Second Monitor

I bought a second-hand, 15" non-widescreen monitor - all I use it for is the tools if I'm using PS or LR, so the spec was utterly unimportant to me, I just needed some space. Given my workspace is fairly cramped, it's also about all I could fit in. I use an Amazon double monitor arm arrangement that cost significantly more than the £5 I paid for the monitor. Win 10 makes it very easy to use twin monitors, even if they're as non-identical twins as mine.

nzsky said:

Hi everyone, I have a 27" IPS monotor and want to add a cheaper second monitor to use as a dual monitor set up for Lightroom / Photoshop & Windows 10. Is there anything I need to know? I can't find any info on what, if anything, to look for in a secondary monitor. Thanks in advance

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The main thing is to calibrate/profile both (with a hardware tool such as ColorMunki Display i1 Display Pro, Spyder etc).

I would also suggest that the second monitor should also be IPS so it's reasonable quality for assessing images. It doesn't matter if colour gamut is the same as the main monitor. For a while I had a wide-gamut monitor for my main monitor and a smaller standard gamut monitor for the second. After calibration/profiling they looked virtually identical for most colours, except that the second one couldn't display the most vibrant colours.

nzsky said:

Hi everyone, I have a 27" IPS monitor and want to add a cheaper second monitor to use as a dual monitor set up for Lightroom / Photoshop & Windows 10. Is there anything I need to know? I can't find any info on what, if anything, to look for in a secondary monitor. Thanks in advance

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Does your computer have a second video connector? Sorry if that's too obvious.

The quality of the monitor is up to you; it's unlikely that you'll want to display your images on the secondary monitor, so colour calibration seems superfluous IMHO.

If you simply want to display application menus and file information, some of the cheaper monitors might be all you need. I'm sure that I saw a basic 21" monitor advertised the other day for AUD$100.

Windows 10 handles dual monitors very well, either in duplication mode or in desktop extension mode. Each monitor is supported in its native (or optimum) resolution. If you sit the screens side-by-side, you can control the mousing between screens by manipulating the screen diagrams in the video configuration dialog (this isn't immediately obvious).

I use external monitors with my notebook computers, and even though the notebook screens are rather low specification, the setup is entirely adequate for the sort of thing that you have in mind. If I don't need the extra desktop space, I close the notebook lid and the external screen becomes the main screen. All this happens automatically with Windows 10, provided that the notebook is configured to stay "On" when the lid is closed, via Power options.

Something to be aware of is that the progress of certain "special operations" (e.g. BIOS updates), will only be displayed on one of the screens. With a notebook, this will be the built-in display and can be a puzzle if the screen is closed. In your case, just be aware that one screen may appear to be unresponsive during an update.

Hi, I have about 500 photos of mine I use as a slideshow for my wall paper, For this reason I calibrate both monitors. When I am using just my main monitor the 2nd monitor displays the photos so I like having it calibrated. When they are both displaying the slideshow there is no obvious difference in image quality or color. Since it is also an IPS viewing is not as affected by incident angle as a TN panel would be. You can find cheap IPS panels second hand.

One other thing to think about is even if the monitors are not the same size having the same aspect ratio allows you to see the whole projected image in the 2nd monitor.

WARNING: Once you have a 2nd monitor you will wonder how you ever got by without it. It becomes a necessity

As per ormdig (you will never go back).

One of the major benefits of LR is the dual monitor capability (no axe to grind as I use multiple s/w editors for their specific benefits).

In my case I use dual Dell 25 inch monitors (factory calibrated - I cannot tell them apart).

The benefits are significant:

Culling - full size image on the second monitor with browsing and 1:1 image on the main monitor to check focus etc. You can also do this with the image in the edit mode to quickly determine if the image can be salvaged.

Editing - not sure if any other s/w provides immediate image of edits in real time on the second monitor. The second monitor provides "fit to screen" or enlarged view.

I would suggest decent quality for second monitor, possibly smaller size, but the permutations are endless regarding the approach, basically just use a second monitor if your graphics card can handle it.

Regards.

Thank you all. I only planned on using the second monitor for tools but those suggestions are definitely food for thought. And no I didn't think to check I have more than one monitor so good point, turns out I do

nzsky said:

Thank you all. I only planned on using the second monitor for tools but those suggestions are definitely food for thought. And no I didn't think to check I have more than one monitor so good point, turns out I do

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In that case, you can use any monitor for a second monitor. I've had several combinations of 2 or 3 monitors connected at once, often different resolutions. If the colors and brightness don't have to match, then there's nothing much to worry about other than being able to connect it.

I had dual monitors since the CRT days, but since LCD's became popular, I've had various mismatched combinations of IPS, VA, and TN monitors connected as a pair or set of 3. Fortunately I'm currently running a pair of IPS monitors, though one is 24" 1920x1200, and the other is 23" 1920x1080.

Thanks all - ended up with a second IPS monitor, a Dell 24", with pretty good specs. It only cost about $300 nzd compared to $1250 for my 27" 10 bit Ben Q monitor

nzsky said:

Thanks all - ended up with a second IPS monitor, a Dell 24", with pretty good specs. It only cost about $300 nzd compared to $1250 for my 27" 10 bit Benq monitor.

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Pleased that you ended up with what you wanted. Monitors certainly are cheap these days; I can remember paying up to $1000 for up-market CRT and LCD models not too long ago.

The other day, I picked up a second-hand Dell 20" monitor about 10 years old, and it's very good, considering its age (2007 manufacture). It has much better viewing angles than the Samsung that it replaced. The 1680x1050 resolution suits the purpose (mainly word processing), and the colour is also acceptable. Must be at least 120% RGB. ;-)

Dell always had a good reputation for hardware.