[Source]

Hi guys,

I've been trawling the net to find a review of the Apple Cinema Display by a professional who has used it every day for at least one month, to see whether the reflection on it is as off-putting as it looks in the store.

I went into the Apple Regent Street Store in London on Friday all ready to buy an MBP17 & an ACD24 but then when I looked at the Cinema Display I saw my own ugly face reflected back at me horrifically clearly... When I was trying out the various apps on the screen, even with a white background the glass was still very reflective.

Granted the Apple Store is probably the brightest work environment you'll ever see, but I need to know from people who own and use this monitor daily: is it as reflective as it seems and is that off-putting for your work?

My work requires very precise colour definition so if the reflections will get in the way of that then I'll essentially own a very expensive mirror/paper weight.

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Maflynn]

Originally Posted by Source 

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated!

Well try posting in the right forums - this is the notebook forum.

As for your question, you're opening up a hornets nest here. There's people on both sides of the fence that believe that glossy displays from apple are great or are dreadful. "professionals" come out of the wood work to say they can't use them and other "professionals" do.

From what I have read is that the ACDs are difficult to calibrate but I think that's because its an LED backlit display then glossy. I posted a similar question here in 'NN and in other forums and from what I gather, you cannot get an objective opinion.

[vmarks]

Moved to Mac Pro - lot more likely that a professional using a Mac Pro may consider the ACD than a notebook necessarily.

[Veltliner]

I don't need to use it for a month to see it's not for me.

I don't like the colors, the contrast, the mirror effect.

There are great displays out there like the Eizo Coloredge series. I also heard Samsung and Viewsonic have good monitors.

For me, when I get a MacPro, it'll be an Eizo Coloredge.

[OreoCookie]

It's a personal thing. Here on MacNN, there are people who like it and people who hate glossy screens -- including professionals. Of course, professionals tend to be more conservative (they also needed longer to switch from crts to lcds). No amount of discussion will change personal taste.

Just two things:
(1) Glossy displays take some getting used to (usually not long). Rarely anybody uses them in the worst conditions (display switched off with a point-like light source in the back).
(2) There is no inherent difference in technology between glossy and non-glossy displays. Glossy displays miss some compensator foils that are put on top of the panels of displays with matte surface. These foils make the surface of the display rougher and are the thing that disperse incident light in all directions.

The trade-off is that these foils absorb light and thus reduce the gamut (the range of displayable colors), the contrast and the brightness. If you use proper equipment and you calibrate in the dark (which, according to the documentation of my ColorSpyder 2, I'm supposed to anyway), you can calibrate glossy displays in the same fashion as matte displays.

Disclaimer: I'm typing this on a matte ProBook connected to a matte 24" Sun TFT.