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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Laptop question again-Vaio or Fujustu
Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 9:14 PM on 02.09.05 |
->> Of the members here who use a SMALL laptop-UNDER 3 pounds...which one do you use? Since MAC doesn't make a small one (their smallest is 4.6 pounds) what are considered good specs for a PC?
So far the smallest laptops seem to be the Vaio and Fujistu. Vaio has discontinued the really small one (1.1 pound PC).
Again-ONLY looking at laptops that are as light as can be-anything over 3.3 pounds would be out.
Any input/what to look for/what to avoid?
It will be used basically only to edit/transmit in a hurry
THANKS
Debbie |
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Louis Lopez, Photographer
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Nik Habicht, Photographer
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Stephen Voss, Photographer
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Portland | OR | USA | Posted: 11:32 PM on 02.09.05 |
->> Hi Debra,
I have a thinkpad x40 which weighs in at about 2.7 lbs. I've had it for about a month and it's perfect for me, so easy to carry around and it has incredible battery life (around 6 hours with basic battery saving options on). It also has a really solid keyboard, something that's lacking from a lot of the sub-3 lb. notebooks.
If you have any questions about it, I'd be happy to try and answer.
best,
Stephen |
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Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 12:00 AM on 02.10.05 |
->> what specs do I need in a PC that will be used ONLY for imaging and transmitting. I already have a CD/DVD burner for the MAC that I assume will work with the PC. I know I need Photoshop and an editing program-what else should I look for. I think the speed is different from a MAC-is it?
Stephen-is the Thinkpad 2.7 pounds with the battery attached?
THANKS
Debbie |
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Michael Stevens, Photographer
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Phoenix | AZ | USA | Posted: 12:20 AM on 02.10.05 |
->> I've got the Fujitsu Lifebook S6200 series (http://webshop.fujitsupc.com/fpc/Ecommerce/buildseriesbean.do?series=S62) and love it. It's small with a 13" screen and has all the Centrino mobile stuff in it so I've got a built in wireless g card. It's light, although I don't know the real weight, their website says it's under 4 pounds.
They've got one version with a 40 gig hard drive and CD burner but I got the upgraded version with an 80 gig hard drive and a DVD burner. Both come with 512 megs of RAM which has been plenty, even though we all know you can't have too much RAM when it comes to PhotoShop. 512 is enough for manipulating images in the field. You won't be able to make huge, multi-layered posters as easily but for most you wouldn't try that on a 1024x768 screen.
Speaking of which, 1024x768 is the highest resolution this little 13" screen will go. That kinda sucks but it just means one more CTL + to get to 100% in ACDSee. Not a huge deal.
Battery life is pretty good. I think I can get 3 hours of "normal" use. If I'm batch processing a bunch of files in PhotoShop and thus the machine is chugging away constantly you'll probably get less. The CD/DVD is in a modular bay which can accommodate another battery if you choose to buy it. I've thought about it but haven't looked into the cost.
Good luck,
Mike |
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Warwick Patterson, Photographer
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Whistler | BC | Canada | Posted: 12:23 AM on 02.10.05 |
| ->> I will never buy another Sony laptop after having so many problems and horrible service turnaround. They have a local service centre in Vancouver and it took over 3 weeks to get my laptop back to me. My new toshiba took 3 days to get fixed. Sony also wanted $300 (Canadian) just to look at the laptop when the harddrive fried itself...not including the cost of repairing it!!! |
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Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 12:34 AM on 02.10.05 |
->> Michael,
I have been eyeing the P1120 but it says it has 256 RAM with no upgrades available. Is this enough for Photoshop? Again-it will basically ONLY be used in the field by myself and my husband when either of us needs to transmit images IMMEDIATELY (usually only up to 10 at a time or so) We are MAC users but the MAC is too heavy to lug around NYC all day when needed.
I have the IPAQ with Phojo which I am going to sell because I am unable to make folders when transmitting more than one image and my agency needs the images in folders. So for emergencies, I need a light backup |
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Stephen Voss, Photographer
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Portland | OR | USA | Posted: 1:25 AM on 02.10.05 |
->> Debbie,
I believe the 2.7 lbs includes the battery. There's also an 8-cell battery which weighs a bit more and gives you more battery life. |
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Wynn Rujiraviriyapinyo, Photographer
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Sam Santilli, Photographer
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Philippi | WV | USA | Posted: 8:55 AM on 02.10.05 |
->> Debra, I concur with Warwick...I too will never buy another Sony. My Vaio needed more memory, and it cost me $45 to call Sony to see which card it took...seems Sony used different parts in the same model. Then they did not have the memory in stock, had to go to a third party vendor who knew more about the unit than did Sony!
If it is not on the market currently, Sont could care less about it. Too bad, I am buying a new laptop this month.
BTW, the D70 I got from you is doing well as a backup. My office mgr likes it 'cause it fits her hands better than the D2h. We call it the girl's camera now! |
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Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 9:24 AM on 02.10.05 |
->> HI Sam,
glad the D70 is getting used. I miss the small camera. I agree with your office manager-it is a girl's camera! The D1X is so big that it definitely isn't made for a 5'2" person
Debbie |
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Joe Nicola, Photographer
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Fort Worth | TX | USA | Posted: 10:02 AM on 02.10.05 |
->> Anybody else getting hyperlinked words in the text of the messages here? In this thread, Debra's post has the word "laptops" hyperlinked to a search engine, while Michael's post has the letters "DVD" hyperlinked.
