Request suggestion regarding monitor

[CIC]

Hello fellow photographers

I am looking for a new monitor which will be primarily used for image post-processing and video editing. I do not play games. As the choices in my country, within my budget are not that great when it comes to monitors suitable for photo editing, I could find the following two. The first one supports sRGB 99% and the second DCI-P3 95%. As per my understanding, the second one has a wider colour gamut than the first one. Both are 4K monitors.

Could the experienced members here please comment and help me to choose?

LG 27UL850-W

LG 27UP850-W

Thank you.

[Manfred M]

Frankly you do not need 4K. I would look for a minimum of a screen that does HD (1920 x 1080 = HD = 2K) and gives you 100% sRGB and at least 99% Adobe RGB. At home, my main screen is 2.5K and the laptop I am typing on is a 4K Adobe RGB compliant machine.

DCI P3 is a colour space used by digital movie projectors and if you are planning to edit for feature films, that would be important, but not for photography. It is a bit more biased to the yellows that are not used in photography, even if you are looking to make prints at some point in the future.

PS - I am in your country right now; I've spent the past 8 days in Srinigar and am heading back to Gurgaon tomorrow afternoon...

[stuck]

As Manfred has already noted, you don't need 4K to edit photos, colour accuracy is more important. I don't have one but BenQ monitors are well regarded. Is this model within your budget?
https://www.amazon.in/BenQ-61-214-Ga.../dp/B07BYXQXBZ

[CIC]

@Manfred and @Stuck

Thank you for your replies and suggestion. Yes this monitor is within my budget, but don't you think that a 4K monitor is required to edit 4K videos which I frequently shoot?

The problem with BenQ in India is their service. That is rather on the poorer side.

@Manfred if you come to Kolkata, please let me know, it would be great to meet each other.

[Manfred M]

You had not mentioned the video. In that case, 4K is definitely the direction you should consider going, BUT if you are primarily posting to YouTube or social media, 4k is not handled all that well by these distribution channels and a lower resolution will be more than sufficient. Bandwidth restrictions is the primary issue with 4K distribution is the main issue here and you generally need high end copper, co-axial or even better fiber connectivity. WiFi bandwidth does not handle this medium well.

[CIC]

You had not mentioned the video. In that case, 4K is definitely the direction you should consider going, BUT if you are primarily posting to YouTube or social media, 4k is not handled all that well by these distribution channels and a lower resolution will be more than sufficient. Bandwidth restrictions is the primary issue with 4K distribution is the main issue here and you generally need high end copper, co-axial or even better fiber connectivity. WiFi bandwidth does not handle this medium well.

Thank you for replying. I did mention in my original post that it will be used for both photo and video editing. In that case which one should I go for? The second model has 99% sRGB but no ARGB? Should I go for that? Should I not consider the monitors with DCI-P3 at all?

[CIC]

Here is an unfortunate update: the vendor whom I asked to buy the monitor decided to become a little more proactive and bought the monitor yesterday evening. As these monitors are pretty uncommon, he politely told me that he can not exchange them with any other. So I am stuck with the DCI-p3 colour gamut.
Now, what precautions should I take while editing a photo on this?
Secondly, the company says that it comes colour calibrated from the factory. Do I still need to use a calibrator to recalibrate? I haven't used one ever so I do not have much experience with this, though these calibrators cost a bomb here.

[CIC]

Update: The monitor has a separate sRGB mode and DCI-P3 modes along with other. So while editing photos, I think I'm going to use the sRGB.

[Manfred M]

There is nothing wrong with the P3 colour space other than that it is not one that is generally used in photography. It is a wider colour space than sRGB, so I would use it. All current Apple computers use that colour space. Work in P3 and converted to sRGB before posting to the internet. If you have to purchase that specific screen, you can certainly work with it.

Yes, any screen needs to be set up and calibrated. Straight out of the box from, no computer screen is properly set up for photographic work. They are generally set up for office use, where the light levels are far higher than what is optimal for photo editing.

