Spyder 3 to calibrate and it has settings for laptops, but as Grant said, it's limited. If you're used to working off of a 27" monitor, I would think that switching to even a 17" would be hard on your eyes. Maybe you can mount your 27" monitor on a wall so it won't take up so much space?
Posted by Howard Cihak on October 30, 2014 at 11:18 AM
I appreciate all the feedback. I'd happily switch to a MacBook if it weren't for the fact that they cost, IMHO, way too much for what you get. Kinda like buying a Leica ... great if you crave the status symbol, but there's nothing it can do that other makes can't do just as well.
Then, there's the cost of all the PC software I'd have to replace for a MAC. So, no Mac, no thanks!
Posted by Jack Garrett on October 31, 2014 at 12:00 AM
Sorry Howard but you have to count me in on the MacBook Pro group. First of all, you cannot beat the retina screen for getting the best color and the internal calibration is amazing! You can get the Adobe lightroom and photoshop creative suite for $9.99 a month.
Second, I am an Apple Rep and sell MacBook Pros for a large computer store and let me point out a couple things. Yes, you pay more for an Apple product but they last 2-3 longer than a PC. I get people coming into the store every day looking to upgrade the Ram on 7 and 8 year old laptops....they last and last. They also hold their value. The first MacBook I bought cost $1000.00. I sold it 4 years later for $500.00. That will never happen with a PC...they are paperweights after 3 years. So, even though you spend more initially, you will have a rock solid computer that will give you years of faithful service...just my 2 cents worth. Dollar for dollar, they will wind up being cheaper than a Windows laptop.....and NO crashes!
Posted by Karl Buiter on October 31, 2014 at 1:50 AM
Hi Jack,,, keeping it simple not to start another battlle in 33 years of PC-Mac wars - and owning about everything from the Apple II, Apple ///, and early Macs, to the very Macbook 2009 13" aluminum I type on now - but also Alienware 9750 (real, not the Dell), HP laptops, Dell laptops, and several custom built boxes.....
I will say that Apple puts together a very polished and and generally very reliable package. You will pay a premium and AppleCare is a must should you like accidently splash some water on the keyboard and faced with an outrageous repair. The monitors are good, but if you look you can find better.
Most packaged PC's are crap. For desktops you can build an awesome box; my current i7 has a AsRock Extreme 11 board that has more SATA RAID capability than some data centers, 32Gb Ram, FirePro Video, and a pair of NEC PA 27"/24" monitors for 10-bit/channel workflow; and got it buying clearance and black friday deals. That said, I find very few PC laptops worth looking at and its unfortunate. Look hard and you can find Clevo / Sager boxes that were the OEMs for some of the high end units; perhaps the Zbook so long as Dell stays away from the HP split; and of course boot-camping a Macbook. On that point I delight in running Windows on a Macbook - though now that Adobe CC supports Mac and PC on the same license not so much) Of course, if one considers a PC laptop disposable...
Anyway, enough of that. You caught me at a weak point; I'd rather stay out of the wars.
Posted by Jack Garrett on October 31, 2014 at 7:24 PM
Karl, I agree whole heartedly that a custom desktop with high end monitors is the way to go. You have a great setup there.
Posted by Bob Falcone on November 2, 2014 at 12:37 PM
Howard, is keeping an external monitor that you can plug into your laptop when editing completely out of the question?
Posted by Roger Clark on November 5, 2014 at 9:04 AM
It is actually simple to find a laptop that can be calibrated. Look for backlit LED IPS screens. The problem with most laptops, especially cheaper ones, is they use an LCD panel with TFT technology. TFT can be made very thin and low cost. But contrast and color vary with viewing angle. You could in theory calibrate them, but then you need a device to hold your head in only one spot or the color and contrast change. With IPS panels, the viewing angle is large with little change in color or contrast except at very large viewing angles. There are growing number of laptops with IPS panels so there should be plenty of choices from many/most manufacturers.
There are no LCD monitors, including laptops with a color space larger than what the human eye can see. A few LCD panels get about 99% of the Adobe RGB color space, but even that is a fraction of the human color space (for normal eyesight).
Roger
Posted by Don Grall on November 15, 2014 at 8:36 PM
I've been using an Asus 13.3" ultrabook which has an IPS panel for accurate calibration for a couple of years now. It has a beautiful screen and am very happy with it. Highly recommended. It has an ssd and a 500gb harddrive as well. Here is a link to a current version http://www.asus.com/us/Notebooks_Ultrabooks/ASUS_Transformer_Book_TX300/
Discussion
13 repliesMy question is, can anyone recommend a brand/model of PC laptop that will permit calibrating the screen?
All comments and suggestions cheerfully welcomed.
Then, there's the cost of all the PC software I'd have to replace for a MAC.
Second, I am an Apple Rep and sell MacBook Pros for a large computer store and let me point out a couple things. Yes, you pay more for an Apple product but they last 2-3 longer than a PC. I get people coming into the store every day looking to upgrade the Ram on 7 and 8 year old laptops....they last and last. They also hold their value. The first MacBook I bought cost $1000.00. I sold it 4 years later for $500.00. That will never happen with a PC...they are paperweights after 3 years. So, even though you spend more initially, you will have a rock solid computer that will give you years of faithful service...just my 2 cents worth. Dollar for dollar, they will wind up being cheaper than a Windows laptop.....and NO crashes!
I will say that Apple puts together a very polished and and generally very reliable package. You will pay a premium and AppleCare is a must should you like accidently splash some water on the keyboard and faced with an outrageous repair. The monitors are good, but if you look you can find better.
Most packaged PC's are crap. For desktops you can build an awesome box; my current i7 has a AsRock Extreme 11 board that has more SATA RAID capability than some data centers, 32Gb Ram, FirePro Video, and a pair of NEC PA 27"/24" monitors for 10-bit/channel workflow; and got it buying clearance and black friday deals. That said, I find very few PC laptops worth looking at and its unfortunate. Look hard and you can find Clevo / Sager boxes that were the OEMs for some of the high end units; perhaps the Zbook so long as Dell stays away from the HP split; and of course boot-camping a Macbook. On that point I delight in running Windows on a Macbook - though now that Adobe CC supports Mac and PC on the same license not so much) Of course, if one considers a PC laptop disposable...
Anyway, enough of that. You caught me at a weak point; I'd rather stay out of the wars.
There are no LCD monitors, including laptops with a color space larger than what the human eye can see. A few LCD panels get about 99% of the Adobe RGB color space, but even that is a fraction of the human color space (for normal eyesight).
Roger