LCD for photo editing

asamuel

I'm looking to buy TOMMORROW this to circum-navigate my crappy notebook monitor.

If its a turkey please tell me, I've been reading monitor stuff all day and I THINK this sounds ok for my pocket and my pictures.

approx 500euros is my limit and I live in Greece on an island which is proving trickey.

I will also invest in a huey to calibrate it proper.

Dell UltraSharp™ 2007WFP 20.1" Widescreen LCD Flat Panel Monitor. 300 cd/m² brightness, 800:1 contrast, 16ms response time. Black TCO99

ian408

Seems OK to me. I'm looking at mine now (work).

Adjusted, I think it will be OK for post work--but keep in mind, there's always something better.

colourbox

It should be good. It is almost certain that it won't be the worst, and won't be the best. But it will be OK, and few people can afford the best. You should be able to work with it.

jay

im on mine now and i love it

cmason

great monitor...check the Dell Outlet, always several there...usually brand new, save some money.

raebrown

I've also been searching for an new monitor to replace my old CRT which I'm unable to calibrate. I've heard good reports about the Samsung 226BW...you might want to check it out as well.

Ric Grupe

raebrown wrote:

I've also been searching for an new monitor to replace my old CRT which I'm unable to calibrate. I've heard good reports about the Samsung 226BW...you might want to check it out as well.

Good advice here.

asamuel

bless you all, I will check out the samsung. but my finger is hovering over the buy now button for the DELL.

dangin

i have a variety of dell ultrasharp LCDs at work. i have a samsung 226bw at the home office. i do most of my post production at home. the samsung has a wider brightness and contrast gamut. however: fine tuning can be pretty challenging w/o a color calibration tool. on the other hand, the dell ultrasharp LCDs i have at office is pretty close to being calibrated to my printers out of the box so i never bothered making many adjustments.

asamuel

just to let you guys know the avaliability of this model is now limited. the price has gone up!? and it will take a month for me to recieve.

i_worship_the_King

LCD for photo editing
I'm typically a huge Viewsonic fan, but I'm open-minded to change. Any recommendations on a 22" or so monitor?

rosselliot

have you looked into the apple? or are you a PC person only?

- Ross

i_worship_the_King

rosselliot wrote:

have you looked into the apple? or are you a PC person only?

- Ross

I used one of those jumbo Apple monitors in one of the NCSU media labs... like 32" or something crazy... it was wonderful, but the resolution was pathetic. I'm concerned with good color, and high resolution (I would rather have another 15" 1600x1200 than any apple monitor I've seen/used.)

dangin

a great value IMO: samsung 226bw

hgernhardtjr

dangin wrote:

a great value IMO: samsung 226bw

I agree wholeheartedly ... a great VALUE, and works extremely well.

Nonetheless, I use the larger, USD$160 more expensive Samsung 245BW (DVI port), and I feel that, other than size alone, it functions a tad bit better for my style of photoediting and my close-to-60 year old eyes.

When I was purchasing, I compared several montiors ... yes, there were quite a few extremly costly models that overall may have been a tad better, but IMHO either the $340 226BW or the $500 245BW fit the cost effectiveness bill quite nicely. My heart, head, eyes, and pocketbook fell to the colorful allure of the 245BW.

BTW, a number of my photographic students have complained about the darker strip down the right side of Windows Vista displays when searching for a good LCD monitor ... hey, guess what? Turn off the Vista gadgets Sidebar and no dark band!!!

wesleyt

I love the Dell 2407; I'll be buying a second one when I get my new computer in a week or two.

Quicklebe

Using a large screen lcd or plasma
This is related to the original posting. However I am going to purchase a large screen tv for watching movies and regular tv. I am thinking of either a 50" plasma or a 46" lcd. Will probably go either with a Samsung or Sony.

Besides watching movies, I was going to use this tv for photo editing. Does anyone have experience using a large screen? Most of the large screens have a way to connect to a pc.

Any preferences people have such as resolution (720 or 1080), brand, plasma or lcd, etc...

Thanks,

dangin

Quicklebe wrote:

This is related to the original posting. However I am going to purchase a large screen tv for watching movies and regular tv. I am thinking of either a 50" plasma or a 46" lcd. Will probably go either with a Samsung or Sony.

Besides watching movies, I was going to use this tv for photo editing. Does anyone have experience using a large screen? Most of the large screens have a way to connect to a pc.

Any preferences people have such as resolution (720 or 1080), brand, plasma or lcd, etc...

Thanks,

while i personally wouldn't subject my big screen to this. you're definitely better off with an LCD. if you're going to be doing computer work with a flat panel, you probably ought to avoid plasma displays because of the risk of screen burn in. just think of your taskbar at the bottom of your screen burnt in and noticeable as you try to watch your favorite movie. the one i'm looking at for myself is the samsung LN-T5265F it's an LCD, supports 1080p, has deep blacks, and has a 8ms refresh

cmason

Quicklebe wrote:

Besides watching movies, I was going to use this tv for photo editing. Does anyone have experience using a large screen? Most of the large screens have a way to connect to a pc.
Thanks,

I have used (briefly) my 40" Sony 1080p LCD with a laptop. It works fine and looks wonderful. But, do not assume that it is better. First of all, practical matters: My TV is situated in the family room where all can enjoy it. It is rare that anyone else in the house wants to watch me work in Lightroom, especially when there is some show they want to catch. So, there would be a fight for the TV. Plus doing real work from the sofa or recliner is comfortable, but does not offer the control and effeciency I prefer at a desk. Finally, the screen is big, and text is tiny. What looks fine on the laptop is a strain for the eyes with the Sony. Resolution is sharp, but there is ALOT of real estate here, meaning if you sit close enough to read, you have to move your head as you move your mouse across the screen! I think 40" is impractical.

Finally, lets do the numbers: HDTV and 1080p are brilliant for television and movies. 1080p is 1920×1080, which is great, but that is 1920 across all that real esate. You can purchase a smaller LCD, even an HD LCD at say 24 inches, and get a much more manageable view, imho. Heck, I can't really see a big difference between the big Sony and the Dell UltraSharp 2007WFP 20.1-inch LCD running at 1680x1080. Most of this is due to the manageablity between 20" and 40"...But there is a light-year difference in cost.

asamuel

Finally recieved it, havent calibrated with the Huey. Busy creating a DAM flow, but managed to watch a movie on it and I thought it was the business, does that count for anything

Quicklebe

Lcd
I never thought of the practical downsides such as having too large a screen to easily see everything at once.

I think I will take my laptop to one of the big box stores (best buy, circuit city, sears) and see how well I can use a large screen.

Thanks for the responses.

Miguel Delinquento

The authoritative thread
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=31&threadid=2049206&enterthread=y
This is about the most comprehensive information in plain English out there. Very useful. The recommendations change frequently to match the crazy marketplace.
FWIW, I purchased a Samsung 215TW for photo editing and I really like it. It is far superior to the Samsung "B" line that you see in office stores right now. NEC makes better monitors. Not many good Viewsonics these days--they have become more of a mass market brand. Most monitors emphasize speed and low cost over color quality because gamers are a huge insatiable market. Photo editing monitors are pretty pricey in comparison. Some Dells are a bargain, but you have to research a lot as they change OEMs by the version and some are lousy for photos. I also use a Dell 19-in from 2 years ago that's OK, but not as good as the Samsung. HPs can also be quite good, but you gotta do your homework.
Most important is to calibrate any monitor you purchase.
M