On the photography front, I've owned a host of 35mm cameras, both film and digital, as well as a Mamiya 645 medium format, a Toyo 4x5, and a Graflex 6x7cm. The last I modified to provide full swings and tilts (allowing you to avoid converging parallel lines, as when you photograph a tall building from ground level). I'm proud of this project, which I wrote about in View Camera magazine. When it comes to buying gadgets and technology products, particularly in the Laptops category it’s important to invest in good quality products. LENOVO IdeaPad 5i Pro 14″ Laptop is no exception. There are a number of reasons why quality is so important when it comes to these types of products.

Battery: These systems do not support batteries that are not genuine Lenovo-made or authorised. Systems will continue to boot, but may not charge unauthorised batteries. Lenovo has no responsibility for the performance or safety of unauthorised batteries, and provides no warranties for failures or damage arising out of their use. **Battery life is based on the MobileMark® 2014 methodology and is an estimated maximum. Actual battery life may vary based on many factors, including screen brightness, active applications, features, power management settings, battery age and conditioning, and other customer preferences.Investing in a Lenovo Ideapad 5 Series 11th Generation laptop will be well worth your time and money if you need a long-term computing solution. Any gamer or designer who relies on a rich multimedia experience or requires a large amount of storage and memory will appreciate the peace of mind that comes with having their hardware kept up to date. The Flex 5i 14 isn't sleek, though. It measures 0.8 by 12.7 by 8.6 inches (HWD) and weighs 3.3 pounds, which just barely qualifies it as an ultraportable. The stylish, ultrapremium Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 measures just 0.56 by 11.7 by 8.2 inches and weighs 2.9 pounds, though it does have a smaller display. On the right edge, there are two USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A ports, a rarity on ultraportable laptops these days, and handy for connecting one of the vast number of devices that haven't yet moved to USB-C. The right edge also hosts a full-size SD card reader and the Flex 5i's power button. Side-mounted power buttons are easier to use when the laptop is propped up like an easel, but be careful not to accidentally press the button when you grasp the Flex 5i on its sides. There are no Thunderbolt 4 ports, but we don't expect one at this price. (Photo: Molly Flores)

The Ideapad 5 laptops are light and easy to carry around. You can get away with a 14-inch screen if you don't need a larger one, so long as you're fine with that size. There are a variety of options for the 5 Series: 13.3" QHD (2560 x 1600) display and IPS (2560 x 1600) display, both of which are capable of streaming HD content. You would be surprised at what you get, Lenovo offers the most luxurious display you'll ever see on a budget-friendly. Beautiful colors and wide viewing angles are just some of the benefits of IPS panels, which also offer lightning-fast response times and minimal input lag. A more efficient power supply, faster pixel switching, and improved image processing have made IPS popular for gaming monitors. Windows On the Go Three benchmarks focus on the CPU, using all available cores and threads, to rate a PC's suitability for processor-intensive workloads. Maxon's Cinebench R23 uses that company's Cinema 4D engine to render a complex scene, while Primate Labs' Geekbench 5.4 Pro simulates popular apps ranging from PDF rendering and speech recognition to machine learning. Finally, we use the open-source video transcoder HandBrake 1.4 to convert a 12-minute video clip from 4K to 1080p resolution (lower times are better). Lenovo's IdeaPad 5 Series 11th Generation processors are powerful, combined with equally powerful hardware, making it an unmatched computing system. Starting with dynamic Soldered DDM memory for seamless computing, we've done everything possible to ensure that you have a consistent, robust experience.

This year's Flex 5i 14 is almost physically identical to the model I reviewed a year ago. The top cover, instead of plastic, is now aluminum. It provides better rigidity for the display, important when you're often twisting it around for tent, stand, and tablet modes. The bottom portion of the chassis is still a polycarbonate with glass fiber woven in. There's a bit of flex due to the plastic, but overall the laptop feels rigid. Weighing in at about 3.3 pounds (1.5kg) it is certainly portable. The soft finish has a bit of texture with a nice feel, and you can get it in three different colors: Abyss Blue, Graphite Grey, or Platinum Grey. I have the Graphite model for review. Color options vary by retailer, too. Our review unit takes an uncontroversial approach, clad in dark Graphite Gray. I find it darker and moodier-looking than the bright silver tones of competitors like the HP Pavilion x360 15. There's also a lighter Platinum Gray option, as well as a more striking Abyss Blue scheme if you're fancying a pop of color. Whichever hue you choose, the chassis is clad in the same sturdy materials—anodized stamped aluminum for the top cover and a combination of polycarbonate and glass fiber for the base. It's reassuringly sturdy to hold. (Photo: Molly Flores) The Flex 5i provides a useful collection of ports, with both USB Type-A and Type-C connections along with an HDMI monitor port and a 4-in-1 flash card reader. Both USB-A ports are on the right side with the USB-C port, which boasts Thunderbolt 4 compatibility, on the left. The Lenovo's AC adapter uses an old-school barrel connector, so the USB-C port remains available when you are charging the battery.

These devices, powered by the latest 11th Generation Intel® CoreTM processors, provide long-term reliability and high performance in various designs. Whether you're working from home or in a large office, we have everything you need.

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The Flex 5i case feels solid, with practically no give in the top half, since that’s held firm by the aluminum frame and the glass of the display. The bottom half is made of a combination of polycarbonate and glass fiber (for stiffening). While it feels sturdy, there is a slight flex at the center of the keyboard, if you press your thumbs there. The only i5 competitor here is the Asus VivoBook S14 (S433), with its 11th Generation Intel Core i5-1135G7 and 8GB of RAM—all the others have 16GB. These laptops all have Intel Iris Xe integrated graphics, so you won’t be using any as a dedicated gaming laptop.