Computer Monitors
- This topic has 14 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated Jan 1, 2011 at 6:19 am by
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Same as Kurt again.
if your considering a switch just go straight to the 27in imac. I did this past summer and now wonder why I waited so long.
one word on imacs.
They are “bright” out of the box, you will want to calibrate it if you dont already have a device budget for one.+1 on the 27″ mac, they are legit. I was PC hard for 10 years, now after owning that iMac for under 6 months I can’t wait for my PC Laptop to die so I will have to get the macpro.
David, if you happen to have a newer flat screen TV with the RGB PC plugin, you could use it as a monitor. I have a 1080p 42″ flat screen I plug my PC into and it’s bad @ss! It’s just a thought and could save you some money.
You want to make sure your monitor has an IPS panel. Sometimes you have to a little research to determine this but this type of a panel is a must for accurate color calibration, viewing angles, etc. Only a few of the dell monitors have IPS or S-IPS panels, most of the better NEC’s do and a lot of the Apples have IPS panels. As someone who makes a living with a camera I consider an IPS type panel a must have.
Tom
I agree with Tom Cannons suggestion and will add that it really depends on what your expatations are and your budget. For photography and on the high end, I would strongly recommend the MultiSync PA241W-BK-SV 24.1″ Widescreen LCD Monitor with SpectraViewII Color Calibration Solution or the LaCie 526 25.5″ Widescreen LCD Computer Display with VGA/DVI-I/DVI-D Inputs and Blue Eye Pro Colorimeter. The SpectraviewII Color Calibration Solution does a fantastic job of accurately calibrating the NEC monitor, as well as the Blue Eye Pro Colorimeter does for the LaCie monitor. Both cover 98 % of the Adobe RGB gamut and although they are a bit pricey, they are very well worth every penny.
Personally, I have the LaCie 526 with the Blue Eye Pro and would not trade it for anything on the current market. I can’t recommend the LaCie 300 or 700 series, as they do have some issues with them. The LaCie 526 is an older model than the latest NEC but it still holds its ground in the reviews. Also, the Apple Monitors are good monitors but they aren’t really all that great, biggest plus are the built in bells and whistles. At best, the Apple top end monitors cover about 78% of the Adobe RGB, with the MBP covering about 72%.
If you are looking at a smaller budget, I might suggest the HP LP2475w 24″ LCD Computer Display. At less than $500.00, it would be next to impossible to find a better monitor in that price range. A friend of mine purchased one, out of curiosity, and is very impressed. If you chose the HP LP2475w, I would recommend the Eye One II colorimeter for calibration.
I am a Mac user myself and do strongly recommend the Mac but I am not a fan of their monitors.
Hope this helps some and as had been mentioned; Calibrate your monitor, no matter what you get, upon its first use and then routinely calibrate often.
P.S. None of these monitors can serve you well unless you have a really good high end graphic card.
Yes, I was but I don’t want it to come across as though I am trashing it and I want to be very careful in not offending anyone. The 24” iMac display is not a high-bit LUT display and only covers about 72% of the RGB gamut; in essence, it is an expensive sRGB monitor. The Apple Cinema does cover 78% but the iMac monitor is a good match for the iMac, as the iMac isn’t designed to cover all of Adobe RGB anyway, ( I have no idea why Apple decided to do that with the iMac’s), another advantage for going with Mac Pro or MBP. From what I have read, I understand that Apple had to halt production on the 27”iMac monitors, due to intermittent flickering and some have had issues with faint yellow tinting issues, as well, this may be due to their use of a pseudo white.
The MBP monitor covers the same gamut as the iMac display. Comparing the MBP monitor to an Apple Cinema Display, visual differences can be noticed in certain images; even when both monitors have been properly calibrated.
I am taking for granted that the OP is currently in a MS environment so, I would offer other choices over the expensive sRGB iMac, as better value and investment.
Also: Unless I have missed something, I don’t think that they are using LED in the iMac monitors but are using them in the Cinema display’s. The extra 6% of gamut can also be noticeable.
I’m not offended Ben just trying to learn all I can.
FWIW my iMac is LED or at least it said so on the box. It was the main reason I switched to mac.
I’m not offended Ben just trying to learn all I can.
FWIW my iMac is LED or at least it said so on the box. It was the main reason I switched to mac.
I am glad that I did not come across in a negative way and thanks for confirming it for me.
It is good that Apple finally decided to put the LED backlight monitors in the iMac line up too. The monitor in the MBP are essentially the exact same as what is in the IMac now. Apple does not give out their technical data, per gamut, as they use the NTSC measurements, which is more
Mike, Ben and I go back and forth about monitors in regard to his LaCie 526 vs my Apple Cinema display 24″. In short summary – he is right (as usual) in that the Apple monitors only cover 78% of the RGB gamut and even less of the ProPhoto spectrum. Basically, the Cinema Displays (not the iMac built in per se) are just big laptop monitors. However, they look darn cool and the chrome matches the MacBook Pro lineup. That is what drew me in at first and without regret. However, now that I am doing print and conversions on a production level, I have seen the necessity for a LaCie or equivalent “high gamut” monitor and will upgrading in the next year and giving the Cinema Display to my wife. If all you are going to do is export photos for blogs and webpages then the Apple monitors of any variety are sufficient. If you are going to sell photos for high end prints then you will want (but not necessarily need) a “high gamut” monitor.
There he is 🙂 Happy New Years, my friend! Don’t forget to pick up that 24″ double baffled Lastolite, during this new year too LOL..
Neal is so very right about wide gamut monitors not being a requirement. I will also add that if anyone does decide to go the wide gamut route, hold onto your old sRGB monitors, as they are better for web use. There are a few browsers that read ICC profiles but the majority of images, posted to the web, are not tagged. The wide gamut monitors have a difficult time with this and many images will have a reddish cast, due to it. So, sRGB is the better choice for surfing the web, (at present).
Additionally, a 14 or 15bit camera setting and/or shooting in Raw or even Adobe RGB is counter intuitive when processing on an sRGB monitor. The same goes for setting LR3 or PSCS5 to a ProPhoto or even Adobe RGB working environment, as even the Apple Cinema covers just a little over all of the sRGB gamut. Again though, this does not mean that the Apple monitors are bad, it just means that it is hard to tell how much a user may be missing, until they see their same images on a good wide gamut monitor. The same goes for printing and matching true rendered color between both a printer and monitor.
Neal, the 526 has been out on the market for awhile but it still outperforms most of the market. The sad thing, for you lol, is: They did come down in price, for a bit, but the demand is still there and it still holds its own in current reviews so, the price has gone back up again. B&H has the best prices, with the colorimeter and hood, at about $1,700.00. You’ll find them next to those Lastolite double baffled 24″ softboxes LOL
For anyone that is curious, about this monitor: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/495366-REG/LaCie_130766_526_25_5_Widescreen_LCD.html or http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?pid=10897
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