24" monitor for photo editing

[poplico]

I have a pc and want a new flat panel hd, rgb, monitor. My research seems to be a lacie 324 or perhaps the HP 2475W for half the price. My main use will be lightroom and photoshop so I want a solid, true color monitor for under $1000.00. Would love to hear your thoughts.

 

[jaguarskx]

26" Planar PX2611w ~$800.

 

[poplico]

Thanks, I will take a closer look

 

[jaguarskx]

Consider it to be a "lite" version of the NEC LCD2690WUXi which lacks the extra electronics NEC put into the WUXi series to improve color accuracy and overall image quality.

 

[poplico]

so, if you were to have both the NEC and Planar machines side by side, would there be a major difference in color?

 

[jaguarskx]

Overall, the NEC looks better especially since it has an A-TW polarized filter for less white blooms when viewing off angles. NEC's internal electronics improves color uniformity a little bit. It's OSD menu is also a bit more robust, there is a "power user" mode which offers you a lot of options to adjust colors. In case you play games, the internal video processing that the NEC performs causes the 2690WUXi to have an average input lag of 33ms.

The Planar is a great monitor especially if you are rather reluctant to cough up the extra $400 - $500 for the 2690WUXi. I recommended the Planar to a friend of mine who does professional graphics presentation for a living and he is extremely happy with it. It lack the extra electronics that the NEC has as well as the A-TW filter, however you have to decide for yourself if the extra $400 - $500 is worth going from a very good monitor to an excellent monitor. The lack of additional electronics also has another added benefit if you are a gamer. The Planar PX2611w has been tested to have an input lag of less than 8ms.

One thing you need to consider is color gamut. I don't know what monitor you are currently using, but both NEC and Planar that I mentioned have wide color gamut. Generally speaking, standard color gamut is more for displayed (on a monitor) images whereas wide color gamut is more for printed material.

 

[poplico]

I am currently using a CRT Trinitron that is probably 8 years old and is 19". I had not heard of planar before. I don't do games. My main use is photoshop to edit and print my photography.

 

[jaguarskx]

Planar is primarily known in the medical field where they sell monitors and LCD displays for high quality X-Ray and CAT scan resolutions. Over the past several years (at least since 2000) they have branched out into other markets.