Monitor buying advise

marcob8986 · 10-20-2014, 01:32 PM

Hey there,
I'm close to move in my new house, and there will finally be room for a new monitor to plug into my macbook for photo editing, and I need some advise to buy it.
For now I shoot RAW+JPG and my workflow ends in cataloguing JPEGs in lightroom, and keeping the RAW files so that I can make a little post processing in the best pics (if i need to) to print them out. I want to learn step by step the post processing and then move definitely to RAW shooting. That being sad, I'm thinking about a wide gamut monitor. I still have to decide among 24 or 27 inch, that'll be budget driven (maybe

).
So far I found this 2 options, both from DELL (prices in €, I'm from Italy):

DELL U2413 - € 410
DELL U2713H - € 650

Nice features for these two monitors is that they can be hardware calibrated using xRite i1display Pro, which is also on shopping list.

Same class monitors from ASUS a little more expensive (Asus PA249Q - € 495, ASUS PA279Q - € 755)

I've also read a lot about korean 27" displays, such as crossover and yamasaki. Can you advise them? Is there a wide gamut choice among them?
FYI: I own a macbook pro late 2008, so no HDMI nor thunderbolt, just mini Display Port. It sports a nVidia GeForce 9400M + GeForce 9600M GT, if that makes any difference about available resolutions.

Thanks!

**lm4187** · 10-20-2014, 01:52 PM

I've found LCD and TFT Monitor Reviews to be a good reference and starting point for monitors.

Both of the monitors you are looking at are reviewed there.

I have neither, so can't comment directly about them.

Cheers,
Lou

tuco · 10-20-2014, 01:56 PM

Be advised a 10-bit monitor (wide gamut monitor) on a Mac will not have a 10-bit path to the video monitor because Apple does not support a 10-bit driver for their video cards. That may cause issues with really bright reds and other tones.

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3538545

**lithedreamer** · 10-20-2014, 02:15 PM

I picked up two ViewSonic monitors at a good price. It has a factory calibrated sRGB setting and I picked up these cables (HDMI to mini-DisplayPort). The monitors make a weird buzzing sound when they are either in standby or turned off, so I unplug them when not in use, otherwise they've been great. Those cables are even better, my cats have not been able to chew through them (the same cannot be said for my macbook's power cable).

Last edited by lithedreamer; 10-21-2014 at 02:44 AM.

larryinlc · 10-20-2014, 08:23 PM

I have the Dell Ultra sharp U2711 27 inch monitor for the past two years and it's been the finest monitor Ive ever owned. I think this maybe an older version of the U2713.

Larry

**Miguel** · 10-20-2014, 09:22 PM

Both Dells look really good with the larger one having a wider color gamut. That may or may not be advantageous to you. Depends on what your output requirements are in the longer term. If you print in house on a consumer-level printer, then you may never obtain any benefit from wider gamut. Same if you are only planning to post images on websites.

I would avoid no-name ultra budget monitors. Their QC tends to be lousier, and warranty service may be skimpy.

Finally a right sized monitor should fit your space requirements. Bigger is not always better if you cannot back off the proper viewing distance. I'm only able to accommodate a 24-in monitor, but also have a 23-in one vertically oriented next to it.

M

MD Optofonik · 10-20-2014, 09:31 PM

Here.

marcob8986 · 10-20-2014, 11:46 PM

Originally posted by Miguel

Both Dells look really good with the larger one having a wider color gamut. That may or may not be advantageous to you. Depends on what your output requirements are in the longer term. If you print in house on a consumer-level printer, then you may never obtain any benefit from wider gamut. Same if you are only planning to post images on websites.

I would avoid no-name ultra budget monitors. Their QC tends to be lousier, and warranty service may be skimpy.

Finally a right sized monitor should fit your space requirements. Bigger is not always better if you cannot back off the proper viewing distance. I'm only able to accommodate a 24-in monitor, but also have a 23-in one vertically oriented next to it.

M

From what the Dell site says, they have the very same color gamut. Apart from size and resolution, all other specs should be the same. My output requirements are prints (not in house for now), I don't post on the web. If I will I know I have to use sRGB color space for JPG creation.
At what distance should I look at a 24 or 27 inch monitor?
Thanks for everything

---------- Post added 10-21-14 at 08:47 AM ----------

Originally posted by MD Optofonik

Here.

They are so out of my budget!!!

MD Optofonik · 10-21-2014, 09:21 AM

Originally posted by marcob8986

From what the Dell site says, they have the very same color gamut. Apart from size and resolution, all other specs should be the same. My output requirements are prints (not in house for now), I don't post on the web. If I will I know I have to use sRGB color space for JPG creation.
At what distance should I look at a 24 or 27 inch monitor?
Thanks for everything

---------- Post added 10-21-14 at 08:47 AM ----------

They are so out of my budget!!!

Look at their entry level SpectraviewII models. I paid $650 American for mine a few years back.

tuco · 10-21-2014, 10:53 AM

People, you are recommending 10-bit, wide gamut, color monitor!! He is on a Mac. He cannot utilize the 10-bits of color!!!! In fact it can cause problems.

