My 3 year old Dell CRT monitor is dying and it looks like I will need to switch to an LCD instead. Looking at new ones from LaCie and Eizo show a price range that goes from affordable to absurd (at least for my budget). Can someone suggest a reasonably priced one (under $500 preferably) that will let me do some Photoshop work (I'm still mostly a wet darkroom person). I'm not wedded to any brand in particular so whatever will work without breaking the bank is what I'm after.
West Coast Imaging has some recommendations on their web site. Seems that some manufacturers certify their monitors for "true color". Regardless you need to profile your monitor with a color profiler (sensor gizmo and software). Pantone makes several..... K
Last year I switched to Dell 19" LCD, the slightly more expensive one, and love it. I got it from Dell on sale for under $300. It has all the right controls to calibrate it properly and it stays consistent for a long time. The LCD part of it is made by Samsung but the controls are better on the Dell branded version.
I asked for advice from a lab that I trust that does a lot of digital stuff and they told me that they use inexpensive monitors like the Dell because the important thing is that they are calibrated correctly. Even if you buy and expensive monitor you'll have to calibrate it at least a couple of times a month anyway.
An advantage of the expensive monitors is that they have a wide angle of view and the Dell that I have doesn't and this bothered me at first but now I don't think about it. A general added benefit of LCD monitors is that a 19" LCD, for instance, is really 19 inches unlike a 19" CRT which is really 18 inches or less.
Generally speaking - and I have been wrong on this before - but LCD monitors with a high contrast ratio seem to have better dynamic range, both for colour and greyscale.
At this point in time, I have the best luck with either LG or Samsung monitors, but these things change so fast, I could be wrong by the time I hit "enter".
eta gosha maaba, aaniish gaa zhiwebiziyin ?
RP, stick with an Eizo. you can buy a refurb 19" direct from them for under $500. It won't be their highest end model bu tone of their Flex Scan's and they are still great monitors. We use them in our scanning workshops and I also have a couple in my studio. The calibrate easily and stay calibrated for long periods of time.
When my LaCie 19 CRT recently died, I planned to get the Apple 23 Cinema but ended up with a Planar PX2411. It calibrates with my Monaco Optix, has all the controls needed and in the month or so I have had it is performing well. It was well below the price of the Apple.
There seem to be lots of good LCD's out there.
Good luck.
Eric
I run two Dell 24" LCDs at home, and we run Dell 24" at work. They are nice monitors, I've never had any complaints with them. Any LCD you get (as far as I know) you'll still get changes in gamma if you don't look at it straight on. Some may have a larger or smaller tolerances for that, but I'm not sure.
I wrote an article for one of our recent newsletters which does not cover which monitor to buy, but does talk about what things to look for. It's here if you're interested:
http://www.colorwiki.com/wiki/Monitors_Part_One
There are a number of advantages to LCD monitors these days, but also a few inherent weaknesses to watch out for. It's just not the same kind of animal as the old CRT's. One of the bigger problems with LCD systems is banding, and it's not so much a problem with the monitor as with the combination of monitor, video card, settings, lighting...and a few other things.
-Pat Herold
i will go for the Lacie one's... it seems to be the best value for money for someone who needs a pro monitor these days !
I've tried samsung one's that where supposed to be a good value for money for photographer... i've calibrated it with my eye one pro 2... there was always some magenta around and the tone values weren't so good !
i've heard about a viewsonic VX225WMB... but i'm shure it's nothing to compare to a lacie, quato, or an eizo.
By the way, while eizo is probably one of the best company, not all there monitors are for photo applications !
I'm going to keep using CRT's for as long as I can buy 2nd hand ones. I have two cheap office CRT's, cost me £25 including postage from ebay and the accuracy of colour and contrast, ease of calibration and ability to dial down the brightness (I work in a pretty dark room) is far ahead of the Apple Cinema 20" that I bought to replace them but then sold..
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks