The Best Notebooks for Photo and Video Editing

With the Asus ROG Flow X16, we tested a special notebook that turns into a 16-inch tablet with a foldable display and can be operated with the pen. This can be very useful for picture and photo work.

Thanks to mini-LEDs, the display is one of the best we tested and also one of the brightest, with up to 1,100 nits at peak HDR content. Contrast is very high and colors accurate, except for blue, which remained quite off with a Delta E value of 6.5 after our calibration. However, the model we tested extensively was a pre-release version, so the launch model could improve quite a bit.

The AdobeRGB and DCI-P3 color spaces are covered 100% and thus enable professional image and video editing. There are no compromises in performance either, a fast AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX and an RTX 3070 Ti, with a high 125 W TGP, deliver plenty of power. The hardware is equally suitable for gaming and can be enjoyed with the 165 Hz fast panel including 2.5K resolution and HDR1000.

The Asus ROG Flow X16 not only offers a high-quality mini-LED display and high performance, but also remains pleasantly quiet, cool and does not forget the frequent typists, who will appreciate the keyboard with 1.7 mm travel.

The overall package is rounded out with very good speakers, adequate battery life, 100-W power delivery, upgradeable RAM, and SSD that works very fast, which becomes especially relevant for large rendering files. However, Thunderbolt and USB 4 are not available, even though Asus could still add them via a software update. There are no other real drawbacks, even though PWM with 7,400 MHz is used to dim the display. The card reader is unfortunately only microSD.

Currently, users can purchase the device through manufacturer's online store for $2,399.

The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16 impresses with its very bright 16-inch display, quite long battery runtimes and a Radeon RX-6800S GPU. Our test device is powered by an AMD Ryzen 9-6900HX processor, which is why the Thunderbolt port is missing, though. Lenovo's laptop is very well manufactured, and there are no quality flaws in the aluminum chassis. 

However, it does not offer full 4K resolution, only 1,440p, while the AdobeRGB color space is displayed at 70 percent. As part of the redesign of the stable Neo 17, Schenker relies on a mechanical keyboard from Cherry, which we liked very much. 

A lot of graphics power, plus a great display. If you value that, you should take a look at Schenker's Gamer.

Schenker's devices are currently not yet available in North America.

Lenovo’s 16-inch Legion 5 Pro 16 G7 offers plenty of performance and an above average display, and it thus secured a high spot on this top list of best photo and video editing laptops.

Apple’s new entry-level Pro laptop is the MacBook Pro 14 2021 M1 Pro with Apple’s brand-new 14-core M1 Pro processor. The new case is slightly larger and heavier than its predecessor’s, and as before both build quality and hinge setup are perfect.

The new Liquid Retina XDR display achieves OLED-levels of blackness resulting in a very high contrast ratio. A completely black image will remain completely black even at maximum brightness.

Downsides include slow response times as well as constant PWM flickering.

The device is available through Apple. Select SKUs can also be purchased through the usual retail channels, such as Amazon, with prices start at $1,999 at the time of writing.

Like the smaller MacBook Pro 14 2021 M1 Pro the MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro was completely redesigned. The newer and slightly larger and heavier unibody aluminum case features Apple’s brand-new 16-core M1 Pro SoC. Build quality is superb, and we found the surfaces to be immune to fingerprints and smudges.

Instead of an IPS panel Apple now uses Mini LED panels with extremely low levels of brightness and thus a very high contrast ratio, not unlike OLED panels. Simply put, subjective image quality is absolutely perfect.

One gripe would be the device’s constant PWM flickering at 15 kHz. If you are sensible to display flickering you might want to stay away from Apple’s 2021 MacBook Pro series. We also suggest calibrating the display as the 16-inch model came with a color temperature shifted slightly towards the cooler end. This was not the case on the 14-inch model. However, Delta E deviations remain minimal overall, which means the panel is very well suited for professional photo and video editing nonetheless.

The device is available through Apple. Select SKUs can also be purchased through the usual retail channels, such as Amazon, with prices start at $2,249 at the time of writing.

The Lenovo ThinkPad P1 G4 was recently updated by Lenovo and received a GeForce RTX 3070 as well as a 4K UHD+ panel. The P1 is more portable than Lenovo’s traditional ThinkPad P52 workstation laptop.

Another MSI laptop made this top list of best photo and video editing laptops. The MSI WE76 is built very well and offers both HDMI 2.1 as well as a Mini Display Port video output.

Another gaming notebook you might think, but the 2.2 kg light Schenker XMG Neo 15 has some special features: Firstly, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti with 150-W TGP that can be water-cooled and a strong AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX, but also a very good WQHD display that, however, relies on the 16:9 format.

It does not get as bright as the competition with 342 nits and the AdobeRGB color space is not covered very extensively with 70%. On the other hand, the response times of the 240 Hz display are fast.