Monitor Size and Resolution Question for Photo and Video Editing

[ZlivesinBuda]

I am looking to upgrade my seven-year-old Dell Inspiron 15 laptop computer that i use to edit mainly my personal Photos but also some video that I take with my Z6 camera. I am looking at a Dell XPS desktop computer with 16 GB of ram and 1 TB of SSD memory, but I am having a hard time selecting a monitor.

I am looking at 27" and 32" monitors - either flat screen or curved. From what I have read, if I get a 32" monitor it should be positioned about five feet from me, whereas the 27" should be about twenty inches. Is positioning the monitor five feet away necessary? Five feet would not work with my desk setup.

Is a curved or flat screen best for photo or video editing?

I am looking at a UHD monitor (3840x2160) but am wondering if that resolution would make a difference?

Any inputs, suggestions, pros, cons, would be greatly appreciated!

 

[NickZ2016]

I think you need more memory and storage.

Monitors? For video two is better than one. To be honest three is even better. Even a 32" will end up cluttered and tight. Menu bar across the top. Time line across the bottom. Various crap on each side. Suddenly you're down to a 9".

Flat screen is better. You want something with reasonably good colour. If editing is the important bit don't look at gaming monitors but the monitors aimed at creative workflows.

 

[anotherMike]

I would suggest a couple of things, mostly in terms of thinking about the future (meaning, you might move upwards from a Z6 and move into heftier files that require more juice) and suggest the following:

• 32GB of RAM
• The better the video card you can afford initially, the better off you will be.
  • A lot of this depends on what you're using for edit/coloring of the videos. I'm using Davinci Resolve, which likes a lot of juice, so i picked up an Asus with an Nvidia RTX 4070 which has 12GB of video ram on it. This means I have some capability for when I want to work with fatter files/codecs. So far, on a Z8, I'm mostly using 10 bit Prores 422, and this combo works fine. If I were working exclusively with 8K raw, I might upgrade the card, as expensive as it is.
• Don't worry so much about the SSD storage for the boot drive and applications.
• DO get yourself a 1 or 2 TB nvme internal SSD (make sure the PC has the slot for it)
  • I use *this* drive as my "work drive" (I don't put any videos I'm working with on the boot drive
• I'll assume the PC you're looking at has fast USB, so *also* pick up a FAST external SSD or four. I like the T9 Samsung portable/externals - that's where media will be stored. You'll only need a couple to start with, and you don't have to go with the big ones first. You could start with a pair of T7 1TB externals to start. You want a pair so you always have backup.
• Flat screen for sure.

I can't speak for screen size. I have a 24" very high end NEC calibrated spectraview for my main photo PC that is calibrated for sRGB and thus also Rec709, which would typically be my deliverable. I may consider upgrading that to a 27" Eizo at some point, but it works for now. I also have a 27" HP Dreamcolor which is calibrated to adobeRGB, which is reasonably close to DCI P3 for video, so I don't really use it for video, but rather for checking photo (still) work on a wider gamut monitor. I'm about 22 inches from the 27" and maybe 32" from my 24" screen. I wouldn't mind a 32" monitor, but am not sure if I would go 2K or 4K. I'm also considering getting a medium sized LG OLED 4K TV, as I've seen several of the pro colorists use this as their HDR/4K/wide gamut monitor along with something expensive like a Flanders Scientific for their Rec709 grading monitor. The Flanders stuff makes Eizo look like a K Mart blue light special, so that's out of my range and I'm still mostly photo centric, so an Eizo is in the future since the NEC is getting along in it's years (although still able to keep color accuracy within 1.25 delta E, which ain't bad for a 10+ year old monitor)

Point is, prepare for the future as well as being adequate for "now".

Just my thoughts anyway, I'm sort of new to this as well.

 

[jthomas39]

I had a 27 inch 4K monitor attached to my old laptop, along with a separate keyboard. I really liked having the laptop screen as a second screen. That 27 screen was getting a bit old, with some noticeable lighter blobs from the backlighting.

Now, my 2021 "gaming PC" is fast. It was the cheapest way to get a decent mid-range video card, nvMe 1TB card, and a pretty fast processor--the processor speeds up my photo editor more than the video card does. I have 32gb memory, but it rarely goes past 16gb for photo editing.

Along with the new PC, I got a new LG 4K screen with somewhat better color, and the old 4K is now the second screen. Two screens with the same size and resolution is really nice.

The main screen is a little more than finger tip distance away. I use progressive bifocals, but for PC use, I have an inexpensive second pair of single vision glasses, set for that 2-3 foot distance in focus. Otherwise, I'd have to keep moving my head since the screen is too big for the bifocal focus area.

