Dell 22" LCD monitor

I just ordered a Dell 22" LCD monitor (Dell SP2208WFP - http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&sku=320-6252&redirect=1). I'll get it in next couple of days. I've read many reviews of it on the web. But I'd like to get a photographer's perspective. Has anybody owned this monitor. Do let me know your comments.

I have the E228WFP, which "APPEARS" to me to be the same monitor without the webcam and microphone built-in. (I guess only Dell can tell us if it has the same screen.) If you are fussy about fine-tuning photographs, I get the impression this is not the best choice for a monitor. On mine, the size and resolution are handy for spreading out your work, but I have real problems with the brightness and colors going all out-of-whack depending on the viewing angle. When I first got the monitor, I wondered why the brightness of the same image seemed to change from one day to the next. I then discovered that when viewing two identical images on the screen (shot in burst mode, 1/5 second apart), the image on the top half of the screen was darker. Then I change the position of the same two images, and the lighter one on the bottom became darker when I placed it on the top half of the screen, and vice-versa -- I was the top half of the MONITOR that was darker, not my images!

How do I deal with this? When calibrating the monitor and editing photographs, I need to be very careful about the screen tilt, the height of my chair, and the distance between my eyes and the monitor, as it affects the viewing angle. Even if I do that, it's not perfect. EXAMPLE: As I sit here now, typing on the white screen, the horizontal center section of the screen is white, the top is slightly brownish (barely perceptible color shift, but darker than the center), and the bottom 20% of the display is also darker than the center and really noticeably a green/cyan shade -- significantly! Leaning forward about nine inches (which means I am looking down at the bottom of the screen at a steeper angle) magnifies this effect significantly. Basically, I have learned that I need to keep my images in the center 50% of the screen to make overall levels adjustments -- which of course removes the advantage of buying such a large display!

My graphics card supports two monitors, so now I am connecting both of my LCD monitors and experimenting with using my old 17" monitor for levels adjustments, because the viewing-angle changes are much less severe on the smaller monitor.

If you get different results than I do, please drop me an E-mail and let me know. I hope yours works out better than mine -- Good Luck!

I have the 2208WFP Ultrasharp monitor and love it, I had a few issues when I first got it, but that was due to 1. not being calibrated and 2. not using the video card's program to adjust the monitor.

If you are using Vista with Aero, expect the windows that are behind the top window to look a little darker, it seems to dim the windows by default that are below the window you are viewing.

I calibrated and adjusted the monitor and now I see things very clearly.

I am enjoying my wider desktop real estate.

I have another Dell ultrasharp monitor, and love it, which is why I bought this one.

I agree with Lia. The Dell Ultrasharp monitors have been excellent for me, too. If I were to buy another Dell monitor, I would stick with the Ultrasharp ones. I have two of them in my office, and they are great, with none of the problems I reported about that E228WFP I have at home. HOPEFULLY your new SP2208WFP is more like Lia's 2208 monitor than my 228. (Mine came almost free in a package deal when I was looking for a new computer and did not really need a monitor, so I took it as an "extra" monitor -- that shows that I got what I paid for!) The "Ultrasharp" model of Dell's 22" widescreen costs only $40 more, and now I know it's well worth it. (I should have asked to purchase an upgrade, but it was such a hassle dealing with the horrilbe Dell customer rep, who could not find the deal I saw on their own web site, and kept quoting me different prices and components, I just gave up, relieved that I was able to order anything close to what was on their Web site.)

Thanks a lot for your response guys. I'm getting the monitor & the calibrator today. I'll check out and hopefully it should be all okay!