**Miguel** · 10-21-2014, 11:05 AM

Originally posted by marcob8986

From what the Dell site says, they have the very same color gamut. Apart from size and resolution, all other specs should be the same. My output requirements are prints (not in house for now), I don't post on the web. If I will I know I have to use sRGB color space for JPG creation.
At what distance should I look at a 24 or 27 inch monitor?
Thanks for everything[COLOR="Silver"]

Yup, I misread, you are correct.
Either monitor will serve you quite well for the future.
You can search the Internet for viewing distance recommations. There are occupational health standards in some jurisdictions.

M

**lithedreamer** · 10-21-2014, 11:51 AM

Originally posted by tuco

People, you are recommending 10-bit, wide gamut, color monitor!! He is on a Mac. He cannot utilize the 10-bits of color!!!! In fact it can cause problems.

What kind of problems? Have they fixed the Windows-side issues of 10-bit colour? The mystery of Apple against 10-bit graphics: Mac Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

tuco · 10-21-2014, 11:59 AM

Originally posted by lithedreamer

What kind of problems? Have they fixed the Windows-side issues of 10-bit colour? The mystery of Apple against 10-bit graphics: Mac Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

That's the same link I posted above.

I have an Ezio CG276 and a MacPro. I have to run the monitor in sRGB mode. When in 10-bit mode, some reds and some other hues are often way too bright and vivid ( even flat-out gross looking).

**lithedreamer** · 10-21-2014, 12:05 PM

Originally posted by tuco

That's the same link I posted above.

I have an Ezio CG276 and a MacPro. I have to run the monitor in sRGB mode. When in 10-bit mode, some reds and some other hues are often way too bright and vivid ( even flat-out gross looking).

Sorry! I found independently, but it's nice to know that someone else thought it was a good source. How do you run a monitor in 10-bit mode, anyway?

tuco · 10-21-2014, 12:19 PM

Originally posted by lithedreamer

Sorry! I found independently, but it's nice to know that someone else thought it was a good source. How do you run a monitor in 10-bit mode, anyway?

10-bit is its default mode. But you also need a 10-bit graphics card, a 10-bit driver and applications that support 10-bit display. But the monitor has a pop-up menu to select other options such as Adobe RGB, sRGB, custom profile, etc.

10-20-2014, 01:32 PM	#1
marcob8986 New Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Italy - Reggio Emilia Posts: 21	Monitor buying advise Hey there, I'm close to move in my new house, and there will finally be room for a new monitor to plug into my macbook for photo editing, and I need some advise to buy it. For now I shoot RAW+JPG and my workflow ends in cataloguing JPEGs in lightroom, and keeping the RAW files so that I can make a little post processing in the best pics (if i need to) to print them out. I want to learn step by step the post processing and then move definitely to RAW shooting. That being sad, I'm thinking about a wide gamut monitor. I still have to decide among 24 or 27 inch, that'll be budget driven (maybe ). So far I found this 2 options, both from DELL (prices in €, I'm from Italy): DELL U2413 - € 410 DELL U2713H - € 650 Nice features for these two monitors is that they can be hardware calibrated using xRite i1display Pro, which is also on shopping list. Same class monitors from ASUS a little more expensive (Asus PA249Q - € 495, ASUS PA279Q - € 755) I've also read a lot about korean 27" displays, such as crossover and yamasaki. Can you advise them? Is there a wide gamut choice among them? FYI: I own a macbook pro late 2008, so no HDMI nor thunderbolt, just mini Display Port. It sports a nVidia GeForce 9400M + GeForce 9600M GT, if that makes any difference about available resolutions. Thanks!

10-20-2014, 01:52 PM	#2
lm4187 Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Germantown MD Posts: 90	I've found LCD and TFT Monitor Reviews to be a good reference and starting point for monitors. Both of the monitors you are looking at are reviewed there. I have neither, so can't comment directly about them. Cheers, Lou Last edited by lm4187; 10-20-2014 at 01:53 PM. Reason: Additional comments.

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10-20-2014, 01:56 PM	#3
tuco Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Pugetopolis Posts: 11,029	Be advised a 10-bit monitor (wide gamut monitor) on a Mac will not have a 10-bit path to the video monitor because Apple does not support a 10-bit driver for their video cards. That may cause issues with really bright reds and other tones. http://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3538545

10-20-2014, 02:15 PM	#4
lithedreamer Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2013 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,799	I picked up two ViewSonic monitors at a good price. It has a factory calibrated sRGB setting and I picked up these cables (HDMI to mini-DisplayPort). The monitors make a weird buzzing sound when they are either in standby or turned off, so I unplug them when not in use, otherwise they've been great. Those cables are even better, my cats have not been able to chew through them (the same cannot be said for my macbook's power cable). Last edited by lithedreamer; 10-21-2014 at 02:44 AM.

