Computer recommendation

[Scott]

Hi all!

I'm looking for recommendations for a new computer. My Wife and I are going on a photographic workshop/excursion to China soon, and we will be taking lots of pictures. LOTS of pictures! Optimally we will dump our memory cards to a hard drive each day. It seems the only way to do this is to take a laptop computer with us, plug in the hard drive and a card reader, and transfer the pictures. We do have a laptop, but it is big and heavy, so we are looking for a small lightweight computer that will serve the purpose.

We have done some looking, and we think the best size would be one of the 11.6" models, or thereabouts. We would like a real computer, not inclined to a chromebook. We would like a reasonable memory and hard drive, if possible a SSD larger than 64, but a regular hard drive would be OK. It needs to have USB 3.0 ports, and a built in full size SD card reader would be nice. We are not big fans of Windows 8 or 10, but we are good with Win7. I know, that really narrows it down! And because this is kind of a specific use item, it would be nice to keep the price down. I don't think my Wife would go for a Mac.

Please, any recommendations are happily accepted! And if you also have a good place to purchase, that would also be welcome! We have looked at both Amazon and Newegg, but they seem to have only refurbished like this. Not that I have anything against refurbished, but the return policy is quite restrictive.

Thank you!

Scott.

 

[mecompco]

I'm partial to Win 7, but it may be tough to find one with that OS any longer. Win 10 would be my second choice. I would never buy a new laptop with a spinner--get an SSD. Pick up a big flash drive if you're going to be storing gigabytes of pictures (also makes a great backup--if the pix are irreplaceable, I'd get two flash drives and each of you take one). As to the make and model, I honestly don't think it matters.

MacBook Airs are nice, but it almost killed me to spend that kind of money when I bought one from my Daughter's college graduation (even with the educator's discount). Nice machine (I use one myself that the school provides), but a grand is a bit much for what you get.

Regards,
Michael

Oh, yes, I've been in the PC biz since the early 90's, a tech in our school district's IT Dept. for the last 15 years.

 

[Jimbes]

You don't "need" a computer

Sure, if you want a new computer you could bring it with you and use it for storing your photos. But, a computer is not necessarily the best way to archive your pictures while on the road (or air, or whatever). There are numerous reader/storage devices on the market. With hard drives so cheap storage these days is (to me) practically free. A computer takes up a lot more space than a reader/storage device.

I've used Hyperdrive storage devices to store images. I also have taken my Mac Air on trips. I always will have at least 2 copies of images. Another option is to simply keep the images on the cards you use in camera. Again, they're so cheap, practically, keeping the on the cards and not transferring them to other storage is not a bad option. Do you know the difference between a "raw" image and a "jpg"? If not, you may want to read up on that. To save space and get the best images, shoot raw and do not make a jpg copy. To save a lot of space, shoot only jpg, but that will not give you the best image. However, if you shoot only raw you have to know what to do with the images once you get them on a computer.

What you can do is determine how large an "average" photo from your camera is, and determine the amount of storage you'll need. Alternatively, your camera may tell you (an approximation) of how many images your card can store. Buy a bunch of cards and don't reuse.

Of course, if you want to look at your images in a decent size, you'll probably want a larger screen. I do like my Mac Air for that. They're not the cheapest solution.

I'd be glad to help any way I can. If you'd like to see some images I've taken you can take a look at Panoptic Photography

Jim

 

[wouldentu2?]

My memory card is 32G and holds thousands of pictures and many videos. I would get several cards and not download them, but buy a small computer, laptop, or notebook if you still want access on your trip.

 

[markfettback]

MacBook Pro all the way is the best.


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[chartle]

One thing I hope you already know is that in China none of your apps for your phone like google Maps and most "normal" websites like Google and gmail will not work.

I subscribe to some expat Chinese YouTubers and one posted a vlog talking to someone who had just landed in mainland china. In Hong Kong everything was ok but on the mainland he had access to nothing online and so he lost all the info he needed to connect with people he was meeting.

I just bring this up because some may say to use an online service.

With the right knowhow you can use VPNs to get around the Great FireWall of China but not sure how to get that info and they are not always reliable.

 

[PenPal]

Sure, if you want a new computer you could bring it with you and use it for storing your photos. But, a computer is not necessarily the best way to archive your pictures while on the road (or air, or whatever). There are numerous reader/storage devices on the market. With hard drives so cheap storage these days is (to me) practically free. A computer takes up a lot more space than a reader/storage device.

I've used Hyperdrive storage devices to store images. I also have taken my Mac Air on trips. I always will have at least 2 copies of images. Another option is to simply keep the images on the cards you use in camera. Again, they're so cheap, practically, keeping the on the cards and not transferring them to other storage is not a bad option. Do you know the difference between a "raw" image and a "jpg"? If not, you may want to read up on that. To save space and get the best images, shoot raw and do not make a jpg copy. To save a lot of space, shoot only jpg, but that will not give you the best image. However, if you shoot only raw you have to know what to do with the images once you get them on a computer.



What you can do is determine how large an "average" photo from your camera is, and determine the amount of storage you'll need. Alternatively, your camera may tell you (an approximation) of how many images your card can store. Buy a bunch of cards and don't reuse.

Of course, if you want to look at your images in a decent size, you'll probably want a larger screen. I do like my Mac Air for that. They're not the cheapest solution.

I'd be glad to help any way I can. If you'd like to see some images I've taken you can take a look at Panoptic Photography

Jim

I was lost in the majesty of your photographs as a photographer of 60 yrs plus taking I went the people route, appreciate the enormous results you have on your site.

Kind regards Peter.

