Posted by Cynthia Spence on February 26, 2009 at 10:53 AM
It's tax return time and I'm seriously considering getting a monitor to hook up to my laptop. I've had NEC recommended to me, which I'm sure is great monitor, but at 500.00 a little pricey. So I'm looking for a 19 inch monitor for less than that. HP has also been recommended but it has a very reflective screen and I don't know if that is a good idea. Also, please recommend what calibration would be best.
Thanks for your input.
Posted by Gene Lugo on February 26, 2009 at 1:01 PM
Whatever monitor you end up with, make certain it is 8 bit - either an S-IPS panel, or a S-PVA. Either will give you 16.7M concurrently displayable colors, rather than 16.3 possible colors. Many of the lower cost monitors are TN-type panels, which are 6 bit. These are fast bright displays, but better suited for gaming applications and video. They simply do not have the range of color necessary for photo editing. You will experience posterization, missing colors, and subtle tones that will not be displayable. I recently experienced this with a friend who sent me an image that contained lots of deep blue sky. However, plainly visible to me on a CRT monitor was a considerable amount of sensor dust. The friend did not believe me until he viewed his images on his work monitor, also a CRT. The laptop screeen, apparently a 6 bit display, was not capable of showing the dust.
The NEC LCD2190UXp-BK seems to be the least expensive display that features an S-PVA panel, and can display the full sRGB gamut and can be purchased for a little less than $800. The LCD2180WG-LED-BK is a full-blown 10 bit monitor, can display 107% of the Adobe RGB gamut, and comes bundled with a colorimeter and calibration software. This one costs just under $1000, and seems to represent a better value by virtue of its bundled calibration solution and wider gamut. Anything less will result in lower cost at the expense of accuracy.
Dell and Samsung offer similar monitors, as does Lacie, but the Lacie monitors are quite pricey and appear to be rebranded product anyway.
Hope this helps.
Posted by David Bostedo on February 26, 2009 at 1:46 PM
Given the price range Cynthia is looking for, Gene, those may not be options. There are some cheaper S-IPS or S-PVA panels though. Take a look at this PC Hardware Help page on LCD monitors.
It includes a link to a list os S-IPS monitors, including some cheaper ones in Cynthia's range. (As that article states, it can be very hard to figure out what kind of panel is in a given monitor.) Most monitor's I've seen anyone recommend for photo work are on that list.
Posted by Gene Lugo on February 26, 2009 at 7:21 PM
David,
The Dell UltraSharp 2209WA seems almost too good to be true @ $300 but it is described as an e-ips monitor - which appears to be a subset of s-ips or h-ips. But if cheap is the goal, this might be a decent choice.
Discussion
3 repliesThanks for your input.
The NEC LCD2190UXp-BK seems to be the least expensive display that features an S-PVA panel, and can display the full sRGB gamut and can be purchased for a little less than $800. The LCD2180WG-LED-BK is a full-blown 10 bit monitor, can display 107% of the Adobe RGB gamut, and comes bundled with a colorimeter and calibration software. This one costs just under $1000, and seems to represent a better value by virtue of its bundled calibration solution and wider gamut. Anything less will result in lower cost at the expense of accuracy.
Dell and Samsung offer similar monitors, as does Lacie, but the Lacie monitors are quite pricey and appear to be rebranded product anyway.
Hope this helps.
It includes a link to a list os S-IPS monitors, including some cheaper ones in Cynthia's range. (As that article states, it can be very hard to figure out what kind of panel is in a given monitor.) Most monitor's I've seen anyone recommend for photo work are on that list.
The Dell UltraSharp 2209WA seems almost too good to be true @ $300 but it is described as an e-ips monitor - which appears to be a subset of s-ips or h-ips. But if cheap is the goal, this might be a decent choice.