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choosing a monitor

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 8:55 am
by the_hefay
I don't have a large budget, but I really need to upgrade to a better monitor. There's actually nothing wrong with the monitor I currently am using unless I want to edit photos. :roll: My research, such as it was, suggested that I need an IPS monitor. Also, it seems that Samsung's PLS is also a good choice for panel type. What I'm really looking for is a way to accurately reproduce on paper the colors I see on the screen. I'm not looking for exact. I'm just looking for close. Right now, I don't have close. I usally get acceptable results, but it's not necessarily what I thought it was going to be. Any tips? I see that some IPS or PLS monitors are under $200. Is it possible that they will accomplish what I'm looking for? I'm sure they will be an improvement over my TN panel. I did a search on the forum and found 2 or 3 older threads about monitor choices. But since this technology is always changing I thought I'd post the question again.

Re: choosing a monitor

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 10:58 am
by Eiffel
You may want to consider some calibration equipment (for instance a colormunki display) and some software (such as Lightroom 4 or newer) which will emulate your printer's capabilities to optimise the match between what you see on your monitor and what comes out of your printer (assuming you're using some paper with the corresponding profiles).

This being said, I'd agree that the first step is a decent screen (which IMO, starts with 23" IPS/PLS which aren't too expensive these days).

Re: choosing a monitor

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 10:32 pm
by the_hefay
I was thinking 23" or 24" IPS/PLS. I do have LR5. I looked into setting up profiles for the printer, but without being able to get consistent results becuase of the TN panel, I gave up on that for the time being. So will a $200 IPS/PLS monitor be sufficient for getting started? I assume that the more one pays the better the monitor will be. After I get the monitor, I would probably look at getting the calibration hardware, if I felt I needed to tighten up calibration.

Re: choosing a monitor

Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 10:53 pm
by Eiffel
In my experience a Dell or equivalent IPS monitor (I'm typing this on a Dell U2311H) is enough to get started. You may also be able to borrow some calibration equipment and then would basically be all set.

Re: choosing a monitor

Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2014 4:48 pm
by Darren Hankard
you defiantly want to be particular on it, don't go for multi-purpose.
Ie i went for a 24" monitor by BenQ. I had never heard from them, but saw lots and lots of articles saying they are great for gaming, as had really low latency.
It does this. Very well. 2ms if that.
BUT when colour is concerned, ive spent so long on calibration, reading posts, messing about with it, that now im done.
Seriously thinking of getting a IPS as my second monitor next time.