 

[PenPal]

We have beaut friends with family in China the twin daughters have lived in Australia for about 8yrs and are fluent , one is close to Beijing? spelling and when I visit the Mum and Dad we talk on a program called we chat it leaves other free programs for dead and the visuals are always crystal clear with excellent speech.

Just saying.

Enjoy China.

Peter.

 

[Edgar]

Definitely keep at least 2 copies of your photos -- 3 if at all possible. Every hard drive WILL fail at some time - count on it and expect it to happen at the worst possible time, so be prepared.

When I go on a trip, I take my AirBook, at least one USB hard drive & extra SD cards. I also try to upload my photos to my ftp server if I can get access to reliable, hi speed wifi. I always shoot some photos with my iPhone, so I also carry some USB thumb drives to store those photos onto as well as storing them on the hard drive.

In this case, I would probably take 2 hard drives plus extra SD cards with me.

 

[jttheclockman]

Is there concerns with today's security methods of damaging cards and storage devices??? Maybe something to keep thoughts on too if you happen to have in your pocket or somewhere vulnerable.

 

[Jimbes]

Is there concerns with today's security methods of damaging cards and storage devices??? Maybe something to keep thoughts on too if you happen to have in your pocket or somewhere vulnerable.

I've not had any problems. I suppose if they start using MRI machines, we would have to take note. I did see something about them using CT, so it's probably not too far fetched!

Jim

 

[Jimbes]

I was lost in the majesty of your photographs as a photographer of 60 yrs plus taking I went the people route, appreciate the enormous results you have on your site.

Kind regards Peter.

Thank you Peter.
Jim

 

[Skie_M]

Metal detectors can play havoc with portable hard drives and laptop hard drives that are not properly shielded ... get a decent solid material case for your equipment and possibly look into having a Faraday cage built into it.

x-ray equipment is likely still in use in China, but it shouldn't bother digital devices.

Pack spare batteries ... in fact, you may also want to go out of your way to include a spare Li-Po recharge pack so that you can recharge on the go. They are fairly lightweight and decently reliable.


If you're more concerned about the cost issues .... but still want the reliability of an SSD, then go with a model with 32 - 64GB onboard (for low cost and reliable function) and carry a USB drive with 1TB capacity to store the actual data en masse ... take the photos you want to keep safe for sure on a small USB thumb drive .... say 128 GB, or a couple of 64GB drives if you want multiple backups. Get in the practice of taking pictures during the day, dumping to the portable drive at night and gleaning the pictures that are definite keepers at that time to the USB thumb drive.

 

[magpens]

If you find a place to buy a NEW machine with Windows 7, please let us know !!

 

[Scott]

Thanks everyone! We are talking in the range of 10,00 to 15,000 pictures. We shoot RAW. I use a Nikon d7100 with two 32gb cards (Delkin black). My Wife shoots a Nikon d5500 and she has one 64gb card (again, Delkin black). More SD cards are a possibility. We have two 1tb external USB drives by Toshiba we can back pictures up onto.

Scott.

 

[Jimbes]

Thanks everyone! We are talking in the range of 10,00 to 15,000 pictures. We shoot RAW. I use a Nikon d7100 with two 32gb cards (Delkin black). My Wife shoots a Nikon d5500 and she has one 64gb card (again, Delkin black). More SD cards are a possibility. We have two 1tb external USB drives by Toshiba we can back pictures up onto.

Scott.

Looks like in uncompressed 14bit raw, your d7100 stores just under a 25M file. If you shoot only uncompressed raw (and not "+jpg") and I did the math right, you'd need about 350G to store 15,000 images. 2 1T drives is more than sufficient for 2 copies of each image. Any PC will handle the job. The drive for the PC's OS doesn't really matter, unless you're planning on making a 3rd copy and storing it on the PC. Then you'll probably want a 500G drive. SSD would be better, of course, but unless you're storing the images, I would think you'd save some money by buying a smaller spinning drive just to hold OS software. The amount of memory you have, in my opinion, is more important for any PC.

I assume you're going to use a fast card reader (take a spare) and not directly from the camera.

Then there's the question of what size SD cards you're going to use; a few big ones, or more smaller. Though I've not used SD cards extensively, I have had a "pro" CF card go bad (totally lost the images), so that could be a concern.

I bought my Mac Air years ago for this purpose. I do like it, but it' not the cheapest way to go. I bought a Hyperdrive (many years ago) because at that time, it was cheaper than buying more CF cards. I still use a newer version for backup.

However you go, ENJOY!!!

Jim

 

[Scott]

I wanted to post a follow-up to this question I asked a while back. We are leaving for our trip to China later today. We looked at lots of little laptop computers. And most of them were not great. So we decided to just take the laptop we had, a Dell 15" with Windows 10. I signed up to take a class on Capture NX-D, a photo program put out by Nikon. I fired up the laptop the night before the class and ran it through the updates a couple of time, just so it wouldn't do it during the class. I got to the class and fired up the laptop, and sure enough it started installing updates again. I was an hour and a half into a two hour class before I could even bring up the program I was learning. Yes, I was frustrated!

So my Wife surprised me and suggested we look at a MacBook! We found an open box of last years model at Best Buy, and picked it up. Oh my! It works so well! Very fast, and no bothersome mandatory updates every time you turn it on. And did I say fast?

So to everybody who recommended a Mac, even though I said we weren't interested, thank you! Now wish us well on our trip, and I will post some pictures when we get back.

Scott.

 

[aldjmc]

If you plan to do any post processing on that laptop it better have some horsepower, especially if you are shooting in RAW. I would say you need something with a quad 4 processor if you can and as much RAM as you can get. Stay away from the big box stores, but if you must, look for the ASUS brand. My experience with ASUS has been excellent.

 

[Penultimate]

Congratulations on your MacBook welcome to the other side.
Mike
Proud Mac user since 1985.


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