Posted by Scott Fricke on February 20, 2007 at 7:23 PM
I am going to be purchasing a MacBook Pro laptop soon and wanted to see if anyone had any input on which screen would reproduce the more accurate color for viewing photos. Apparently the glossy screen has a higher color contrast for better movie DVD viewing. I am going to bring a DVD in to the Apple store with a couple of my photos on it to see the difference, but wanted to get opinions from others with more knowledge of "color management" issues than I.
Posted by Keith Anderson on February 21, 2007 at 2:39 PM
matte screen for photography, gloss for dvd playback. Photos might look good on a gloss screen but matte is far more accurate in colour on screen
Posted by Rob Coomer on February 21, 2007 at 4:31 PM
Matte is the old style screen. When I purchased my new MacBook Pro, several of us from the office (a design firm, we got 4 of them) went out and looked at them, and there was no question, to which we preferred, it was the matte screen. The gloss seemed like it would be much too annoying from glare and overhead lights. It's hard enough to see the matte screen at times, I would think the gloss would be that much worse. No where did I look that actually had both screens. You looked at the MacBook to see gloss and the MacBook Pro to see the matte. That pretty much told me none of the local outlets sold many gloassy MBPs, not even the apple store.
I had a chance to look at both, but only one lighting condition and it was ideal for viewing. I'm guessing the glossy is going to give more problems under less than ideal conditions, but that's only a guess.
For me there was a bigger issue. On the rare occasions when I would be using the laptop for image processing, I think I would really turn out different results on the glossy screen. It's enough brighter that I suspect I would be reaching for the PS contrast/brightness controls to try to tone it down to look like the matte screen I'm used to. Sure, I could learn to live with it and how to adjust an image based on the screen view, but that's a trick this old dog is going to bypass.
Posted by Scott Fricke on February 23, 2007 at 9:07 PM
Thank you guys for your input. I was able to take some photos down to the apple store in Denver where they have both screens available. The matte screen IMO is far superior in accurately displaying color. I have also been able to speak with someone at Apple's technical support who was an "advanced amateur" photographer, he emphatically stated the matte screen delivers more accurate results as the glossy screen "enhances the colors and adds contrast".
At Mac Store in the mall on the south side of Denver? Ha! That's where I made the comparison as we passed through on our way from Co Springs to the airport last week.
Posted by Scott Fricke on February 25, 2007 at 11:49 PM
Small world isn't it Hank. I ordered the laptop on Friday so should be here within a week, can't wait. Would love to get up to your neck of the woods sometime.
Discussion
7 repliesFor me there was a bigger issue. On the rare occasions when I would be using the laptop for image processing, I think I would really turn out different results on the glossy screen. It's enough brighter that I suspect I would be reaching for the PS contrast/brightness controls to try to tone it down to look like the matte screen I'm used to. Sure, I could learn to live with it and how to adjust an image based on the screen view, but that's a trick this old dog is going to bypass.
If you're ever coming up this way, holler.