Monitor for photo editing ... matt or shiny screen?

[Rupert49]

I'm currently planning a digital darkroom; on the subject of a good quality monitor where photo editing will be the primary application, is there a quality bias that favours one over the other between a matt screen and a shiny one?

I can't help but notice that Macs are frequently held up as superior to PCs for photo editing, and every one I've seen has a shiny screen (the pictures always look great too). However, I intend to stay with PC (it's what I know best) so please, no pressure from the Mac lovers out there!

In addition, any explanation or guidance re resolution factors would be helpful when I come to compare what's available for my budget (no idea what that ought to be yet, but I imagine about £500 or so). My company's IT support colleague has recommended I look first at Samsung or LG .. any thoughts about those, please?

[Meredith]

Matt or glossy. It is all down to personal preference really. I hate glossy screens - the reflections really annoy me - but other people love them. I would check some out in person to see what you think.

Apple or Windows. They are both equally good for photo editing. Again it is down to personal preference to which you would prefer. If you want to stay Windows based stay Windows based. There is nothing wrong with that.

As you want to do photo editing avoid TN panel screens. They can't show 24bit colour, have very poor viewing angles, and very obvious gamma shifts with small changes in viewing angle. They are cheap though so a lot of monitors have them. The best sort of panel for photo editing is the IPS panel but monitors with those are more expensive. In between are the *va panel monitors.

I would aim for a 24" widescreen monitor with a resolution of 1920x1200 pixels. This gives a nice big desktop with lots of space for image editing.

You should also look at Dell monitors.

[Rupert49]

Thank you for your helpful reply Meredith. As for Dell, I am planning to build my system via their online service as I've heard nothing but good from others who have done the same. I'll certainly have a look at their monitors too.

Best wishes
-------------------------------------------------------
Rupert