New Monitor Question

Sam

I have a friend who is getting more involved in photography, and image printing / processing.

He currently has a cheap bottom end LCD, and apparently, (He lives in Phoenix, I in Ca), so I can't put my hands on it, can't turn down the brightness.

Everything he prints comes out very dark.

He is in the market for a better monitor, but has a budget.

What specs are important for an LCD? Do you have any LCD recommendations? Are there any CRTs you would recommend?

Is it possible to get some thing in the 500.00 range?

Thanks,

Sam

Poseidon

S-IPS is the way to go, and yes $500 will get either an S-IPS or the next best, S-PVA panel type.

Here is a great place to find out what panel is in each monitor.

http://www.flatpanels.dk/panels.php

Newsy

Great reference links.


The Anand LCD Thread
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=31&threadid=2049206&enterthread=y


Use to discover panel types
http://www.flatpanels.dk/panels.php


Use to see screen from various angles
http://www.digitalversus.com/duels.php?ty=6&ma1=36&mo1=104&p1=1040&ma2=52&ph=8
(and the link should show two monitors that while not the best, are good)


Another good European review site
http://www.prad.de/en/


A review site that some like
http://www.trustedreviews.com/displays/



Read the Anand LCD thread to get the spec's detail. They also have a list of recommended monitors for various tasks.

For $500 he should be looking a a 20 or 21" widescreen (16:10) monitor that will offer a 1680x1050 resolution. I suggest the NEC 20WMGX2 which has an S-IPS panel or a Samsung 215TW which has a S-PVA panel.

If he wants to stay with a traditional 4:3 1600x1200 monitor then look to the NEC LCD2070NX (silver bezel) or LCD2070NX-BK (black bezel) for an S-IPS panel. There are still some HP LP2065's still to be found though you have to ensure you get an S-IPS panel by checking that the box label states "rev. GSMxxx" (000 thru 002).


All of these will have to be calibrated to a luminosity point of 105 to 120 cd/m2 for accurate print matching of the monitor's brightness to the printer's brightness. A Spyder or EyeOne would be best but for the short term try and get your friend to check out these websites and adjust his brightness and contrast and gamma.

http://epaperpress.com/monitorcal/

http://www.drycreekphoto.com/Learn/Calibration/monitor_black.htm

http://www.normankoren.com/makingfineprints1A.html#gammachart

.

Pilznr

Here's my ...
I use a variety of different monitors at work. We have a Dell 24" Widescreen LCD that is my absolute favorite. The colors are very true to what I've printed. I've compared a couple dozen photos to the monitor, and it's amazing how similar they are. Here's the link to Dell's page:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=320-5647
Unfortunately it's out of your price range at $700. But you could probably use its specs to find a good monitor.
Hope that was helpful.

Sam

Thanks everyone!!!

Sam

exactexposure

Looking for a good Monitor too!!!

Sam wrote:

Thanks everyone!!!

Sam

I have been researching LCD monitors for accurate image adjustments with Photoshop CS3. I would like to find a 21-24” widescreen LCD monitor (S-PVA or S-IPS type (not TN)) for connecting to my laptop as well as a 24-30” widescreen LCD (S-PVA or S-IPS again) as my primary display for my main Windows based PC.

Currently I have the Dell 24” 2405WFP LCD monitor, however after color calibrating the monitor with the Eye One Photo LT and Match 3 software I find it is still too bright (luminance is 160 at a brightness setting of zero on the Dell monitor! The contrast is not adjustable and set at 50%. This makes my blacks look overly bright (lighter) than what prints out on my Epson 7800 printer.

I have even read information about the negatives of “wide gamut” LCD monitors (some say that until the hardware/software supports a wider gamut these monitors actually make image adjustments harder?). This only continues to confuse me as to which monitor(s) I should purchase. Within reason (around $2000 each) I am willing to spend money on the best equipment.

Long story short, if you can give some recommendations (or direct me to an accurate website) on LCD computer monitors for accurate Photoshop CS3 adjustments I would greatly appreciate such information.

Thank You,
David


I have been posting and researching online for days now and can not get a solid answer to my question. Hopefully the links above on this post will help, I'll let you know if I am successful with my research... but my Dell 2405 is just unacceptably "bright" to be useful...

anmoldagreat

i say you hop over to dell outlet and pick up a 2007wfp like i just did
its only 350 to your door when they have the free shipping promotion

its a bit of a lottery though whether youll get the ips or pva panel but i just got mine yesterday and got an ips panel. so happy.