LCD Monitor Question

Ok it’s getting about time for me to join the 21st Century. The old CRT still gives me great image reproduction but I need more desk space. So, I am looking at my first LCD monitor. The primary use will be photo editing. Some gaming but that isn’t a big consideration at all.. And, of course, a reasonable price would be great.

I am considering the Samsung 906BW and would appreciate any input to help make a decision. I have been somewhat disappointed in the lack of computer information geared toward photographers. The photo magazines will cover any new digital gadget in great detail but offer very little guidance on computer hardware.

Again, any knowledgeable guidance will be greatly appreciated. And, thank you in advance.

I think that's because, outside of screen dimensions, the hardware is not so important as the software.

I currently own four computers (If you count the dinosaur in storage), two of which are using 17 inch LCD monitors. The max resolution on my G5 Mac (All four machines are Mac) is 1440x900, and the resolution of my Powerbook is 1680x1050. Both work fine for all things photography. My personal system for calculating minimum screen resolution is to measure the width of the screen, in inches, and multiply by 75. The resulting answer is the minimum width resolution I need to perform my sharpening techniques in Photoshop. Photoshop also requires a minimum resolution of 1024x768 to open Raw images, so that would be my absolute minimum.

On specific brands of monitors, I have no specific advice, as Macs are integrated systems (at least in my case).

One last piece of advice: consider investing in a notebook. I can shoot a baseball game, hook the laptop into my phone's internet via bluetooth, download and process the images while still at the game, and by the time the kids get home, the pics are posted on my website. Or upload landscape shots while still in the field, and pick up the prints on my way home. Having a notebook just kind of changes your whole outlook.

For what it's worth.

- Joe U.

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am considering the Samsung 906BW

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Has been replaced with a 3000:1 contrast monitor now. The samsung monitors are excellent. Consider only three companies make LCD pannels anyway and Apple aren't one of them! Samsung are (I believe) the 2nd biggest manufacturer. Consequently their own brand monitors are excellent. I use the 22" monitor and it really is superb for photo editing.

Things to watch for are:

1/. Contrast Ratio: The higher the better. Samsungs are 3000:1 which is superb.
2/. Response Time: Critical for gaming but annoying if slow on any monitor. Samsungs are 2ms. Again this is a top spec.
3/. Does the monitor allow calibration of Gamma, brightness and RGB? This is very significant to get a good calibration which is of course critical for photographic work. Again the Samsungs come up trumps in this area.
4/. Price? Well I thought $400 for a 22" widescreen LCD was rather good...

Hope that helps.

D

Thank you for the replies.

Joe U., I too suffer from an embarrassing riches of computers; I have three desktops and a laptop. Years ago, however, we made a decision to change from Apple to PC due to a lack of engineering software availability for Steve’s machines. Back in the day, though, I used to get thrown-out of computer stores for harassing Windows as a Mac wanna be. I suspect that you are right with the hardware/software idea. Thanks for the help.

D, I am glad to get the feedback on Samsung. You have given me encouragement that I am at least on the right track. I noticed that Samsung had new models out and suspected the 906BW had been superseded. And, I couldn’t agree with you more about Samsung’s pricing; rather good! Thank you for the suggestions.


An additional question, if I may:

Is there any problem with image compatibility when going form an LCD monitor to a CRT? I have read that contrast and gama levels can be quite different between the two. My first reaction is that most people’s monitor color/contrast/gama is so screwed-up that it probably won’t matter anyway. But, a large portion of my photo work is transferred over the net to people with different types of monitors so it’s a concern. I understand monitor calibration, but was wondering if anyone has had any problem with LCD compatibility after that?


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If you're calibrated then you are ok regardless of what you use or what people view it on.

There are a number of good LCD monitors out there. In addition to Samsung, I've worked with a number of Dell Ultrasharp monitors. The colors are great and the images are incredibly sharp. I'm thinking about purchasing one in a few months to replace or supplement my old Sony flat-screen.

One other thing to look at is a widescreen monitor. The extra real estate on the screen comes in handy.

Thank you, D, Sean and Joe. You have alleviated my concerns. And, I appreciate you taking the time to help me out. –Bill


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There are a number of good LCD monitors out there. In addition to Samsung, I've worked with a number of Dell Ultrasharp monitors.

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Guess who makes Dell's LCD pannels coz it isn't them...

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Originally Posted by DEvianT

Guess who makes Dell's LCD pannels coz it isn't them...

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That's an irrelevant point. Just because Samsung makes their own panels doesn't mean that other brands of LCD aren't worth looking into.

I second the Dell Ultrasharps. I've had one at work for about a year, but when it came time to replace my 17" CRT at home, I went with a cheaper Samsung 206bw. I had it for three days, hated every minute, and took it back. It had a terrible viewing angle, inconsistent brightness with a bright spot in the centre, and bad backlight bleeding. It was simply uncomfortable to look at.

So I bought another Dell 2007WFP, identical to what I had at work. I love it. Colours are consistent throughout the area of the screen and the lighting is even.

What is the color temperature setting on a lcd monitor? If I set it to the warm setting, could this eventually damage my monitor. I have my xbox 360 plugged into it.

How come there hasn't been any mention of taking panel type into consideration?

The widespread TN panels are cheap, but they are by far the worst for photo.. Personally I dumped my TN monitors (two of them) in favor of an H-IPS panel that I got a deal on through work.

http://www.pchardwarehelp.com/guides...anel-types.php