Suggest Me Some Monitors For Photo Editing

[riowilliam160]

I run one photo studio. So, I need to edit a lots of photos. I have some budget of around 300$, and I want to invest it by purchasing a new monitor for myself. Please suggest me some good monitors for photo editing task! Thanks!

[Ari]

I use a cheap second-hand Dell and a Spyder monitor calibration unit.
As long as your monitor can be calibrated, then printer calibrated to your monitor, you don't need the latest and greatest.

[jp]

For cheap, look for IPS. Color is the same when viewing angle changes... Every see color change on your monitor as you walk past it or lift your head up or down? Does not happen with IPS.

[Sasquatchian]

If you're serious about color then three hundred bucks is not going to cut it, and if you are really running a busy studio then you should be able to afford more. The gold standard is, of course, the Eizo line with built-in hardware lookup table based calibration and the ability to calibrate to many different standards which is a must if you're doing any video work. The next step down would probably be from NEC and some Dell units and then moving down to BenQ, many of which have uniformity issues but can be a good value if you can find a good sample. But it all comes down to how particular you are and how important what you see on screen is to you and your clients. Only you can make that decision. For me, it's Eizo all the way and before that it was Barco and Sony Artisan.

To comment on one of the above comments: You don't calibrate your printer your monitor. That's something that is simply not possible with modern inkjet printers. They're pretty much fixed in how they print with only minor changes coming from driver settings. What you do however, is calibrate your monitor to a known standard, i.e. 6500K, 95 cd/m2 white point and .4 cd/m2 black point and a luminosity that is appropriate for you ambient light in your edit room. Then you use the appropriate media profile for your printer/paper combination, which Photoshop or Lightroom uses to translate the colors from your working space on the fly to the colors your printer needs, which are alway different from the working space. So, there's no printer calibration at all, only what amounts to a language translation from one color space to another via profiles. And for those who don't know, and there are still quite a few who don't, you ALWAYS need at least two profiles in the equation - a SOURCE profile and a DESTINATION profile. When you print the source is your working space, which also has a side trip through the monitor profile so you can view correctly, and then the printer profile which is the destination. When you're just viewing your file on screen, the source profile is your working space profile (sRGB, AdobeRGB, ProPhotoRGB etc.) and the destination is your screen profile - because that's your destination - viewing on the monitor. I got that bit from John Pannazzo at ColorByte back in 1998 when I was beta testing his Trident software for the Howtek drum scanners, and at that point no one else had explained it that simply or effectively. Of course, ColorByte has gone on to create ImagePrint printing software that many people use.

[rdenney]

My BenQ is not super-uniform, but I have an idea of how to compensate for its variations. But the color is reasonable and it calibrates nicely, giving me enough similarity between screen and print to avoid feeling like I'm chasing my tail. It also comes with a viewing hood that has a door in the top especially for dropping a calibrator to rest on the front of the screen.

I use an X-Rite I1 Display Pro calibration system. Having a good calibration systems is as important as having a good monitor.

Rick "can't complain at the price paid" Denney

[riowilliam160]

Thanks mate, I'll look into it.

[Chester McCheeserton]

Curious – what are the uniformity issues you guys mention on the BenQ? Like hotspots/general uneven-ness?

I"m in a similar position, finally pulled the trigger on a new laptop and realizing that my lacie 17 inch external monitor from 2007 is not going to cut the mustard for much longer either.

I'm thinking of something in the 500-1000 range....24 or 27....can't decide between low end eizo (Eizo ColorEdge CS2420) or similar spec but cheaper BenQ or Dell ultra sharp...

Can the USB ports on the backs of these monitors be used for plugging in usb connections like flash drives, scanners, and printers or can the power supply flow from the monitor through a hub into my laptop? already ordered a small hub but trying to figure out a way to reduce my rats nest of usb cables....

[r.e.]

I'm thinking of something in the 500-1000 range....24 or 27....can't decide between low end eizo (Eizo ColorEdge CS2420) or similar spec but cheaper BenQ or Dell ultra sharp...

I'm using an Eizo CS2740, purchased last year, for photo and video editing. Very happy with it.

[r.e.]

I think that ViewSonic's monitors are worth a look. I don't have one, but they appear to be very good value for money. One of the guys that I deal with at B&H, and whose opinions I respect, has a very favourable view of ViewSonic monitors.

[Chester McCheeserton]

I'm using an Eizo CS2740, purchased last year, for photo and video editing. Very happy with it.

Thanks....I ended up sticking with my circa 2007 21 inch Lacie monitor, running on factory srgb setting:D

My "upgrade" ended up being a $200 portable monitor made by Gechic and some clamps to rig it up next to my aging lacie to use a a secondary monitor for the layers and adjustment windows in photoshop....

But when my ship comes in I'll be springing for that eizo....

[r.e.]

But when my ship comes in I'll be springing for that eizo....

Eizo is in the process of launching new 2K (ColorEdge CG2700S) and 4K (ColorEdge CG2700X) monitors: https://www.eizoglobal.com/products/coloredge/sp_cg2700xs/

[neil poulsen]

Out of curiosity, which model BenQ do you have?


My BenQ is not super-uniform, but I have an idea of how to compensate for its variations. But the color is reasonable and it calibrates nicely, giving me enough similarity between screen and print to avoid feeling like I'm chasing my tail. It also comes with a viewing hood that has a door in the top especially for dropping a calibrator to rest on the front of the screen.

I use an X-Rite I1 Display Pro calibration system. Having a good calibration systems is as important as having a good monitor.

Rick "can't complain at the price paid" Denney

[neil poulsen]

I have and really like my BenQ SW240. This is a true, graphics quality monitor having a bit-depth of 10 bits and a 14 bit lookup table. It has a color gamut that's 99% of Adobe RGB. At $399 for a 24" monitor with those specs, it's an excellent value.

A person at B&H with whom I spoke about this monitor spoke highly of BenQ monitors in general. They manufacture their own screens so that they can have control of their own quality, versus purchasing screens from another manufacturer.

The 24" screen is ideal for me in my situation. But as one might suspect, the SW270c priced at $799.99 is a 27" screen with better specs. It also has a bit-depth of 10 bits and has a color gamut of 99% Adobe RGB. But, it has a 16 bit lookup table.

BenQ color graphics quality monitors larger than 27" get expensive. The least expensive, next larger sized color graphics monitor I can find on the B&H site is the SW321c. They don't appear to offer a "reasonably priced" 32" color graphics monitor, like they do in the 24" and 27" sizes. The SW321c has the same 10 bit bit-depth and 16 bit lookup table with a color gamut of 99% of Adobe RGB as the SW270c, but it's priced at $1999.99. Whew!

Note that bit-depth relates to the number of colors a monitor is capable of producing. Monitors with lookup tables enable one to use table-based color management, versus matrix-based color management. (I much prefer the former.) BenQ color graphics quality monitors come with their own color graphics software that's really slick. It also has options for both basic and advanced users.

[Gabe]

I use the BenQ SW271, and have been pretty happy with it.

27", 4K resolution, 10-bit colour with a 14-bit LUT and HDR capability. Obviously the Eizo ColorEdge CG319X would be nice, but I'm not dropping 4 grand on a monitor.

Colour accurate OLED screens are starting to appear on the market, and are a very attractive proposition. Obviously prices are still high, and it remains to be seen if burn-in will be a long term issue with them, but a space to watch for sure. The black levels (and therefore contrast ratio achievable) with OLED screens are nothing short of incredible.