Buying a new LCD monitor - DPChallenge Forums

09/25/2006 04:15:47 AM · #1

What are some things to look for in an LCD monitor that will be used to editting photos (besides resolution)? Thanks in advance.

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

09/25/2006 01:22:46 PM · #2

bump

SamDoe1

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

09/25/2006 01:27:42 PM · #3

What's your budget? I hear that apple cinema displays are excellent, although you pay for it.

Sony SAL-50F14 Normal 50mm f/1.4 Autofocus Lens for the Sony

09/25/2006 01:39:47 PM · #4

I'm looking for something under $400.
Right now I'm just trying to figure out what features make some monitors better than others.

ladyhawk22

Sony DSLR-A700

09/25/2006 02:00:55 PM · #5

Oh, I just went through this recently...and it was tough as I was buying for a PC, and I normally use Mac.

Some things to look for: a fast speed--I think this has to do with how fast your monitor displays what is sent from a graphics card. This stat is most important if you do any online gaming or any large computer game.

The resolution of the screen will be a biggie if you're doing photography stuff on it. This stat is listed fairly prominently, so should be easy to find. You want one with bigger resolution.

Then there's something about the refresh rate on the monitor...it involves a horizontal and vertical axis. This was the one I didn't really understand too much. I think it has to do with how well an image is displayed, sort of. Someone else might be able to explain it better.

And then you have to figure out whether you need digital or analog. For instance, my hubby (who I was shopping for) has a computer that uses analog....but we might upgrade his tower in a couple years, so I wanted to get a monitor that would be compatible with digital as well--as it seems that that's the way all computers are going these days. Sadly, the monitors that support BOTH tend to be a little more expensive. Analog only tends to be quite a bit cheaper (at least as far as I noticed) and digital only tends to be slightly cheaper than a model that will do both.

I hope that helps!

dleach

Canon EOS-20D

Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

09/25/2006 02:42:39 PM · #6

Don't you also want to look at contrast ratio to get the truer blacks?

Spork99

OM System OM-1

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

09/25/2006 03:57:22 PM · #7

Take a look at EddyG's post here
while it's from some time ago, it's still good advice.