Posted by Joe Paratore on December 31, 2009 at 11:10 AM
I am in the process of starting the New Year off with a purchase of
a new computer monitor.
I have been on just about ever forum and review web sights and
now I am more confused then ever and undecided on what monitor to buy.
I ‘m looking at a size of 22’’ to 24’’ and a budget of $400.
My end goal is to get prints to match my monitor (calibrated}
as close as possible.
Many on this forum print and do art shows and I am sure are
well-informed on this matter,
Finally my question.
What are your suggestions?
And what do you have and why do you like it? Does your
monitor calibrate easily.
Wishing everyone a blessed and fruitful new year in life
and photography
Thanks
Joe
Posted by Jim Casteel on December 31, 2009 at 11:44 AM
How much do you have to spend? I bought a Samsung xl2370 because it is highly recommended but cheap. However if you can spend about $600+ then there is an HP LP2475zx that is awesome and if you want to spend a bit more but have a monitor that is perfect get the DreamColor LP2480zx. I know other manufactures make good quality monitors but it can be hard to sort them out.
Posted by John Mumaw on December 31, 2009 at 11:57 AM
I subscribe to digital darkroom expert Tim Grey's daily e-newsletter Q&A briefs, and here's one pertaining to your question from a couple of weeks ago that may interest you:
____________________________________________________________________
Today's Question:
With Black Friday rapidly approaching, I was hoping you could offer some suggestions for LCD monitors that can be calibrated for Photoshop. I would be particularly interested in any Make & Model's under $400.00.
It is indeed time to start thinking about holiday shopping for our friends, our family, and ourselves. Based on your criteria, I think your best option would probably be a Samsung SyncMaster display. Within your price range you can get a 23-inch model, such as the XL2370. For a long time Samsung wasn't on my list of top monitors (which includes Viewsonic, Apple, EIZO, Sony, and others), but I've been seeing great displays from them on a regular basis, and they've also been getting high reviews and winning awards for their displays.
You can most certainly find a better display, but it will cost you considerably more. For example, a 23-inch display from EIZO can cost you around $2,200, and a 24-inch display from Apple will cost you around $900. The Samsung SyncMaster displays offer surprisingly good quality for their price, and so based on how much you want to spend I think it is an excellent solution.
I always recommend that you try to view photographic images on a display before making a purchase decision. That generally involves going to a "big box" store so you can see a wide variety of models on display. Bring along a jump drive with some photos in JPEG format and see if you can't talk the salesperson into loading them up on the computer connected to your favorite two or three displays. You can also check smaller computer retailers (though there aren't too many of those around), or contact other photographers near you to see what they're using, and to take a look at their display if possible so you can get a better sense of the relative quality of your various options.
You're going to spend many hours looking at your monitor display, so it is important to make the right decision up front. Check online reviews, customer feedback, manufacturer websites, and other resources to see what other options might be available to you, and try to get an opportunity to see the actual product in use before making a final purchase decision.
Posted by Sarah Marino on December 31, 2009 at 1:17 PM
I have been researching monitors, too. I am currently thinking about getting the Dell 2209WA. It retails for $269 through Dell and has gotten some good reviews by photographers as a good lower-end option. It seems to be the best deal on an IPS panel that I can find. With the good reviews and a good price, you might want to add it to your list of considerations.
Posted by C.A. Fields on January 1, 2010 at 2:31 PM
I very recently purchased the Dell 2209 WA after doing much research.
I received it a few weeks ago, and after setting it up, adjusting the brightness, contrast and then calibrating it I have used it for processing a few hundred photos. I am absolutely impressed with this monitor.
I have an Acer 21.5" TN panel monitor next to the 2209WA and the difference is like night and day.
I purchased the Dell for $212 + tax with free shipping after reading this thread:
Posted by Bob Falcone on January 3, 2010 at 6:33 PM
I bought a Dell 2209WA in March and I think it's great.
It meets the main goal for me...the prints I make match what I see on the monitor! The resolution is great, no dead/hot pixels, easy to calibrate.
I think it cost me around $225 or so...
Posted by Roger Rouch on January 6, 2010 at 9:22 AM
I have a Dell Ultrasharp 2009WA and am considering an upgrade to the 24" ultrasharp, which you can get for about $440. There is also a 22" ultrasharp. I closely as I've followed things, monitor recomendations for various brands and models seem to come and go, but the ulrasharps have been a mid-priced old standby for a while. They seem to require a manual turndown of the brightness by maybe 50% and have RBG presets, but calibrate OK.
Discussion
6 repliesa new computer monitor.
I have been on just about ever forum and review web sights and
now I am more confused then ever and undecided on what monitor to buy.
I ‘m looking at a size of 22’’ to 24’’ and a budget of $400.
My end goal is to get prints to match my monitor (calibrated}
as close as possible.
Many on this forum print and do art shows and I am sure are
well-informed on this matter,
Finally my question.
What are your suggestions?
And what do you have and why do you like it? Does your
monitor calibrate easily.
Wishing everyone a blessed and fruitful new year in life
and photography
Thanks
Joe
____________________________________________________________________
Today's Question:
With Black Friday rapidly approaching, I was hoping you could offer some suggestions for LCD monitors that can be calibrated for Photoshop. I would be particularly interested in any Make & Model's under $400.00.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tim's Answer:
It is indeed time to start thinking about holiday shopping for our friends, our family, and ourselves. Based on your criteria, I think your best option would probably be a Samsung SyncMaster display. Within your price range you can get a 23-inch model, such as the XL2370. For a long time Samsung wasn't on my list of top monitors (which includes Viewsonic, Apple, EIZO, Sony, and others), but I've been seeing great displays from them on a regular basis, and they've also been getting high reviews and winning awards for their displays.
You can most certainly find a better display, but it will cost you considerably more. For example, a 23-inch display from EIZO can cost you around $2,200, and a 24-inch display from Apple will cost you around $900. The Samsung SyncMaster displays offer surprisingly good quality for their price, and so based on how much you want to spend I think it is an excellent solution.
I always recommend that you try to view photographic images on a display before making a purchase decision. That generally involves going to a "big box" store so you can see a wide variety of models on display. Bring along a jump drive with some photos in JPEG format and see if you can't talk the salesperson into loading them up on the computer connected to your favorite two or three displays. You can also check smaller computer retailers (though there aren't too many of those around), or contact other photographers near you to see what they're using, and to take a look at their display if possible so you can get a better sense of the relative quality of your various options.
You're going to spend many hours looking at your monitor display, so it is important to make the right decision up front. Check online reviews, customer feedback, manufacturer websites, and other resources to see what other options might be available to you, and try to get an opportunity to see the actual product in use before making a final purchase decision.
_____________________________________________________________
These monitors go for $300 at BestBuy.
I received it a few weeks ago, and after setting it up, adjusting the brightness, contrast and then calibrating it I have used it for processing a few hundred photos. I am absolutely impressed with this monitor.
I have an Acer 21.5" TN panel monitor next to the 2209WA and the difference is like night and day.
I purchased the Dell for $212 + tax with free shipping after reading this thread:
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1181717&page=31
C.A. Fields
http://cafields.com
It meets the main goal for me...the prints I make match what I see on the monitor! The resolution is great, no dead/hot pixels, easy to calibrate.
I think it cost me around $225 or so...