Buying a monitor for photo editing - what spec do I need?

[anonymous-user]

Hi all,

At the moment I do all my photo editing (mostly Lightroom) on a 2017 MacBook Pro, and I have no complaints. I think the screen is excellent and I have read that the screen used in these MacBook models is very good indeed for colour accuracy etc, but I sometimes find that it gets a little hard on my eyes if I spend too long looking at a little 13” screen.

So I would like to buy an external monitor just so I have something bigger to edit on and don’t have to have the photo so small in the centre of the screen when using Lightroom, as I find all the options and so on take up a large amount of screen space in Lightroom.

I’m just a hobby photographer so I don’t want to break the bank, but recently my photos have been getting used in magazines and by businesses, so I feel I need to spend a bit more time editing, plus I’m taking and editing more photos now anyway.

I honestly don’t know where to start when looking at monitors. I haven’t bought one for years due to using laptops for what seems like forever.

I don’t want anything massive. Probably about 27” or so?

Do I need 4K?

Is there any specs I should look out for when buying something to edit on?

My budget is around £300-400 I think.

Thank you

[eltawater]

I do all my lightroom processing on a 22 inch 1920x1080 Samsung monitor which is only equipped with a VGA connection.

Cost me £100 five years ago, similar monitors equipped with DVI/HDMI/Displayport can be had on your local Facebook Marketplace for between £20-£40.

Might be something worth considering before spanking the piggy bank, because if you don't like it you can always throw it back on the Marketplace

[RobDickinson]

4k is nice (I dont have one but my mate has a 4k eizo..) but imo minimum of 27" for that

You want an IPS panel with even lighting and as much of a colour gamut as possible, Dell and LG etc usually have decent options , I'm not up on whats current at the moment.

You probably dont want to go for one of the pro monitors (aka eizo etc) with built in hardware calibration etc at that budget!

[anonymous-user]

RobDickinson said:

4k is nice (I dont have one but my mate has a 4k eizo..) but imo minimum of 27" for that

You want an IPS panel with even lighting and as much of a colour gamut as possible, Dell and LG etc usually have decent options , I'm not up on whats current at the moment.

You probably dont want to go for one of the pro monitors (aka eizo etc) with built in hardware calibration etc at that budget!

Someone did mention that I should get an ‘IPS’ monitor and I did see some in Curry’s, but I didn’t know what it meant!

I don’t think I want to spend a fortune on an Eizo!

I’ll look at Dell and LG etc

Thanks

[RobDickinson]

Lord Marylebone said:

RobDickinson said:

4k is nice (I dont have one but my mate has a 4k eizo..) but imo minimum of 27" for that

You want an IPS panel with even lighting and as much of a colour gamut as possible, Dell and LG etc usually have decent options , I'm not up on whats current at the moment.

You probably dont want to go for one of the pro monitors (aka eizo etc) with built in hardware calibration etc at that budget!

Someone did mention that I should get an ‘IPS’ monitor and I did see some in Curry’s, but I didn’t know what it meant!

I don’t think I want to spend a fortune on an Eizo!

I’ll look at Dell and LG etc

Thanks

Theres 2 basic kinds of LCD panels

TN which have faster refresh and cheaper and IPS which have wider color ranges. Often this info isnt displayed anywhere on a lot of sales info you have to hunt it down.

You want one that covers 100% of the sRGB colour space and as much (90% plus) of adobeRGB.

[tog]

I've had a pair of Dell UltraSharp U2415 monitors for the last couple of years and am very happy with them. They replaced a pair of ancient LaCies and are better in every way. I like a two-screen setup (I use a Mac Pro with no built in display) and prefer to have two 24" monitors than one or more bigger ones. I also prefer the slightly taller aspect ratio of these Dells, not quite so widescreen as many monitors.

You can spend a lot more on an Eizo, but I use the Dells for pro photo work and have had no complaints from clients. You need get a calibrator of course to get the best out of any screen.

[S. Gonzales Esq.]

tog said:

I've had a pair of Dell UltraSharp U2415 monitors for the last couple of years and am very happy with them. They replaced a pair of ancient LaCies and are better in every way. I like a two-screen setup (I use a Mac Pro with no built in display) and prefer to have two 24" monitors than one or more bigger ones. I also prefer the slightly taller aspect ratio of these Dells, not quite so widescreen as many monitors.

You can spend a lot more on an Eizo, but I use the Dells for pro photo work and have had no complaints from clients. You need get a calibrator of course to get the best out of any screen.

Snap - a pair of 24" Ultrasharps here, which replaced a pair of LaCie CRTs.

One of my Dells is noticeably better than the other - more even backlighting, easier to calibrate. Having a pair means you can choose the best as the main screen. I'm not a fan of teeny tiny pixels, so much prefer a pair of smaller screens to one big one.

