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Pc Monitor for photo editing?


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Hello to all, 

Since my laptop monitor is not good enough anymore to do photo processing, I was thinking to upgrade to a external monitor a bit bigger so I can do easier my photo processing. 

But there are so many in the market and its too difficult to choose. 

According to the pixinsight suggestions the minimum should be FHD 1920x1080 resolution and IPS. 

I know that is all about budget and how much you can spend.... But I don't want to spend for a high end monitor that a simpler monitor could do the job. 

I was thinking for a 24inch..... or 27inch.

Can anyone suggest me for a monitor to buy or even tell me what you are using and if you are happy with it? 

Would I be satisfied with a 1920x1080 resolution or shall I go for a 4k? 

Many thanks

Nikolas. 

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As a daytime photographer, the monitor is unfortunately the most important piece of kit - you'll want to get something that has a large "gamut" - the internet and phones generally use the sRGB colour standard, and most modest monitors should cover the vast majority of this 'colour space'.

https://www.trustedreviews.com/news/monitor-colour-spaces-adobergb-srgb-2949078

All it really means is that the colours your image has will appear 'true' on the monitor (blacks appearing as deep black, whites as bright clean whites, and this follows for the RGB channels).

What I'd possibly suggest spend a reasonable amount on a monitor, then use a colorimeter on your new monitor - this sets up the colours correctly so the image you're processing will look the same on other screens - this is then the other debate on how good the 'viewers screens' are! Google about it, and here's a great post https://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1430001

I've a Macbook Pro and I think on my last calibration I read that I am using 99% of the sRGB spectrum.

Don't go down the money hole of a full Adobe RGB spectrum monitor (the Adobe spectrum is MUCH larger than the sRGB), unless you're gaming/photographing for profit. Only my $0.02, but you'll not benefit from it, nor will your pocket! Spend on the colorimeter first, you may even find your old laptop monitor improves with a colour calibration.
The big names in this are 'SPYDER' (I have the Spyder 5 Express) and 'ColorMunki'. The higher end can also calibrate the colours of your printer, ink and paper, but again that's another topic!

HTH

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It's almost as contentious subject as what scope to get ;) 

Personally I'd go for something as large as you can get away with with the space you have, but 24-27 inch is a decent size

Sometimes there are bargains to be had, I picked up a 4k 32 inch Samsung curved for a bit over £200 earlier in the year, have a look here - https://www.hotukdeals.com/tag/monitor

Modern gaming monitors will generally fit your need, they are designed for accurate colour reproduction although calibration as above certainly wouldn't hurt either

As for the 4K bit, it really depends on the resolution of the images you will be working on, there isn't a massive price gap between the two any more, so 4K should certainly be an option, although anything will be an improvement on the average laptop screen, unless you go very high end, the screens tend to be a bit lacking on laptops

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Oddly enough I still use my laptop screen for photo editing, it is severely limited with its colour gamut but once calibrated with a "Spyder 5" that sets black/white point and greyscale its fine and compatible over any web sites etc but do need a bigger monitor so watching with interest.

Alan

P.S. The calibrated laptop screen is more than good enough for me to spot any image posts that have got their background black level wrong or are using an un calibrated monitor in their workflow.

Edited by Alien 13
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I got one of these recently, and it works a lot better than my laptop screen! Easier to use too for lengthy editing sessions. It's full sRGB. I haven't calibrated it but I don't see that as a necessity for me just yet - when my processing skills are better I may need to look at that. Oh and they sent me back €34 too so at under €200 it was very good value.

image.thumb.png.1e810c607874aa99dedba0f28dfee0df.png

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  • 2 weeks later...

Personally, I like the LG IPS panels regarding color, I feel these offer a quite pleasing color rendition out of the box without a garish palette (I feel that Sony and Samsung are overdoing it in their settings).

All TVs and monitors can be correctly or badly adjusted, so avoid playing with the color palette initially until your eyes learn to discern the colors.

N.F.

 

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