No, the page you’re on is correct. This website continues to be about cameras. On the other side, laptops are such adaptable tools that they can be used in any industry, including photography.

Any photographer, whether a pro or a hobbyist, needs a laptop. The fantastic material you just captured will eventually need to be edited. The laptop’s ability to run the editing application is more important than your editing prowess or knowledge.

I’ve been placed in a difficult circumstance; I can’t lie. I have to look for affordable laptops that won’t break the budget in addition to the finest laptops for editing.

Let’s get correct to it and list the laptops that have shown their ability to run editing applications.

Top 5 Best Budget Photo Editing Laptop

5. Lenovo Ideapad 3i – Best Value

Let’s start with the Ideapad from Lenovo, which delivers unbeatable pricing.

Lenovo’s Ideapad 3i, a recently released laptop with several clever tricks, is now topping all the rankings for cheap and mid-range laptops.

Regardless of price, Lenovo has a reputation for making stunning notebooks, and the new IdeaPad 3 is no exception. Thanks to its brushed metal lid and keyboard surround, it doesn’t seem to be a cheap laptop. Considering that it barely weighs 2 kilos, transporting is a snap.

The sleek keyboard is well laid out, has a dedicated function column at the top, and has decently sized keys in addition to the unusual up and down arrows.

The display has a fundamental FHD (1920 x 1080) resolution. Nothing radically novel may be seen here.

It has an Intel Core i5-10210U Processor (4-Core, 1.6 GHz) under the hood, reaching a maximum turbo frequency of 4.2 GHz. A fast connection is provided by this CPU, which also prolongs battery life. It makes use of Intel UHD Graphics, an integrated GPU.

The main attraction, in this case, is, without a doubt, the RAM. It has a sizable 20GB of DDR4 SDRAM. On the other hand, the storage is superb and comes with a 512GB SSD. It won’t fall short in terms of performance when it comes to editing on a tight budget.

The battery life isn’t spectacular, but it’s also not terrible. It is somewhat satisfactory and, in some respects, fair given the cost.

4. Acer Aspire 5 – Most Affordable

Look no further, stop what you’re doing, don’t waste any time, and acquire the Acer Aspire 5 right now if you need a laptop that will fulfill your needs but is on a limited budget.

The Aspire 5 is a very inexpensive laptop with performance that is on par with mid-range PCs. This laptop is a lifesaver for photographers who are still in school or simply need a laptop for basic editing.

The Aspire 5 is the definition of simplicity. Another reason I like it is that it’s neither extravagant nor flashy.

Its silver hue, aluminum finish, and 3.97-pound weight make it the ideal travel companion.

It has a gorgeous 15.6-inch display with a maximum resolution of 1920x1080p, which has vivid colors and sharp, clear frames. I can’t possibly lie about it or embellish it.

Although the display falls short of the higher-end models the competitors offer, it is still a fantastic deal.

The Asper 5 has a powerful CPU, the AMD Ryzen 3 3350U Quad-Core, and superior graphics capabilities while mainly intended for students and on-the-go productivity. Its major fault, that it only has 4 GB of RAM available, prevents it from being the ideal laptop.

On the plus side, it can be upgraded, and I would suggest doing so since picture editing uses a lot of RAM. It have a 128 GB NVME SSD, which may be plenty for many people, but I would suggest extending it since it has that option.

A decent quantity of 10 to 8 hours of battery life is offered.

3. Apple MacBook Air – Best For Mac Users

The Air is a stylish laptop that shouts simplicity and luxury at the same time. As anticipated from Apple, it is available in three colors: gold, silver, and grey.

It weighs just 2.8 pounds. Don’t be deceived by the thinness and diminutive size of the screen; it is composed of premium products that make it durable and long-lasting.

On either hand, using the keyboard is quite peaceful, and pressing the buttons is an incredible sensation.

The 13-inch screen of the MacBook Air has a total resolution of 2500 x 1600 pixels. It has a well-known retina display from Apple. Retina displays, which are IPS LCD & OLED displays with higher pixel densities, are featured on this laptop. This laptop distinguishes out from the competition because of its gorgeous display.

It is powered by Apple M1, another homegrown component that rocks the CPU industry. The eight-core Apple M1 CPU is 3.5 times faster than the previous generation. Everything you throw at it, including editing, simple activities, and even gaming, will be handled easily.

It back with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD for memory and storage, but you can upgrade to a 512GB SSD for a greater cost. Nevertheless, I think 256GB is plenty.

A MacBook Air that I had the chance to test effortlessly lasted 8 to 10 hours while using some demanding editing tools.

2. Lenovo Legion 5 – Best Runner-Up

Lenovo is on the list again, but this time with the Legion 5, a well-known gaming laptop.

Gaming laptops often work best with editing software because of their robust components, plus a little gaming now and again can’t harm, right?

