Help buying a new monitor

ColMofed · April 20, 2008

Hi, I am currently using an old 17" CRT monitor that is, I think, on it's way out. I can't use a resolution above 1024*768 without it making a horrible high-pitched noise, and even at the above resolution it will sometimes squeal. Also, when callibrating, I can't see the difference in the dark tones.

What I really need to know is, what is the minimum spec for a fairly decent LCD monitor for digital photography processing?

I've just been on Kelkoo and compared two cheap 20" (LG & Phillips). Most of the specs were the same except:

Contrast ratio 2000:1 (LG) & 800:1 (Phillips)
Max refresh rate 75Hz (LG) & 65Hz (Phillips)
And the viewing angle was slightly more on the LG.

What are the important areas I should be looking at?

Thanks for any advice,
Rod.

SloYerRoll · April 20, 2008

How critical is the work you are doing? i.e. I just want shots to look good or I have clients that will fire me if I don't get the colors correct.

Is price an object? *if so, how much are you willing to spend?

Do you (or will you) do this professionally?

ColMofed · April 21, 2008

Thanks for replying, SloYerRoll.

I am on a pretty tight budget - unfortunately

Probably no more than £150 ($300 ish), but if it means I'm going to get a monitor that will last a good few years then I may be able to go to £200 ($400).

The work I do is not critical (I have no one to fire me for this), but I do want the shots to look as good (accurate) as possible. I'd also like to be able to use a higher res than 1024*768 without the items on the screen being too small to see, as on my current 17".

Oh, and I don't intend to turn pro anytime soon.

Thanks again,
Rod.

Newsy · April 22, 2008

You're in a tough spot with a budget limiting your choice.

I suggest you try to get into one of the new Samsung 22"" TN paneled monitors that have just come to market as I suspect that they have full 8 bit colour.

Also, I've seen 24" PVA paneled BenQ's and others going for under $400USD recently.

In terms of image quality for editing, these are the panel types from best to worst:

IPS (newer variants are S-IPS, AS-IPS, H-IPS, etc)
PVA (newer variants are S-PVA)
MVA (newer variants are A-MVA, P-MVA, S-MVA, etc)
TN

My standard suggested reading....

The Anand LCD Thread
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=31&threadid=2049206&enterthread=y
- this thread is a must read

XBit LCD Testing Methodology
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/other/display/lcd-testmethods_7.html#sect0

Use to discover panel types (type in IPS, etc)
http://www.flatpanels.dk/panels.php
http://tftcentral.co.uk/search.php?query=ips&select=panel
(these two sites are typically accurate but sometimes mfg's change panels in mid-model run - aka panel lotteries)

Use to see & compare monitor screens 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)

Review sites that shows images of the monitors viewed from various angles:
http://www.behardware.com/html/cat/22/
http://www.anandtech.com/displays/
http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/reviews.html

Some review sites that get technical:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/other/
http://www.extremetech.com/category2/0,1695,23466,00.asp

A European review sites that covers a lot of displays:
http://www.trustedreviews.com/displays/

ColMofed · April 22, 2008

Thanks, Newsy. Looks like I have quite a bit of reading to look forward to.

I've looked up the panel types (as above) and can see that better is obviously better.

Think I'll stick with my current monitor until I have a better understanding of what I'm looking for, better budget, or this one finally breaks.

Thanks for all the links and info, it's helped a lot.

Rod.

Help buying a new monitor

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