Need Advice - which monitor?

[Liz]

One thing you want to make sure you do is to have your monitor calibrated. You can pay top dollar for the best monitor on the market, but without proper calibration, you'll still notice a difference between how it looks on the screen and how it looks printed out. But the Mac cinema monitors are gorgeous. But not $200, sadly.

I agree about the Mac monitors! I saw two at Best Buy when I was checking out monitors about 2 weeks ago. I couldn't believe the difference. The Mac stood out above every monitor Best Buy had - the color, resolution, detail - everything looked "perfect." The 24" screen was well over $1,000. I think the 20" was about $800. I wish I could afford it.

I ended up with a TN monitor - the HP w2207h. It was $350 on sale for $279 which was within my budget of $300. I couldn't find anything but a TN within that price range. However, "PRAD" reviews rated it as "good" and in some aspects, they rated it above all other 22" monitors they had tested - considering it is a TN.

The monitor is pretty good considering I haven't calibrated it yet. I viewed my images on it and the colors are quite accurate, and it's sharp. Okay for me since I don't do RAW and minimal post processing.

One thing that bothers me a bit is the "glare" when I'm working on documents (it's also my home office work computer). It is too bright also, but I don't know how to "fix" that without affecting the images in a "negative" way.

Here are two links to PRAD reviews and specification/information. I read that PRAD is supposed to be one of the best for rating monitors. The first link is the review section - the 2nd link includes specifications only.


Reviews
http://www.prad.de/en/monitore/reviews.html

Specs
http://www.prad.de/en/guide/hersteller_start.html

Liz

[drg]

Liz,

Calibration will make a world of difference. Even the least expensive calibration tool on the market will really improve the quality of photos you eventually print and make consistent your viewing.

Either orient the screen to keep light from reflecting or add a little shelf above the top of the monitor to block ambient light. Changes in ambient lighting will affect calibration!!

The other solution is to get a piece of the anti-glare material that comes in several forms and put it over the screen.

Let us know how this one works for you, particularly 30-90 days from now.

Best wishes and happy editing

[Liz]

Liz,

Calibration will make a world of difference. Even the least expensive calibration tool on the market will really improve the quality of photos you eventually print and make consistent your viewing.

Either orient the screen to keep light from reflecting or add a little shelf above the top of the monitor to block ambient light. Changes in ambient lighting will affect calibration!!

The other solution is to get a piece of the anti-glare material that comes in several forms and put it over the screen.

Let us know how this one works for you, particularly 30-90 days from now.

Best wishes and happy editing

Thanks! I was under the impression that any calibration software that does a good job is very expensive. I have no clue what I'm doing here.

Do you have any suggestions as to which software? Something that is easy/simple to use - and does a decent job - for a reasonable price?

Also, any thoughts on what kind of anti-glare material that won't affect the images? The screen is very bright when I using it for work.

Thanks for the help!

Liz