Best monitor for photo editing?

dups41

Hi everyone,

Up until now I have been using a Philips 180P2 and it has been great, but the max resolution of 1280x1024 is becoming a little limiting. To get more resolution and physical size I decided on a Dell 2407wfp (24" 1920x1200). The 2407 arrived today and the display is fairly disappointing. There is a noticable difference in brightness (and color balance) between the left and right sides of the display. To get a rough measure of the difference I opened two copies of the same image in photoshop and placed them on opposite ends of the monitor. An exposure adjustment of just over 1 stop was required on the dimmer side in order to have the images display with equal brightness :uhoh. I am going to try calibrating the display later this evening but I suspect that no amount of calibration will rectify this type of problem. Looking around on the web I have realised that I should have investigated this purchase a little further as there have been numerous problems with this specific range of displays.

I will probably ship this monitor back to Dell and look around for an alternative.

This time I would like to ask the dgrinners what monitors you guys are using? Are you happy with the display quality? I would be interested in your opinions on which monitors are best for photo editing. Perhaps a good old CRT is the way to go?

Thanks!


Andrew

CalfeeRider

dups41 wrote:

Hi everyone,

Up until now I have been using a Philips 180P2 and it has been great, but the max resolution of 1280x1024 is becoming a little limiting. To get more resolution and physical size I decided on a Dell 2407wfp (24" 1920x1200). The 2407 arrived today and the display is fairly disappointing. There is a noticable difference in brightness (and color balance) between the left and right sides of the display. To get a rough measure of the difference I opened two copies of the same image in photoshop and placed them on opposite ends of the monitor. An exposure adjustment of just over 1 stop was required on the dimmer side in order to have the images display with equal brightness :uhoh. I am going to try calibrating the display later this evening but I suspect that no amount of calibration will rectify this type of problem. Looking around on the web I have realised that I should have investigated this purchase a little further as there have been numerous problems with this specific range of displays.

I will probably ship this monitor back to Dell and look around for an alternative.

This time I would like to ask the dgrinners what monitors you guys are using? Are you happy with the display quality? I would be interested in your opinions on which monitors are best for photo editing. Perhaps a good old CRT is the way to go?

Thanks!


Andrew

Wow, that's a dissapointment. I'm just starting to look at upgrading my Photoshop only (yeah, right) system and had thought the Dell may be a nice way to go for the monitor too.

I agree and doubt that calibration will resolve that type of problem. Have you seen similar experiences with this model, or was your remark more of a generalization?

claudermilk

Good to know. I've been window shopping for a new monitor (no pun intended). It seems the Samsungs and Viewsonics are the best bet, unless of course you're made of money and can spring for LaCie (I can't justify spending as much on the monitor as the whole rest of the computer).

SpeshulEd

I've been wondering this too. LCD prices are really starting to fall and I keep seeing sales on 19" screens for less than $200 and I'm debating if I should go for one of those, or drop a big chunk of change on a nice monitor.

ChrisJ

dups41 wrote:

There is a noticable difference in brightness (and color balance) between the left and right sides of the display.

This would be very unusual on a monitor if you're using the DVI connection. If you are, it's probably just a bad monitor.

I've been using a ViewSonic VP171b for a few years now. I liked it enough that I bought it's big brother, the VP201b (model numbers have probably revved up since I bought them).

wxwax

I have a LaCie CRT and have been very happy with it. It cost me $600, which isn't cheap, I know.

DavidTO

I have no idea what's best, but I'm happy with the 23" Apple Cinema Display.

W.W. Webster

DavidTO wrote:

I have no idea what's best.

Nor me. Does anyone know of any authoritative comparative tests anywhere?

John Mueller

Im using a Lacie 319 and blue eye
This is what they call a level 2.It rocks.
I should of gone with the 321

PetersCreek

Here are a few recommendations from ShootSmarter.com
(free registration required)

These folks seem to be pretty demanding and discriminating where monitors are concerned. You won't find a budget price monitor among the recommendations. Some good info, though.

