Posted by Don Kates on October 19, 2008 at 3:31 PM
Anyone have a recommendation for a 30" display. It will be used for photo editing with a 24" iMac and 17" MacBook Pro. I've looked at the Apple 30" display. Looks good but seems to have mixed reviews. Thanks.
Almost second hand (my wife uses one in her studio), the Apple is superb. The techs at our long-time lab commented on the improvement in color management they saw when she switched to it for image processing, so something is going on.
Probably having nothing to do with your circumstances, my wife also experienced a significant jump in the size of portraits ordered from her once she got the new monitor. That's because she does proof reviews with clients on the computer screen, and after seeing the images large, they just tended to buy larger. The jump in average size of prints was so significant, the extra expense of the monitor repaid itself very quickly.
Posted by Don Kates on October 19, 2008 at 6:35 PM
thanks, Hank. Actually, I want it for the same reason. my wife is looking for a larger monitor for presentation and the 30" was the next step up. I like the Apple but have heard they've had some problems.
Posted by Keith Bauer on October 19, 2008 at 8:09 PM
Don:
Here's another very good monitor to consider: NEC 3090
This is a link to John Paul Caponigro's blog about the NEC series. I'm sure you can find a bunch of into by Googling it. I'm using the 2690 and find it to be simply stunning.
Whichever you get Don, track down one of the swivel base mounts for it. Apple makes and catalogs an adapter. Can't dig up the source right now, but I'll come back if I run across it.
Why a swivel base?
Because all your vertical comps will seem really small unless they are displayed horizontally to fill the screen requiring you to swivel the monitor or swivel the clients' heads. The former is definitely more professional!
Posted by Jim Greenwood on October 19, 2008 at 11:14 PM
I've been using the Apple 30" for about one year and never had any problems. You need to make sure your graphics card can handle it though as lesser cards can cause pixelation on the screen.
Posted by Kelly Rowe on October 20, 2008 at 1:11 PM
I have an Apple 30" and it has worked perfectly for 18 months. Do a little research before you jump on one and make sure that the video card in you iMac and MacBook can drive that large monitor.
Let me throw another suggestion into the mix. Do you have an area you can set up for projection? We have a Canon LV-7365 that we project onto a Da-Lite screen mounted on the wall behind our desks in the studio. We run our sales consults with ProSelect Pro software. Read up on it at timeexposure.com to see all the things it's capable of. Once calibrated, you can show clients their images in actual print size and they can see just how tiny an 8X10 is going to be hung over their fireplace. You can get the projector, software and screen for under $2000. I'm pretty new at this so the jury is still out, but lots of shooters on pro4um.com and NoBS swear projection sales sessions increased their sales.
Posted by Don Miller on October 20, 2008 at 11:22 PM
The NEC 2690 and 3090 are much better for photographers than the apples. The NEC's are a better value than the enzios.
I use a Dell 3007 WFP-HC monitor that I purchased over the summer. I am enjoying the increased screen real estate and the ability to see a larger color space.
I would like to caution folks about Dell's quality control though. The first three (yes three) monitors that were shipped were bad in some way or the other and just when I was about give up on the whole thing, the fourth one turned out to be a good piece.
Discussion
9 repliesProbably having nothing to do with your circumstances, my wife also experienced a significant jump in the size of portraits ordered from her once she got the new monitor. That's because she does proof reviews with clients on the computer screen, and after seeing the images large, they just tended to buy larger. The jump in average size of prints was so significant, the extra expense of the monitor repaid itself very quickly.
Here's another very good monitor to consider:
NEC 3090
This is a link to John Paul Caponigro's blog about the NEC series. I'm sure you can find a bunch of into by Googling it. I'm using the 2690 and find it to be simply stunning.
Keith
Why a swivel base?
Because all your vertical comps will seem really small unless they are displayed horizontally to fill the screen requiring you to swivel the monitor or swivel the clients' heads. The former is definitely more professional!
Let me throw another suggestion into the mix. Do you have an area you can set up for projection? We have a Canon LV-7365 that we project onto a Da-Lite screen mounted on the wall behind our desks in the studio. We run our sales consults with ProSelect Pro software. Read up on it at timeexposure.com to see all the things it's capable of. Once calibrated, you can show clients their images in actual print size and they can see just how tiny an 8X10 is going to be hung over their fireplace. You can get the projector, software and screen for under $2000. I'm pretty new at this so the jury is still out, but lots of shooters on pro4um.com and NoBS swear projection sales sessions increased their sales.
I would like to caution folks about Dell's quality control though. The first three (yes three) monitors that were shipped were bad in some way or the other and just when I was about give up on the whole thing, the fourth one turned out to be a good piece.