Monitor for photography

[nathanbarlow]

Hi all,

Trying to get some advice on which monitor to buy as an external monitor for my laptop.

minimum specs:
- 1920 x 1080
- 24 inch
- HDMI capable
- response time suitable for films and some light gaming
- IPS panel
- LED back light

I'm not adverse to the idea of 1920 x 1200 as that gives me more real estate - but unsure if
laptop will handle that high. Laptop definitely will handle 1080p.

Usage:
- Photography editing (i have hardware calibration kit)
- watching DVDs and BluRays

- Light gaming (more likely to game on my laptop screen though)



Looking at:

- Dell U2412M (http://www.dell.com/nz/slgov/p/dell-u2412m/pd)
- HP ZR2440W (http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF06a/382087-382087-64283-72270-3884471-5163690.html?dnr=1)


Could I get some advice or suggestions on monitors aimed at photography (ie color reproduction needs to be good)

Thanks in advance
nathan

 

[MauveCloud]

If you really want good color reproduction, have you considered the HP LP2480zx?

 

[jaguarskx]

Given the relatively low budget, I do not think the HP Dreamcolor LP2840zx is a viable option since it retails in excess of $2,000.

========================

Both the Dell U2412M and HP ZR2440w use a 6-bit e-IPS panel. Vastly better than TN panels, but not as good as the more expensive 8-bit H-IPS panel used in higher end monitors. Good enough when color accuracy is important on a low budget. There is one think you need to know about LED backlight though, they are not truly white. Blue LEDs with a yellow phosphorous coating are used to imitate white. Most of the time it looks white, but on some monitors it may look slightly bluish.

A good monitor color accuracy that does not break the bank as much as the HP DreamColor LP2480zx is the Planar PX2611w. I recommended it a friend who does professional presentation graphics and amature photography because he balked at my original recommendation, the NEC LCD2690WUXi because it was too expensive at $1,300 - $1,400. He likes the monitor a lot. The Planar PX2611w is currently selling for just under $700 which is about $100 less when I purchased mine back when it was still being manufactured. Sadly, this was probably the last best monitor Planar ever sold in the consumer end of the market.

http://www.amazon.com/Planar-PX2611W-26-Inch-Widescreen-Digital/dp/B000O7IIS0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340655908&sr=8-1&keywords=planar+px2611w