I run one photo studio. So, I need to edit a lots of photos. I have some budget of around 300$, and I want to invest it by purchasing a new monitor for myself. Please suggest me some good monitors for photo editing task! Thanks!
I run one photo studio. So, I need to edit a lots of photos. I have some budget of around 300$, and I want to invest it by purchasing a new monitor for myself. Please suggest me some good monitors for photo editing task! Thanks!
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.
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.
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.
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
Thanks mate, I'll look into it.
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....
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.
Thanks....I ended up sticking with my circa 2007 21 inch Lacie monitor, running on factory srgb setting
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....
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