Yes, 4K 3840x1920 is worth the small extra expense.

~~~

Storage

My 2021 PC came with 1 TB nvMe for Windows 10. I added a 4TB spinning hard drive for backup storage. 1 TB is fine for photo editing, but not big enough to store years of photos, and only big enough for one video project at a time. Now, I'd get a 4TB SSD, or the external SSDs mentioned above.

 

[Lance B]

I am looking to upgrade my seven-year-old Dell Inspiron 15 laptop computer that i use to edit mainly my personal Photos but also some video that I take with my Z6 camera. I am looking at a Dell XPS desktop computer with 16 GB of ram and 1 TB of SSD memory, but I am having a hard time selecting a monitor.

I am looking at 27" and 32" monitors - either flat screen or curved. From what I have read, if I get a 32" monitor it should be positioned about five feet from me, whereas the 27" should be about twenty inches. Is positioning the monitor five feet away necessary? Five feet would not work with my desk setup.

Is a curved or flat screen best for photo or video editing?

I am looking at a UHD monitor (3840x2160) but am wondering if that resolution would make a difference?

Any inputs, suggestions, pros, cons, would be greatly appreciated!

What AnotherMike has said above is good advice.

I do use a 32" Dell 3840x2160 UHD flat screen and it is specific for photo editing purposes. Has 99% sRGB and 1.07 billion colors. This is an excellent screen but there are newer version that are probably now better. The point is, a 32" screen is not too big IMO. I sit about 32" or 800mm from the screen and wouldn't want to be 5 feet away!

 

[Austinian]

I am looking to upgrade my seven-year-old Dell Inspiron 15 laptop computer that i use to edit mainly my personal Photos but also some video that I take with my Z6 camera. I am looking at a Dell XPS desktop computer with 16 GB of ram and 1 TB of SSD memory, but I am having a hard time selecting a monitor.

I am looking at 27" and 32" monitors - either flat screen or curved. From what I have read, if I get a 32" monitor it should be positioned about five feet from me, whereas the 27" should be about twenty inches. Is positioning the monitor five feet away necessary? Five feet would not work with my desk setup.

Is a curved or flat screen best for photo or video editing?

I am looking at a UHD monitor (3840x2160) but am wondering if that resolution would make a difference?

Any inputs, suggestions, pros, cons, would be greatly appreciated!

I sit about 22" from a 32" UHD IPS flat-screen monitor, and use computer glasses optimized for that distance; that distance also works for my laptops.

On the Dells I've owned, user-upgrading the memory and storage is easy and costs less than buying the extra from Dell. Dell provides illustrated service manuals describing how to do such upgrades.

 

[mclewis]

I am looking at 27" and 32" monitors - either flat screen or curved. From what I have read, if I get a 32" monitor it should be positioned about five feet from me, whereas the 27" should be about twenty inches. Is positioning the monitor five feet away necessary? Five feet would not work with my desk setup.

Is a curved or flat screen best for photo or video editing?

I am looking at a UHD monitor (3840x2160) but am wondering if that resolution would make a difference?

Any inputs, suggestions, pros, cons, would be greatly appreciated!

I have a 4K 32" monitor running at 125% scaling in Windows. It is just under 2 feet from my eyes. If I was using 150% scaling it would be further away. If 100% scaling it would have to be closer for me to read what is on screen.

5 feet is an excessive distance for any monitor.

Basically put the screen at a comfortable distance for you.

I prefer flat screens over curved so there is no distortion in straight lines.

 

[ZlivesinBuda]

Thanks for your responses! This will help greatly in helping to make my decisions. I will definitely be going with a flat screen and 3840x1920 resolution.

 

[CAcreeks]

Thanks for your responses! This will help greatly in helping to make my decisions. I will definitely be going with a flat screen and 3840x1920 resolution.

Good choices, but some people like curved screen.

I am the only one on this thread (so far) who feels a 32" monitor is too large. Probably it depends on your eyesight and desk configuration. Our desks are not very deep and my medium distance vision is good enough that 27" seems the right size.

Of course 5 feet distance for a 32" monitor is total hogwash.

I'd love to have a 3840x2400 monitor, but they don't make 'em. They do make 5K and 6K monitors, maybe even 8K, but prices are unbearably high.

 

[Austinian]

I'd love to have a 3840x2400 monitor, but they don't make 'em.

That is a very desirable resolution, IMO. I do have such a screen.

Unfortunately, it's only 16", and permanently attached to a laptop. :-(

 

[BobKnDP]

I don't understand the distances that you mention.

If 20" (0.5m) was good for a 27" display at 3840 X 2160, the a 32" monitor with the same resolution might be at about 24" (0.6m). 5 feet (1.5m) would be absurd.

My main monitor is a 27" 3840 X 2160. Eye distance is about 24".

At that distance a pixel subtends about 0.26 milliradians, or about 0.9 arc minutes. That's not in the Apple "retina" class (where even the most acute vision couldn't resolve pixels), but still usable.

