Are netbooks any good for editing images?

[waffley]

As the title says really!
I wanted a new laptop for doing pp on my images, but can't find any with non glossy screens unless I am prepared to pay a lot of money for a business machine with a very poor spec.
Now I have found some 11.6"/12.1" netbooks with matte screens, but I am just wondering if this is a large enough area, and if anyone had used a netbook for this purpose!
Many thanks

 

[eduk]

As the title says really!
I wanted a new laptop for doing pp on my images, but can't find any with non glossy screens unless I am prepared to pay a lot of money for a business machine with a very poor spec.
Now I have found some 11.6"/12.1" netbooks with matte screens, but I am just wondering if this is a large enough area, and if anyone had used a netbook for this purpose!
Many thanks

They are barely usable for browsing IMO.

 

[senu]

Seriuosly..
3 things will hold you back

1. Most Editing software will want a bit more ( or work far better) than the specs most Netbooks have
2. The graphics cards and RAM most have may prove limiting for more than just basic editing especially when a lot is loaded in memory
3. The small screens with thier fairly basic resolution , I would find , say limiting YMMV

You dont need a " glossy " screen but a decent size even 15" with a bit of Ooomph wont go amiss
All IMHO of course.

 

[waffley]

Thank you for all the opinions and advice so far!
I already have a PC with 22" monitor, but wanted something portable as well for various reasons.
The reason I was thinking of a netbook rather than a laptop is the lack of laptops with matte/non-glossy screens. For medical reasons glossy screens cause me quite a few problems I know it sounds weird doesn't it!
I don't do much work on my images. The usual adjustments if necessary - mostly tweaking sharpeness, noise, cropping, and straightening, and very occasionally, brightness, white balance etc.
I've had a look at PC World, Comet, Currys etc and didn't find one non-glossy screen amongst them.
Not sure what to do now.....:'(

 

[shotokan101]

Thank you for all the opinions and advice so far!
I already have a PC with 22" monitor, but wanted something portable as well for various reasons.
The reason I was thinking of a netbook rather than a laptop is the lack of laptops with matte/non-glossy screens. For medical reasons glossy screens cause me quite a few problems I know it sounds weird doesn't it!
I don't do much work on my images. The usual adjustments if necessary - mostly tweaking sharpeness, noise, cropping, and straightening, and very occasionally, brightness, white balance etc.
I've had a look at PC World, Comet, Currys etc and didn't find one non-glossy screen amongst them.
Not sure what to do now.....:'(

Can't you get some form of screen overlay such as a large sheet of screen protector film ?

E.G. something like this - it's anti glare :-

http://www.meritline.com/lcd-monitor-screen-protector-035---p-36016.aspx?source=fghdac



Jim

 

[eduk]

Thank you for all the opinions and advice so far!
I already have a PC with 22" monitor, but wanted something portable as well for various reasons.
The reason I was thinking of a netbook rather than a laptop is the lack of laptops with matte/non-glossy screens. For medical reasons glossy screens cause me quite a few problems I know it sounds weird doesn't it!
I don't do much work on my images. The usual adjustments if necessary - mostly tweaking sharpeness, noise, cropping, and straightening, and very occasionally, brightness, white balance etc.
I've had a look at PC World, Comet, Currys etc and didn't find one non-glossy screen amongst them.
Not sure what to do now.....:'(

Take a look at business class laptops like HP Compaq, I've not bought any in the last 12 months but all of ours are matte, I hate glossy.

 

[Throttle]

I have a netbook that i use for holidays or during break at work which its ideal for and does a good enough job, but i wouldn't recommend using one for editing even though i've managed just about with it on holiday on the odd photo.

 

[OrbitalPete]

Netbooks are really surfing only; they're too lobotomised to funtionally run anything for image processing. They're not even practical for MS office. It's one of the reasons the netbook market is stagnating; people thought they were just small laptops.

 

[SPRINGERS]

Take a look at business class laptops like HP Compaq, I've not bought any in the last 12 months but all of ours are matte, I hate glossy.

Hi Waffley agree with the above, a nice secondhand IBM T60 would probably do you, look on the "bay". Originally over one thousand pounds you can pick a good one up for under 300! Also has a spill proof keyboard and is ultra portable, have a browse and see!

 

[lyserman]

I took Springers advice and got myself a mint T60 from the bay for £224.
It is just the ticket for me as I can also use it for live viewing when I am experimenting in the studio.
Only downside is a 60GB hard drive but for £33 it is getting a 320GB replacement.

 

[bren-escape]

I only had a netbook for a while and although you could do editing on there I could not load any RAW programmes, particularly the Canon DPP one. The screen size ###x### was not big enough.

Was a right pain as I only really shot in RAW

 

[heman]

Netbooks are great for browsing, simple word editing, and the odd downloading. As echoed above, not really powerful enough for image editing.

If its in your price range you can pick up a Macbook with a matte screen. They are most definitely powerful enough to image edit, and have great screens (although I prefer the glossy versions).