10-20-2014, 08:23 PM	#5
larryinlc Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Wisconsin USA Posts: 993	I have the Dell Ultra sharp U2711 27 inch monitor for the past two years and it's been the finest monitor Ive ever owned. I think this maybe an older version of the U2713. Larry

10-20-2014, 09:22 PM	#6
Miguel Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Near Seattle Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,743	Both Dells look really good with the larger one having a wider color gamut. That may or may not be advantageous to you. Depends on what your output requirements are in the longer term. If you print in house on a consumer-level printer, then you may never obtain any benefit from wider gamut. Same if you are only planning to post images on websites. I would avoid no-name ultra budget monitors. Their QC tends to be lousier, and warranty service may be skimpy. Finally a right sized monitor should fit your space requirements. Bigger is not always better if you cannot back off the proper viewing distance. I'm only able to accommodate a 24-in monitor, but also have a 23-in one vertically oriented next to it. M

10-20-2014, 09:31 PM	#7
MD Optofonik Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: California Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 962	Here.

10-20-2014, 11:46 PM	#8
marcob8986 New Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Italy - Reggio Emilia Posts: 21 Original Poster	Originally posted by Miguel Both Dells look really good with the larger one having a wider color gamut. That may or may not be advantageous to you. Depends on what your output requirements are in the longer term. If you print in house on a consumer-level printer, then you may never obtain any benefit from wider gamut. Same if you are only planning to post images on websites. I would avoid no-name ultra budget monitors. Their QC tends to be lousier, and warranty service may be skimpy. Finally a right sized monitor should fit your space requirements. Bigger is not always better if you cannot back off the proper viewing distance. I'm only able to accommodate a 24-in monitor, but also have a 23-in one vertically oriented next to it. M From what the Dell site says, they have the very same color gamut. Apart from size and resolution, all other specs should be the same. My output requirements are prints (not in house for now), I don't post on the web. If I will I know I have to use sRGB color space for JPG creation. At what distance should I look at a 24 or 27 inch monitor? Thanks for everything ---------- Post added 10-21-14 at 08:47 AM ---------- Originally posted by MD Optofonik Here. They are so out of my budget!!!

10-21-2014, 09:21 AM	#9
MD Optofonik Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: California Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 962	Originally posted by marcob8986 From what the Dell site says, they have the very same color gamut. Apart from size and resolution, all other specs should be the same. My output requirements are prints (not in house for now), I don't post on the web. If I will I know I have to use sRGB color space for JPG creation. At what distance should I look at a 24 or 27 inch monitor? Thanks for everything ---------- Post added 10-21-14 at 08:47 AM ---------- They are so out of my budget!!! Look at their entry level SpectraviewII models. I paid $650 American for mine a few years back.

10-21-2014, 10:53 AM	#10
tuco Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Pugetopolis Posts: 11,029	People, you are recommending 10-bit, wide gamut, color monitor!! He is on a Mac. He cannot utilize the 10-bits of color!!!! In fact it can cause problems.

10-21-2014, 11:05 AM	#11
Miguel Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Near Seattle Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,743	Originally posted by marcob8986 From what the Dell site says, they have the very same color gamut. Apart from size and resolution, all other specs should be the same. My output requirements are prints (not in house for now), I don't post on the web. If I will I know I have to use sRGB color space for JPG creation. At what distance should I look at a 24 or 27 inch monitor? Thanks for everything[COLOR="Silver"] Yup, I misread, you are correct. Either monitor will serve you quite well for the future. You can search the Internet for viewing distance recommations. There are occupational health standards in some jurisdictions. M

10-21-2014, 11:51 AM	#12
lithedreamer Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2013 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,799	Originally posted by tuco People, you are recommending 10-bit, wide gamut, color monitor!! He is on a Mac. He cannot utilize the 10-bits of color!!!! In fact it can cause problems. What kind of problems? Have they fixed the Windows-side issues of 10-bit colour? The mystery of Apple against 10-bit graphics: Mac Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

10-21-2014, 11:59 AM	#13
tuco Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Pugetopolis Posts: 11,029	Originally posted by lithedreamer What kind of problems? Have they fixed the Windows-side issues of 10-bit colour? The mystery of Apple against 10-bit graphics: Mac Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review That's the same link I posted above. I have an Ezio CG276 and a MacPro. I have to run the monitor in sRGB mode. When in 10-bit mode, some reds and some other hues are often way too bright and vivid ( even flat-out gross looking).

10-21-2014, 12:05 PM	#14
lithedreamer Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2013 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,799	Originally posted by tuco That's the same link I posted above. I have an Ezio CG276 and a MacPro. I have to run the monitor in sRGB mode. When in 10-bit mode, some reds and some other hues are often way too bright and vivid ( even flat-out gross looking). Sorry! I found independently, but it's nice to know that someone else thought it was a good source. How do you run a monitor in 10-bit mode, anyway?

10-21-2014, 12:19 PM	#15
tuco Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Pugetopolis Posts: 11,029	Originally posted by lithedreamer Sorry! I found independently, but it's nice to know that someone else thought it was a good source. How do you run a monitor in 10-bit mode, anyway? 10-bit is its default mode. But you also need a 10-bit graphics card, a 10-bit driver and applications that support 10-bit display. But the monitor has a pop-up menu to select other options such as Adobe RGB, sRGB, custom profile, etc.