[RobDickinson]

I'll be looking to replace my u2711 this year no idea with what.

[anonymous-user]

tog said:

I've had a pair of Dell UltraSharp U2415 monitors for the last couple of years and am very happy with them. They replaced a pair of ancient LaCies and are better in every way. I like a two-screen setup (I use a Mac Pro with no built in display) and prefer to have two 24" monitors than one or more bigger ones. I also prefer the slightly taller aspect ratio of these Dells, not quite so widescreen as many monitors.

You can spend a lot more on an Eizo, but I use the Dells for pro photo work and have had no complaints from clients. You need get a calibrator of course to get the best out of any screen.

I have an ‘X-Rite Colormunki Smile’ calibrator. Just bought it.

I used it on my MacBook and it adjusted the colours to something slightly, but noticeably, warmer than what I’m used to looking at... and now I’m wondering if it is correct or not!

I don’t know wether to trust Apple or X-Rite!

[Mr Pointy]

This is the sort of thing you can pick up on Gumtree if it's local to you:
https://www.gumtree.com/p/computer-monitors/2-x-de...

[GravelBen]

After a few years of doing everything on a laptop screen (albeit a decent as laptops go Dell 1080p) I got a second-hand Dell u2711 a few months back after researching and finding the Dell u-series pretty widely recommended.

Turned out in comparison that the laptop screen is a lot less colour-accurate than I had thought, with a noticeable blue tint. So a lot of my images from the last few years probably have a warmer WB than they should...

[RobDickinson]

I calibrated my xps 15 it's much better now, close to the u2711

[GravelBen]

RobDickinson said:

I calibrated my xps 15 it's much better now, close to the u2711

Ah good to know you can calibrate them. Brights and darks were ok with the laptop (15r SE, probably 5 years old), it was mostly the blue tint and boosted mid-range contrast that I noticed being different.

It was getting on a bit and struggling with Lightroom too so I just specced up a decent desktop and use that for processing instead now.

[singlecoil]

AFAIAC it really only matters if you are having your photos printed. If your stuff is for viewing on the web then you are at the mercy of the kit other people are using. Even if they are being printed the results are going to vary depending on the lighting conditions.

[8bit]

Jumping on the bandwagon here, but I'm in a similar boat. Have a 29" LG ultrawide gaming monitor just now, it's "only" 1080p but the 21:9 aspect ratio doesn't really work for me for photo editing as there's a lot of wasted space in Lightroom and the actual screen size is not very tall. I read about the imminent LG 32QK500-W, 32" and 1440p but has Freesync (so decent for the odd game now and then) and likely to cost about £300-£350. Saw on another thread on PH just now that someone bought a Viewsonic screen, basically the same thing but no Freesync and it can be had for a little over £200.

Found this comparison of four 32" 1440p screens including the two I mentioned, any input from more experienced photograhpers/retouchers that would help in making a decision if these were the options on the table?

https://www.displayspecifications.com/en/compariso...

[Craikeybaby]

I am also in the market for a new monitor, as part of replacing my iMac. I want a 4K display as I am used to the Retina display on my MacBook, but 1440px is too small to run in HiDPI mode.

On a 2017 MacBook Pro I would be looking for something that has got Thunderbolt, or at least USB-C with power delivery, so that you only need to plug in/disconnect 1 cable when you get to your desk.

[anonymous-user]

Craikeybaby said:

I am also in the market for a new monitor, as part of replacing my iMac. I want a 4K display as I am used to the Retina display on my MacBook, but 1440px is too small to run in HiDPI mode.

On a 2017 MacBook Pro I would be looking for something that has got Thunderbolt, or at least USB-C with power delivery, so that you only need to plug in/disconnect 1 cable when you get to your desk.

This is interesting.

Are you saying I ideally need to buy a 4K screen if I’m used to using a 2017 Retina display?

[RobDickinson]

Lord Marylebone said:

Are you saying I ideally need to buy a 4K screen if I’m used to using a 2017 Retina display?

'retina' is a pure bullst marketing term

a 27" 4k screen would qualify but a 80inch one wouldnt or whatever.

[anonymous-user]

RobDickinson said:

Lord Marylebone said:

Are you saying I ideally need to buy a 4K screen if I’m used to using a 2017 Retina display?

'retina' is a pure bullst marketing term

a 27" 4k screen would qualify but a 80inch one wouldnt or whatever.

Oh I know Retina is just a term that Apple use, but I’m querying the suitability of a small 4K screen such as 24” or 27” etc.

Some people say things like ‘everything is too small’ or go on about ‘small pixels’ and I’m not totally sure about the issues of this.

[RobDickinson]

IMo 4k is serious overkill for 24" and close to it for 27"

All depends on what you are using it for, on windows even now old apps don scale that well so you end up with tiny icons/fonts/windows etc.