Extreme Netbooking

PCs for Photographers

I noticed that a few people are arriving at this site having searched for netbook photography or other mobile photo related computer terms.  As you have noticed this site is all for sharing photos of mobile computers, laptops, notebooks, smart phones or anything else!  But I thought it would be useful to gather some resources together so that I can point you in the right direction!

If you find this page useful, please say thanks by posting up one of your favourite photos featuring your portable computing kit.

Choosing the Right Laptop for Photography

Thanks to the new age of digital photography we now live in a world of instant feed back. Whether you are in the studio, on location or just on holiday with your family you are now able to view your photos instantly.  Having a laptop or ultra portable netbook with you affords a number of advantages:

• You are able to view your images on a larger screen
• With Internet access pictures can be sent to a publisher or uploaded to a website to be shared with the rest of the world
• You can backup your photos to the laptop’s hard drive, either protecting you from unfortunate loss or otherwise freeing up your camera’s memory card to take further pictures
• With a CD or DVD burner you can produce a disc of photos for your client, friend, or family to take away with them
• You can retouch images on the go, crop, edit, adjust before sending them on

It is almost hard to imagine how we ever managed before the age of digital photography, we seem to have come a long way from Polaroids and guess work!

Laptop versus Netbook

You may well be wondering what type of portable PC is more suited for photographers? These days there is a portable PC out there for every possible need, from the small cheap netbook class right through to fully functional desktop replacement laptops, so you can be forgiven for wondering how you go about finding the right one!  Well hopefully this section  should offer some tips!

It is probably not worth getting to hung up about labels, try and work out what you want from the machine and then go and find something that meets those requirements.  It is likely that there is something that will fit the bill, but you will need to be realistic.  If you are looking for a machine that is super light weight, fully functional then you will need to pay a premium for that.

Netbooks

Samsung NC10 Netbook

These are ultra portable and light weight.  This class of mobile computer is also known for being low cost but also low spec.  But don’t let that put you off, remember that today’s low specification easily outclasses high end PCs from just a few years ago.  So if this will be the first model you have bought for several years you will probably find that one of these will exceed your expectations!  I would recommend that photographers look for a netbook with at least a 10″ screen, you might even want to consider a 12″ model such as the Samsung NC20.

These devices are ideal if:

• You are planning on travelling light.  I have known friends go off back packing with a 3kg laptop and have had to ditch it for something smaller just weeks into their journey.  If weight is important then these are a great choice as most will weigh around 1kg (just over 2lbs).
• Low cost is important.  Netbooks represent some of the cheapest PCs around at the time of writing.  If you are off adventuring then it is likely that you don’t want to take something super expensive incase it is lost on the way!
• Have straightforward needs.  Netbooks are very good at getting you online and getting day to day tasks done, top sellers such as the Samsung NC10 are able to run applications such as Photoshop, but don’t expect editing to be a pleasurable experience.
• Want a long battery life.   because of their light weight specifications netbooks normally have a much longer battery life than high end laptops.  This is great news if you are away from a power socket and want something that needs to run all day.

And on the down side:

• With a small screen and low powered processor unfortunately you will find that these little PCs will struggle with full on photo processing.  If this is going to be your only PC then I would think you might appreciate something with a little more horsepower.
• The standard netbook specification won’t come with a DVD or CD drive, of course it is very easy to buy a slimline DVD burner which you can attach as and when you need it.

Notebooks

Samsung Q210 Notebook

The notebook is the next size up, in general they are more powerful than the 10″ portables but will often be less functional than the full on laptops.  Typically these models cover anything from 13″ to about 15″ but of course with so many manufacturers putting out such a variety of machines it is impossible to classify precisely.   As already mentioned, try not to get too caught up in the naming and thing carefully about what you really need.

Notebooks are:

• More expensive that netbooks
• Compact and light weight
• Fully functional, often coming with all the connectivity and media storage (DVD burner, SSD card reader, etc) that you will need.
• Shorter battery life

You will want to consider a notebook if you still need the portability and are happy to spend a little bit more money to get something with a bit more power!

Desktop Replacement Laptops

These machines are the real deal.  They are normally big beasts with large good quality screens, powerful processors, optical drives and everything else you could ever need.  If you are looking at having something portable but will realistically only be moved between a studio and home then this could be a good choice, especially if it will be your only PC.

These models can often be found with screens up to 17 inches or so, or occasionally larger!  And with high powered multi core CPUs and large disk drives they will be ideal for photo processing and storage.

Look at a desktop replacement Latop if:

• You don’t need something ultra portable.  If you are off travelling then please resist learning this lesson the hard way.  4-5kgs might not seem a lot when you set off but you will soon get tired of lugging a heavy weight around.
• You work a lot indoors. With all that extra power these machines cannot compete in terms of battery life.  Some models can only offer an hour of use away from the mains socket.  Longer battery life means bigger batteries and more weight.
• You want to process photos on the go.  Although smaller machines can handle applications such as Photoshop they are not much fin to work on.  To enjoy the experience and get the most out of it you really need a larger screen and a CPU able to process images quickly.

Ultra Light Laptops

Mac Air

This final option is for those who want it all – yes, it really is possible!  These machines are top spec PCs but have been engineered to be super thin and light weight.  Unfortunately the down side is that they can be very expensive relative to their cheaper cousins.

Purchase an Ultra Thin laptop if

• You have a big budget!  As with most things, you get what you pay for.  If you want a top line PC with a great screen yet is still light and portable with decent storage capability then it will cost you.  Of course as technology marches on this may change quickly but for now this is the reality.
• You need portability and functionality.   This class of mobile PC can offer top end components whilst remaining genuinely portable, if you are constantly on the move and need to keep working then give these a look.

There are a number of choices here, for example the famous Mac Air or the ultra thin range from Lenovo.

Further Reading

Mobile PC Resources

• Samsung Netbooks: The popular range of netbooks have proved a hit with photographers, although the smaller screens of the netbook class and the limited CPU power mean that this will never be a main Photoshop editing computer, for quick downloads, storage and viewing out in the field these machines are perfect.

Photography Resources

• Flickr: The worlds favourite photo sharing website.

Help Us Out…

If you have any suggestions then please let us know.