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PhotoKhan

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I’m a bit tired of my dual 32” monitor setup and would like to switch to a wide monitor.

I can only find very large “16:9-ish” monitors or wider formats, but curved.

Do you know of any good wide photography monitors (minimum 38” wide) that are flat?

Alternatively, how do you think a curved monitor would impact Lightroom Classic (LrC) and Photoshop (PS) post-processing?

Thank you for any replies!

PK
 
Just for fun, I tried a search at Newegg.

It only returned a single flat wide monitor.

MSI 40" 155 Hz IPS UWQHD IPS Gaming Monitor FreeSync Premium (AMD Adaptive Sync) 3440 x 1440 (2K) MAG401QR - Newegg.com

From its low price, it'd be a pleasant surprise if it was very good for photo editing.

I know of no issue with curved monitors. One forumite here seems to be a rabis fan of curved monitors for photo editing.

The curved monitors that I know of aren't strongly curved. The radius is usually longer than the viewing distance.
 
PhotoKhan said:
I’m a bit tired of my dual 32” monitor setup and would like to switch to a wide monitor.

I can only find very large “16:9-ish” monitors or wider formats, but curved.

Do you know of any good wide photography monitors (minimum 38” wide) that are flat?

Alternatively, how do you think a curved monitor would impact Lightroom Classic (LrC) and Photoshop (PS) post-processing?

Thank you for any replies!

PK
Click to expand...
If 40" is a minimum, perhaps a high-quality flat 4K TV? I used to have one for my primary monitor, and it worked pretty well. Rtings.com has extensive technical reviews of TVs; that might be a good place to start.

I'll consider a curved monitor when I start seeing curved prints on gallery walls. ;-)
 
Austinian said:
PhotoKhan said:
I’m a bit tired of my dual 32” monitor setup and would like to switch to a wide monitor.

I can only find very large “16:9-ish” monitors or wider formats, but curved.

Do you know of any good wide photography monitors (minimum 38” wide) that are flat?

Alternatively, how do you think a curved monitor would impact Lightroom Classic (LrC) and Photoshop (PS) post-processing?

Thank you for any replies!

PK
Click to expand...
If 40" is a minimum, perhaps a high-quality flat 4K TV? I used to have one for my primary monitor, and it worked pretty well. Rtings.com has extensive technical reviews of TVs; that might be a good place to start.

I'll consider a curved monitor when I start seeing curved prints on gallery walls. ;-)
Click to expand...
Whatever happened to ultrawide TVs?

I recall a Spectrum (cable TV service) commercial a couple of years ago that showed an LCD TV that was obviously much wider than the standard 16:9 (1.78:1). Seems like there'd be a market for home theater in the 2.39:1 cinematic format.
 
There are a lot of 34" 21:9 Flat monitors. I've had a couple. One I returned and the other I gave away to someone, and then it was destroyed.

INNOCN | Portable & Desktop Monitors, 4K & OLED Monitors

Buy monitors online and get huge deals on Mini- LED monitors, curved monitors, portable monitors, desktop monitors, 4k monitors, OLED monitors, gaming monitors, and ultrawide monitors at innocn.com.
innocn.com innocn.com

I keep looking for monitors and never finding one I want to buy. Downsizing my 32" to 27" to match the other monitor might be helpful.
 
Never heard of Innocn. My loss, I suppose.
 
Last edited:
PhotoKhan said:
I’m a bit tired of my dual 32” monitor setup and would like to switch to a wide monitor.

I can only find very large “16:9-ish” monitors or wider formats, but curved.

Do you know of any good wide photography monitors (minimum 38” wide) that are flat?

Alternatively, how do you think a curved monitor would impact Lightroom Classic (LrC) and Photoshop (PS) post-processing?

Thank you for any replies!

PK
Click to expand...
I have a bunch of old programs that don't scale well with Windows so I swapped out my dual 27" for a single large 43" which I configured for 100% scaling. It is amazing to have so much screen real estate to work with; the equivalent of 4x 22" monitors. And when I need it, I can run an app full screen, which I do fairly often. I'll never go back.
 
