Computer Monitors for photography

[David_S]

Which is the best and which is the best affordable monitor for use with an i7 processor PC on Windows 7 OS and running PS CS4 with quite a few plug-ins, Capture 5 Pro amd LR 3?

Would a wide gamut monitor be of an advantage or disadvantage?

[Fen]

Budget?

[Learning]

Also what gamut do you intend using.

[Muffin]

I had an excellent CRT Iiyama monitor but the new LCD screens are something else. I finally forced myself to buy the NEC MultiSync LCD 2690WUXi2. Not cheap - about £700 I think - but a very excellent monitor and good for digital photography.

[GlennH]

'Affordable' to me currently means free of charge, almost, but this is a fair choice for a little over £300. Some Dell and HP offerings are also okay.

Wide-gamut monitors are generally considered a good thing, albeit with one or two caveats, but other issues such as the panel type are of primary importance.

Cheap, all singing, all-dancing monitors are frequently constructed with inferior TN panels, which are fine for movie-watching and gaming but not so hot for editing photos. Even TN panels vary in quality, but an overview of the different technologies can be seen here and in numerous other places.

[dangie]

Budget?

Plus screen size and ratio?

[AndyTake2]

This one is as broad as asking 'which camera?'

You can spend £3000 or so on an Eizo or £150 on an Acer.

It really is down to budget.

Running PS with a few bits and pieces open plus your pic does take up space, but bear in mind that if you want to counter that by still having a big image, the icons, buttons etc will start to shrink in photoshop if you use a big monitor.
I'm at 2560x1600, and it's great for the picture, but the buttons do tend to be tiny in photoshop!

I think if you want to have a good image size, and have photoshops tools to hand, two monitors would be the best way to go.

THe monitor for your image shouldn't be too big - 24" is plenty, and a resolution of 1920 x whatever would be fine.
A 1024x768 monitor to keep the tools on would keep them at a usable size.

It really is down to what you want to spend.

Muffin's suggested monitor above would be great. I'm on the big brother (30") but this is more scary money - still, not as bad as the Eizo

[MickLL]

I'm using an HP LP2475w and I'm very happy with it. I don't know the current price but it was well under £700.

I got it from HP direct who were the cheapest at the time.

MickLL

PS (edit) I found time to Google it. Look here .

It's £393 exc. VAT and is listed as a small business product.

MickLL

[PeteRob]

Which is the best and which is the best affordable monitor for use with an i7 processor PC on Windows 7 OS and running PS CS4 with quite a few plug-ins, Capture 5 Pro amd LR 3?

Would a wide gamut monitor be of an advantage or disadvantage?

Good luck - I started looking in November with a view to a me to me Xmas gift and now it is March already. The choice is unbelievable and no-one seems to stock anything. In the end I did step one and bought a spyder calibrator - for the day I do choose a monitor - it does suprisingly good job on my laptop.

My issue is the laptop has a very narrow angle of view and this is a real pain as the colours depend on how far the lid is open. I learned I need a monitor with a better-than-TN technology screen. Wide gamut or not? I could get no answer to this. I especially got the impression that most home printer gamut was significantly less than adobe RGB which really begs the question what's the point of a colour managed process if the printer can't keep up. I hope someone gives some good advice to your question ...as I want to find a monitor and printer that together give good results and are reasonably affordable.

[MickLL]

Which is the best and which is the best affordable monitor for use with an i7 processor PC on Windows 7 OS and running PS CS4 with quite a few plug-ins, Capture 5 Pro amd LR 3?

Would a wide gamut monitor be of an advantage or disadvantage?

Good luck - I started looking in November with a view to a me to me Xmas gift and now it is March already. The choice is unbelievable and no-one seems to stock anything. In the end I did step one and bought a spyder calibrator - for the day I do choose a monitor - it does suprisingly good job on my laptop.

My issue is the laptop has a very narrow angle of view and this is a real pain as the colours depend on how far the lid is open. I learned I need a monitor with a better-than-TN technology screen. Wide gamut or not? I could get no answer to this. I especially got the impression that most home printer gamut was significantly less than adobe RGB which really begs the question what's the point of a colour managed process if the printer can't keep up. I hope someone gives some good advice to your question ...as I want to find a monitor and printer that together give good results and are reasonably affordable.

I think that it's all too easy to get hung up about the technology. You could study the specs for ever and not reach a conclusion.

I do almost nothing but natural history photography and my pictures get studied by some real experts and I don't get any colour complaints.I would expect to if my subjects were being displayed in an incorrect colour.

My point is that I do it all by eye. I've never measured any colour.

My choice of monitor was governed by the ability to make and save settings appropriate to what I am doing. I have pre-saved (monitor) settings for the different papers I use and they were produced by eye.

Just get one - and don't get hung up on minutiae.

MickLL

[GlennH]

I especially got the impression that most home printer gamut was significantly less than adobe RGB which really begs the question what's the point of a colour managed process if the printer can't keep up.

Thing is, this is generally not the case. For some while now there have been printers which can easily produce colours beyond the Adobe RGB gamut, and most print above sRGB.

Compare this to the gamut of a laptop screen, which is frequently below sRGB, or the average desktop monitor which is typically close to sRGB - and you'll see that it's monitors which are playing catchup.

Whether a wide-gamut monitor is right for you is another matter of course. One good thing about the monitor I linked to earlier is that it has a 10-bit LUT, which means 1024 tonal values rather than the 256 in an 8-bit display, which in turn equates to smoother gradation.

You do get what you pay for in a monitor just as with everything else, but there are a few shrewd choices to be had at around £300-£400.

[PeteRob]

Thing is, this is generally not the case. For some while now there have been printers which can easily produce colours beyond the Adobe RGB gamut, and most print above sRGB.

That is encouraging I got the impression that "out of gamut" was a common problem - reading too many adverts for photoshop print proofing. The HP looks good - might be able to get one at a good price through our office IT support. Prices here are very high (+25-30%)compared with UK. I baulked at the 2200 euro plus combined price of a low range EIZO and canon 9500 combination (to order, cannot see before buy)recommended by a camera shop here in Brussels which started my search.

[tonycro]

I'm at 2560x1600, and it's great for the picture, but the buttons do tend to be tiny in photoshop!

I think if you want to have a good image size, and have photoshops tools to hand, two monitors would be the best way to go.

THe monitor for your image shouldn't be too big - 24" is plenty, and a resolution of 1920 x whatever would be fine.
A 1024x768 monitor to keep the tools on would keep them at a usable size.

It really is down to what you want to spend.

Muffin's suggested monitor above would be great. I'm on the big brother (30") but this is more scary money - still, not as bad as the Eizo

I second the two moniter route, makes finding the icons much much easier