Lost in the world of monitors

Hello,

I'd like to buy a new monitor for processing (predominantly) grayscale photos.
Having spent time looking around the web and getting lost in LUT's and IPS's, i realise i need some help to get the best "bang for my buck"
My budget is embarrassingly low (200-300 euros) like most struggling photographers but i have heard good things about Dells Ultrasharp range.
Any help would be massively appreciated.

The obscured face said:

Hello,

I'd like to buy a new monitor for processing (predominantly) grayscale photos.
Having spent time looking around the web and getting lost in LUT's and IPS's, i realise i need some help to get the best "bang for my buck"
My budget is embarrassingly low (200-300 euros) like most struggling photographers but i have heard good things about Dells Ultrasharp range.
Any help would be massively appreciated.

Click to expand...

Get an inexpensive 4K monitor.

The obscured face said:

Hello,

I'd like to buy a new monitor for processing (predominantly) grayscale photos.
Having spent time looking around the web and getting lost in LUT's and IPS's, i realise i need some help to get the best "bang for my buck"
My budget is embarrassingly low (200-300 euros) like most struggling photographers but i have heard good things about Dells Ultrasharp range.
Any help would be massively appreciated.

Click to expand...

It may not help your choice, but there is a comprehensive review site here: https://www.tftcentral.co.uk/

The obscured face said:

Hello,

I'd like to buy a new monitor for processing (predominantly) grayscale photos.
Having spent time looking around the web and getting lost in LUT's and IPS's, i realise i need some help to get the best "bang for my buck"
My budget is embarrassingly low (200-300 euros) like most struggling photographers but i have heard good things about Dells Ultrasharp range.
Any help would be massively appreciated.

Click to expand...

I had the same problem a few years ago. All I knew was I wanted an IPS panel because of that 178° viewing angle, nothing glossy but an anti-glare screen, Full HD resolution 1920x1080 and a little bigger than my old 19" screen.

Thought about 24" but then I found a great price for a slightly smaller 23" Dell 'Professional', P 2314 H, down from €200 to about €130.

All I can say is I'm still very happy with that thing, it is good, it looks very good, is absolutely good enough for all my (non professional) photo editing, has good connectivity options (HDMI, VGA, Display Port, USB), nice adjustment options (height, pivel, tilt, swivel), flicker-free --- all I need!

If it would explode today, I would just buy the same thing once more, well, today's updated version, P 2419 H: https://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/dell-24-monitor-p2419h/apd/210-apwu/monitors-monitor-accessories

Would be €158 on Amazon.de: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07FDNTS33...3&ascsubtag=6gqrBkbdEfcgiSlStaDd9A&th=1&psc=1

Sure, you can spend a lot more and get something a little better, monster size, 4k or 8 k resolution, colors that can be 100% professionally calibrated, good for gaming and other such nonsense,etc., but - do you really need it?? I don't!

Liewenberger

I got a Dell p2415q in that price range in the States. Nice 4k monitor, good color out of the box, although I calibrate it. Has a PPI of I think 185, so it's not quite a retina iMac or something but quite good.

Is one possibility. IPS and Adobe rgb and, importantly, 1920x1200 rather than just 1080 so even your portrait oriented shots are somewhat viewable. Mine cost 115 and 50 €.

rurikw said:

Is one possibility. IPS and Adobe rgb and, importantly, 1920x1200 rather than just 1080 so even your portrait oriented shots are somewhat viewable. Mine cost 115 and 50 €.

Click to expand...

So far I never did, but with the 1920x1080 Dell you could just turn it 90° to view your portrait oriented shots:





Dell UK has a nice offer at the moment for the P2419H: 146 Great Brexit Pounds, down from 231, incl. VAT, free shipping and a three-year warranty. And an extra 10% off with that coupon code:

https://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/dell-24-monitor-p2419h/apd/210-apwu/monitors-monitor-accessories

Liewenberger

Thank you all for your answers

So, it would seem that resolution is the most important thing to look for really?

The obscured face said:

Thank you all for your answers

So, it would seem that resolution is the most important thing to look for really?

Click to expand...

No, at least not for me!

An IPS viewing angle of 178° (vs 160° with a normal TFT panel) and an anti-reflective non-glare screen would be my priorities.

Nothing more annoying than moving your head a little to the left or right, up or down, and brightness and contrast start looking differently because of an insufficient viewing angle!

Liewenberger

Got it. A matt or anti glare screen! Yes you are right, I've work with a glossy screen and it's no fun.

Thanks

I use LG ips for viewing images from my computer and Benq ips for live viewing monitors in my studio.

Don

Look into an VA monitor. Called AMVA in Benq models. There are several in HD format for that price.

Contrast ratio is decidedly more crisp at 3000:1 than IPS 1000:1. Perhaps more important for b&w pictures. Nicer for landscapes definitely.

If you view from a bad steep angle the image from a VA monitor, the contrast lowers and you see a slight colour cast. If you view from a bad steep angle the image on IPS, the brightness fades. If you view from a slightly bad angle the image on IPS, you see IPS glow, i.e. you have two types of nuisance depending on the viewing angle, but the colour stays more or less the same. You have to pick which of the faults bother you the least.

I like to run VA in horizontal orientation for videos and landscapes and IPS in portrait orientation for text and people shots.

tftcentral is not a very current site for a lot of information. Its heyday was more than a decade ago and its notes on types of monitors is outdated.

threw the lens said:

Look into an VA monitor. Called AMVA in Benq models. There are several in HD format for that price.

Contrast ratio is decidedly more crisp at 3000:1 than IPS 1000:1. Perhaps more important for b&w pictures. Nicer for landscapes definitely.

If you view from a bad steep angle the image from a VA monitor, the contrast lowers and you see a slight colour cast. If you view from a bad steep angle the image on IPS, the brightness fades. If you view from a slightly bad angle the image on IPS, you see IPS glow, i.e. you have two types of nuisance depending on the viewing angle, but the colour stays more or less the same. You have to pick which of the faults bother you the least.

I like to run VA in horizontal orientation for videos and landscapes and IPS in portrait orientation for text and people shots.

tftcentral is not a very current site for a lot of information. Its heyday was more than a decade ago and its notes on types of monitors is outdated.

Click to expand...

Very informative Thank you.

R Liewenberger said:

rurikw said:

Is one possibility. IPS and Adobe rgb and, importantly, 1920x1200 rather than just 1080 so even your portrait oriented shots are somewhat viewable. Mine cost 115 and 50 €.

Click to expand...

So far I never did, but with the 1920x1080 Dell you could just turn it 90° to view your portrait oriented shots:



Dell UK has a nice offer at the moment for the P2419H: 146 Great Brexit Pounds, down from 231, incl. VAT, free shipping and a three-year warranty. And an extra 10% off with that coupon code:

https://www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/dell-24-monitor-p2419h/apd/210-apwu/monitors-monitor-accessories

Liewenberger

Click to expand...

That's a way. Can be done on the HP too. Find it a bit cumbersome. But since I have two, why don't I simply turn one of them vertical? But 1920x1200 is of course better for most photography as it's closer to 3:2.