Which Laptop for a Photographer/Videographer?

Question

I am looking to buy a laptop in the next week or two. I have a very nice desktop and tons of external hard drives I use for my storage of all photos and videos. I am a professional photographer and I edit videos of our family about 3-4 times a week.

I need something that I can edit from while I'm spending time in the living room with my husband and 16 month old. I feel like I'm stuck at my desk constantly now. It will be a nice to get work done while still enjoying their company.

I would love to buy a macbook, but the $$$ just isn't there. I hope to stay under $1000, but we will see how it goes. I like the idea of a Core i7, but thought about going with an i5. I need some guidance one what you all think.

I appreciate your help!
Cheers!

Answer 1

If you're buying in the US, look up the ASUS N61Jq or the N53Jq, both you can easily find on sale for below $1000, usually around $900. Newegg.com and tigerdirect.com are pretty good places to look and usually will have them on sale every once in a while, especially tigerdirect.com.



EDIT:

Yes, it is worth the extra money to get an i7. Video rendering as well as image rendering in editing programs still does depend heavily on the CPU and it will definitely speed things up. Though both the N61Jq and N53Jq have the quad core, 8 thread i7-740QM just as an FYI :)

Answer 2

Any notebook with an i5 processor, atleast 4GB DDR3 RAM, a moderately powerful GPU (Video graphics processor) w/ atleast 1GB of dedicated memory and a 320-500GB HDD will do it. That's bacically the specs you need for a decent photo/video editing. Ofcourse, if you go top of the line, you can go higher than what I suggested.

Answer 3

Go onto apple.com and look for some refurbed MacBooks. They are pretty much the same as a new one, just pre owned. You get them for a cheaper price as well.