For photo editing you should profile and calibrate the screen with a Spyder or i1 tool and the screen should be set for somewhere between 80 and 120 candela / square meter. The workspace for editing should be dimly lit (below 70 lux at the workstation and ideally below 30 lux). Most Indian photographers I have spoken with tell me that the Datacolor Spyder line is more reasonably priced than the x-Rite / Calibrite hardware / software.

[CIC]

There is nothing wrong with the P3 colour space other than that it is not one that is generally used in photography. It is a wider colour space than sRGB, so I would use it. All current Apple computers use that colour space. Work in P3 and converted to sRGB before posting to the internet. If you have to purchase that specific screen, you can certainly work with it.

Yes, any screen needs to be set up and calibrated. Straight out of the box from, no computer screen is properly set up for photographic work. They are generally set up for office use, where the light levels are far higher than what is optimal for photo editing.

For photo editing you should profile and calibrate the screen with a Spyder or i1 tool and the screen should be set for somewhere between 80 and 120 candela / square meter. The workspace for editing should be dimly lit (below 70 lux at the workstation and ideally below 30 lux). Most Indian photographers I have spoken with tell me that the Datacolor Spyder line is more reasonably priced than the x-Rite / Calibrite hardware/software.

Thank you so much.

The monitor model is LG 27UP850-W.

As I installed the monitor yesterday late at night, I have come across the following information regarding it. Please let me know your thoughts.

1. The company claims that the monitor comes pre-calibrated from the factory and they have enclosed a calibration report too.

2. There is a way to switch between two colour spaces- sRGB and DCI-P3. Switching between two colour spaces significantly changes the rendition of the image on the display.

3. There is an HDR mode, but enabling that disables switching between colour spaces. As far as I know, HDR mode improves the viewing experience of HDR content/videos, so it does not seem to be a necessity for photo editing. Please correct me if I am wrong.

If necessary, I can upload the pdf manual of the monitor for your as well as other members' reference. I am enclosing a copy of the calibration report enclosed by the manufacturer.

I am planning to purchase the Datacolour Spyder and I shall surely follow the instructions you have shared regarding the calibration environment. Unfortunately, this has to wait a little longer as these are not really cheap, as you are well aware.

Thank you again.

[Manfred M]

1. That is not really calibration from a photographic standpoint. All LG has done is confirm that the white point has been properly set to 6500K and that the gamma curve is set to 2.2. Nothing has been done to ensure that the brightness is set properly and that the colours are being displayed properly. No, what LG has done is not what a photographer would consider to be properly calibrated and profiled. That's why you need to use a colorimeter or photospectrometer, as previously discussed.

2. I would run the display using the P3 colour space. My BenQ screen does something similar and I never use the sRGB mode.

3. The HDR mode is really meant for gaming and gives the colours more "pop". That is not something you want to do for photo editing; you want the screen set to produce realistic colours. You want your output done in such a way that it looks correct on other people's screens (assuming that they are properly calibrated and profiled).

[CIC]

Thank you so much for your suggestion. I shall do accordingly.

[CIC]

Here is an update and dilemma. So requesting help from experienced members.

I am using the monitor in DCI-P3 mode. Though when I am exporting files which are having ARGB as an embedded profile, to sRGB, on other screens like laptops or smartphones, the images are losing both contrast and colours. This is creating a lot of problems for me while editing. I have no idea whether the colour and contrast I am seeing are accurate enough. These photos are mainly for taking part in national and international salons, and overdoing or underdoing the PP can really affect the chances of acceptance.

[Manfred M]

Here is an update and dilemma. So requesting help from experienced members.

I am using the monitor in DCI-P3 mode. Though when I am exporting files which are having ARGB as an embedded profile, to sRGB, on other screens like laptops or smartphones, the images are losing both contrast and colours. This is creating a lot of problems for me while editing. I have no idea whether the colour and contrast I am seeing are accurate enough. These photos are mainly for taking part in national and international salons, and overdoing or underdoing the PP can really affect the chances of acceptance.

How are you converting the colour space before you export? The issue you are writing about is what we see when the conversion is not done properly.

