Objects of Desire: Sony VAIO AW-Series Laptops



Dec 2, 2008
By Dan Havlik

Sony VAIO AW-Series Laptops

For the longest time, Apple's pro line of laptops (including the latest MacBook Pro) has dominated the photography landscape. This trend, however, is changing in significant ways lately as the PC market tries to attract imaging professionals with faster, fully-loaded notebook computers.

Last month we looked at the Lenovo Thinkpad W700 portable workstation, which includes a built-in Wacom digitizer, an integrated color-calibration system and a gorgeous, 17-inch screen. While we liked that model quite a bit, it isn't exactly the sleekest or most attractive laptop out there right now. (The MacBook Pro still wins the beauty contest, hands down.)

Sony has gone a long way to give photo-centric PC notebooks a makeover with its attractive new VAIO AW series of laptops. And while these new VAIOs don't include built-in Wacom tablets or color calibrators, they do have incredible 18.4-inch screens that are ideal for reviewing and editing images and video. Using Sony's XBRITE-FullHD technology, which employs a 3 LED backlighting system with separate red, green and blue LEDs to produce Adobe RGB color, VAIO AW laptops boast a resolution of 1920 x 1080 in a 16:9 aspect ratio. Other helpful features include a built-in CompactFlash slot, Adobe Lightroom pre-installed, an HDMI port and a Blu-ray optical drive, all of which might make MacBook Pro fans want to take a second look.

Cost: $1,600 (base price)
Further information:
www.sonystyle.com







The latest addition to the PDN family, the PDN Gear Guide in print, has a total circulation of 30,000, and covers the latest and greatest in photographic equipment. Initially created in 2006 to be the official guide to PDN's annual flagship photography event, PDN PhotoPlus International Conference + Expo, the PDN Gear Guide is now also available online for gear news and updates 365 days a year.
Regulating the Broncolor Scoro A4s's controls is easy thanks to its highly usable interface.Broncolor Scoro A4S
July 02, 2009 - Broncolor scores big with this best-in-class studio flash generator.More
Canon PIXMA Pro9500 Mark II
Litepanels
Objects of Desire: Hasselblad Flextight Scanners
Objects of Desire: Tenba Black Label Camera Bags
Objects of Desire: Cradlepoint PHS300
Anti-PaparazziNew Device Lets Celebs Flash Paparazzi
July 01, 2009 - NYU graduate student Adam Harvey has created a device that washes out unwanted paparazzi photographs.