Calling all photographers - what monitors do you use?

antc

antc

antc

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Hi,

As per title of the thread im trying to guage what monitor is going to be best to purchase for my photography work. I had a similar thread in the monitors forum but they were asking more specifically about certain models and i though i might get a better responce from people browsing in here regarding specific use for photography editing.

Think i have norrowed my choices down to -

Hazro hz24wi
hp 2475w
dell 2408 wfp

Or is it more important to just make sure a monitor is colour calibrated than worrying about having the latest high end kit?

But i am completey open to suggestions and i may well have missed something or not considered something should have. I would really like to get something ordered this evening so i can use the ocuk 6% discount.

Look forward to your replies.
 
I use one of the cheap PVA panel 24"s calibrated with an i1 device and colour eyes software. More than accurate enough for the level of accuracy I work too. I'm tempted by one of the 24" hazros but more from an aesthetical point of view.. For photography there are certainly other areas I could better spend my money.
 
Samsung 245B. Lovely monitor.

If you're serious about photography or graphic design or whatever, then there's no point having a good screen unless its calibrated properly.
 
I have a Dell 2707 and 2407-HC as a dual monitor setup, the 2707 thrashes the 2407-HC in every way. I was surprised really, I thought I'd get the size at the expense of colours and quality/brightness but the 2407-HC is quite noticeably worse. I use a Spyder 2 to calibrate them both as well.

So, what I'm saying is the 2707 is worth a look as the 2407-HC is usually touted as being fairly good considering its high colour gamut.
 
Mint_Sauce said:
I have a Dell 2707 and 2407-HC as a dual monitor setup, the 2707 thrashes the 2407-HC in every way. I was surprised really, I thought I'd get the size at the expense of colours and quality/brightness but the 2407-HC is quite noticeably worse. I use a Spyder 2 to calibrate them both as well.

So, what I'm saying is the 2707 is worth a look as the 2407-HC is usually touted as being fairly good considering its high colour gamut.
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Funnily enough its one i had looked at but wondered if it would be any good as its 3 inches larger than a normal 24 inch screen running the same resolution so maybe stretching the image of having a larger pixel pitch or whatever? Its a pva panel as well isnt it so it should be good.
 
antc said:
Just checked lightroom and it seems to be set to prophoto rgb. Not sure if this is best as the other options i have are adobe rgb 1998 and srgb.
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We'll leave that particular discussion for another time.

Do you know how you will be outputting your work and which colour space(s) you would be using for that?
 
glitch said:
We'll leave that particular discussion for another time.

Do you know how you will be outputting your work and which colour space(s) you would be using for that?
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Ok fair enough, good call me thinks :)

Im a little inexperienced in the whole colour space side of things so forgive what might turn out to be stupid questions. I shall read up on this.

Anyways again i referred to lightroom and i am exporting photos out of there in srgb.
 
Blackvault said:
What are the Hazro hz24wi like? Are they really worth over £400 ? How are the blacks etc?

Blackvault
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I think another important question to go with that is since the firmware updates on them are most if not all of the issues with banding and snow sorted?
 
In that case, and in my humble opinion, it's both a waste of your time and money to invest in a monitor that has an extended colour gamut over and above that of sRGB. You'll be wanting something that encompasses as much of the sRGB gamut as possible without straying into Adobe RGB or other colour spaces.

If you can get your hands on a second-hand one, your very best bet would be the Dell 2407WFP A04 revision. But not the 2407WFP-HC.

People that aren't aware of their inherent value to photographers are selling them for around the £200-£250 mark, depending on age and quality. If you can get one with some of the Dell 3-Year warranty left, all the better.

This is how the 2407's gamut compares to that of sRGB:

gamutjz5.jpg


And this is how accurate the colours are when calibrated with an appropriate hardware calibration device (smaller bars = closer matches):

calibratedld8.jpg


Hunt one down if you can. Make sure it's an A04 revision. try and get some warranty. And if you can't... well, there are other options.
 
Glitch, thanks for that. What would you say the "other options" are?

What about the dell 2408? I know people have reported lag issues but would this really effect photoshop work?
 
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Not in the slightest. There's a decent thread on the 2408 here with some updated information and a relatively thorough review here which covers most of the things you'd be concerned about. If you're going to use it for gaming or video then you might get a bit annoyed with the lag, but for still work and colour reproduction, provided you use a suitable calibration unit, you'll be fine.

I've had a 2408 and no matter what I did, I couldn't get it to calibrate properly. First attempt was very good but subsequent attempts just went completely screwy. In the end I got hacked off with it and bought a brand new 207WFP A04 and my calibration results and gamut test are slightly better than the ones I've posted above. I'm very happy with it and would recommend it over and above anything else out there right now.

I wouldn't go for the 2707 purely based on the pixel pitch size but some people like that feature. Overall it's a relatively good calibrator and you'd get decent results out of it. But avoid the 2407WFP-HC like the plague.
 
Thanks again for the suggestions. I will keep an eye put for 2407s i think. The only ones i have seen knocking around have been on the bay and im not 100% sure about buying such an expensive item off there.

I am half wondering if its worth hanging fire for the moment incase anything new comes out. On the other hand i have been reading a few reviews on the dell 2009 wfp ultrasharp. It would match my current 2005 fpw which i have used to process all my shots on so far. Im just not sure, half of me wants to spash out on something like the dell/hp/hazro and the other slightly more sensible half is noting the various issues with the dell/hp/hazro and is telling me to hold off.
 
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