External Monitor

LoganH

Hey everybody! I currently own the 2011 Macbook pro 13". 2.3 ghz i5 with 4gb ram. I was considering buying a new imac with my tax refund(yay for college!) but think it would be smarter to go with external monitor to add to my 13" macbook pro.

Unless someone is seriously interested in purchasing a 13" macbook pro. Top condition and has applecare until March 2014! If so, private message me!

But my question is, from your personal experience, what is a good monitor for editing photos? I know I could read reviews on websites. But I trust this forum and the users on it more than amazon reviews. So just let me know if you have any good monitors that you are happy with!!! Thanks in advance!

-Also, I am looking to get between a 21"-27" monitor.

Newsy

In part, the answer depends on what color space you shoot your images in, what space you edit in, how colorful is the subject you shoot and if you do your own printing on a high end multi-ink wide gamut printer. And your $$ budget.

** If you shoot in sRGB or RAW and extract to sRGB or exclusively work in B&W then a standard sRGB gamut monitor will suffice.

** If you shoot colorful subjects in native AdobeRGB jpeg or in RAW and extract and embed the image in the AdobeRGB or ProPhotoRGB space and/or print as above... then a wide gamut monitor may be beneficial.

** When you edit in CS3/4/5/6 Photoshop, by default it is in the AdobeRGB space though it can be changed to sRGB. When you edit in Lightroom it is by default in the ProPhotoRGB space and this cannot be changed.

** Consider that most image hosting sites such as Smugmug and offsite printers demand the image be in the sRGB space.

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Regardless of the above, you will want to find a monitor with either an IPS or S-PLS type LCD panel. They have the least amount of shift in gamma/color as you view the screen from various angles. The larger the monitor and the closer you sit to it, the more potential for there to be a shift towards the outer edges of the monitor.

You likely require a monitor with a Displayport for connectivity to your Macbook. Not all budget monitors offer this.

Your $$ budget then dictates if you can acquire a monitor with a true 10bit, pseudo 10bit (8bit+AFRC), true 8bit, or pseudo 8bit (6bit+AFRC) color depth and corresponding 8bit, 10bit, 12bit or 14bit internal LUT's (Look Up Table - essentially the bit rate of the electronics pathway prior to hitting the panel). Generally speaking, a higher bit rate means less potential for banding in color gradients, reduction of other image anomalies, and slightly better color.

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Typically you can get into an OK image editing monitor for $149 (on sale) or spend as high as $2500 to get a commercial graphics house type monitor. All pricing below is on sale or discounted, in North America.

*** $149 to $170 *** gets you a 21.5" or 23" 1920x1080 pseudo 8bit e-IPS LCD panel with an LED back light (95% coverage of the sRGB space), matte anti-glare coating, without a Displayport and without a height adjustable stand (tilt only).

*** $159 to $189 *** gets you a 21.5" or 23" 1920x1080 pseudo 8bit e-IPS LCD panel with an LED back light (95% coverage of the sRGB space), matte anti-glare coating, with a Displayport and a height adjustable stand (all monitors after this price level offer this type of stand).

*** $400 *** gets you an entry level wide gamut 24" 1920x1200 pseudo 10bit H-IPS LCD panel with a W-CCFL back light (100% coverage of the sRGB and AdobeRGB color spaces), with multiple connectivity ports incl Displayport, a matte AG coating (some say too coarse). This would be the Dell U2410 which is End of Life and likely will not be available within a month of this writing.

*** $650 *** will likely find you the new Dell U2713HM, a 27" 2560x1440 with the latest generation AH-IPS LCD panel with a new type of LED back light offering about 98-99% of sRGB coverage, a new less course matte anti-glare coating, all the connectivity options.

*** $750 *** gets you an NEC PA241w which is a very good pro level monitor offering a wide gamut 24" 1920x1200 10bit (maybe pseudo) H-IPS type panel (NEC calls it a P-IPS) with a 14bit internal LUT that is writable (the NEC calibrator kit can write the ICC profile to the monitor's internal LUT) and loads of other features including ColorComp which ensures uniform panel luminosity.

And there are more expensive offerings... this is just a quick snapshot.

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LoganH

Wow! Thanks Newsy for this information! Very much appreciated!

Newsy

LoganH wrote: »

Wow! Thanks Newsy for this information! Very much appreciated!

So give us an idea of a real $$$ budget and what your needs are and we can point you to some solutions.

Here's the two best (as in technically thorough) monitor review sites....

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/

http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/reviews.html
(newest untranslated reviews can be found on their German side)

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