finally bought a good monitor... wow

Wired · 11-01-2012, 10:00 PM

I've been post-processing on an older/cheaper pair LCD Samsung 19" wide screen monitors. Don't even recall how much they cost, but they were the best I could afford at the time. I figured today that I would stop by and see what my local computer shop had for a nicer screen as I have decided to put my other larger camera purchases a bit further down the priority list. This one fell within the budget.

Walked home with the Samsung S27A950D 27" monitor. This thing is MASSIVE and just took over my desk. I kept one of my 19" monitors as I love the dual monitor setup in light room. When I plugged it in, I let it warm up for a good hour then threw on my calibration tool and let it goto work. This monitor is incredible.

I'm seeing so much more in my photos now. I should have invested in this a long time ago. The colors are so beautiful and rich, images are sharp, and the overall rendering is very impressive, especially once calibrated. It's also got this inbuilt 3D rendering mode that does not use your video card, and it works! It takes anything 2D and turns it 3D. I viewed a recent landscape shot in this mode and it knew where to put all the elements from the rock faces to the bridge and the river. very cool.

The biggest thing here is how large everything is now on this bigger screen. Photos are easier to work with, easier to view, and just overall makes things more fun. I'm not a pixel peeper, but now I'm seeing little things that others might see if they were looking on monitors are big or bigger than this. On my hunt for better IQ, the monitor was something I overlooked.

As a word of advice to shooters looking for things to add to their bag of tricks to make their work better.. don't overlook your monitor like I have.... I should have done this sooner. Don't forget the calibration tool either.

Barbarosa · 11-01-2012, 11:22 PM - **1 Like**

I work with computers most of my life and know one thing. Processor, RAM, graphic card and HDD are performance. Keyboard, mouse, monitor and chair are health.
Most of ppl think about performance not about health.

DSims · 11-01-2012, 11:24 PM

Originally posted by Wired

Don't forget the calibration tool either.

No, don't forget this. The ones from X-rite are by far the best - the i1 Display Pro or the ColorMunki Display. They can be used with either the easy X-rite software or the excellent (and free) DisplayCalGUI. With either software, the process really does run 4-5 times faster on the slightly more expensive i1 Display Pro than on the ColorMunki Display - so I'd recommend not "cheaping out" here. I took my ColorMunki Display back after only one day and got the faster one. 10 minutes is much better than nearly an hour - especially if you have multiple monitors to calibrate! And calibration should be run every month or so, so you'll be doing this again and again.

stormtech · 11-01-2012, 11:31 PM

I have to agree Wired. I recently went from a $100 generic 19" monitor to a Dell 24" IPS model. While not as large or high end as your new one, it still is literally like night and day. As you say, I am seeing so much more in my images now, and it really helps with PP work.

VisualDarkness · 11-01-2012, 11:36 PM

I should sell a couple of lenses and other things i don't use and buy a good monitor. At the moment I use an Acer laptop that got a bad screen even for budget laptops.

magkelly · 11-02-2012, 12:46 AM

You know it's funny when we upgraded to a 22" monitor a couple of years ago I thought I'd bust I was so thrilled. After doing graphics on a 17" and then a 19" CRT for so long a 22" flat screen was just blissfully big. Not so much now. Now I envy people with 27" monitors like mad. 22" is still too darned small when you're always editing photos and into playing hidden object and match 3 games! I would like a 27" or 29" inch screen someday but I'm not sure I'd want bigger than that. Might be too big maybe past that. But another 5-7" or so? That's about perfect, I think....

rawr · 11-02-2012, 02:17 AM

Originally posted by Wired

I'm not a pixel peeper, but now I'm seeing little things that others might see

There are sometimes unwelcome surprises involved in working with bigger and better monitors.

Some years ago I upgraded from a 17 inch CRT to a 22 inch LCD. I was shooting with a Finepix F10 point-and-shoot at the time. As soon as I opened a recent batch of images up in my new monitor I noticed the presence of a long thin red line of hot pixels near the bottom left corner of ALL my images. The small screen of the 17 inch CRT (or even printing A4 size prints) never revealed those sensor defects to me, but the new level of pixel-peeping the big monitor allowed me suddenly made those flaws very apparent.

Up until the point that I saw those sensor flaws, I was very happy with that little camera. Off to get repaired the camera had to go.

Sandy Hancock · 11-02-2012, 02:22 AM

I do all my PP on a 15" laptop. Maybe I should move on....

rawr · 11-02-2012, 02:24 AM

Originally posted by Sandy Hancock

I do all my PP on a 15" laptop. Maybe I should move on....

Do it. It will make a huge difference. Choose an IPS panel for maximum win.

Class A · 11-02-2012, 03:57 AM

Originally posted by rawr

Choose an IPS panel for maximum win.

