Monitor?

[Dave A]

Quick question, for PP editing which is recommended, a LED or a LCD monitor? And am I right in that it should be back lighted and not edge lighted?

Dave

[Manfred M]

I would suggest one that uses IPS technology rather than TN is probably the first thing I would look for as those will give you, at a minimum, true 8-bits per channel output. A high compliance (close to 99% Adobe RGB) would be something else I would look for.

I'm not sure what your budget is but this screen has been getting rave reviews as a very cost effective (compared to the NEC and Eizo units). It would likely #1 on my list if I were to replace my screen today.

http://benq.ca/product/monitor/SW2700PT

[dje]

Quick question, for PP editing which is recommended, a LED or a LCD monitor? And am I right in that it should be back lighted and not edge lighted?

Dave

Dave there is a bit of confusion surrounding the terms LED and LCD in relation to monitors and television sets.

LCD is still the main technology in use but it requires backlighting to work. Originally fluro tubes were used for this purpose but these days the use of LED's for backlighting has become dominant. The LED's can be used in an edge lighting configuration (which uses a diffuser panel to spread the light evenly behind the entire screen) or as an array directly behind the screen. I'm not sure that it matters too much to us how the backlighting is implemented.

Then there is the newer technology in which LED's are used to form the pixels rather than LCD's. This uses OLED technology (Organic LED) in which the LED is the primary light source and no backlighting is required. However as far as I know, monitors with this technology are not yet widespread and quite expensive.

Then within the LCD technology there are two types, TN and the newer IPS which I believe are generally regarded as superior.

Here is an article which explains in more detail.

Dave

[Dave A]

Thank you Manfred and Dave, good information. Now I will just have to decide how much I'm willing to spend.

Dave

[DanK]

I consider IPS essential. TN monitors change appearance if you don't look at them straight on.

The next issue in my mind is whether you want sRGB or Adobe RGB. I have sRGB now, which is fine for posting to the web, but I think I may go for a wider gamut monitor next time because of printing. If sRGB is OK, Dell has generally had very good sRGB IPS monitors at low prices. I haven't checked in a few years, but the one I am using right now is a Dell I bought a couple of years ago.

[Dave A]

Thanks Dan, I will take a look at the Dell's sRGB's.

Dave

[Codebreaker]

Below is a link to a very informative site about the different technologies used in displays - it may help.

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/specs.htm

Colin

[James G]

I'm not sure what your budget is but this screen has been getting rave reviews as a very cost effective (compared to the NEC and Eizo units). It would likely #1 on my list if I were to replace my screen today.

http://benq.ca/product/monitor/SW2700PT

Manfred, thanks for the above, I've been considering a replacement secondary monitor for months. I now have a new 'primary' monitor on order. (Price on Amazon UK very good)

[Manfred M]

Manfred, thanks for the above, I've been considering a replacement secondary monitor for months. I now have a new 'primary' monitor on order. (Price on Amazon UK very good)

Please let me know how it works out. I'm in a position where my wife is looking for a new screen and I'm thinking of giving her my old one and buying myself one of the new Benq units. My "old" screen is a high end 27" Dell that I've been using as my photo editing screen for a few years now, so the quality is good, but not quite up to the colour performance of some of the newer units.

[Loose Canon]

I'm in a position where my wife is looking for a new screen and I'm thinking of giving her my old one and buying myself one of the new Benq units.

It's no wonder she goes gallivanting all over the planet and leaves you home to paint!

[Manfred M]

It's no wonder she goes gallivanting all over the planet and leaves you home to paint!

Fair is fair? I should finish the painting tomorrow. There is just a bit of trim; the baseboards on two walls and one large window left. That means I can get out and take some pictures again! Unfortunately the weather gods are not with me in the short term.... Maybe next week.

[James G]

Please let me know how it works out.

will do... scheduled for delivery 28Nov... and it's not yet Christmas

[James G]

Manfred, my new monitor was delivered yesterday. All set up and running.
I must say I'm impressed. My old primary was only capable of rendering 72% of the AdobeRGB colour space. The SW2007PT renders 99%.
I run a calibrated dual monitor system, so I can compare the two panels, and the additional reach of the new panel is immediately and 'startlingly ' obvious. (So much so, I think I'm going to have to revisit a few of my 'favourite' images)
It was delivered with a 'Factory Calibration report' specific to the monitor. I'm not technical enough to be able to interpret all the figures, but essentially it provides a Colour Gamut plot showing measured values for AdobeRGB and sRGB colour spaces, and a Colour Gamma plot.
It shows a 99% fit for Adobe RGB which I 'confirmed' when I ran the Datacolor Spyder 5 calibration process.

