1920*1200 monitor as introductory model

alaiosalaios Registered Users Posts: 668 Major grins
edited September 4, 2014 in Digital Darkroom
Hi all,
I am looking for a decent but not very expensive monitor that can support 1900*1200 resolution and can support close to 100% srgb. Price wise I guess 400 dollars or 350 euros would be the limit

The main reason for bying this is to have something that would allow me to do image processing. What do you have to suggest me?

Regards
Alex

P.S Forgot to write that I have external calibration tool.

Comments

  • NewsyNewsy Registered Users Posts: 605 Major grins
    edited September 1, 2014
    The 16:10 1920x1200 resolution is rare but available.

    I think you will enjoy this website:

    http://www.prad.de/new/monitore/testberichte.html

    When reviewing that list, there are some monitors with a "Good" rating that are worthy but try to stick with the "Very Good" rated models.

    At the budget end, one of the most popular is the Dell U2412M. It can often be found for $239 USD/CAD in the USA & Canada. Not sure what it will be in Europe. It is an "old" model, having been around for a couple of years - there have been many advances in monitor design since it was first released. I think today the reviews would not rate it as highly as when it first came out.

    There is an ASUS model that is very similar, the PA249Q, but it is not highly rated. Maybe the ASUS PB248Q may be preferred for more $$$ with its' Sehr Gut rating.

    The NEC P242-BK is worth a look.
    http://www.prad.de/new/monitore/test/2014/test-nec-p242w-bk.html

    One to definitely look into is an EIZO EV series 24" - perhaps the EV2436WFS-BK.


    Another website with great reviews is TFT Central.

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

    .
  • Jim McClainJim McClain Registered Users Posts: 60 Big grins
    edited September 1, 2014
    Sorry to drift off-topic, but just wanted to say... the asterisk is a key on your keyboard to indicate a multiplication symbol for math calculations. To indicate a dimension relationship, the X is the standard. So, it should be 1920x1200, not 1920*1200. Unless of course you want to figure the total number of pixels of a particular screen, but then you still wouldn't type it out in a message using the asterisk because, since the beginning of math, it has always been the "X" that has been shorthand for "times" as well as "by."

    Sorry.
  • alaiosalaios Registered Users Posts: 668 Major grins
    edited September 2, 2014
    Thanks for the answer. One think that still bothers me if I might have any problems using my screen bought in the states in a european laptop... I would guess not though.
    I will have a look on the web site and I will let you know

    Alex
  • alaiosalaios Registered Users Posts: 668 Major grins
    edited September 2, 2014
    Newsy wrote: »
    The 16:10 1920x1200 resolution is rare but available.

    I think you will enjoy this website:

    http://www.prad.de/new/monitore/testberichte.html

    When reviewing that list, there are some monitors with a "Good" rating that are worthy but try to stick with the "Very Good" rated models.

    At the budget end, one of the most popular is the Dell U2412M. It can often be found for $239 USD/CAD in the USA & Canada. Not sure what it will be in Europe. It is an "old" model, having been around for a couple of years - there have been many advances in monitor design since it was first released. I think today the reviews would not rate it as highly as when it first came out.

    There is an ASUS model that is very similar, the PA249Q, but it is not highly rated. Maybe the ASUS PB248Q may be preferred for more $$$ with its' Sehr Gut rating.

    The NEC P242-BK is worth a look.
    http://www.prad.de/new/monitore/test/2014/test-nec-p242w-bk.html

    One to definitely look into is an EIZO EV series 24" - perhaps the EV2436WFS-BK.


    Another website with great reviews is TFT Central.

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

    .

    Hi thanks, the prices seem to be on my range and thanks a lot for that.
    I wonder though which one I should prefer and what are the parameters one needs to prioritirize over for image processing.
    What would you choose? What would be your criteria? In which of these monitors you can buy external shades to protect from external light sources. I guess all these monitors can be calibrated too.

    Regards
    A
  • RichardRichard Administrators, Vanilla Admin Posts: 19,966 moderator
    edited September 2, 2014
    alaios wrote: »
    Thanks for the answer. One think that still bothers me if I might have any problems using my screen bought in the states in a european laptop... I would guess not though.
    I will have a look on the web site and I will let you know

    Alex
    That shouldn't be a problem. Unlike television standards, the US and European computer monitor standards are pretty much the same. Most computer gear will also be 120/220 V and 50/60 Hz, but check to be sure before buying. Finally, just make sure your laptop has an appropriate video port and that its video card offers adequate resolution for the monitor. Unless your machine is very old, I'm guessing you shouldn't have any difficulty finding a good match.
  • alaiosalaios Registered Users Posts: 668 Major grins
    edited September 2, 2014
    Hi,
    I have a four years old laptop that I connected on a 24inches monitor I have on my working desk. My laptop was able to give, over normal-blue vga port, 1900X1200 resolutiion. A friend informed me to avoid the ASUS model PA249Q

    as it uses low frequency PWM and he suggested me to see only flicker free monitors.