ChrisJ

W.W. Webster wrote:

Nor me. Does anyone know of any authoritative comparative tests anywhere?

I don't really consider Tom's Hardware "authoritative," but they do an okay job.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/06/27/xxl_displays/
http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/07/03/wide_format_lcd_monitors/

Note: I don't think any of the monitors mentioned so far are in these comparisons...

Awais Yaqub

wxwax wrote:

I have a LaCie CRT and have been very happy with it. It cost me $600, which isn't cheap, I know.

600$ do you know in Pakistan second hand monitors are sold and purchased widely when i bout my new 107c6 17" for 120$ next day i went to second hand market what i saw was 19" LaCie monitor for only 30$ and its colors were flawless and in excellent condition actually for every 19" monitor 30-40$ is fixed for second hand no matter what is condition and LaCie was in super condition :cry i missed it
coming back to post
i am really happy with Phillips 107C6 17" with star base serving good nice colors and style here is photo of mine
Ok monitor is fine photo is overexposed fdue to light in monitor

USAIR

Here's mine and love it so far

Fred

Bob&Glennie

Hi guys, I haven't been around DGrin much lately ... too busy. My regular job on a 4 color Heidelberg and my home job running Perspectives Digital Imaging have me spread rather thin but I want to concur with the assessment of your Dell monitor. We have a Dell PC at our printing company and the monitor is CRAP!!! Low contrast, poor color balance and a general green cast. It cannot be used for any kind of pre-press file preparation at all plus Dell does something to their proprietary version of Windows that locks you out of the monitor gamma dialogue box.

I'm using a View Sonic 17" for my home photography business. I have it calibrated and it's an almost perfect match to my printer when I use the profile and drivers supplied by the printer manufacturer. A large part of my work is photographing antique cars and custom hot rods in private photo sessions. Accurate Color is important and I've got happy customers who keep recommending me to new clients. I can recommend View Sonic or Komodo.

Bob

dups41

Thanks for all the replies!

Bob&Glennie wrote:

My regular job on a 4 color Heidelberg and my home job running Perspectives Digital Imaging have me spread rather thin but I want to concur with the assessment of your Dell monitor. We have a Dell PC at our printing company and the monitor is CRAP!!! Low contrast, poor color balance and a general green cast.

After a few more hours using my new Dell 2407 I am even more convinced that this was not a good purchase. The uneven brightness and low contrast of the 2407 makes my old Philips LCD a clear winner for photo editing. The size and resolution are great for gaming though - Half Life II at 1920x1200 is a huge step up from 1280x1024.

CalfeeRider wrote:

I agree and doubt that calibration will resolve that type of problem. Have you seen similar experiences with this model, or was your remark more of a generalization?

Here is a page detailing some of the issues with this monitor. And a pricegrabber user opinion describing problems very similar to my own.

wxwax wrote:

I have a LaCie CRT and have been very happy with it. It cost me $600, which isn't cheap, I know.

I have been looking around for Lacie CRT's - it seems they have been discontinued, and they now have only LCDs available.

DavidTO wrote:

I have no idea what's best, but I'm happy with the 23" Apple Cinema Display.

The 23" Apple Cinema is up at the top of my list of replacements. There seems to be some uncertainty whether the pink cast problems have been sorted out. Googling this problem gives such a volume of results it is a little troubling.

It is going to be difficult going back to a smaller display after this 24" when I send it back... my Half Life II deathmatch scores have definitely improved with the extra visibility offered by the wide screen format :gun2

wxwax

Awais Yaqub wrote:

600$ do you know in Pakistan second hand monitors are sold and purchased widely when i bout my new 107c6 17" for 120$ next day i went to second hand market what i saw was 19" LaCie monitor for only 30$ and its colors were flawless and in excellent condition actually for every 19" monitor 30-40$ is fixed for second hand no matter what is condition and LaCie was in super condition :cry i missed it

Yeah, but how much will the airplane ticket cost me?

bwg

that's too bad to hear about the dell. i have the same issues with BOTH of my 19" gateway LCD's at the office, except they are uneven from top to bottom. (one is DVI, the other D-SUB)

My apple 23" at home is spot on. Looks like the dell is out of the running to be it's sibling. Guess i'll have to save pennies again.

marklarry28

I am really happy with my HP
Hi there,
I have an HP 19" brigthview f1905b that is really bright, fast and sharp.
This monitor is calibrated with my printer (Dell 3010cn laser color).