The panel is mounted on a very sturdy stand and stable base. Height is very easy to adjust, as is the rear tilt angle. (while calbrating). It does not tilt forward to any significant extent .
One tip though would be to attach any cables, (DVI-DL, HDMI, and OSD controller) before placing the monitor where you intend to use it. The cable housings are not easy to access once the monitor is set up, since they are recessed and the panel cannot be tilted back far enough to give easy access.
The OSD controller however is a neat device which removes the need to fumble about trying to find the control keys under the panel. It makes accessing and changing the panel setting very easy.

BENQ provide their own calibration software (Palette Master Element), which has to be downloaded from their website. (http://benq.com/product/monitor/SW2007PT/downloads)
To use it though, you require a compatible colorimeter. They say it fully supports X-Rite/Datacolor colorimeters, but I'm afraid it only recognises Datacolor Spyder 3&4 not Spyder 5 which I am using.
Having taken a quick look at the manual for Palette Master, it seemed to provide more or less the same functionality as the Spyder system, so not really clear where any advantage lies in downloading and using it if you already have a functional X-Rite or Spyder system.

I do like my new toy!

[Manfred M]

Thanks for the update James. How do you find working with the hood?

[Manfred M]

Thanks for the update James. How do you find working with the hood?

[James G]

How do you find working with the hood?

I fitted it, have never used one before. It's in 5 sections and easily assembled, lined internally with a black felt. It doesn't block access to ports on the LHS of the screen, and there is a sliding 'hatch' in the centre of the top section to enable a calibration device to be used without removing the hood.

At present I'm giving it a try, but apart from the fact that it creates a matte black extended 'margin' beyond around the panel itself it is not large enough to act as a discreet viewing booth. It extends about 15 cms at the top and about 5 cms at the bottom.

I have had to change the placement of my secondary screen slightly to allow for the hood otherwise it occludes the RHS of the secondary. I'm a bit 'anal' and had them lined up and butted together before. Now there is about a 5 cm gap.

I'll probably continue to use the hood, but to be honest, it was not a significant factor when buying. It was definately the near 100% AdobeRGB dispay capability.

[Manfred M]

I think you will find the hood will help with your edits as it eliminates stray light from hitting your screen = less glare = less likelihood to overcompensate in your colour correction work. I'm glad to hear that all the hype I've read about the value of that screen seems to be bang on.

[DanK]

There is one part of this I don't understand. I see the value of a broader-gamut monitor in general, but since most people have sRGB monitors, wouldn't you want to edit in sRGB space for posting to the web? If you get a broader-gamut monitor, do you then set the working space to sRGB to finalize edits before posting?

[Manfred M]

There is one part of this I don't understand. I see the value of a broader-gamut monitor in general, but since most people have sRGB monitors, wouldn't you want to edit in sRGB space for posting to the web? If you get a broader-gamut monitor, do you then set the working space to sRGB to finalize edits before posting?

Not really Dan, especially if you print some of your images as well and either print your own or use a specialty printer that uses a wide gamut printer (i.e. just about any custom print shop). AdobeRGB is what a standard four colour (CMYK) printer can handle and most pro printers (10 - 12 cartridge printers) exceed the AdobeRGB colour by some margin.

When you prepare your image for internet display and convert the higher gamut image to sRGB and embed the colour space used in the image, an AdobeRGB compliant screen will show you the colours as an sRGB image.

I tend to work in the ProPhoto colour space (16-bit) and stay with it when I print. I do have a wide-gamut screen (only around 98% AdobeRGB compliant) and I will convert to 8-bit sRGB for any images I post. In theory I can get into trouble when working with extremely vivid colours, but only remember one occasion where the ProPhoto to sRGB gave me results I was unhappy with.

I have read that there are issues when converting from ProPhoto to CYMK, due to the very narrow gamut of the traditional printing press produced images, but have no personal experience here.

[James G]

I tend to work in the ProPhoto colour space (16-bit) and stay with it when I print. I do have a wide-gamut screen (only around 98% AdobeRGB compliant) and I will convert to 8-bit sRGB for any images I post.

I also work in the ProPhoto space and convert to sRGB prior to posting. In general I'm happy with the results. Occassionally I get a bit paranoid about it and view converted images on my wife's laptop and to be honest (this a bit "weasely"), they are good enough.