    I did not think that technology can be that complicated when you want to buy something decent
  • NewsyNewsy Registered Users Posts: 605 Major grins
    edited September 2, 2014
    Good for your friend to mention the PWM issue - I did not mention it because most of the recent reviews from the past year discuss it and it is said that for most people this is NOT an issue - they are not sensitive to the flicker.

    If this is a concern the database at TFT Central is a useful reference:

    http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/flicker_free_database.htm

    Another point on PWM.... many monitors use it, even some very highly rated models, but note that PWM is not usually an issue where the switching frequency is high. Prad discusses the PWM issue in the "Backlight" section of their reviews.


    Another useful forum is this one where monitors are discussed in some detail. However, bear in mind most of the commentators here seem to be driven by needs for gaming which are not always complimentary to needs for image editing.

    http://hardforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=78



    As to which model I would seriously consider, probably one of the NEC PA series or EIZO EV's if I had a larger budget than I have allowed myself in the past and the EIZO's were easier to find here, which they are not.

    .
  • NewsyNewsy Registered Users Posts: 605 Major grins
    edited September 2, 2014
    In addition to considering the gamut coverage of the monitor ( near 100% sRGB), and PWM issues, also pay attention to the minimum brightness of the monitor and the illumination and color uniformity.

    The minimum brightness should be somewhere below 60 cd/m2. If you edit in a normally lit room (one or two 800 lumen bulbs) in the evening, after the sun is down and there are no outside lighting influences in the room, you will probably have your monitor calibrated with a brightness at about 100 to 120 cd/m2. But if you are one of those people that like to edit in a pitch black room (imho you should not do this) then you may need to set the brightness of your monitor between 60 and 80 cd/m2.

    Maximum brightness is not so important as most monitors can attain brighter than 230 cd/m2 and even the brightest office probably would not require more than 160 cd/m2.

    There are monitors currently for sale that are not able to adjust their brightness lower than 105 cd/m2. So check this out.

    Illumination uniformity ensures the screen is evenly lit. Some monitors have chronic issues with edge bleed or flashlighting in corners so you should avoid these. Most IPS LCD panels have issues with a glow that can be seen when viewed from the side in a DARK room - not usually noticeable in a room with lights on. Most of the best monitors currently use AH-IPS panels so you cannot avoid this except by finding a monitor with an AH-MVA or S-PLS panel.

    .
  • alaiosalaios Registered Users Posts: 668 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2014
    Hi Newsy,
    first I have to say thanks because you really know this stuff and you feel free to share this knowledge. I am coming from a computer science background and in the past it was butter and bread to read about technical reviews and decide. My current realiy is trying to finalize my PhD (in a german university) support my wife with her studies and take part of the wonderful development of 16 months old daugter.
    Why I share this because I wanted to explain why I do not have the time to keep looking for a good monitor that I can keep in the coming years for photoediting (the serious kind).
    I am currently looking to buy one that would do the job without looking too much on the internet.

    Perhaps I can spend even more money if I am gonna buy something good that I would forget I would need upgrade in the coming years.

    Do you think that there is then a decent 24 inches screen for photoediting up to 450 usa dollars and spend no more time looking on the limitations and problems a monitor have ? (well you can always argue about problems even the most expensive models have,,, but there is a point that 95% of the people would say "yes this is not a bad toy")

    P.S How much difference in terms of desk space a 27 inches and 24 inches monitor have? (I have a small desk surface to put the laptop atop)
  • NewsyNewsy Registered Users Posts: 605 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2014
    Can your laptop drive the high bandwidth requirement of a 27" 2560x1440 monitor? It will require a Displayport to be 99.7% sure of handling this resolution. Yes, I always have 0.3% of doubt! mwink.gif

    HDMI is said to be able to handle this resolution but I've read enough posts on HDMI ports on laptops not being able to do this that I say do not trust this technology on an older laptop.

    I use matte screen IPS LCD paneled Dell U2412M and 2209WA monitors for photo editing and I'm happy with them for all their flaws. The IPS LCD panel solves most of the color uniformity issues I see with cheaper gaming type TN paneled monitors and both are vastly superior to any CRT monitor I've ever owned in the past. The most important tool on my desktop for photo editing is my calibrator as neither of these monitors were close to acceptable fresh out of the box.

    I also use a Dell S2240L 22" 1920x1080 IPS panel glossy screen monitor via HDMI port with my business laptop and would gladly use that monitor for photo editing (after calibration) - it cost me $129.99 CAD on sale. In fact, in some ways I like viewing images on it better than the other two.



    .
  • alaiosalaios Registered Users Posts: 668 Major grins
    edited September 4, 2014
    Well the reason I wrote for the 27 inches monitor is that at the same time my laptop dies... meaning that I am thinking for buying a normal pc for photo development.
    How bigger their stands are when it comes to size? I guess that 24 is good enough size for photo editing any way
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