Which one -- help please :)

Dogdots · May 7, 2009

My monitor died -- it had been sick for awhile. So now I'm using my old CRT and its driving me crazy.

I've worked my way down to these two....What is the difference really with these? I've been told my graphic card doesn't have a HDMI??? So which would I get. And best for photo editing?

Dell S2409W 24-inch Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor

Dell 24" Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor

I hope someone can help me make this decision. Please be honest in your thoughts about these.

CatOne · May 8, 2009

Dogdots wrote:

My monitor died -- it had been sick for awhile. So now I'm using my old CRT and its driving me crazy.

I've worked my way down to these two....What is the difference really with these? I've been told my graphic card doesn't have a HDMI??? So which would I get. And best for photo editing?

Dell S2409W 24-inch Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor

Dell 24" Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor

I hope someone can help me make this decision. Please be honest in your thoughts about these.

The cheap one is a TN panel. It is 6 bit per pixel, and is crappy off-axis (colors will NOT be true if you're not looking straight on). IMO, not a good choice for color/photography work.

The more expensive one is an VA panel. It's better than a TN panel, and probably acceptable.

The best panels are the IPS/SIPS panels like Apple uses, and like Dell uses in its 2007 and 3007 monitors. These are more expensive (and the reasons an Apple display is $899 versus the Dell's $249 -- it's not all markup ;-)

Here's an overview of some of the details... there are other sites if you Google for LCD panel types:

http://www.lcdpaneltypes.net/

Dogdots · May 8, 2009

CatOne wrote:

The cheap one is a TN panel. It is 6 bit per pixel, and is crappy off-axis (colors will NOT be true if you're not looking straight on). IMO, not a good choice for color/photography work.

The more expensive one is an VA panel. It's better than a TN panel, and probably acceptable.

The best panels are the IPS/SIPS panels like Apple uses, and like Dell uses in its 2007 and 3007 monitors. These are more expensive (and the reasons an Apple display is $899 versus the Dell's $249 -- it's not all markup ;-)

Here's an overview of some of the details... there are other sites if you Google for LCD panel types:

http://www.lcdpaneltypes.net/

Thank you for the link.....just found this..what do you think?

Dell - Search - Home & Home Office

Dell.com UltraSharp 2007FP 20-inch Flat Panel Monitor with Height Adjustable Stand Customer Ratings & Reviews - Top & Best Ra...

Sorry about the links being dark....I don't know how to make them white

Newsy · May 8, 2009

What follows is a summation of information that various people have posted in a number of forums.

In terms of image quality for photo editing, these are the TFT LCD panel types from best to worst:
IPS (newer variants are S-IPS, AS-IPS, H-IPS, eIPS, etc)
PVA (newer variants are S-PVA)
MVA (newer variants are A-MVA, P-MVA, S-MVA, etc)
TN

If you would like some background on these panels, read this article:
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/panel_technologies.htm

Your resolution is going to be related to the panel size and H:W aspect ratio.

Most 20" 4:3 monitors have a 1600x1200 resolution
but a 20" 16:10 monitor is likely to be 1680x1050

22" 16:10 typical... 1680x1050
24" 16:10 typical... 1920x1200

etc.

LCD's are specified as having a "native" resolution; this is the resolution at which the image on screen is displayed at its' sharpest and in correct proportion; trying to display a larger image will likely give you an error message on screen; displaying at a lower resolution will give an image that is not as sharp (may show jaggies) as at "native" and may not be correctly proportioned (ie: displaying a circle at 800x600 (4:3) on a 1680x1050 (16:10) monitor will show a less than sharp oval)

The following are typical sizes you may find on the shelf at big box retailers:
30" .... IPS variant
27" .... S-PVA but may be a TN panel soon
26" .... IPS variant (though the NEC 2690 is really a 25.5")
25.5" ... TN's have arrived, some IPS
24" .... IPS, PVA, MVA and most of the inexpensive ones = TN

22" .... almost all TN but several PVA and and eIPS have been introduced recently
<22" ... most IPS/PVA monitors smaller than 22" are no longer in production

Wide Gamut?

Be aware that many of the monitors now offer what they call a wide gamut colour space. If you use one of these monitors you may find that if you that you are not satisfied with the image on screen - many colours appear too saturated. You need to have a colour managed workspace which will include the browser you use for surfing and the software you use to edit and print your images.

