Brian

"Meh..." Is how I feel about the 2-n-1 laptops. Touch Screens can be a real P.I.T.A. to calibrate. Plus, I've held 2-n-1 units, it's a laptop that is pretending to be a tablet. It's still not a iPad or Samsung Tablet and they aren't as light as one either. If you want a tablet, get an actual tablet. LOL!! Spec-wise, it's not THAT bad. It hits a lot of the marks, though you are locked in at 16GB of RAM. Now, while that is perfectly acceptable for what you want to do, being locked in might have consequences a few years from now. That said, you are still using CS5, and 16GB is fine. My recommendation: You are "THIS CLOSE" but I feel you need to keep looking. The good news is that $1500 is a healthy budget for the laptop you are after and I feel that you can get one for less than $1200. Yes, you are looking at "Gaming" laptops. I know you aren't going to need all of the stuff that they come with but Photoshop and Bridge will like those features. Of course, if you go with a Alienware Laptop, $2000+ isn't out of the question. Key Things to look for: Intel i5 or i7 (Since you are running CS5, a i7 will only make a 5-7% difference in terms of speed.) 16GB RAM (Minimum) with the ability to upgrade to 32GB. Granted, 16GB is fine for you but I like options. 1TB HD - Going forward, Windows 10 is going to grab a chunk of HD space in order to have room for upgrades / patches. Do not be tempted by small 128GB / 256GB Main Hard Drives. These days 500GB HDs is pushing things and I feel 1TB at a Minimum is your best bet. Video Card with dedicated Video RAM. 2GB or 4GB is fine. Of course more is better. Windows 10 Home is fine for you. Power / Advanced Users should get Windows 10 Pro. 1920 x 1080 IPS Screen with a Matte Coating / Non-Glossy Finish or a true Matte Display. The reason I'm recommending 1920 x 1080, is that if you cram 3800 pixels into the same physical area, things are going to be smaller which defeats the purpose of a 17" screen for you. Of course some may suggest for you to lower your resolution, but why bother wasting all that money for a 4K screen if you aren't going to use it? So as you can see, you are headed in the right direction. Thanks for taking time to look at other threads.

Hmm...It sounds like it is a 21.5" iMac. Bummer. You can not upgrade (easily) the RAM on a 21.5" iMac. An Apple Authorized Repair Facility or the Apple Store will need to do it. The reason is that they have to completely disassemble the whole flippin' computer in order to get to the RAM slots on the back of the motherboard, as there isn't an access panel to get to the RAM like the 27" models. After late 2011 / early 2012, Apple removed the DVD Drive and took away the access panel to upgrade the RAM. Since Apple's RAM is extremely over-priced, by the time you would upgrade (at the time of purchase) the $1499 21.5" iMac to 16GB, you are at $1699 plus Shipping and Tax. That puts you $100 shy of a stock 27" iMac at $1799...which has an access panel that enables you can upgrade the RAM yourself. Combine that with better faster / components it makes a stock 27" iMac a MUCH better buy overall. So my advice? Start saving for a new 27" iMac. Personally, I wouldn't invest a dime into a current 21.5" iMac, they are a waste of money. Truth-be-told...I'm typing this on a 21.5" model from 2009. LMAO!! (The 2009-2011 models let you upgrade to 16GB. Heck, Apple printed instructions telling you how to do it!) Now Apple has really crippled the current-era 21.5" iMac computers and really wants you to "Go Big or Go Home." Translation: Spend more money!! Now for the hard drive. What EHD do I have? I use a 12TB Thunderbolt 3 G-Drive for my main backup EHD and a 4TB G-Drive USB 3.0 External that I use for Time Machine ONLY. Oh, the actual 4TB G-Drive that I actually own is no longer available, so I linked to a current model. Anyway, I don't mess around when it comes to my externals and have learned the hard way to not rely on the $79 special at a local Box-Store. I like G-Drives with my Mac computers. Yes, they are expensive but are fast and usually have decent components on the inside. I truly believe you get what you pay for, in both computers and photography equipment. Bonus: They come Mac-Formatted, though it's pretty easy to partition and format a HD to be used with a Mac, so this is just a small perk and only saves you about 5-7 minutes of time in the real-world. Honestly, I'm old school; I manually copy and paste and don't use a program to automatically backup stuff. The toughest part is setting up your file structure and routine...then sticking with it. Once you get that nailed down, copy/paste is quite easy. The "Set-It-and-Forget-It" method I'm not too keen on; too easy to become complacent and if the software fails, you won't be made aware that something is wrong until you go looking to restore things. Though there are several programs that do take care of things for you. Here is one article to give a read, and here is another. There are also ways to have the Mac OS do it for you but it's a really Geeky & Technical and requires command line stuff. I wouldn't bother going this route as it's meant for advanced users. I have current projects only stored on my main hard drive, and manually copy those files (via a copy and paste) to my external. I never have long-term backups of photos on my main internal HD. I also have critical files duplicated on another HD and stored off site. The really-really critical files on that duplicated drive are then stored on a Cloud Drive. So your idea of thinking about cloning the external is a good one. Now before we get all sorts of crazy, what kind of budget do you have to work with? Because I'm going to tell you...that you need to clear off more stuff on that Internal Macintosh HD. I'm talking getting at least 30% of space. Which puts you to around 300-400GB...Free at all times. Oh, one more thing? How much CRAP do you have on your Mac Desktop? The more files and folders you have stored on the Mac Desktop, the slower the thing runs. So in addition to your downloads folder, I want you to clean off your desktop. NOTHING should be on your desktop. (Ok, the current photos and stuff that you are uploading to FB, IG, your website, printer, whatever is fine...just don't leave them on the Desktop as their permanent home.) Truth be told, if you want to speed up your Mac for FREE, clear off the friggin' files and folders that reside on your desktop!! You don't need to spend ANY money on special "Memory Optimization" programs, etc. Save that money to put towards your new Mac.

