Digital BW, The Print

I went the other way from you - for the last 12 months I've been using a Dell Inspiron 8200 (1.8Mhz CPU, 40Gb hd, 512 Memory) for everything, and a pair of fast (Firewire) external hard disks. It has done everything that I need but I have avoided *heavy* Photoshop tasks while in the field. 

The external disks are about twice as fast as the internal.

I use it with a 21" Illyama Vision Master Pro monitor, and it performs sufficiently well for editing I do. For files of 200-300Mb I would not recommend this setup. 

You haven't mentioned space limitations on a laptop. Even if I leave 15-20Gb free this is not sufficient for a heavy shoot over several days - e.g., if I'm doing an architectural survey. I do not like to burn this quantity of CDs, even though I currently have no option. However, I do use a Sigma camera, which means each image takes up roughly 10Mb. A peculiarity of this setup is that I do a fair amount of batch processing of raw images, since the Sigma comes with *very* smart software.

When I looked at upgrading the memory, the cost was more than buying a reasonable base unit for the office (the www.crucial.com recommendation may change that).

If you need a better preview facility, you could considerer a standalone LCD display that is driven from the camera, or  - as has been suggested - a micro laptop.

I am looking at using a portable MP3-player type device for photo storage during a trip, as I really don't like having carry a large laptop, especially on aircraft.

In your situation I might turn the old desktop into an image storage/print server, buy a new base unit with a fast CPU but not much disk space to be upgraded later, and buy a micro laptop for the previewing.

Julian
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Sam McCandless 
  To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Monday, October 04, 2004 6:20 PM
  Subject: desktop-replacement notebooks (was Re: [Digital BW] QTR/OSX/7600 -- upgrade report)


  I changed Sanders' subject only because I'm more curious about how 
  well various notebooks (Windows or Mac) work when used at the front 
  end of the process. Especially in combination with a second display 
  at home and with a digital camera when away from home or office.

  As long as my old desktop works ok, I thought I'd use it to drive my 
  printers and scanners. And maybe get a new notebook to use with 
  Photoshop and a digital camera. As far as others have already figured 
  out how this can best be done, I'm curious to know their conclusions 
  about how well it can be done.

  I'm uncertain which would be more valuable, a new desktop for 
  Photoshop (CS/8 I'm assuming) or a new notebook on which I could see 
  what a digital camera had captured before getting back home. It's not 
  a space issue for me: my place is small, but I have room for either 
  configuration on my corner unit because my printers are on a separate 
  cart. I would, however, like to avoid buying both a new desktop and a 
  notebook as well as a digital camera.

  Thanks.
  --
  Sam


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