What's up with that???? |
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Sam Santilli, Photographer
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Philippi | WV | USA | Posted: 11:25 AM on 02.11.05 |
| ->> Joe, not on my screen, nut we had that problem before we did a clean sweep. Seems I had some spyware and adware in my computer. |
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Michael Stevens, Photographer
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Phoenix | AZ | USA | Posted: 9:10 PM on 02.11.05 |
->> Debra,
The basic rule of thumb for memory is 3 times your image size in memory for PhotoShop usage. I just opened an image from my 1D.2 and in PhotoShop it's almost 24 megs so THEORETICALLY 256 megs is plenty. But, that 256 is shared with other programs and system resources so you really don't have 256.
If all you're gonna do is transmit on site with some cropping and curve adjustments I think you'll be fine.
Mike |
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Zack Podell, Photographer, Assistant
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Marina Del Rey | CA | USA | Posted: 10:15 PM on 02.11.05 |
->> Michael,
I must disagree..... well, sort of. From everything I have read, Microsoft XP, and XP Pro both require between 128, and 256mb of ram, just for basic operation. I have a gig of ram in my notebook, and I have seen my cpu/ memory usage hit upwards of 85%, on a regular basis. for those of us who rely on our "road warriors" to get the job done, I highly recommend nothing less than 512mb of ram.
I AM NO EXPERT! I am basing this off of many conversations with computer experts, and my own personal experience. I trust and value the people I have asked, & for the most part, they were all in agreement on this topic.
I am not saying that your comp will crash, if you have less ram. I cannot predict that! I can, however, tell you that I have heard of them crashing, and I had mine crash once, (yes, even with a gig!). I follow the thinking, "Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it"
As for brand, Debra..... I posted on ur previous thread, and my views haven't changed.... Fujitsu long before Sony! Someone among us may be able to link the Customer service ratings for computer companies.... I think you should consider that as much as anything else..... I think JDpower does one...
Hope this helps.
ZAP |
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Craig Peterson, Photographer
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St. Petersburg | FL | US | Posted: 11:08 PM on 02.11.05 |
->> Debra,
I have been looking for the EXACT same thing you have, and after much help from SS member Mike Granse (thanks, Mike!) I have put together a laptop that should fit my needs at a great price.
I ordered a refurbished IBM Thinkpad 600x on Ebay from a seller with a good rating.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=31553&item=674255758...
I also ordered a CDRW, more RAM, PCI cards, and a battery (all bran new) from ebay.
All in all, I have spent less than $500 for a quality laptop.
12 gigs is fine, I'm starting with a clean slate and adding ONLY the software I need to edit and transmit in the field.....Windows XP OS, Fotostation, FTP Pro, and ISP software. All of which I already own. I'm even thinking of using Photoshop Elements rather than using the whole version of CS to save space.
I came out alright, considering I was going to purchase a new 13 inch Averatec laptop for $999....With a bunch of software and other crap I would NEVER use installed on it. I liked the idea of being able to "build" a computer to fit specific needs, and saved money doing it.
Craig |
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Ron Scheffler, Photographer
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Hamilton (Toronto area) | Ontario | Canada | Posted: 11:17 PM on 02.11.05 |
->> Someone email this thread to Steve Jobs.
I definitely feel if Apple is lacking in certain areas, one of them is in the small laptop department, as I write this from a 12" iBook. I think the 12" Apples are great, but could still be made smaller (thinner) and lighter. Battery performance needs some help too. Think about it - the form/design of the 12" iBook/Powerbook is from 2001...
Regarding Fujitsu vs. Sony... I bought an S series Fujitsu for my girlfriend and was impressed with the design and quality (did I also post this in your previous thread?). She's had a it a couple months now and is very happy with it, but her needs aren't exactly the same as yours, though one was for light weight (around 4 lbs.) I bought through www.portableone.com and had the computer in only a couple days (shipped to Canada), and prices there were good.
I'd suggest you consider adding more than 256 RAM. If the base configuration is 256, then add at least a 512. Depending on the model, this will only add about $50. Anyway, from my understanding of how Photoshop works, it likes to have a lot of memory (RAM), but also a lot of scratch disk space (free space on the hard drive for temporary invisible Photoshop files). Some recommendations I've read for scratch disk space are for at least 4-5GB. So, keeping this in mind, get more RAM than you think is enough (maybe 1GB would be better) and also a larger hard drive. Also consider getting a 5400 rpm drive instead of the base 4200 rpm models. The benefit of this will be that data transfer for all functions will be much faster (PS work, starting up the computer, etc.).
It might seem like overkill, but even if you are only going to be using the computer infrequently, there is nothing worse than working to deadline and having to wait for it to do its thing - just exactly that sort of frustration inspired me to upgrade the 20GB/4200 rpm drive in my iBook for a 60/5400, and it made a noticeable difference.
The Fujitsu P1120 seems a bit limiting. Only 256MB RAM, which will hinder PS. As well, the screen is quite small, though the resolution is the same as most 12" laptops. This means that everything will be very small and potentially difficult to read/see. I guess you'd want to take a look at one to see if you can live with this.
Now, if you can cut out Photoshop from your workflow, it might ease the burden on the computer somewhat... An alternative might be something like Photo Mechanic 4 for all your captioning, cropping, resizing and editing requirements, and send the files as is (no toning). PM4 also has built-in ftp.... I've practially stopped using PS when transmitting since I got PM4.
Hope this helps. |
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Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 11:35 PM on 02.11.05 |
->> Thanks again everyone for all the help here. As far as screens go for me and my husband, size doesn't matter but weight does. The desktop we use is actually 11 inches and my laptop is a 12" MAC.We are pretty used to looking at images small on the screen. I'm afraid 3 pounds may be too heavy to carry all day long.
Why doesn't MAC come out with a SMALL laptop??? |
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