My Book drives are traditionally 3.5” hard drives and Passports are usually 2.5” hard drives. Both are usually 5400 RPM, though the My Book Drives that get power from a AC Adapter could be 7200 RPM drives. It’s hard to say unless it’s spelled out on the box Basically, it comes down to physical size, Passport drives are more portable and are meant to be shoved into a laptop bag. My Books are geared towards sitting on a Desk somewhere and not moved often. Sometimes the utility software that does some sort of auto backup can also be different. That said, those programs that come with HDs usually aren’t THAT good at all; I personally never install those programs. They never work right. As far as capacity, the old “better not have all your data on one drive, that’s like having all your eggs in one basket!” mentality isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. The most vulnerable time for a EHD is when you connect it and eject it. Power surges as well. It doesn’t mean a damn thing if you have a 12TB or 1TB, if the drive fails, it fails. If you keep all your externals in your house and there is a fire or a pipe bursts and it damages your drives, and if you don’t have a duplicate of that HD at another location then it doesn’t matter. You still are paying for data recovery. Same thing with CF/SD/XQD/CF Express cards. Better not get a large card! You could lose too many images!! Then why do we have such large cards these days? Why not everyone go back to 1GB cards that hold 36 images? Let’s go back to the film days of 12, 24 and 36 exposures!! ? Personnally, I have a 12TB EHD. It never gets moved and my data sits on it. My critical/important files are duplicated to another EHD and it’s kept at a 2nd location. Some are backed up to a Cloud Service. Now if you want to only purchase 3TB HDs, that’s fine. If you do go larger, the partitioning process has an extra step since there is a 3TB limit with a MBR (Master Boot Record) partition type.

Notebook? You mean My Book? I'm not understanding.

Yes. Though I would set your slider to 15 min or turn on a screen saver. (Just like my screen shot above.) You don't want your display idling. While LED based displays aren't as prone to burn-in as older plasma-based displays, it is still good practice to either let them go dark or at the very least display a screen saver for long periods of inactivity. Head to your System Preferences and click on Desktop & Screen Saver. Click the Screen Saver Tab at the top. I usually choose "Flurry" in the left column for my Screen Saver. Then set the time to "Start after 10 Minutes or even 20 Minutes" if you prefer.

Head to your System Preferences. Click on Energy Saver and uncheck the box "Prevent Computer from Sleeping Automatically when the display is off." at the top. Also make sure "Wake for network access" is checked as well. If you have a laptop, this option may not be available. Here is a screen shot from my iMac:

You ordered the correct kit. The problem is the existing RAM in your computer. In order to get 32GB (or more if you have a 2017 iMac) you need two 16GB kits. So just buy the same exact part number and remove the existing RAM (the 4GB Sticks) and you will have a quantity of four, 8GB sticks for a total of 32GB of RAM. Most people will work fine with 16GB or 24GB but for those working on large files, like 16-bit images, editing video, or those people that have three browsers open with 50 running tabs each will benefit from 32GB RAM. So just find your receipt from your Crucial Order and purchase the same part number. It usually starts with "CT" or something along those lines along with a 8 or so digit code. If you want to keep file sizes manageable, don't flatten during editing. Honestly, Damien has been doing this a long time and I'd follow his directions, 16-bit before delivery. Editing in 16 Bit has it's place, but not for the normal 99% of editing. It's used when we need to work with more data / stuff in the image file to fix specific problems, like banding among other things.

