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i need a new monitor
shotgian
Registered Users Posts: 2 Beginner grinner
because mine is passed away. Please advise me one good big enough (i was thinking 24") for photoshop. My budget is low: 300-400$.
thanks
thanks
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shotgian
Registered Users Posts: 2 Beginner grinner
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"You don't take a photograph, you make it." ~Ansel Adams
Phil
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?p=1663642#post1663642
The ZR24w has now been replaced by the ZR2440w.
PS... just had a U2412M delivered today. Looks good so far but have not calibrated as yet.
I'm not sure where you are located but if in Canada you have about 4 hours from this time of writing to get the U2412M for $279 CAD from Dell Canada. Lowest price ever. One day sale. I bought mine a week ago from Dell Canada's Small Business division for $296 (w/coupon) which was also a good price as previously $289 has been lowest.
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I'm also reviewing new monitors and learning a lot about wide vs. standard gamut, various color spaces, etc. I've read many of your posts and referenced review sites over the past few days. Perhaps you, or anyone else that wants to chime in, could address these questions:
What are the reasons would someone want to use a wide gamut monitor? From what I have learned (beware of oversimplified statements coming next), posting my photos to SmugMug for online viewing and sending to Bay Photo (or other services) for printing all require converting to sRGB. If that is the case, then what advantage is there to using a wide gamut monitor?
On a related note, I use LightRoom which, I as understand it, uses ProPhoto RGB which is a color space that extends beyond sRGB and Adobe RGB. What advantage is there to using this extended color space, if the photo still has to be converted to sRGB for online viewing and printing at someplace like Bay Photo?
I seem to be missing something critical in my understanding of standard vs. wide gamut and it is really hindering my ability to choose a decent monitor (in the $400-600 US) range.
I would be very interested in your opinions on your Dell U2412M as well.
Thank you.
Where you use high end editing software that is color managed and are mostly doing your own printing to a wide gamut printer.
If you use RAW files and extract out to AdobeRGB especially where you shoot a lot of colorful images, flowers, parrots, etc, you would likely be able to see a difference between viewing it on a wide gamut monitor as versus a standard sRGB monitor. I've not had the opportunity to do so myself, but others who have report that the difference is clearly evident.
Most of the current low end wide gamut monitors (ex: Dell U2410 or ASUS PA246Q) use a pseudo 10 bit (8bit + AFRC) panel and a 12bit internal LUT with a higher quality H-IPS type tft panel which many claim to offer better color fidelity than the e-IPS type panel used in monitors such as the Dell U2412M. In theory, you will see less banding with these wide gamut monitors in color gradients and where it may be most noticeable, in the gray scales.
If you shoot mostly in black and white you'd probably want a monitor absolutely competent in reproducing the gray scale and that does not necessarily mean a wide gamut monitor though the better monitors, which usually means they are wide gamut, do a better job of this.
If you make a living from this business you'd want to go to a pro level monitor for absolute color accuracy, i.e. minimum a wide gamut NEC PA241w.
If you don't make a living from photography and would be satisfied with being within 85-90% (just a guess) of as close to reality as a back lit monitor with an artificial gamut can reproduce, I'm sure there are several $300 - $400 23" and 24" monitors that will get you in that zone.
None in my mind. Especially if you don't shoot RAW much and work with sRGB jpeg's straight from the camera.
See above.
I've only just set it up and am using it to configure a new PC. It will be a few days before it gets to my desktop and I can calibrate it.
Which is a point worth mentioning.... regardless of what monitor you acquire, it will have to be calibrated with a device such as a Spyder3, ColorMunki Display, or i1Display Pro for it to be accurate. I'd budget $250 just for this device.
You may want to check out this post I read today.
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1003&message=40085243&changemode=1
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I use LightRoom and Photoshop for editing, but I don't print my own photos (I use services like Bay Photo). So, for this point, wide gamut does not seem like something of value for my use.