The design is fantastic as always. The prismatic Legion logo is located on the top-left side, and it features thin bezels and a phantom blue hood. Additionally, it has a dazzling RGB-colored keyboard.

The 15.6-inch full HD IPS display boasts a 165Hz refresh rate, a 3 ms reaction time, and 100% sRGB color accuracy in terms of display. Additionally, it supports AMD FreeSync Premium and Dolby Vision®.

An AMD Ryzen 7 5800H CPU with eight cores, a base clock speed of 3.3 GHz, and a maximum clock rate of 4.4 GHz powers the laptop. This fast CPU is combined with a dedicated Nvidia RTX 3050Ti GPU, a 512GB NVMe SSD, and an enormous 16GB DDR4 RAM in Legion.

I can’t sugarcoat the battery life, and I won’t lie about it. When you consider the potent performance this laptop provides, it’s not amazing, but again, neither is the price.

It should be used for a total of 5 to 6 hours. Given that it’s a laptop rather than a professional one, it makes sense.

1. Acer Predator Helios 300 – Best All-Rounder

The Acer Helios, one of my all-time favorite laptop lines, comes in last but certainly not least.

A strong laptop with a gorgeous design! Given that it is made of durable materials and is available in black, this laptop should endure for a long time.

Even though it has an “aggressive” and “heavy” design, it only weighs 2 kg and is categorized as a portable laptop.

The 15-inch screen’s Full HD display boasts a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution and a 144 Hz refresh rate.

On either hand, the keyboard is a very cozy full-size plus design with RGB lights that will brighten your day.

Thanks to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 and Intel Core i7-11800H CPU, you’ll enjoy an extremely strong editing session. Doesn’t end there; it also has 512GB of SSD storage and 16GB of RAM.

This Helios can only run for 6 hours because of the components’ high power requirements, which is respectable for a gaming laptop.

Buying Guide: What to Look for When Purchasing an Editing Laptop

While the laptop’s general quality should be considered, certain aspects are more crucial than others when it comes to editing.

Display

The display on your laptop should be excellent first and foremost.

The screen that shows your material, no matter how attractive it may be, serves no purpose. A good display should show the colors in the proper sequence, with the appropriate brightness, vibrance, etc.

It is not revolutionary, but it is possible that the greater the screen resolution, the larger the screen. If you edit movies, the refresh rates also come into play; once again, the smoother your video, the easier the editing process is.

Processor

The CPU, which keeps the computer going, is its beating heart.

You’ll want a powerful computer to operate tools like Photoshop, Photoshop, and Illustrator, just like a picture editor.

Yes, a strong CPU is necessary to run such picture editing tools properly. You don’t want them to often crash or lag.

CPU may be hard to understand, at least for me. Ask a computer-savvy friend or conduct some study before purchasing your laptop.

Purchasing a laptop with such a weak CPU that cannot run the software you want will necessitate an upgrade, costing you money that might have been used elsewhere.

RAM

The available quantity of RAM should also be considered while editing photos. If your computer has maximum RAM, you can edit photographs more quickly. A computer with greater RAM can handle more demanding tasks since it has more resources.

The minimum free space required for picture editing software is 8 GB.

But 16 GB is more than is recommended. As a consequence, you’ll find that everything moves along more easily. Additionally, it enables you to build considerably more layers.

Storage

Despite their appearance, images may use storage space.

This is something that photographers ought to be aware of, especially those with limited capacity, which is used too often to replace and remove the SD Cards.

An SSD or an HDD will be used for your laptop’s storage. Both of them have advantages.

Your laptop’s overall performance will rise significantly thanks to an SSD yet having less storage space available. The HDD, on the other hand, is much slower but provides a lot of storage possibilities, including 1 TB.

A 256GB SSD should be higher than enough, in my perspective. However, it is more of a personal finder issue.

FAQs

Which photo editing programs are the best?

I probably think of Gimp as a “killer alternative” to Photoshop, with Photoshop or Gimp just behind it.

What features should a laptop have for editing photos?

A laptop should be equipped with a CPU that can run the editing software, a respectable GPU, whether integrated nor dedicated, a sufficient quantity of RAM, and storage.

Which PC do the majority of photographers use?

Since every photographer has their preferences and won’t buy a laptop simply because another photographer has one, I cannot properly respond to your question. Photographers use all of the computers above, but if none of them appeal to you, simply look for one made by a well-known company.

Conclusion

The laptops on my list are all affordable and worth considering.

Even while there are more expensive models that provide superior overall performance, the laptops above are still a fantastic value for photographers on a tight budget.

However, even if you have the necessary equipment, you cannot have the correct concept.

In other words, you should be as imaginative as you can. It’s all about inventiveness; even the latest flagship won’t cut it if you don’t feed it.