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Laptop resolution for photo editing

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  • Mar 20th, 2014 1:34 pm
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Member
Nov 29, 2006
481 posts
191 upvotes

Laptop resolution for photo editing

Looking to get a new 15.6" laptop used primarily for photo editing in Lightroom and Photoshop. There's a noticeable price further between 1920x1080 screens versus 1366x768. It's it necessary to get full hd for my needs?
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Mar 24, 2004
8683 posts
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Toronto
Yes. Go to 2560x1440 if you can. You'll want all the resolution you can get. 1366x768 isn't that much space to work with at all. Just try using any other computer and force it to that resolution and you'll see what I mean.

Ideally you'll want an external monitor (or two) to be more productive ...
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Aug 13, 2012
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1080 res on 15.6 display is a must
¯\_(・_・)_/¯
Deal Fanatic
Feb 16, 2006
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Vancouver
1920x1080 on a 15.6" screen but for serious editing you will probably want to get a decent external monitor, both laptop and monitor should have an IPS or PLS or AH-MVA LCD panel matrix for best viewing angles for color accuracy.

The biggest problem with most laptops is that their back lights do not have a spectrum that covers the full sRGB color space let alone the "wide gamut" AdobeRGB color space.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Colorspace.png

Most laptops have back light gamuts that cover only about 50 to 67% of the sRGB color space. Some approach 80% and a few have 94% or better. Furthermore, it is not consistent within a brand or size or model with different screen resolutions.

For instance... the ASUS N550JV, a reasonably priced multimedia laptop with an IPS LCD matrix in its' 15.6" screen, has a backlight that can cover just 80% of sRGB. ~ $1150. Last years' ASUS UX32VD 13.3" ultrabook had near 100% sRGB coverage of its' 1920x1080 13.3" IPS panel.
  • The Lenovo 14" T440S with 1920x1080 IPS panel has about 97% sRGB coverage. ~ $1700 w/8GB RAM, i5-4200U, 256GB SSD, Intel 4400
  • The new Dell XPS 13 with 1920x1080 IPS panel has 94%. ~ $1700
  • Lenovo Yoga Pro 2 with 13.3" 3200x1800 IPS type (IGZO??) has 97%. ~ $1200 (but maybe still some issues with a color push except if calibrated)
The HP Elitebook 8770w 17.3" workstation offers an IPS panel and 100% coverage of the sRGB and AdobeRGB color spaces, for a small $2500 - 2900 fee.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-HP- ... 367.0.html


There are a few others, far more today than a year ago. I use these websites to get info on gamut coverage.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/

http://www.digitaltrends.com/laptop-reviews/


Even the cheapest 23" or 24" 1920x1080 or 1920x1200 external monitors with IPS panels and 96% - 99% sRGB coverage will cost under $250 and with hardware calibration will be dead on color accurate. So it may be worth your while to get a gaming type laptop with a TN panel and only 67% coverage and to get the most CPU, RAM, and Drive size for a good price and add an external monitor for the best color. You can use one of these gaming laptops on the road for basic editing and to check that you got the shot.

Also, the internet is essentially sRGB but software used for editing may be configured to edit in a wider working color space - Adobe CS6, etc has an AdobeRGB native gamut which you can change to sRGB but Lightroom uses ProPhotoRGB and cannot be changed to sRGB. Not necessarily a big deal but something to be aware of.

.
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Nov 21, 2008
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North Vancouver, BC
NewsyL wrote: For instance... the ASUS N550JV, a reasonably priced multimedia laptop with an IPS LCD matrix in its' 15.6" screen, has a backlight that can cover just 80% of sRGB. ~ $1150. Last years' ASUS UX32VD 13.3" ultrabook had near 100% sRGB coverage of its' 1920x1080 13.3" IPS panel.
I have both, and the colours (why is with a Canadian site complaining about my spelling of colour?) are, to my eye, quite natural looking. Very sharp. The 550's CPU is powerful, and the system has both a GPU in the processor and a separate NVidia GPU. The UX32VD display is a bit too small for me, but the device is smaller and a lot lighter.
Deal Fanatic
Feb 16, 2006
5264 posts
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Vancouver
robertz wrote: I have both, and the colours (why is with a Canadian site complaining about my spelling of colour?) are, to my eye, quite natural looking. Very sharp. The 550's CPU is powerful, and the system has both a GPU in the processor and a separate NVidia GPU. The UX32VD display is a bit too small for me, but the device is smaller and a lot lighter.
"... are, to my eye,....."

That is the problem. The human eye is easy to fool and is not reliable as an instrument of calibration.

But I agree, the screen does look great and colours natural but the reality is that a portion are missing. You would notice the difference if you put the laptop next to a full spectrum desktop and calibrated both with a colorimeter so that they as dead accurate as both can be.

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