Some prefer 2560 X 1440 for 27" displays, but I do okay with text at the default Windows (10 or 11) scaling of 150%.

 

[Jon555]

I am looking to upgrade my seven-year-old Dell Inspiron 15 laptop computer that i use to edit mainly my personal Photos but also some video that I take with my Z6 camera. I am looking at a Dell XPS desktop computer with 16 GB of ram and 1 TB of SSD memory, but I am having a hard time selecting a monitor.

I am looking at 27" and 32" monitors - either flat screen or curved. From what I have read, if I get a 32" monitor it should be positioned about five feet from me, whereas the 27" should be about twenty inches. Is positioning the monitor five feet away necessary? Five feet would not work with my desk setup.

Is a curved or flat screen best for photo or video editing?

I am looking at a UHD monitor (3840x2160) but am wondering if that resolution would make a difference?

Any inputs, suggestions, pros, cons, would be greatly appreciated!

The issue is indeed how far away yo will sit. A 4k 27" monitor should be good unless you want to be a long way away from it. You also want it to cover all of sRGB and ideally quite a bit of a larger gamut (although for Internet image posting that may not be an advantage). Buying a calibrated monitor is a plus. There's also HDR to consider (BTW I don't use my monitor's HDR mode as it's too bright for the room I'm in and no-one who will see the images is likely to have one).

Then there's cost... IMHO an LG 27UL500 is probably a good thing to compare value against... (No, I don't own one...)

 

[NickZ2016]

I am the only one on this thread (so far) who feels a 32" monitor is too large.

It also depends on the software you're using. If you open Resolve on a single 32" monitor the part of the screen you'll see your clip on looks to be about a quarter of a 15" laptop. Everything else is taken up by the program. That's why having a second/third monitor you can play the clip on is a bonus.

The thing is only one of the monitors needs to be a "good" monitor. The ones that have nothing but UI on them don't need great colour accuracy. Old monitors never die they just move over.

 

[jthomas39]

I am the only one on this thread (so far) who feels a 32" monitor is too large.

It also depends on the software you're using. If you open Resolve on a single 32" monitor the part of the screen you'll see your clip on looks to be about a quarter of a 15" laptop. Everything else is taken up by the program. That's why having a second/third monitor you can play the clip on is a bonus.

The thing is only one of the monitors needs to be a "good" monitor. The ones that have nothing but UI on them don't need great colour accuracy. Old monitors never die they just move over.

My second 27 inch monitor is surprisingly useful. My email feed stays on it if I'm not using it for other purposes. Like right now, where I'm half paying attention to a youtube video while I'm in dpreview. Or showing the jpg from my raw+jpg pair while I'm editing the raw on the good, main screen.

 

[The Point and Shoot Pro]

I think you need more memory and storage.

Monitors? For video two is better than one. To be honest three is even better. Even a 32" will end up cluttered and tight. Menu bar across the top. Time line across the bottom. Various crap on each side. Suddenly you're down to a 9".

Flat screen is better. You want something with reasonably good colour. If editing is the important bit don't look at gaming monitors but the monitors aimed at creative workflows.

Agree with all your points.

I would go with Alogic 27's. You can even get them in touch enabled versions with stylus support. We had a few set backs with getting our jeep fixed so I had to put off buying my 3 monitors. Two for me one for the wife.

We will be ordering them in the next month or so. But, the Alogic monitors are great for video and photo editing.

When I am going on location I even have a second 14 inch touchscreen I connect to my notebook via HDMI that works as my second monitor. Works great.

--
Fronterra Photography Tours
The Point and Shoot Pro
One Lens, No Problem

 

[New Wrycuda]

I am looking to upgrade my seven-year-old Dell Inspiron 15 laptop computer that i use to edit mainly my personal Photos but also some video that I take with my Z6 camera. I am looking at a Dell XPS desktop computer with 16 GB of ram and 1 TB of SSD memory, but I am having a hard time selecting a monitor.

Typical Dell XPS models come with a 1TB NVMe SSD with no provision for an additional NVMe SSD (Slot is populated with WiFi/BlueTooth unit). SATA SSD drives may be a viable option.

2 x 16GB RAM would future-proof your system.

I am looking at 27" and 32" monitors - either flat screen or curved. From what I have read, if I get a 32" monitor it should be positioned about five feet from me, whereas the 27" should be about twenty inches. Is positioning the monitor five feet away necessary? Five feet would not work with my desk setup.

Forget about “five feet”; such distances would only be suitable if you wanted to share a movie with some friends.

I have a 28” 3840x2160 monitor that I use for all manner of tasks @ 150% scaling. The screen is large enough to display two A4 pages side-by-side, where a relatively short reading distance is appropriate. Detailed work in several windowed applications may require an even closer distance. There’s enough space to move the monitor back and forth on the desk.