I’m thinking your problem is one of two things: 1. MacOS Mojave. That OS seems to have a lot of quirks when it comes to PS. There isn’t any fixes that I’m aware of but Adobe has released a few updates 2. The Wanker that Damien mentioned. I’m thinking your techniques of creating your files is causing issues. Especially if your images come from a camera that has a 24MP camera (or more.) Your Files might already be huge and then you are working in 16 bit. ————— For your EHDs...I’m not liking how both of the externals are setup to be used with Time Machine. You don’t want to backup an external to another external while backing up your main drive. Pick a single External HD to be used for Time Machine and ONLY use that EHD for Time Machine Backups. Never-ever store regular data files on your Time Machine Drive. Life is too complicated as it is to have potential data corruption on a TM drive. Since you are working in 16-bit, we also might have to replace your two 4GB stick and install 8GB sticks to get you to 32GB. Run a scan from Crucial.com or find the box / receipt for the 16GB upgrade. RAM works the best if it’s all the same speed and type.

Think of your computer as a Library. You are the CPU chip, the bookcases are the hard drives, the shelves are partitions and the programs are the books. Are you with me so far? Inside this library are tables and chairs in addition to the books. The Table is the RAM. So say you want to use a program, lets use Photoshop for this example, so you go over to the bookcase and pull out the very large book called Photoshop. You then place it on the table. Now the "rules" state that none of the edges of the book can go over the sides and there needs to be a 1/4" gap between other items (such as other books, one called Bridge) and Photoshop. It all needs to be neat and tidy. The problem is, that the Photoshop Book gets larger and larger. There are also other things on this table. A laptop, a bag of some sort, a lamp, a drink...all sorts of various things. These "things" are background processes/drivers and other programs, that are all competing for space on the table. Since PS is using at least half of the table, the CPU chip (You) needs to spend lots of time shuffling things around, because you need to keep that 1/4" gap between things at all times AND you can't go over the edges of the table. This is the "slowness" that you are experiencing, all that shuffling around since PS is so massive these days. Speaking of Photoshop and resources. Head into the PS Preferences. How much RAM have to told PS to utilize? 70%? 80%? The reason that I ask is if you have that to a high percentage, PS will take more of your available RAM to perform better. Now this isn’t a problem if you have a large amount of RAM, like 32GB, but is an issue with 4GB or 8GB. Therefore if you tell PS to take advantage of 75% of your available RAM, that leaves 25% for everything else, including Windows. That’s why things slow down. Keep in mind, that we are just taking about PS loaded. If you have Bridge, Chrome with multiple tabs open, plus all the other stuff, your 8GB of RAM becomes an issue. Most folks seem to lock into their Hard Drive Capacity; the how much stuff can it hold portion of their computer when it comes to memory. “It’s gotta a 1TB. I’ve got plenty of room...” They also need to pay attention to the other side, where the programs go when loaded.

Check out this thread: We configured a Dell XPS 8930 and bumped up a few things. Since you are doing video, you will need a bit more, like 32GB or RAM and more HD.

Bridge and Photoshop are taking half of your RAM, all by themselves. Plus you have multiple tabs open in Chrome (looks like to be about 9 or 10) and then there is all the other stuff that's running, CrashPlan, Antivirus, Etc. Each time you open a browser tab, it takes a chunk of RAM. LOL!! Also, Chrome is not color managed. I hope you aren't judging any photos from within Chrome. Anyway, you need more RAM. Period. 8GB is no longer sufficient for your needs. Hopefully we can get you to at least 16GB, or even higher, like 24GB or 32GB. Head to Crucial.com and run their Scanning Tool. Post a screenshot of its findings.

Interesting. Actually, it's processes that we need to look at. So click on that Tab (in Task Manager) and give me a few screenshots. You might want to click on the top of memory column / portion to display which process is using the most memory. The next thing I want you to do is to head to crucial.com and download / run their scanning tool. I want to see if your laptop can go up to at least 16GB of RAM.

Not as much as you think it would. Killing a Service or two will only be a drop in the bucket; meaning you could kill services and only get a 1% boost in speed. I need more info about your computer. Would you mind filling out this form? Details About Your Computer's Health What I did notice is you are running McAfee Antivirus / Web Monitoriing. McAfee is a resource hog. If you let your subscription lag, I've noticed computers get really slow. These days I recommend is Webroot Internet Security Plus. I am very curious about how much RAM you have and how full the HD is.

Unless a service is hung up or is using up all of your available RAM, they should be left alone. Why are you in there? If you are trying to get more RAM available, then we should be looking at RAM upgrade options for you.

Meh. The sun is at the wrong angle. It needs to be 90° to the camera’s lens for the greatest effect. So I would make an L with either your left or right hand and have your thumb point to the Sun. Your index finger will be where the lens should be pointed at. I would try testing on a sunny day with poofy clouds. Rotate the ring on the CP to make the sky more blue and the clouds white. Oh, keep in mind there will be a loss of a stop or so when you mount the CP. whenever I use mine, I automatically bump the ISO to 400.