Thank you for your inputs so far.

TVs won’t be a solution because, once again, they are typically “16:9-ish” in format.

I need a wider aspect ratio because my workflow in Lightroom involves using one of my 32" monitors for the main develop area and the other for a full screen view of the photo.

I feel that the curvature of wide monitors—depending on how pronounced it is—could distort the photo, leading to a different visual result when viewed on a flat surface. This is the point I would love to hear more about from current users.

PK
 
BobKnDP said:
Just for fun, I tried a search at Newegg.

It only returned a single flat wide monitor.

MSI 40" 155 Hz IPS UWQHD IPS Gaming Monitor FreeSync Premium (AMD Adaptive Sync) 3440 x 1440 (2K) MAG401QR - Newegg.com

From its low price, it'd be a pleasant surprise if it was very good for photo editing.

I know of no issue with curved monitors. One forumite here seems to be a rabis fan of curved monitors for photo editing.

The curved monitors that I know of aren't strongly curved. The radius is usually longer than the viewing distance.
Click to expand...
I take back the "no issue" thing.

Returning to my old thing as an (engineering) analyst, I calculated the distortion for a model curved widescreen monitor. 49", or 1200mm wide. 1800mm radius.

I assumed a viewing distance of 625mm (about 25") from the center of the monitor.

With the viewer offset 300mm from the center of the monitor (i. e., centered on one half of the screen), I'd say that the distortion is larger than I'd like. Roughly 10% at the edges.

I'm surprised. My intuitive expectation seems to have been off.

I had no plans to buy an ultrawide curved monitor. Limited desk space.
 
PhotoKhan said:
I’m a bit tired of my dual 32” monitor setup and would like to switch to a wide monitor.

I can only find very large “16:9-ish” monitors or wider formats, but curved.

Do you know of any good wide photography monitors (minimum 38” wide) that are flat?

Alternatively, how do you think a curved monitor would impact Lightroom Classic (LrC) and Photoshop (PS) post-processing?

Thank you for any replies!

PK
Click to expand...
I switched to a curved LG 38" IPS monitor a couple of years ago and I would never go back to a flat monitor (or even worse, a pair of flat monitors with a vertical "crack" in the middle of the field of view).

Better in every respect, especially for perspective corrections.
 
Last edited:
BobKnDP said:
Never heard of Innocn. My loss, I suppose.
Click to expand...
Innocn makes several mini-LED monitors, which relatively rare. Mini LED is good to produce very bright highlights. I bought an Acer XV275K-P3 instead.

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/innocn/27m2v

LG has a line of 34" widescreen but flat monitors < $300, but only 1080 pixels high. If I were looking to replace two side-by-side monitors, I would accept curvature and higher price.

(Since Covid work from home, decided I prefer above and below to side-by-side. However the arrangement isn't good for spreadsheets.)
 
Last edited:
CAcreeks said:
BobKnDP said:
Never heard of Innocn. My loss, I suppose.
Click to expand...
Innocn makes several mini-LED monitors, which relatively rare. Mini LED is good to produce very bright highlights. I bought an Acer XV275K-P3 instead.

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/innocn/27m2v

LG has a line of 34" widescreen but flat monitors < $300, but only 1080 pixels high. If I were looking to replace two side-by-side monitors, I would accept curvature and higher price.

(Since Covid work from home, decided I prefer above and below to side-by-side. However the arrangement isn't good for spreadsheets.)
Click to expand...
That Acer is what I'd call insanely bright. ;-)

My OLED (Philips 27E1N8900) is profiled at 110 nits. Used only in a darkish "sewing room". Almost zero HDR mode.
 
Last edited:
Austinian said:
I'll consider a curved monitor when I start seeing curved prints on gallery walls. ;-)
Click to expand...
Monet's gigantic curved panel water lillies a the Orangerie Museum in Paris.
 