As an example, when i work in Photoshop, I use the "Convert to Profile" functionality. Using the "Assign Profile" will result in the issue you have described.

[CIC]

How are you converting the colour space before you export? The issue you are writing about is what we see when the conversion is not done properly.

As an example, when i work in Photoshop, I use the "Convert to Profile" functionality. Using the "Assign Profile" will result in the issue you have described.

Thank you for replying.
When I export using the Export presets I made in Lr, the exported file is assigned the sRGB profile by Lr, as this option is chosen in the export preset.
Please let me know how should I export to preserve the colour and contrast.

[Manfred M]

Thank you for replying.
When I export using the Export presets I made in Lr, the exported file is assigned the sRGB profile by Lr, as this option is chosen in the export preset.
Please let me know how should I export to preserve the colour and contrast.

Sorry, I do not use Lightroom, so cannot help.

[CIC]

Sorry, I do not use Lightroom, so cannot help.

I believe Lr converts the same way as the Ps. Could you please tell me what is the best way to convert the colour space?

[Manfred M]

I believe Lr converts the same way as the Ps. Could you please tell me what is the best way to convert the colour space?

Again, I do not use Lightroom and the functionality in Lightroom is often not at all the same as Photoshop.

Lightroom is a raw converter and does not need or assign a colour space. Photoshop is an image editor, so it requires an image file to work on. Image files have colour space, colour temperature and gamma "baked" in. Programs like Lightroom, or its close sibling Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) have to assign a colour space when exporting to Photoshop. In Photoshop I can convert to another colour space.

My default Photoshop colour space is ProPhoto RGB, so I have set it as default output to Photoshop. When I finish my edits, I save my Master File (something that really does not exist in Lightroom) as a ProPhoto RGB file. I use this colour space when I make prints. When I output to screen, I have to convert the colour space to sRGB so that the image displays correctly in any web browser.

The problem that you are experiencing is that your output appears to be a wide gamut colour space that has been identified as being sRGB. This typically gives the results you are seeing; dull and low contrast images where the colours do not look right. Something is not right in the conversion process, i.e. they have the embedded Adobe RGB profile.

If you are using RAW data, then I cannot see how the Adobe RGB colour space is being assigned. This should not be happening in your workflow. If you are using Adobe RGB output from your camera (JPEG or TIFF files), that is the only way that you could be working on files that have already been assigned a colour space.

What is your workflow?

[pschlute]

I believe Lr converts the same way as the Ps. Could you please tell me what is the best way to convert the colour space?

I am using the monitor in DCI-P3 mode. Though when I am exporting files which are having ARGB as an embedded profile, to sRGB, on other screens like laptops or smartphones, the images are losing both contrast and colours

LR and PS operate differently. In Photoshop you can convert the image to your desired colour space (eg. sRGB), and then save the image in your desired file type (eg. JPEG). There is an "export function, but I have never used it.

In LR you can only "export" a processed image, and the colour space and file type are specified in your export settings.

I wonder if your problem is due to your monitor's colour profile. Have you tried setting it up to sRGB ?

Another issue could be that your output JPEG files are not being tagged with the sRGB profile.

Can you please link to an exported image using a dropbox account or similar. Then we can download your image and check it out.

[CIC]

Thank you so much for your replies.
My workflow is as follows

1. I have assigned aRGB as the colour profile in the camera to be embedded.
2. I shoot RAW, exclusively.
3. I import the photos using the camera profiles in LR. I do not change the colour space while importing.

3. I do most of my edits in LR on the RAW files. After that for selective works, I open the file in PS using Edit with function of LR.
4. After doing the selective edits in PS I export those files as JPEG with the original colour profile, aRGB in my case, embedded.
5. I have made some export presets which I use to export for any social media using LR, which changes the colour profile to sRGB.

@Peter, This is a new monitor. As Manfred suggested I am using the monitor with DCP-I3 mode. I did try the sRGB mode for the same image in this monitor, but I did not find any drastic difference.
I shall try to share the links to the image today evening.

Thank you all again.