There’s also 27” and 24” 1920x1080 monitors that are fine for more everyday tasks. In particular, the 24” is just right for word-processing etc. in the space available.

Is a curved or flat screen best for photo or video editing?

I prefer flat.

I am looking at a UHD monitor (3840x2160) but am wondering if that resolution would make a difference?

Not sure how you define “difference”, but lesser resolutions would tend to make the pixels visible. For example the pixels on my 1920x1080 27” monitor are apparent when any close work is carried out. It’s mainly for games and casual Internet, word-processing etc.

Any inputs, suggestions, pros, cons, would be greatly appreciated!

 

[David Lal]

Not sure how you define “difference”, but lesser resolutions would tend to make the pixels visible. For example the pixels on my 1920x1080 27” monitor are apparent when any close work is carried out.

My monitor is a 4k one, 27" 3840 X 2160 which I view from circa 50cm. I have also set scaling at 150%. I use it for everything, particularly graphics but also films and so on over the internet. I would find 1920 x 1080 very coarse and uncomfortable.

 

[Batdude]

Personally, after using a 4K monitor for several months, I returned it because I was not happy with the puny icons and letters. Even if I upscaled I was not happy. I sit approximately 17 inches away.



I decided to purchase a BenQ 2K 1440 and I am SUPER happy with it and that is exactly what I was looking for. The IQ is super high quality and frankly I don’t notice that the resolution is “lower” because the picture quality is top notch.



Can I assume you use your computer and photography as a hobby, or is this for professional work?

I only ask because since you’re being advertised to get two, and even a three monitor set up, I’m not sure if this is the same thing as when playing video games, someone pleased correct me, your vídeo card might draw a lot more power with two or more screens, but then again I’m not sure because number one, I only have one monitor and two, photography software doesn’t make your GPU draw that much wattage. But if your video editing software does then you might possibly have to choose and buy the correct power supply for such application.



Oh, and 16GB doesn’t cut it anymore, IMHO, you should get minimum 32GB.

 

[CBR1100XX]

I am looking to upgrade my seven-year-old Dell Inspiron 15 laptop computer that i use to edit mainly my personal Photos but also some video that I take with my Z6 camera. I am looking at a Dell XPS desktop computer with 16 GB of ram and 1 TB of SSD memory, but I am having a hard time selecting a monitor.

I am looking at 27" and 32" monitors - either flat screen or curved. From what I have read, if I get a 32" monitor it should be positioned about five feet from me, whereas the 27" should be about twenty inches. Is positioning the monitor five feet away necessary? Five feet would not work with my desk setup.

Is a curved or flat screen best for photo or video editing?

I am looking at a UHD monitor (3840x2160) but am wondering if that resolution would make a difference?

Any inputs, suggestions, pros, cons, would be greatly appreciated!

That distance you're quoting is for TV content I'm guessing. My primary monitor which has a 25" 1440P display is 30" sitting back and only 20" if I'm right up at the desk and I'm likely to go to a 27-32" myself for one in that position.

I also briefly had a 42" IPS display... it had a PSU issue so I returned it but that thing was really impressive and a bit large that close but 32" would be fine and great for seeing details.

I'd go flat screen.

for 32" I'd go 4k at a normal 20-30" distance, I'd only do 1440P in that case if you were to have it 5ft away. 27" you can go either way and at 1440P also has the best bang for your buck probably with the Asus ProArt at ~250 USD.

How many photos do you take at a time? And are you using Lightroom?

A 7 year old XPS should be about the same as my Dell Inspiron Gaming laptop (i7-7700HQ) so if you import at most a few hundred photos at a time it shouldn't be a huge deal either way. But creating 4k VS 1440P previews takes a lot longer so if you get to 1k or more you're talking about a decent bit of time.

My laptop had a 4k screen and my trick was to cull with it at 1080P and edit on 4k, this might not even matter to you but it's a way to get around that bottleneck if you still want the higher resolution. Just you need to change the resolution before starting Lightroom or it is set on 4k preview sizes plus the scaling for the UI elements gets a bit weird.

Edit: I just remembered in the past I used Apple's 30" Cinema Displays in a similar 20-30" distance so 5ft really does sound excessive for a 32" display.

 

[Keekerseeker]

My setup is 2- 27" dell ultra sharp 4K IPS screens. I thought about a 32" screen but am use to 2 monitors and find that it works great for photo editing, plus is easy to have something else open at same time. I would also go to 32gb ram, as photo files tend to grow. I look at a computer purchase as a 8-10 year investment, so I spend more up front then what i need for power today,,so that 7-8 years down the road it is still doing a decent job. By the way spending more for a monitor,or 2 monitors that is built for better colour quality will be much more satisfying over the 7-10 years you will be using it.