Ken Seals said:
Austinian said:
I'll consider a curved monitor when I start seeing curved prints on gallery walls. ;-)
Click to expand...
Monet's gigantic curved panel water lillies a the Orangerie Museum in Paris.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I've never seen that. So it doesn't count. :-)

Haven't been to Paris since 1963. Didn't visit the Orangerie then.

Did Monet's monitor match the curvature of that panel? ;-)
 
Last edited:
Austinian said:
Ken Seals said:
Austinian said:
I'll consider a curved monitor when I start seeing curved prints on gallery walls. ;-)
Click to expand...
Monet's gigantic curved panel water lillies a the Orangerie Museum in Paris.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I've never seen that. So it doesn't count. :-)

Haven't been to Paris since 1963. Didn't visit the Orangerie then.

Did Monet's monitor match the curvature of that panel? ;-)
Click to expand...
:-) I was in his big barn of a studio in Giverny a few years ago. The monitor was covered with sheets since he wasn't using it any more. Not sure if it was curved or not.
 
PhotoKhan said:
Thank you for your inputs so far.

TVs won’t be a solution because, once again, they are typically “16:9-ish” in format.

I need a wider aspect ratio because my workflow in Lightroom involves using one of my 32" monitors for the main develop area and the other for a full screen view of the photo.

I feel that the curvature of wide monitors—depending on how pronounced it is—could distort the photo, leading to a different visual result when viewed on a flat surface. This is the point I would love to hear more about from current users.

PK
Click to expand...
 
BobKnDP said:
Returning to my old thing as an (engineering) analyst, I calculated the distortion for a model curved widescreen monitor. 49", or 1200mm wide. 1800mm radius.
Click to expand...
49" wide? Seems excessive. I went from twin flat 27" monitors to a single curved 38" monitor (LG IPS). It is a much better solution for my general and Lightroom needs (including perspective adjustments), because I no longer have the "crack" in the middle of the field of view. Try it, you won't regret it.
 
Chris Noble said:
BobKnDP said:
Returning to my old thing as an (engineering) analyst, I calculated the distortion for a model curved widescreen monitor. 49", or 1200mm wide. 1800mm radius.
Click to expand...
49" wide? Seems excessive. I went from twin flat 27" monitors to a single curved 38" monitor (LG IPS). It is a much better solution for my general and Lightroom needs (including perspective adjustments), because I no longer have the "crack" in the middle of the field of view. Try it, you won't regret it.
Click to expand...
Is that model LG 38WN95C with QHD+ screen, as they say, 3840x1600 pixels?

Here it is versus a more expensive Dell model:

www.rtings.com

LG 38WN95C-W vs Dell UltraSharp U4021QW Side-by-Side Monitor Comparison

The LG 38WN95C-W and the Dell UltraSharp U4021QW are both ultrawide monitors with different advantages and disadvantages. The LG is better for gaming, as it has a much faster response time for clear motion, lower input lag, 144Hz refresh rate, and VRR support. The Dell, however, is a bit bigger...
www.rtings.com www.rtings.com
 
CAcreeks said:
Chris Noble said:
BobKnDP said:
Returning to my old thing as an (engineering) analyst, I calculated the distortion for a model curved widescreen monitor. 49", or 1200mm wide. 1800mm radius.
Click to expand...
49" wide? Seems excessive. I went from twin flat 27" monitors to a single curved 38" monitor (LG IPS). It is a much better solution for my general and Lightroom needs (including perspective adjustments), because I no longer have the "crack" in the middle of the field of view. Try it, you won't regret it.
Click to expand...
Is that model LG 38WN95C with QHD+ screen, as they say, 3840x1600 pixels?

Here it is versus a more expensive Dell model:

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/tools/compare/lg-38wn95c-w-vs-dell-ultrasharp-u4021qw/14466/21447
Click to expand...
I have the LG 38WN75; 3840x1600. The size and resolution is sufficient for me, and it calibrates well. There are newer and higher-resolution models.

(Dell uses LG panels for their Ultrasharp monitors).
 
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