Contrast Ratios

- you'll find a lot of manufacturer's promotional literature claim 10,000:1 or higher contrast ratios but a little research will show that these are mostly for less expensive TN paneled monitors. There is a new generation of monitors coming to market with 1920x1080 resolution that is targeted to gamers and HDTV video watchers on a budget ( ie: university students) and the newest all have absurd contrast ratios. (30,000:1)
- check out the latest monitor reviews at
http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/reviews.html

Take note of their "after calibration" contrast ratios for the monitors that are rated "very good". Almost all are between 500:1 and 800:1 - that tells you something about what you need versus the marketing sizzle.

How to find out what panel is used in a monitor.

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

- change the filter to "Panel" and then type in IPS or PVA to find all IPS or PVA monitors
http://www.flatpanelshd.com/panels.php

A visual site to show what off angle views look like (also some other great info such as default and after calibration results):
Here's a view showing an eIPS panel versus a TN panel:

http://www.digitalversus.com/duels.php?ty=6&ma1=88&ma2=88&mo2=218&p2=2098&ph=8#

Some monitors to consider (least expensive to most):

Dell 2209WA .............. e-IPS ............. 1680x1050 ..... 22 inch
HP LP2275w .............. S-PVA ............ 1680x1050 ..... 22 inch
NEC P221 .................. S-PVA ............ 1680x1050 ..... 22 inch
HP LP2475w .............. H-IPS ............. 1920x1200 ..... 24 inch
NEC LCD2490WUXi ...... H-IPS A-TW .... 1920x1200 ..... 24 inch

Coming soon:
LG W2220P ................ IPS ................ 1920x1200 ..... 22 inch

MORE reading..... The Anand LCD Thread

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

- read the first two posts in this thread; find the section where they recommend monitors for specific tasks

Best two review sites:

http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/reviews.html
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews.htm

Tip: budget for a hardware calibrator - many say they're not required but once you've used one you'll wonder why you waited. Essential for print matching as typically most people run their monitors too bright and the calibrator nails the brightness as well as colour balance.
TFT Central has a list of calibrators on their reviews page.

Newsy · May 8, 2009

Dogdots wrote:

Thank you for the link.....just found this..what do you think?

Dell - Search - Home & Home Office

Dell.com UltraSharp 2007FP 20-inch Flat Panel Monitor with Height Adjustable Stand Customer Ratings & Reviews - Top & Best Ra...

Sorry about the links being dark....I don't know how to make them white

Go to the Small Business section of Dell and look at the 2209WA (exactly that model - NOT the E2209 or the S2209).

It is a better monitor than the 2007WFP.

Dogdots · May 8, 2009

Newsy wrote:

Go to the Small Business section of Dell and look at the 2209WA (exactly that model - NOT the E2209 or the S2209).

It is a better monitor than the 2007WFP.

Thanks -- I will do that. I was just reading the info on this one in prad

Dogdots · May 8, 2009

How can this monitor be so cheap for having an eIPS panel?

Newsy · May 8, 2009

Dogdots wrote:

How can this monitor be so cheap for having an eIPS panel?

I don't know that answer.... a new production process is my guess. But it looks like an IPS panel to all who have it. There are numerous people and threads in the Digital Photography Review "PC Talk" forum on this particular monitor. A lot of happy users.

Look, viewing angles compared to another well known IPS monitor.

http://www.digitalversus.com/duels.php?ty=6&ma1=88&mo1=477&p1=4862&ma2=52&mo2=149&p2=1606&ph=8

.

Dogdots · May 8, 2009

Newsy wrote:

I don't know that answer.... a new production process is my guess. But it looks like an IPS panel to all who have it. There are numerous people and threads in the Digital Photography Review "PC Talk" forum on this particular monitor. A lot of happy users.

Look, viewing angles compared to another well known IPS monitor.

http://www.digitalversus.com/duels.php?ty=6&ma1=88&mo1=477&p1=4862&ma2=52&mo2=149&p2=1606&ph=8

.

I ordered one of these monitors late this afternoon. Won't ship till the 27th because of backorders on building them.

I really wanted something alittle bigger, but the price couldn't be beat for what it had to offer in the eIPS. We will see how it works, but by what people say --and I read a bunch today-- is that its dang good.

Thanks for letting me know about this one

Which one -- help please :)

Comments