If you are thinking can you use a photo image editor and get good quality consistent digital photo images? The answer is no, largely because the use of the screen, that is often self limited in such things as bit-depth, and in various light conditions, and at all kinds of angles, will be too many variables and the resulting images will be processed irregularly. Most who use a laptop successfully for digital photography editing get a good desktop LCD display to plug into the laptop and use it in a controlled, consistent environment.

Thanks for the info. I'll look into the laptop and check out a seperate monitor to use when i'm home. Any ideas on what monitors I should look at?

I just finished and sent in a report on the NEC MultiSync P221W Spectraview that is a complete package of 22 inch, wide color gamut display, plus software and colorimeter to easily and accurately obtain ideal adjustment, calibration and profiling. When I looked the other day the entire package from Amazon,com was $725.

Thanks David. I'll take a look see and see what I can do. This looks like it might be the best approach for me.

I have had quite a number of Shutterbug readers who use a laptops and a desktop LCD display for photography editing. It seems to work for them and is less costly than two higher performance computers.

I would look at 20" or better monitors as well. The price has dropped considerably on them in the last year.

I keep a close tab on what is currently available in LCD displays that will actually support color managed operation and print output that is matched to the screen image in both color and density. There are all kinds of brand labels, but most are actually manufactured by the two big major producers Samsung and LG Electronics whether called HP or Dell. Nearly all of the new consumer home/office desktop models have in the last year or two been lightened in frame and stand, to reduce shipping weight from Asia, with usually few if any adjustments to change the angle, tilt or height.

They are all very bright and those with LED backlight usually even brighter, too bright to adjust, calibrate and profile for photography. And most are limited in color gamut to under 90% of Adobe RGB.

If you want any of these rather inexpensive LCD displays, forget color management (not even a lot of value in calibrating and profiling these too bright displays), and just use your printer driver to make color adjusted prints, and then hope the software gets the photo print the way you want it.

There still are good professional quality LCD displays with good solid adjustable stands, a wide color gamut, and that can be adjusted, calibrated and profiled for color/density matched prints out of Photoshop. They are made and sold by NEC Spectraview 2, Eizo ColorEdge, LaCie and one fairly reasonable cost Samsung 24 inch 245T model.