I rightly recommend you go to a store and try it.

Review
http://reviews.cnet.com/HP_f1905_flat_panel_display_TFT_19/4514-3174_7-31339547.html

Best Buy
http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10059443&catid=22557

piscies75

lousy dell monitors
I have PS 2 and love it, I was this close to buying a on sale Dell Notebook with 1 dimm, t2500 processor ectra but my friend said his Sony Viao blew Dell out the water (he showed his Dell's at his work versus his Sony ), and he was right. A world of difference in monitors.
I am shopping around for a LCD tv and the Sony's hands down beat anything on the market.

DavidTO

dups41 wrote:

The 23" Apple Cinema is up at the top of my list of replacements. There seems to be some uncertainty whether the pink cast problems have been sorted out. Googling this problem gives such a volume of results it is a little troubling.

This is purely anecdotal, but I've had my 23" display for 3 years at home, at work it's 2 years old, and there are probably 30 other 23" displays, if not more in my office. I have a ton of friends who work on the 23" display, too.

I have just never heard of this problem before. It was interesting to read about, to see how pervasive it appears from the search, but I have just never heard of anyone having this problem.

gtc

LG Flatron CRT are very good for the money and I am happy with mine-it has a flat tube

binghott

piscies75 wrote:

I have PS 2 and love it, I was this close to buying a on sale Dell Notebook with 1 dimm, t2500 processor ectra but my friend said his Sony Viao blew Dell out the water (he showed his Dell's at his work versus his Sony ), and he was right. A world of difference in monitors.
I am shopping around for a LCD tv and the Sony's hands down beat anything on the market.

i was just in a sony style store this weekend, and was completely unimpressed by their laptops, monitors, and tv's, whereas i am consistently blown away by the apple cinema displays in the apple store.

i really badly need to see a dell display in action. the thing that keeps me drawn to the dell is that not only can i connect my xbox and other things to it, but i can do picture-in-picture with it. i'm getting a mac pro and the apple cinema display would perfectly accompany it, but the dell's features, extra inch, and lower price have me leaning towards dell.

maybe i should just buy both. perhaps an apple 20" and a dell 20"? i think that would be fair.

Bodley

Can't comment about the newer Dell's but I have an older 21" which has served me well. Also have a newer Gateway ~20" at the office which is okay too.

badtz

Hrmm, interesting reading. We have a bunch of several model dell monitors at work (I have a 1907 and 2005 at home) and after lots of messing around I noted the 07 models didnt seem as good as my 2005. I thought it might just have been me but i've spoken to a few other people and it seems people who have used several seem to agree. I dont even look at images on my 1907, but I just wanted a second monitor and for how I use it its fine. The apple monitors didnt seem to offer me anything over the dell (at the time, if I were buying now Id go look again) and my roomate has 2 samsung 19's that are gorgous. I guess when you buy has as much to do with it as what you buy.

Froggy

Just purchased a Dell
2407 have not recieved it yet but anxiuosly waiting, I did a lot of research in this area, it boiled down to price for me.

I narrowed my search down to a Samsung 244T, NEC 2809, and the Dell, I went with the Dell based on feedback from people that own them and there ability to be calibrated for photo editing

I chose the Dell, at $700 at Dell right now you can't go wrong, I recieved a lot of very positive real world feedback that made up my mind.

There are more expensive and better monitors, this happens to fit my bill.

Good luck!!

Steve