Photography, as an art, is about the photographer’s eye for capturing a moment. However, all photographers must rely on a camera for their work and most digital cameras today come with incredible software that can modify and enhance images. Photographers often adjust and edit photos after taking them and for this purpose, they tend to carry around a trusty portable laptop. Laptops have become essential for photographers and if you happen to be a professional or a hobbyist seeking the perfect laptop for editing your photos, this list is dedicated to you.

MacBook Pro 2018

MacBooks are known for the numerous tools and apps they offer and for their resilience and smooth functioning. This year’s MacBook Pro might just be the best laptop Apple has come up with till date. Not only is it portable and one of the best-looking laptops out there, but the MacBook Pro 2018 also offers seamless performance for its users. This is especially handy for photographers who require a great deal of processing power in their laptops in order to edit RAW images.

The MacBook Pro 2018 has quite a few advantages over its Windows-powered competitors. For one, there are numerous shortcuts and tricks available for the applications it runs. However, its greatest strength and defining quality, which marks it above all its competitors, is its sophisticated and hardy internal make-up. If it were not for the equally awe-inspiring price that might cripple your bank account, this laptop might well have been a perfect device in an imperfect world. The MacBook Pro 2018 comes with Intel’s 8-gen processor which gives it a 70 percent performance boost over its predecessor, and the enhancement certainly helps in making the editing experience more fluid and free of glitches.

Another thing to note on this laptop is the display. Although on paper, it may not be as good as the 4K displays on some of its competitors, Apple’s Retina display with a resolution of 2880 x 1800 is able to pick up the subtlest changes in tone and lighting and therefore, promises a very satisfactory viewing experience.

With that said, there are a few flaws on this impeccably expensive device. The lack of necessary ports (there are only two) is definitely a disadvantage for photographers and others who tend to carry around several memory cards and external hard drives. Then there’s the fact that this device is far from affordable and well over the price range of the average person—it starts at Rs 240,900 for the 256GB 13 inch model. The MacBook Pro 2018 is also available in a 15-inch display variant. The MacBook Pro 2017 is also available in Nepal and though this device is not as capable as the 2018 model, it is still a great laptop if you are a little short on money.

Dell XPS 15

The Dell XPS 15 series is well known for its proficient processors packed into a small portable body. With the addition of a new 8th generation processor, the latest device in the series is arguably the best so far.The Dell XPS 15 9570 is no slouch when it comes to performance. Equipped with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti GPU and the aforementioned 8th-gen processor, this device will breeze through even the heaviest of applications. It is probably among the best performing laptops available in the country right now. If you are a photographer, this device is well suited to all your needs.

The XPS 15 boasts a 15-inch display with bezels included along the borders. The images are bright, vibrant and tend to have a high contrast ratio. This device is available in two display variants—the 4K and the 1080p. If you are an inveterate perfectionist and want to modify and adjust even the smallest of pixels on your pictures, well, this device is perfect for you, as it’s 4K version is one of the few devices capable of such a task. The 1080p version, unfortunately, is not on par in terms of processing. However, it is a perfectly capable device and you can save a few thousand rupees by opting for this version instead.

Unlike the MacBook Pro, the XPS 15 comes with quite a few ports that will definitely come in handy for photographers. However, it also happens to share the exorbitant price tag of its main rival, at over Rs 220,000. Mind you, the XPS 15’s model from the previous year is still available, and it remains a great device that can be got at an affordable price.

Lenovo X1 Carbon The Thinkpad series from Lenovo has been a favourite among people working in the financial sector for some time now. The latest device in the series, the X1 Carbon, remains popular among businesspeople; however, it is also well suited for photo editing.

The Lenovo X1 Carbon is a premium ultrabook that is fast functioning and light weight. One of best features in this device is most definitely its display—14-inches in width with a 2560 x 1440 resolution— which will be ample for your photography needs. Its display offers users Dolby Vision HDR which certainly helps in making images ‘pop’. There is also a giant battery inside that will give you over 10 hours of battery life. Although the bezels surrounding the display is not the most aesthetic, the 469 nits of brightness and 199 percent sRGB color gamut they provide makes this one of the best displays on any laptop available right now.

The Lenovo X1 Carbon might have Intel’s integrated graphics, but the overall performance is still top-notch and the 8th-gen processor makes it so this device can tussle with the heaviest hitters on the market. You can count on this device to deliver a great editing experience.

HP Spectre x360 15

The HP Spectre x360 15 is a convertible laptop that includes a pen, which the company calls ‘the Active Pen’. This device sports a 15-inch 4K display resolution with 319 nits of brightness, which is a decent amount.This laptop, like all the others on the list, comes with an 8th-gen processor. The 8th-gen processor coupled with an NVIDIA MX150 graphic card and 16GB RAM makes it a formidable device and the envy of many a photographer. The HP Spectre was rated among the best performing laptops of 2018 due to its seamless processing and the developer’s unwillingness to compromise on any aspect—basically, the HP Spectre is a jack of all trades and performs well on all fronts.

It might not have the best battery of the lot, but it does have a very capable one. The laptop includes a full-sized SD card slot and ‘the Active Pen’ is definitely a plus point for photographers as it gives them a real advantage when engaged in meticulous editing work.