I second that.
This is no to say that TN panels (like the OPs) cannot look great but for critical editing their viewing angle dependence is a real problem (the bigger the panel, the bigger the problem).

Wired · 11-02-2012, 07:27 AM

I was going to go with an IPS monitor, but the ones I were looking at didn't have as deep blacks and the contrast seemed a bit off in comparison. This Samsung was on for a great sale price too.

When it comes time to move this display down to "secondary" duties ill grab a higher end IPS for sure.

Wired · 11-02-2012, 07:33 AM

Originally posted by Barbarosa

I work with computers most of my life and know one thing. Processor, RAM, graphic card and HDD are performance. Keyboard, mouse, monitor and chair are health.
Most of ppl think about performance not about health.

So very true. I hate my workstation at the shop due to the crappy desk layout and "bar stool" like chair (has a back at least). Hurts my neck, so I spend most of my time standing. Luckily I move around a lot.

I bought mice and keyboards for both my home/photo, music studio, and day job machines that are comfortable and help reduce muscle and tendon strain (RAT9 is cool for this, and as a photo tool with the DPI switches its awesome!) And I've felt my body relax more.

I think between mice, keyboard, chair for my home photo machine cost me well over $1000. But was worth every penny.

magkelly · 11-02-2012, 10:09 AM

Actually for me a good chair, a good keyboard, and a good mouse are far more important than anything else when it comes to computing. You can live with a monitor or system that's not ideal for a while but you can't just sit in a bad chair, type on a crappy keyboard or use an uncomfortable mouse for long. At least I can't. I have a bad back and very specific needs on that score. I have to have a comfortable keyboard and I can only use one particular trackball or I will have problems with my hands. Not sitting in a very comfortable high backed chair means I can't walk after using a computer for an hour or so. With my bad eyes a good monitor is a necessity, but that's nothing compared to the need for the rest. I've been known to search for months and reject several before I replace a chair or a keyboard, and THE mouse is not replaceable, period. I nearly went into a panic when they discontinued the wired version of the one that I have until I saw that they'd just made it wireless. I'm still worried that the new version won't be as good when I have to go there because it looks like they've changed the design to me a bit. If they messed it up and this trackball goes? I'm so totally screwed, laugh...

mee · 11-02-2012, 08:00 PM

buy spares?

11-01-2012, 10:00 PM	#1
Wired Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Edmonton, AB Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,519	finally bought a good monitor... wow I've been post-processing on an older/cheaper pair LCD Samsung 19" wide screen monitors. Don't even recall how much they cost, but they were the best I could afford at the time. I figured today that I would stop by and see what my local computer shop had for a nicer screen as I have decided to put my other larger camera purchases a bit further down the priority list. This one fell within the budget. Walked home with the Samsung S27A950D 27" monitor. This thing is MASSIVE and just took over my desk. I kept one of my 19" monitors as I love the dual monitor setup in light room. When I plugged it in, I let it warm up for a good hour then threw on my calibration tool and let it goto work. This monitor is incredible. I'm seeing so much more in my photos now. I should have invested in this a long time ago. The colors are so beautiful and rich, images are sharp, and the overall rendering is very impressive, especially once calibrated. It's also got this inbuilt 3D rendering mode that does not use your video card, and it works! It takes anything 2D and turns it 3D. I viewed a recent landscape shot in this mode and it knew where to put all the elements from the rock faces to the bridge and the river. very cool. The biggest thing here is how large everything is now on this bigger screen. Photos are easier to work with, easier to view, and just overall makes things more fun. I'm not a pixel peeper, but now I'm seeing little things that others might see if they were looking on monitors are big or bigger than this. On my hunt for better IQ, the monitor was something I overlooked. As a word of advice to shooters looking for things to add to their bag of tricks to make their work better.. don't overlook your monitor like I have.... I should have done this sooner. Don't forget the calibration tool either.

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11-01-2012, 11:22 PM - 1 Like	#2
Barbarosa Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Sanski Most Posts: 147	I work with computers most of my life and know one thing. Processor, RAM, graphic card and HDD are performance. Keyboard, mouse, monitor and chair are health. Most of ppl think about performance not about health.

11-01-2012, 11:24 PM	#3
DSims Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Southern California Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,236	Originally posted by Wired Don't forget the calibration tool either. No, don't forget this. The ones from X-rite are by far the best - the i1 Display Pro or the ColorMunki Display. They can be used with either the easy X-rite software or the excellent (and free) DisplayCalGUI. With either software, the process really does run 4-5 times faster on the slightly more expensive i1 Display Pro than on the ColorMunki Display - so I'd recommend not "cheaping out" here. I took my ColorMunki Display back after only one day and got the faster one. 10 minutes is much better than nearly an hour - especially if you have multiple monitors to calibrate! And calibration should be run every month or so, so you'll be doing this again and again.