Sweet!!! SSD drives are WAY faster and the bonus? Don't require that much power to run. So you should get more battery life while travelling. As for the RAID, I agree. Having more space is always a good thing. The downside to a RAID 1 setup is data corruption; if a file is corrupted on one drive, it is automatically corrupted on the other drive. I think your problems have been fixed. From what I can tell, I think the majority of issues that people are having with and existing botched up Windows and the latest round of Adobe updates just aggravate things. Since you have a clean slate to work off of, future Adobe updates should not be an issue going forward. Enjoy your new Hard Drives.

Amazon Polarizer? No. I use a Nikon Circular Polarizer or would purchase a B+W one. My recommendation is to always purchase a high-quality polarizer due to color-shifts on the cheaper models. That said, it's $16.50. I would try it out first and pixel-peep. You might have found a good deal or you could discover a pinkish or orange hue to your photos. Either way it's good to know what you are dealing with before heading out. Now for the strap, that is an eternal question. I use a over the shoulder strap and know what you mean. If you are truly hiking and climbing, you might be better off with a backpack. Which is another Pandora's Box. I almost bought a Mindshift 26L but that bag isn't big enough to hold gripped bodies, like my D4s. I ended up with a ThinkTank Shaper Shifter 17. Now for the darkside to backpacks, sure the Shape Shifter fit ALL of my Gear, when it was all said and done, it was over 40lbs. LOL!!! I think it was about 49 lbs. Ugh. Not the best when hiking all day in the dessert. Going forward, I'm thinking about getting a Nikon D850 and the newer version of the Nikon 24-70 and just stick with that. When playing tourist, that's usually what I end up shooting with 99% of the time.

The reason that Zack is a white seamless guy is the type of Photographer he is: A Commercial, Editorial and Corporate Photographer. If you go into any supermarket, take a look at their magazine section. 95% of the Magazine Covers will have a person / model on a white background. It’s easy for the Graphic Artist doing stuff to work with a white background. If you have enough room, you can turn a white background to a grey one or even make it black, all by positioning of your lights and the distance between your subject and background. What’s killing you is your lack of room. Especially 7’ High ceilings. The light is just going to bounce around. What you want is 20’ High Ceilings. So you might want to invest in a seamless black / gray background. Thanks for the link I will watch it later on my computer.

That’s a good example. Another one would be someone who never gets an oil change and wonders why their car breaks down.

Oh yeah. The Windows 10 updates alone...you NEED high-speed internet. Fingers crossed.

Just in case you have a corrupted operating system. It's something that you could do that shouldn't cost you any money if you did it yourself. I'm not saying to just re-install windows, I'm saying you nuke the computer (format it and take it back to day #1) and reload everything fresh. To be honest, I have no clue why PS is not seeing your video card or why its doing what it's doing. Since updating the driver seems to temporarily fix things, I'd say you do have a software / driver problem. The only way to fix that type of problem is to remove / re-install drivers, update to a newer driver or if those options do not work, format the HD, re-install Windows and reload everything from scratch. Of course, the third option is the last resort; however, I've been doing this process lately with customer's computers and even their servers. Back in the Windows XP days, I used to format my HD twice a year due to weird issues / garbage that it would collect during normal use. It seems that we are back to those Good 'ol Days.

If it's working, leave it alone. Honestly, I personally think the majority of issues are with people's computers that are screwed up to begin with and the PS CC 2019 update just aggravates pre-existing conditions. It seems that those who have the most problems don't have a clue on the health of their computer, they just "update" without thinking. Or having a decent backup for a catastrophic event. Software is volatile, and while it might seem that things should work perfectly for the most part, that is not the case at all.

Paid software is almost always more powerful than the free stuff. Though no software is 100% fool-proof. That said, $29.99 for Recuva is not a bad price at all. Personally, I have used Data Rescue and have recovered some important images that got accidentally deleted on my Mac, and RescuePRO Deluxe Software works really well. RescuePro Deluxe recovered even more than Data Rescue. The problem with labeling something "THE BEST" is that its all relative, usually based on personal experiences.

Can you provide a link to the video in question? You are correct, your typical flash is not powerful enough to over-power the Sun. There is also the Inverse Square Law to deal with so I really need to see what voodoo he is trying to sell.

Fresh install / format might help things. You will more than likely have to download the driver from Asus, even though it's an Nvidia card. The power brick also concerns me, you might want to get that replaced first. Personally, I wouldn't throw any money at a laptop. In fact, I'm very anti-laptop, especially for photo editing. The biggest problem with laptops, is that they only last for a short time. Not only from a hardware standpoint, but driver updates as well. Laptops today get orphaned so quickly; back in the day, you'd have a Spring Line and a Fall Line of laptops. You could get all sorts of accessories for it, a year or two after purchase. Now...you are lucky if the laptop model stays current for 90 Days. So what would I do? Backup everything, and format / reset the laptop / reinstall windows, etc. etc.