I shoot mostly RAW and LightRoom uses ProPhotoRGB. So, for my own viewing/editing wide gamut seems like a good choice. However, my photos are not just for me. They will be viewed by other people through SmugMug and sent to print through services like Bay Photo. Since I would then have to convert to sRGB, wide gamut seems like a waste and standard gamut the better choice. This seems to be my biggest hang-up with understanding why wide gamut would ever be a good choice. If print services and photo viewing sites require converting to sRGB, what advantage (other than personal viewing pleasure) is there to having a wide gamut monitor? Does editing on a wide gamut monitor somehow produce a better photo when converted back down to sRGB? Would a standard gamut monitor even be able to edit photos in LightRoom (since LR uses ProPhotoRGB)?
I am not making a living from photography... yet. But, since my plan is to continue improving and get to a point where at least part of my living is from photography, I want to plan for equiping for the pro-side (as closely as funds will allow).
I agree completely and have been researching calibration devices as well. I currently use a Spyder3Elite, but am considering other devices as well.
Very useful post. Mirrors many of the questions I am asking... thanks.
So, I'm still left with the question, standard gamut or wide gamut, and determining the best way to evaluate which is the better choice for what I do (photo editing (LightRoom and Photoshop), posting photos to SmugMug (viewing sites for other people to see, evaluate, buy my photos), using printing services (not using my own printer), some web development, some personal video editing, some backoffice/graduate school work, etc.)
Monitors in consideration so far include (24", 16:10 (1920x1200)):
NEC P241W-BK - standard gamut (and getting a good calibration unit)
NEC P241W-BK-SV - standard gamut (comes with NEC calibration unit)
NEC PA241W-BK - wide gamut (and getting a good calibration unit)
NEC PA241W-BK-SV - wide gamut (comes with NEC calibration unit)
HP ZR24W - standard gamut
HP ZR2440W - (haven't found reviews on this one yet)
Dell U2412M - standard gamut
Dell U2410 - wide gamut
**by the way, I will be replacing a Dell 2407WFP-HC
EDIT:
One other point/question. From what I read in reviews, I'm thinking I would have a problem with the "dirty" effect of the anti-glare used on monitors like the HP ZR24W. I haven't found a local retailer that carries these so that I can see it for myself. Any comments on the effects of anti-glare manufacturing techniques on image quality?
Thanks again.
You're now trying to squeeze blood from stone. If your S3Elite is a good copy, imho you're not going to see a (big enough) difference with the ColorMunki Display or i1Display Pro to justify another $250 spent imho.
Dry Creek recently updated their calibrator article. The S3Elite is neither best nor worst and considering it was available for $147 not so long ago (B&H Sale) it is a good value as compared to the latest i1Display Pro.
http://www.drycreekphoto.com/Learn/Calibration/MonitorCalibrationHardware.html
There has been some posts in various forums, more directed at the "i1Display 2", that the color chips used in the sensors of the colorimeter type pucks "age" and can do so quicker than the owner would like, skewing the calibrations off standard. You may want to continue using the S3Elite for a while longer until the photo community gets a handle on the technology used in the new X-rite devices (CM Display & i1DPro).
HC = High Color = wide gamut
Prad measured it as 89% of AdobeRGB and 93% of sRGB.
http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/review/2007/review-dell-2407wfp-hc.html
Compared to your 2407WFP-HC, which uses a S-PVA panel supplied by Samsung, the LG Display supplied IPS panels of the new monitors will be noticeably "grittier".
I've had a Samsung 215TW (S-PVA) sitting side by side with a Dell 2209WA (e-IPS) for 18 months and there is a noticeable difference both visibly and to the touch. However, with the 2209WA it only gets objectionable when I sit too close (18-20") instead of my normal 26-30" and it is really only noticeable on white or lighter gray backgrounds where there is no text. Otherwise my eye focuses past the surface layer on the text and all is fine.
You'll find a review on the HP ZR2440w here:
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/hp_zr2440w.htm
It will likely be posted for non-paid consumption at the end of January 2012. The ZR2240w review went public today.
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