11-01-2012, 11:31 PM	#4
stormtech Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: In the boonies (NW Penna) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,744	I have to agree Wired. I recently went from a $100 generic 19" monitor to a Dell 24" IPS model. While not as large or high end as your new one, it still is literally like night and day. As you say, I am seeing so much more in my images now, and it really helps with PP work.

11-01-2012, 11:36 PM	#5
VisualDarkness Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Uppsala, Sweden Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,439	I should sell a couple of lenses and other things i don't use and buy a good monitor. At the moment I use an Acer laptop that got a bad screen even for budget laptops.

11-02-2012, 12:46 AM	#6
magkelly Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,901	You know it's funny when we upgraded to a 22" monitor a couple of years ago I thought I'd bust I was so thrilled. After doing graphics on a 17" and then a 19" CRT for so long a 22" flat screen was just blissfully big. Not so much now. Now I envy people with 27" monitors like mad. 22" is still too darned small when you're always editing photos and into playing hidden object and match 3 games! I would like a 27" or 29" inch screen someday but I'm not sure I'd want bigger than that. Might be too big maybe past that. But another 5-7" or so? That's about perfect, I think....

11-02-2012, 02:17 AM	#7
rawr Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 11,913	Originally posted by Wired I'm not a pixel peeper, but now I'm seeing little things that others might see There are sometimes unwelcome surprises involved in working with bigger and better monitors. Some years ago I upgraded from a 17 inch CRT to a 22 inch LCD. I was shooting with a Finepix F10 point-and-shoot at the time. As soon as I opened a recent batch of images up in my new monitor I noticed the presence of a long thin red line of hot pixels near the bottom left corner of ALL my images. The small screen of the 17 inch CRT (or even printing A4 size prints) never revealed those sensor defects to me, but the new level of pixel-peeping the big monitor allowed me suddenly made those flaws very apparent. Up until the point that I saw those sensor flaws, I was very happy with that little camera. Off to get repaired the camera had to go.

11-02-2012, 02:22 AM	#8
Sandy Hancock Moderator Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Adelaide Hills, South Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 11,273	I do all my PP on a 15" laptop. Maybe I should move on....

11-02-2012, 02:24 AM	#9
rawr Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 11,913	Originally posted by Sandy Hancock I do all my PP on a 15" laptop. Maybe I should move on.... Do it. It will make a huge difference. Choose an IPS panel for maximum win.

11-02-2012, 03:57 AM	#10
Class A Pentaxian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Wellington, New Zealand Posts: 11,251	Originally posted by rawr Choose an IPS panel for maximum win. I second that. This is no to say that TN panels (like the OPs) cannot look great but for critical editing their viewing angle dependence is a real problem (the bigger the panel, the bigger the problem).

11-02-2012, 07:27 AM	#11
Wired Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Edmonton, AB Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,519 Original Poster	I was going to go with an IPS monitor, but the ones I were looking at didn't have as deep blacks and the contrast seemed a bit off in comparison. This Samsung was on for a great sale price too. When it comes time to move this display down to "secondary" duties ill grab a higher end IPS for sure.

11-02-2012, 07:33 AM	#12
Wired Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Edmonton, AB Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,519 Original Poster	Originally posted by Barbarosa I work with computers most of my life and know one thing. Processor, RAM, graphic card and HDD are performance. Keyboard, mouse, monitor and chair are health. Most of ppl think about performance not about health. So very true. I hate my workstation at the shop due to the crappy desk layout and "bar stool" like chair (has a back at least). Hurts my neck, so I spend most of my time standing. Luckily I move around a lot. I bought mice and keyboards for both my home/photo, music studio, and day job machines that are comfortable and help reduce muscle and tendon strain (RAT9 is cool for this, and as a photo tool with the DPI switches its awesome!) And I've felt my body relax more. I think between mice, keyboard, chair for my home photo machine cost me well over $1000. But was worth every penny.

11-02-2012, 10:09 AM	#13
magkelly Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,901	Actually for me a good chair, a good keyboard, and a good mouse are far more important than anything else when it comes to computing. You can live with a monitor or system that's not ideal for a while but you can't just sit in a bad chair, type on a crappy keyboard or use an uncomfortable mouse for long. At least I can't. I have a bad back and very specific needs on that score. I have to have a comfortable keyboard and I can only use one particular trackball or I will have problems with my hands. Not sitting in a very comfortable high backed chair means I can't walk after using a computer for an hour or so. With my bad eyes a good monitor is a necessity, but that's nothing compared to the need for the rest. I've been known to search for months and reject several before I replace a chair or a keyboard, and THE mouse is not replaceable, period. I nearly went into a panic when they discontinued the wired version of the one that I have until I saw that they'd just made it wireless. I'm still worried that the new version won't be as good when I have to go there because it looks like they've changed the design to me a bit. If they messed it up and this trackball goes? I'm so totally screwed, laugh...

11-02-2012, 08:00 PM	#14
mee Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 7,403	buy spares?